wildsingapore news: Dec 17, 2007

2007 marks fresh start for Singapore's transport sector

Channel NewsAsia 17 Dec 07;

SINGAPORE: 2007 is a year of fresh starts for Singapore's transport sector, with the new superjumbo A380, the new Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) and a new chapter for budget carriers which have finally been given access to the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route.

Singapore Airlines took delivery of the first A380 after an almost two-year delay.

Excitement built up further when over 400 passengers, who had to bid for their seats, took off on the first commercial A380 flight from Singapore to Sydney on 25 October.

Barely a month later, in another ground-breaking move, it was announced that the lucrative Singapore-Kuala Lumpur air route – long held in a near monopolistic grip by the national carriers for over 30 years – would be opened to budget carriers from February next year, on an initial limited basis.

On the home front, curious Singaporeans have been making a beeline to check out Changi Airport's S$1.75 billion Terminal 3, which will only officially open its doors in January next year.

There are also new beginnings for the road users.

The first phase of the KPE was opened to traffic on 26 October. When fully completed in end-2008, it will have the longest road tunnel in Southeast Asia - nine kilometres of the 12-kilometre expressway.

At the same time, another unexpected record was set for KPE – over 3,000 motorists were booked for speeding on the expressway just within the first week of operations.

There were, however, few surprises, when it came to fares and fees.

As the KPE opened, a whole slew of new ERP charges – from new gantries to extended operational hours – were announced. On the public transport front, bus fares also went up during the annual fare review.

The highest ERP charge now stands at S$5 for the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) slip road into the Central Expressway (CTE) – its third ERP rate increase this year.

From Members of Parliament to the man in the street, this has remained a bugbear.

MP Seng Han Thong said: "I hope it will make ERP more effective rather than make it more expensive."

"We don't mind, as vehicle owners, to pay increased ERP. But we are frustrated when we don't see any ease of traffic flow on the CTE," said a resident in the Thomson area.

One other area which made Singaporeans see red is errant cabbies who overcharge, refuse to pick up passengers or tout in nightspots like Clarke Quay.

After a series of complaints, the authorities finally acted by imposing higher penalties that range from increased fines and demerit points to possible suspension of licences.

Hopefully, all of that will lead to a better 2008.- CNA/so

South Korea's worst oil spill threatens bird haven

Reuters 17 Dec 07;

TAEAN, South Korea (Reuters) - South Korea's worst oil spill is threatening to enter a bay that is an important winter rest stop for migratory birds, the coastguard and a conservation group said on Monday.

Tens of thousands of volunteers, soldiers and others have battled for 10 days to clean up 10,500 tons of crude oil that spewed from a tanker. The spill then washed up on west coast beaches popular with tourists and blackened a nature reserve.

The coastguard has set up containment fences and dispatched vessels to break up or turn back the spill before it enters Cheonsu Bay, about 95 miles southwest of Seoul.

The bay is home for about 400,000 migratory birds, representing 300 different species that pass through during the South Korean winter, according to a statement by the Seosan Cheonsu Bay Bird Watching Fair Organisation Committee.

South Korea has declared the west coast Taean region a disaster area and said it would make available $322.7 million in loans to help residents who say they face ruin.

The spill has wiped out fish farms and oyster beds in the region and conservation groups said oil in the seabed will create problems for years to come.

The leak is about a third of the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill of crude oil onto Alaska shores, the costliest on record at $9.5 billion including settlement of claims.

(Reporting by Jessica Kim; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Oil still drifting south in South Korea's worst spill: Coast Guard
Yahoo News 17 Dec 07;

Slicks from South Korea's worst oil spill are still drifting south despite massive clean-up efforts since the accident 10 days ago, the Coast Guard said Monday.

Clumps of tar and slicks were spotted up to 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of the scene of the spill in the Yellow Sea, Coast Guard officials said.

A tanker spilled some 10,500 tons of crude oil off Taean county on the west coast on December 7 after being holed by a drifting barge carrying a crane.

Navy ships are battling to disperse the oil near four islands, while salvage workers and fishermen have begun work to protect sea farms from contamination, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The Coast Guard also said it had set up more booms at the mouth of Cheonsu Bay, south of Taean, to protect the habitat for migratory birds.

Much of the oil which coated beaches in Taean was being removed by tens of thousands of volunteers, police and troops.

On Monday, some 37,000 people, 828 ships and 18 aircraft were combating the spill.

Marine authorities said they had begun studying the potential impact of the oil on residents, fishermen and sea farms, and environmentalists have said it may take decades to recover fully from the disaster.

On Sunday, Seoul said it would provide 30 billion won (32 million dollars) in emergency aid to residents of the disaster-hit area by the end of next month.

Separately, the government has also offered up to 300 billion won (325 million dollars) in emergency funds to support small businesses and marine farmers.

The European Union, the United Nations and Japan have despatched environmental experts to assist the cleanup. Aid has also come from Singapore, China and the United States.

Habitat loss forces India's tigers to high ground

Bappa Majumdar, Reuters 17 Dec 07;

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - Habitat destruction is forcing India's endangered tigers to new grounds, including high mountains which have a sufficient prey base but are not known to be the natural home of the big cats.

With forests in the foothills being built over and cleared for farming, wildlife experts say tigers are being increasingly spotted in high altitudes in India's northeast and west.

But they say tigers could still be as endangered in their new environment and are not as adaptable as leopards.

"Tigers can feel the effect of villages on the bio-diversity from miles, and move away," said Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India.

"But they are not as adaptable as leopards in mountains."

India's wildlife crisis, highlighted best by the dwindling tiger and lion population, has caused huge national concern, pushing authorities to declare new measures to save the cats.

Experts say increasing human interference such as development, encroachment and destruction of habitat, as well as poaching, are the main threats to animals across India, from the Himalayas to Indian Ocean islands.

India is thought to be home to half the world's surviving tigers, but according to a census in 2001 and 2002, their numbers have dwindled to between 1,300 and 1,500 from 40,000 a century ago.

NEW HOME

In an example of the tiger adapting to the threat to their natural habitat, experts have found at least 20 of them in the high mountains of Neora, tucked between Bhutan and India's eastern state of West Bengal.

"Until 1998, we found one or two tigers straying into the Neora from the foothills, but now they live there," said Pranabes Sanyal of World Conservation Union, who conducted a study on tiger migration.

The tigers moved to the dense cover of bamboo and oak at Neora from the Gorumara reserve in the foothills, their original habitat.

In September, experts sighted up to 20 tigers in a hilly tropical rainforest in the western Maharashtra state, almost three decades after it was thought that poaching had wiped them out there.

Tigers have also moved into the lower Himalayan range in Bhutan from the Buxa and Manas tiger reserves on the plains of adjacent India which have a large human population.

Some conservationists have called for a proper study to find out how tigers were surviving in the unfamiliar terrain.

"There needs to be a special study done to find how they are doing and to learn about the extent of disturbance in the habitat below that forced them to move up," said Valmik Thapar, a leading tiger expert.

(Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee)

Hong Kong public calls for air pollution fight

Reuters 17 Dec 07;

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Most Hong Kong people were willing to pay for a tougher crackdown on chronic air pollution through road pricing and other measures, a government-backed report said on Monday.

The head of the government advisory body that collaborated on the report with Hong Kong University also said the city should establish a "superfund" for cleaning up the environment.

Released during Hong Kong's traditionally smoggy winter months, the report is the most ambitious so far to gauge public attitudes about pollution, which frequently obscures the famous harbor.

"The public really wants something to be done even if certain costs are added to them...so it's really a good political capital that they (the government) have to drive on more initiatives," said environmentalist Alexis Lau.

Edgar Cheng, the Chairman of the Council for Sustainable Development, called for the government to establish the fund.

Cheng didn't specify the size of the fund, but said the government could afford it, with an expected surplus of HK$50 billion dollar ($6.4 billion) this fiscal year.

"We figured out that if we want to clear up everything, it will cost HK$20-30 billion," Cheng said.

Of the 81,000 people polled in the survey, 77 percent said they would be bear increases in transport costs in return for better air, through the use of cleaner vehicles and fuels.

Forty-two percent said they backed electronic road pricing, which would charge vehicle usage on roads during peak periods -- a contentious measure opposed by the motor trade for decades.

A consensus was also found for greater public transport usage on bad air days and certain mandatory measures like the use of green lightbulbs and turning off air-conditioners in empty rooms.

Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang said he would study the report.

"Improving air quality and the overall environmental quality is a long term battle, which must have the participation of everyone in society in order to realize results," he said.

Coal-fired power stations are blamed as the city's worst polluters, but increasing emissions also blow across the border from tens of thousands of factories in southern China.

(Reporting by James Pomfret; Editing by Grant McCool)

Hong Kong public willing to pay more for clean air
Straits Times 18 Dec 07;

HONG KONG - HONG Kong residents would be willing to pay higher transportation costs if it means breathing cleaner air, according to a survey published yesterday as the city's dazzling skyline was once again shrouded by a thick haze.

The survey was released to coincide with a summit called by the government to discuss the deteriorating air quality in the bustling financial hub and how to tackle it.

Hong Kong's skies are often heavily polluted by its two coal-burning power plants, marine and road traffic, and factories over the border in mainland China, fuelling concerns that tourists and investors may shift their attention to cleaner cities like Singapore.

Pollution monitoring stations in Hong Kong registered a 'high' pollution reading yesterday, meaning that regular exposure over months or years could cause long-term health effects.

A week earlier, downtown Hong Kong and some other areas recorded 'very high' levels, prompting the government to advise people with heart and respiratory illnesses to stay at home.

Dr Anthony Hedley, professor of community medicine at the University of Hong Kong, said cleaning up the city's air was a 'medical emergency'.

More than 75 per cent of 82,000 people surveyed said they would happily pay higher transportation costs if it meant that the thousands of buses, taxis and mini-buses used cleaner fuel.

It also revealed that 42 per cent backed electronic road pricing, which would charge vehicle usage on roads during peak periods - a contentious measure opposed strongly by the motor trade.

The money could be used to subsidise greener vehicles and public transportation, said the survey, which was commissioned by the government's Council for Sustainable Development and carried out by the University of Hong Kong in the past five months.

A consensus was also found for greater public transportation usage on bad air days and certain mandatory measures such as the use of environmentally friendly light bulbs and turning off air-conditioners in empty rooms.

Released during Hong Kong's traditionally smoggy winter months, the report is the most ambitious so far to gauge public attitudes about pollution.

Speaking at the summit, Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang vowed to consider the council's findings when formulating a long-term plan for cleaning up the air.

'We firmly believe if Hong Kong's economy is to maintain a sustainable growth, it is necessary to improve our air quality, provide a quality living environment to attract investors and talent to stay in Hong Kong,' Mr Tsang said.

But Professor Hedley said the government needed to act fast as residents were already paying a heavy price for poor quality air, citing an earlier study which found that pollution contributes to 1,600 deaths in the city each year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS

Malaysian Floods: Not the time for ’fiesta’

Nurul Halawati Azhari, Bernama New Straits Times 17 Dec 07;

The floods that have inundated the states of Kelantan, Johor, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan have steadily worsened. The number of evacuees moved to relief centres has risen to 29,176 while as of dec 17, 22 people had drowned in the floods since it struck last Dec 8.

In the past week, news of people drowning in the flood waters made the headlines in the media but the irony of the situation was that the victims met their death while frolicking in the river or irrigation channels.

Such ’deadly excitement’ playing in the flood waters had drawn the attention of Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who called on people in flood-hit areas to abandon the thoughts of playing in the ’water carnival.’

The Kelantan Police Chief who is upset with the whole situation, expressed his anger and frustration against parents who allowed their children to play in the flood waters, making them victims to the fast flowing water currents.

However, some of the drowning cases could have been avoided by simply staying away from the flood waters as this not a ’wet theme park’ where people can have fun frolicking in the water.

LACKADAISICAL ATTITUDE

Water is just like fire. It is friendly when small but grows into a danger when it is big. And before we are engulfed by this danger, it is better to take precautions.

However in some areas, the floods which are seasonal, are welcomed with much delight. This is the time when children and adults alike, armed with nets, go out looking for freshwater fish that may have swim out of overflowing aquaculture ponds.

Others would have a gala time splashing in the flood waters. The print and electronic media had reported that parents blatantly showed their lackadaisical attitude by bringing out their small children to play in the rapidly rising flood waters.

Not to be left out are the ’mat rempit’ or speed fiends on motorbikes where their pictures doing ’wheelies’ on their machines in the floods were prominently displayed in the newspapers recently.

The police as well as the Fire and Rescue Department had, on countless of times reminded the public to be wary of the dangers posed by the rapidly flowing flood waters, but unfortunately this had fallen on deaf ears.

RED CRESCENT

A field officer of the National Red Crescent Association (PBSM), Nasir Khan Abd Rahman, said the fun felt while frolicking in the floods can make one to be unaware of the dangers lurking in the water.

They are not only in danger of drowning but there is a high risk that they may get bitten by poisonous snakes that are carried by the rapid currents as well as being exposed to water-borne diseases like cholera as well as skin allergies cased by contaminated or toxic substances.

People in flood-hit areas are advised against eating food that had been tainted by flood water as the food could have been contaminated by bacteria or other micro-organisms.

They are also advised to only drink boiled treated water or the mineral water supplied by relief agencies, said Nasir Khan.

He said:"If those in the flood-hit areas accidentally drink the flood water, they should immediately seek treatment at any clinic as the contaminated water may cause the victim to suffer from vomiting as well as diarrhea”.

Nasir Khan said the PBSM also assists the other relief agencies by supplying rescue boats and ambulances to the flood-hit areas.

“We have volunteers working round-the-clock to help those affected by the flood”, he said.

Nasir Khan said 30 PBSM volunteers had been dispatched to Johor while 80 are in Kelantan, 40 in Pahang and another 20 in Terengganu.

Great Escape: Eastern Coastal Park Connectors

Sandra Leong, Straits Times 16 Dec 07;
Get away from the concrete jungle by heading to the new 42km Eastern Coastal Park Connectors Network on your bike

IF YOU'RE someone who spends most of your time shuttling between air-conditioned malls and cinemas, there's never been a better time to get on your bike.

That's because of a new network of trails on the east coast that makes cycling in the great outdoors a breeze.

You can wheel it from Siglap to Pasir Ris to Changi and back in as little as two hours, thanks to the completion of the 42km Eastern Coastal Park Connectors Network (PCN for short.)

The $22 million cycling network, which took the National Parks Board (NParks) a decade to complete, links six parks via trails taking riders through heartland estates and along picturesque canals.

The final piece in the grid - the 7km Coastal Park Connector - was unveiled on Dec 7.

So far, 100km of park connectors have been completed across the island, with NParks planning a further 100km by 2015 as part of a plan to transform Singapore into a 'City-in-a-Garden'.

On a rare fine day last week, LifeStyle took a joyride to check out the various routes. And don't worry about getting lost. NParks has placed PCN in bold letters on the track at strategic spots.

Suburban sights

THE start. Park at Carpark C4 along East Coast Park and take the overhead bridge - push your bike up a ramp - to get to the 4.5km Siglap Park Connector that takes you all the way from Marine Parade to Bedok Reservoir Park.

As you go alongside Siglap Canal, you find yourself smack in upper middle-class suburbia - the backyards of the Telok Kurau private estate. The route does get a little congested during mornings and evenings, so expect a slow ride.

Emerge at Kembangan MRT and continue towards the Pan Island Expressway where, once again, you have to push your bike up an overhead ramp (see story on facing page).

Cross over and go through the scenic Bedok Town Park, a length of greenery that eventually connects with Bedok Reservoir Park. You might even catch people wakeboarding there.

From here, you have two choices. Head back to East Coast Park using the 6km Bedok Park Connector, which takes you through a series of canals - one of them parallel to food factories complete with tantalising aromas wafting over to you. Or link up with the 5.4km Tampines Park Connector.

Heartland explorer

THIS route takes you up close and personal with the Tampines HDB estate, as the cycling paths are incorporated into the pedestrian walkways close to the void decks.

For a drink, stop at the several no-name sundry shops along the way.

After some distance, the track turns left towards Tampines Central where you can stop at neighbourhood shopping hubs Tampines Mall and Century Square

Look out for the S-11 kopitiam further down for a hawker fare fix. Past the Tampines Regional Library, you'll reach Sun Plaza Park which has a playground with slides shaped like elephants and crocodiles. From there, join the 2.3km Pasir Ris Park Connector.

The far East

THE pace of life is slower here and you'll encounter fewer motorists and pedestrians. Behind an HDB estate, cross a canal - people go fishing here - via a quaint wooden footbridge.

There's another overhead bridge to cross. Soon you end up at Pasir Ris Town Park, a hotspot for pond fishing. At the end, turn right and go down Pasir Ris Drive 3 towards Loyang and eventually the 3.4km Loyang Park Connector.

There's nothing much to see here except greenery and the odd industrial building. The route winds into some deserted places so it's not advisable to go alone.

Finally, you hit the renowned Changi Village where you can tuck into nasi lemak and sugarcane juice. Arrive after dusk and you may see 'ah kuas' (Hokkien for transvestites).

The ride through Changi Beach Park is pleasant, with lampposts and a footbridge over water where bumboats bob. The last and most daunting bit beckons: the 7.9km Coastal Park Connector.

Ride for your life

THIS flat, straight stretch is bliss. Ride alongside the runways of Changi Airport, with the roar of jet engines urging you to pedal harder and faster.

The only downer is the strong wind, which can slow you down if you're riding into it. But soldier on to reach the best part of the Eastern network.

The connector turns off into a picturesque spot beside a canal that spills over into the sea. The path is shrouded by a canopy of trees and, from the gaps in the greenery, you can view the bellies of planes coming in to land - so close you can see their unfurling wheels. From here, link back to East Coast Park and back to your start point.

Don't forget to reward yourself with a hard-earned drink on the way back by wheeling up to Sunset Bay, a new incarnation of the once-famous Sentosa beach bar institution.

After 42km of pedal power, it's bound to hit the spot.

RELATED ARTICLES

Cycle and carry: some disconnects in the park connectors
Straits Times 16 Dec 07;

Cycling wardens keep footpaths safe in Tampines
Shobana Kesava, Straits Times 17 Dec 07;
170 volunteers ensure that cyclists using footways do not pose danger to pedestrians

42km Eastern Coastal Park Connector Network launched
Channel NewsAsia 8 Dec 07;

Two new mammals found in Indonesian 'lost world': Conservation International

Yahoo News 17 Dec 07;

Two mammals believed new to science have been found on the latest expedition to a virtual lost world found in Indonesia's Papua in 2005, Conservation International (CI) said Monday.

Scientists from CI and the Indonesia Institute of Science (LIPI) visited the Foja Mountains in June 2007, following a first trip in late 2005 that saw them discover dozens of new plants and animals, CI said in a statement.

"During the June expedition, the team documented two mammals, a Cercartetus pygmy possum, one of the worldÂ’s smallest marsupials, and a Mallomys giant rat, both currently under study and apparently new to science," CI said.

The giant rat is about five times the size of a typical city rat and visited the scientists' camp several times, lacking any fear of humans.

The team also recorded the mating displays of several rare and little-known birds for the first time, CI said.

"It'’s comforting to know that there is a place on earth so isolated that it remains the absolute realm of wild nature," CI vice president Bruce Beehler, who led the expedition, said in the statement.

"We were pleased to see that this little piece of Eden remains as pristine and enchanting as it was when we first visited."

The Fojas are part of the Mamberamo Basin, the largest unroaded tropical forest in the Asia-Pacific, and the Indonesian government has declared the region a wildlife sanctuary, CI said.

CBS News sent a camera crew with the team on their second visit and aired an account of the expedition on Sunday, CI said.

The crew obtained the first film documentation of several spectacular birds found in Foja, capturing the courtship displays of the golden-fronted bowerbird and of the black sicklebill bird of paradise, the group said.

CI and LIPI plan a third expedition back in late 2008 or 2009 that will seek to survey the summit forests of the highest peak, and the little-studied lower elevations. They expect to find more new species of frogs, mammals, butterflies and plants, CI added.

Activists have already warned that the forests in the area are under threat from large-scale deforestation.

Indonesia is losing its forests at the world's fastest rate, with some two million hectares (4.9 million acres) disappearing each year, according to environmental watchdog Greenpeace.

Giant rat discovered in Indonesia jungle
Yahoo News 17 Dec 07;

Researchers in a remote jungle in Indonesia have discovered a giant rat and a tiny possum that are apparently new to science, underscoring the stunning biodiversity of the Southeast Asian nation, scientists said Monday.

Unearthing new species of mammals in the 21st century is considered very rare. The discoveries by a team of American and Indonesian scientists are being studied further to confirm their status.

The animals were found in the Foja mountains rainforest in eastern Papua province in a June expedition, said U.S.-based Conservation International, which organized the trip along with the Indonesian Institute of Science.

"The giant rat is about five times the size of a typical city rat," said Kristofer Helgen, a scientist with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. "With no fear of humans, it apparently came into the camp several times during the trip."

The possum was described as "one of the worlds smallest marsupials."

A 2006 expedition to the same stretch of jungle — dubbed by Conservation International as a "Lost World" because until then humans had rarely visited it — unearthed scores of exotic new species of palms, butterflies and palms.

Papua has some of the world's largest tracts of rainforest, but like elsewhere in Indonesia they are being ravaged by illegal logging. Scientists said last year that the Foja area was not under immediate threat, largely because it was so remote.

"It's comforting to know that there is a place on Earth so isolated that it remains the absolute realm of wild nature," said expedition leader Bruce Beehler. "We were pleased to see that this little piece of Eden remains as pristine and enchanting as it was when we first visited."

Global warming may soon see Santa don shorts

Gael Branchereau, Yahoo News 17 Dec 07;

If the most dire climate forecasts come true the tourism industry in Europe's far north, already feeling the effects of global warming, may find itself promoting a Santa in shorts and a camel-drawn sleigh.

Each year at the end of autumn, residents, shopkeepers, travel agencies, reindeer herders and even politicians in the Finnish Arctic town of Rovaniemi -- home to Santa Claus' Village, one of the biggest tourist attractions in Finland -- look to the skies in the hopes of a snowy winter.

"Everyone working in tourism here is worried. The past three or four years have been difficult for us," says Jarmo Kariniemi, owner of the Santa Claus' Office in Rovaniemi which each year attracts 340,000 visitors eager to meet the "real" Father Christmas.

This December, with only a few weeks to go before Christmas, there are only 20 centimeters (seven-and-a-half inches) of snow on the ground, just enough for snowmobiles and dog- and reindeer sleighs.

But the rivers and lakes, which normally freeze over in winter and are used to take tourists on snowmobile or sleigh rides, have not turned to ice yet, and that's bad news.

Tourism generates some 235 million euros (345 million dollars) of direct and indirect revenue in Finnish Lapland, of which about 60 percent comes during winter.

It is an enormous amount of money for the region, hit hard by high unemployment and the rural exodus to bigger towns.

"The winter tourism period in the Nordic countries will be shorter and shorter, both at the beginning and towards the end, and it will go fast and it will be huge," climatologist Heikki Tuomenvirta told AFP.

Average temperatures in Finland will rise by three to six degrees Celsius in winter by 2050, and by four to eight degrees by 2080. The average winter temperature in Rovaniemi will rise from 15 degrees Celsius below zero (five degrees F) to eight below (18 F).

"Precipitation in winter will increase, with both rain and snow, and then there will be more rain," Tuomenvirta said.

More rain will melt the snow that normally covers the vast region from November to April, she added.

Towns further north of Rovaniemi are already making the most of the first effects of global warming to attract tourists.

"The amount of snow varies from year to year in Rovaniemi, while here the snow is guaranteed," said Carina Winnebaeck, a hotel manager in Enontekioe.

This village of 2,000 people, located a three-hour drive north of Rovaniemi, has already succeeded in persuading British tour operators to bring planefulls of holiday tourists seeking a winter wonderland to their town.

While global warming presents several short-term advantages -- lower energy bills, greater agricultural possibilities, a longer summer tourism season -- the long-term effects are dire for the region's fauna, flora and local population.

Reindeer herding, the traditional activity and main income for the 70,000 indigenous Sami people spread out across the Arctic, is also at risk.

"Last year we were in northern Russia following the reindeer migration, and it went from -28 degrees C to above zero (-18 to above 32 degrees F)," said Bruce Forbes, a biogeographist at Rovaniemi's Arctic Institute.

Then "it snowed and rained and went down to minus 40," he said, explaining that the temperature swings led to alternating layers of thick snow and ice which the reindeers could not break through to get to the lichen they eat to survive through the winter.

"The herders had to physically break the ice to help the animals," he said.

Sami Ruismaeki is one of Finland's 7,000 reindeer herders whose livelihood has become more and more precarious.

"When it doesn't rain, there are no mushrooms and the reindeer aren't able to build up their body fat before the long winter. Then the lichen disappears under the heavy layers of ice," he said.

The reindeer "have to be fed with grain or hay, and we have to bring water from home. It's not profitable anymore," he said.

Mexico caps damaged Gulf oil well

Yahoo News 17 Dec 07;

Oil workers have capped a damaged oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico that spilled crude and natural gas for almost two months after a deadly high-seas collision, Mexico's state-owned oil company announced on Sunday.

At least 21 employees were killed in the Oct. 23 collision with a drilling rig during a storm.

Petroleos Mexicanos workers injected concrete into the well after installing a new valve assembly — blocking the well "definitively," the company said.

"The control of the well was carried out without any injury to the workers, despite risky conditions that prevailed throughout the entire process," Pemex said in a news release.

Roughly 420 barrels of oil per day spilled from the damaged platform since late October. Pemex said "the latest reports indicate that no oil has reached beaches in recent weeks."

The company faced a nightmarish combination of leaking crude, bad weather, a stubborn fire fueled by leaking natural gas, and the presence of other toxic gases emanating from the well.

Before the flames were controlled earlier this month, fireboats were stationed at the platform around the clock, pumping sea water to prevent further damage to the platform, much of it now dismantled.

External and internal company investigations are under way into the cause of the collision and the loss of life.

The company said it would continue to monitor and recover any spilled crude.

Best of our wild blogs: 17 Dec 07

The one that got away
Video clip and thoughts about fishing at Tanjung Berlayar on the reddot blog

Daily Green Actions: 14 Dec
thoughts of transport and lomborg on the leafmonkey blog

More about Buloh
as shore guides get a sunny day out, on the discovery blog and manta blog

Thailand's hornbills
you can adopt one too on the bird ecology blog

German ship fights climate change with high-tech kite

Erik Kirschbaum, Reuters 16 Dec 07;
HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Turning ocean winds into gold while cutting greenhouse emissions in the process might sound like some sort of alchemy for the 21st century.

But unlike futile earlier efforts to convert ordinary metals to gold, two fast-growing German companies have worked together developing a high-tech kite system to pull enormous ships across the oceans -- and save enormous amounts of money.

The 132 meter (433 ft) long MV "Beluga SkySails" will make its maiden voyage in January across the Atlantic to Venezuela, up to Boston and back to Europe. It will be pulled by a giant computer-guided 500,000-euro ($725,000) kite tethered to a 15-metre high mast.

It is a throwback to an earlier maritime age, harnessing the winds that fell out of favor over a century ago when sailing lost the battle for merchant shipping to modern steam power because it was seen then as primitive and unpredictable.

But now, in the age of climate change, wind power is making a remarkable comeback thanks to modern technology.

"This is the start of a revolution for the way ships are powered," Beluga chief executive Niels Stolberg said in an interview with Reuters on the windswept deck of his new ship MV Beluga SkySails. "It's a small but crucial step for the future."

To latch onto the powerful winds prevailing well above the surface, the kite attached to the high-tech steerage unit flies up to 300 meters high to tug the 10,000-tonne ship forward, supporting its diesel engines and cutting fuel consumption.

Under favorable wind conditions, the 160-square meter kite shaped like a paraglider is expected to reduce fuel costs by up to 20 percent or more ($1,600 per day) and cut, by a similarly significant amount, its carbon dioxide emissions.

Burning fossil fuels cause CO2 blamed for climate change.

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?

A driving force for Beluga -- and other shippers already lining up to buy the system if it delivers on its promise -- is the fuel price, which has tripled for shippers in recent years.

While it might seem almost too simple -- or too good -- to be true, SkySails inventor Stephan Wrage and German engineers have spent more than five years perfecting the system and they will tell you that it is anything but pie-in-the sky technology.

"At the heart of this all for me, the real motivating factor is to get to the crossroads of ecology and economics -- and to prove it pays to protect the environment," Wrage said in an interview on the ship so new it still smells of fresh paint.

While some political and industry leaders complain about the financial burdens of fighting climate change and cite costs in resisting CO2 reduction efforts, Wrage said SkySails is proof that the opposite can be true: there's money to be made.

"If our calculations are right, our clients will not only have considerably greater earnings but also substantially reduce their CO2 output as well," the 35-year-old added after a ceremony to christen the new ship in Hamburg port on Saturday.

"To be able to make a contribution to fighting climate change makes us all proud," the SkySails managing director said as the sail made of ultralight synthetic fibre and as big as a medium-sized passenger jet unfurled in a breeze above the deck.

MUCH BIGGER KITES COMING

SkySails developed the kite propulsion system that Beluga Shipping only just finished installing on the new cargo ship. Both firms aim to prove on a commercial scale what years of testing on smaller vessels showed: you can turn wind into cash.

Wrage, who got the idea as a 16-year-old while flying kites and wishing he could tap their power to make a small sail boat go faster, is optimistic even greater savings can be achieved. He said larger kites should cut fuel usage by 30 to 50 percent.

Two 320-square meter kites will pull two more Beluga ships by 2009 and after that 600-square meter kites will be added.

"That's where the savings get really interesting," he said.

But the immediate impact on cutting CO2 caused by ships will be limited. Shipping carries more than 90 percent of the world's traded goods. There are more than 50,000 merchant ships carrying everything from oil, gas, coal, and grains to electronic goods.

They emit 800 million tonnes of CO2 each year -- 5 percent of the world's total. They emit high levels of sulphur dioxide.

Yet Wrage is confident the demand will take off. There are three orders in hand and if the savings achieved on a smaller 55-metre long prototype are confirmed by the "Beluga SkySails", he said others were lined up to buy systems.

"We're planning to equip four to eight ships next year, provided the first voyage turns out as well as the trials did," he said. "In 2009 we expect to sell at least 35 systems. After that, we want to at least double every year."

The target is 1,500 vessels equipped by 2015.

"I've had a lot of meetings where shippers have said to me 'If it works out on the Beluga SkySails we're going to buy one, two, four or 10 systems'," Wrage said. "Believe me. If we're successful now, it won't be hard to find buyers."

(Editing by Stephen Weeks)

The green businessman: getting Singaporeans to use bio-degradable disposable cutlery

Today Online 17 Dec 07;

Aloysius Cheong shunned the corporate world after graduating from university in 2000 with an arts degree. He set up his own businesses right away — first a tuition centre and later a marine organism export firm.

But he was hit by what he called a "green wave" and after trawling the Internet for ideas, Aloysius and his wife invested US$20,000 ($29,000) in a business that manufactured bio-degradable disposable cutlery using corn and yam.

He spoke to Chen Siya about the challenges he faced in getting Singaporeans and the authorities to use more environmentally-friendly products.

How is your product different from others that use materials such as plastics?

My cutlery starts to biodegrade 90 days after usage. After 102 days, it will have completely become dust, whereas styrofoam may take about 300 years.

My products can also withstand heat of up to 150°C. Plastics can, but styrofoam can't.

When you burn plastics and styrofoam, you release toxins as well as carbon dioxide. My products are made of corn and yam. When these crops grow, they take in 10 units of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, when they are burnt, they also release 10 units of carbon dioxide. So, they are carbon-neutral.

Why did you start this business?

I was thinking of the waste generated by Singaporeans every day at hawker centres.

I thought it would be great if we had a biodegradable product that could replace petroleum-based plastics.

I know there are companies already doing this in Italy. But the costs were high, so I went to China to source for this particular product.

Do you see yourself as a greenie, environmental advocate or businessman first?

To be an honest, I am a business man first, then an environmentalist.

This is my chance to introduce a product to Singaporeans that can actually boost the image of Singapore.

Can you imagine tourists coming to Singapore and seeing styrofoam being so wantonly used at Newton Food Centre? Wouldn't it be great if we could switch to something made from such common materials instead? That's how I see it.

When you first tried marketing your products to hawkers, what was their initial response?

Terrible. They gave me a lot of negative feedback.

Firstly, it's not the usual transparent take-away pack, it's beige.

It's almost double the cost. So, their first reaction was: "This is so expensive, don't bother me."

They are aware of what's going on with the environment, but ultimately it's their costs that matter to them. But there were a few angels who were really nice. They have switched to using these boxes at their own expense, without charging the extra costs to consumers.

I also work with distributors who target schools and caterers.

What's your business strategy to survive?

I target catering companies — they use a blend of plastics and styrofoam.

Nobody else can replace disposable plastic forks and spoons, but I can.

Are you a very environmentally-conscious person?

I am still guilty of certain things. I drive — that's the part I feel most guilty about.

But I do recycle paper, plastics and metals. I try not to switch on the air-conditioner as far as I can help it. I also work closely with the National Youth Council, sponsoring their activities.

Have you tried lobbying the Government to do more for the environment?

In July, I sent reports about styrofoam usage and the environment, as well as legislation introduced by other countries, to our Ministers and Members of Parliament.

One of them is MP Ellen Lee of Sembawang GRC and she raised this topic in Parliament in October.

In my letter to the Ministers, I suggested that the Government follow in the footsteps of countries — such as the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and the United Kingdom — that support biodegradable cutlery. In fact, New York is considering a ban on the use of styrofoam.

I believe that one of these days, the Government could make the switch here. It is a matter of time.

Do you have any regrets in taking the entrepreneurial path, instead of working for a large corporation?

One per cent of the time, when times are bad, when I'm alone in this. It's not like working in an office where you have colleagues to go out with for lunch.

When I was in junior college, I was convinced that I wanted to work in a multinational corporation, but when I entered National Service, my mindset changed.

All my family members and many of my relatives run their own businesses and I realised that I could get support and contacts from them.

I wouldn't say which path is the right one. It all depends on whether you are comfortable with your path.

Cycling wardens keep footpaths safe in Tampines

Shobana Kesava, Straits Times 17 Dec 07;
170 volunteers ensure that cyclists using footways do not pose danger to pedestrians

A YEAR-LONG experiment in Tampines that allows cyclists to ride on footways is now at its halfway point.

And volunteers have been coming forward to help forge co-existence between cyclists and pedestrians: there are 170 cycling wardens.

Since the trial's launch on May 27, these volunteers have been dishing out safety tips to riders, such as giving way to those on foot, and pushing their bikes across pedestrian crossings.

About 1,000 residents have given their feedback.

MP for Tampines GRC Irene Ng said a proper assessment can be made only when the trial ends on May 30.

Behaviour on the paths will be studied, she said, before any changes to the law are considered to allow cyclists to share pedestrians' footpaths.

'While it is safer for cyclists to ride on footways, it is important that they keep pedestrian safety uppermost in their minds,' she said.

Cycling wardens say rider behaviour has been mixed.

The most senior volunteer on the team, Mr Philip Chua, 73, said exuberant young riders can be a concern.

'While most are good, some teens can be reckless, riding in a zigzag manner.'

Widened footpaths have helped the situation, he said.

Tampines GRC MP and deputy chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport Ong Kian Min said such widening work has gone on annually, as part of efforts to encourage barrier-free access for everyone. More are planned.

'The more heavily utilised sections, like markets and neighbourhood centres, will be widened first. That's where cyclists tend to ride to most, but this work has been done regardless of the cycling project,' Mr Ong said.

Tampines Town Council's general manager, Mr Leong Shee Wing, said that the council expects to spend about $700,000 to develop two stretches of dedicated bicycle lanes, altogether 2.3km long. If heavily utilised, the Town Council could invest about $2 million into 7km-long bicycle lanes on HDB land.

These tracks would complement the Eastern Coastal Park Connector, a new 8km stretch of bike paths and greenery developed by the National Parks Board. It is part of a 42km network linking six parks in the east.

Eventually, said Ms Ng, cycling tours around Tampines may be launched.

'Maybe after tourists are done with Orchard Road they can go on bike tours in Tampines to understand how Singaporeans live,' she mused.

Soaring energy needs, oil prices push South East Asia to nuclear power

Charlie McDonald-Gibson, Straits Times 17 Dec 07;

As oil prices and energy demand soar in tandem in Southeast Asia, many nations are turning to nuclear power -- to the horror of environmentalists who say it is not a safe option.

Thirsting for energy to fuel their growing economies, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam have all put in place nuclear power strategies, aiming to build the first plants by 2015 at the earliest.

Thailand's energy minister, Piyasvasti Amranand, said energy demand per capita in his country was rocketing, and with the kingdom currently importing 60 percent of its energy, new sources were needed to maintain growth.

"We have to look at nuclear, which is proven technology," he said in an interview with AFP in the run-up to key climate change talks in Indonesia.

Governments are also citing climate change as a reason for their switch to nuclear power.

Some hail it as a clean energy that will help lessen the world's dependence on the polluting fossil fuels, gas, oil and coal, which spew damaging greenhouse gasses into the air and drive global warming.

In September, US President George W. Bush said rich countries should help developing nations obtain "secure, cost-effective and proliferation-resistant nuclear power."

"Nuclear power is the one existing source of energy that can generate massive amounts of electricity without causing any air pollution or greenhouse-gas emissions," Bush said.

But green groups dismiss that argument, and the row spilled over at Bali, where environment ministers from nearly 190 nations last week grappled over a plan to tackle climate change.

"Nuclear power is neither a clean nor viable option for any of these countries," said Shailendra Yashwant, climate change head with Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

"The hazard of radioactive leaks, Chernobyl-like accidents, lack of safe waste disposal mechanisms or facility and finally the humongous costs of building a nuclear power plant make it the least attractive or viable option."

Activists from around the world staged a protest outside the Bali conference centre, urging the ministers to shun nuclear power.

"Promoting nuclear energy to countries which are exposed to extreme weather events, seismic activity and other natural catastrophes is irresponsible," said Sabine Bock, of green group Women in Europe for a Common Future.

But boundaries have recently blurred between nuclear friends and foes.

A number of gurus of the environmental movement, including Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore and scientist James Lovelock, have come out in favour of nuclear power.

The potential of nuclear energy to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions was mentioned in a May report by the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN's top scientific authority on the issue.

But the report also mentioned safety concerns, the threat of weapons proliferation and waste disposal as problems.

Energy security and oil prices are also key concerns for governments. Crude prices have more than tripled in three years, while countries across Southeast Asia are seeing breakneck economic growth.

Greenpeace's Shailendra said energy efficiency and renewable energy such as solar and wind can meet half of the world's energy needs by 2050 while cutting global carbon dioxide emissions by almost 50 percent.

Piyasvasti said that for Thailand, renewables were part of the plan but would not meet their requirement of 1,400 more megawatts of energy per year.

"I think that new projects in renewable energy (will produce) 1,400 megawatts over the next five years," he said, adding that Thailand aims to have their first nuclear plant up and running by about 2020.

Indonesia, meanwhile, said it plans to reduce its dependency on oil from 24 percent of total energy supply now to 3 percent in 2025, when it aims to generate 4 percent of energy from nuclear power.

So far, the only country in Southeast Asia that has built a nuclear power plant is the Philippines -- with chaotic results.

Its 2.3 billion dollar Bataan nuclear plant was closed in 1987 without generating one watt of electricity after it was declared unsafe and inoperable.

Shifting sceptical public opinion in favour of nuclear energy also remains a mammoth task, experts say.

"Public awareness of the nuclear risks seems to outweigh its awareness of the benefits," said Hans-Holger Rogner, of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Rising health fears over China's farmed seafood

Straits Times 17 Dec 07;

FUQING (CHINA) - DOZENS of enormous ponds filled with murky water and teeming with eels, shrimp and tilapia - much of it destined for markets in Japan and the West - lie at the foot of mountains in Fujian province.

Fuqing city, in south-eastern China's Fujian province, is one of the centres of a booming industry that over two decades has transformed the country into the biggest producer and exporter of seafood in the world, and the fastest-growing supplier to the United States.

But that growth is threatened by two environmental problems: acute water shortages and water supplies contaminated by sewage, industrial waste and agricultural run-off that includes pesticides.

The fish farms, in turn, are discharging waste water that further pollutes the water supply.

'There are simply too many aquaculture farms in this area. They're all discharging water here, fouling up other farms,' said Mr Ye Chao, an eel and shrimp farmer who has 20 giant ponds in western Fuqing.

Farmers have coped with the toxic waters by mixing illegal veterinary drugs and pesticides into fish feed. This keeps their stock alive, but leaves poisonous and carcinogenic residues posing health threats to consumers.

In recent years, the European Union and Japan have imposed temporary bans on Chinese seafood because of illegal drug residues.

The US blocked imports of several types of fish this year after inspectors detected traces of illegal drugs linked to cancer.

Last week, officials from the US and China signed an agreement in Beijing to improve oversight of Chinese fish farms as part of a larger deal on food and drug safety.

Fuqing is at the top of the list this year for rejected shipments of seafood, with 43 rejections to the end of last month, according to records kept by the US Food and Drug Administration. All of those rejections involved the use of illegal veterinary drugs.

By comparison, Thailand, also a major exporter of seafood to the US, had only two refusals related to illegal veterinary drugs.

Overall, China had 210 refusals for illegal drugs.

'For 50 years,' said Professor Wang Wu at Shanghai Fisheries University, 'we've blindly emphasised economic growth... and now we can see that the water turns dirty and the seafood gets dangerous.'

China began emerging as a seafood power in the 1990s as rapid economic growth became the top priority in the country.

China produced about 52 million tonnes of farmed seafood last year. The country produces about 70 per cent of the farmed fish in the world, harvested at thousands of giant factory-style farms that extend along its entire eastern seaboard.

In the 1980s, thousands of peasants struggling to earn a living began carving up huge plots, digging rectangular pits and filling them with water to create fish ponds.

As early as the mid-1990s, though, serious environmental problems began to emerge.

After electronics and textile manufacturing plants moved into central Fuqing, the south-eastern part of the city suffered water shortages, and some fish farmers say the water turned black.

The government this year rated large sections of the Long River, the major waterway in Fuqing, unfit for fish farming, swimming or even contact with the human body.

Said Professor An Taicheng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences: 'China has to go to the sea because it's getting harder and harder to find clean water. One day, no one will dare to eat fish from dirty water, and what will farmers do?'

Monsoon rains in Malaysia: No let up till February

Straits Times 17 Dec 07;

KUANTAN - THE monsoon rains affecting Malaysia may not ease until February, according to the weather station.

'Malaysia, especially the east coast, is experiencing the peak of heavy monsoonal rains, which started on Dec 5,' said Mr Mohamad Helmi Abdullah, a weather forecaster at the Meteorological Department.

'There are likely to be several periods of heavy downpour between now and late January or early February,' he told AP.

And the flood situation in Pahang and Kelantan is also expected to get worse, with more rain expected for at least another four days.

The authorities in the two states have been put on 'red' alert - the highest alert - by the Meteorological Department.

As of 1pm yesterday, as many as 21,199 people have been evacuated from their homes, and were being housed in 199 relief centres.

In Kelantan, the number of displaced people increased to 4,112 yesterday morning, from 3,466 on Saturday, following rising water levels in Sungai Kelantan and Sungai Golok.

Flooding there also claimed its 13th victim, Bernama reported yesterday. A six-year-old girl was believed to have fallen into the flood waters while playing alone at her home.

Flood waters have receded in Johor and Terengganu, and reports said the number of evacuees in Johor has also fallen.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Rajak, who is chairman of the national disaster management committee, has urged parents to stop their children playing in flood waters.

He said many children regarded the flooding as a water carnival without realising the depth and the strength of the water currents.

Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, Chief Minister of Kelantan, issued a similar caution.

'The death of one of the victims was not caused by the floods but because he jumped into the river for fun,' he was quoted as saying by the Malay-language Berita Harian newspaper.

Datuk Seri Najib said the local authorities had provided immediate aid to flood victims, and told security agencies to make all necessary preparations for possible rescue operations.

The government has been ferrying food and other essential items via airforce helicopters and boats to the badly hit areas, since supermarkets there are running out of supplies, the New Sunday Times newspaper said.

Malaysia has stepped up its flood mitigation efforts after suffering one of its worst monsoon floods last year, in which it suffered estimated losses of RM1.2 billion (S$523,000).

Flooding in Malaysia this year has so far left 21 people dead and made more than 29,000 others homeless.

The wet weather has also destroyed prawn and oyster farms worth at least RM150,000 in Johor .

Economists have warned that the rains could cause an increase in food and palm oil prices in Malaysia, one of the world's largest producers of the edible oil, which is used in products ranging from shampoo and ice-cream to biofuels.

Plantation officials say heavy rains have slowed down the harvest and transportation of palm oil.

Seas Could Rise Twice as High as Predicted - Study

PlanetArk 17 Dec 07;

WASHINGTON - The world's sea levels could rise twice as high this century as UN climate scientists have predicted, according to researchers who looked at what happened more than 100,000 years ago, the last time Earth got this hot.

Experts working on the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have suggested a maximum 21st century sea level rise -- a key effect of global climate change -- of about 32 inches (0.8 metres).

But researchers said in a study appearing on Sunday in the journal Nature Geoscience that the maximum could be twice that, or 64 inches (1.6 metres).

They made the estimate by looking at the so-called interglacial period, some 124,000 to 119,000 years ago, when Earth's climate was warmer than it is now due to a different configuration of the planet's orbit around the sun.

That was the last time sea levels reached up to 20 feet (6 metres) above where they are now, fueled by the melting of the ice sheets that cover Greenland and Antarctica.

The researchers say their study is the first robust documentation of how quickly sea levels rose to that level.

"Until now, there have been no data that sufficiently constrain the full rate of past sea level rises above the present level," lead author Eelco Rohling of Britain's National Oceanography Centre said in a statement.

Rohling and his colleagues found an average sea level rise of 64 inches (1.6 metres) each century during the interglacial period.

Back then, Greenland was 5.4 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit (3 to 5 degrees Centigrade) warmer than now -- which is similar to the warming period expected in the next 50 to 100 years, Rohling said.

Current models of ice sheet activity do not predict rates of change this large, but they do not include many of the dynamic processes already being observed by glaciologists, the statement said. (Editing by Xavier Briand)

Rising seas 'to beat predictions'
BBC News 17 Dec 07;

The world's sea levels could rise twice as high this century as UN climate scientists have previously predicted, according to a study.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change proposes a maximum sea level rise of 81cm (32in) this century.

But in the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers say the true maximum could be about twice that: 163cm (64in).

They looked at what happened more than 100,000 years ago - the last time Earth was this warm.

The results join other studies showing that current sea level projections may be very conservative.

Sea level rise is a key effect of global climate change. There are two major contributory effects: expansion of sea water as the oceans warm, and the melting of ice over land.

In the latest study, researchers came up with their estimates by looking at the so-called interglacial period, some 124,000 to 119,000 years ago, when Earth's climate was warmer than it is now due to a different configuration of the planet's orbit around the Sun.

That was the last time sea levels reached up to 6m (20ft) above where they are now, fuelled by the melting of ice sheets that covered Greenland and Antarctica.

'Robust' work

The researchers say their study is the first robust documentation of how quickly sea levels rose to that level.

"Until now, there have been no data that sufficiently constrain the full rate of past sea level rises above the present level," lead author Eelco Rohling, of Britain's National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, said in a statement.

Rohling and his colleagues found an average sea level rise of 1.6m (64in) each century during the interglacial period.

Back then, Greenland was 3C to 5C (5.4F to 9F) warmer than now - which is similar to the warming period expected in the next 50 to 100 years, Dr Rohling said.

Current models of ice sheet activity do not predict rates of change this large. However, they also do not include many of the dynamic processes already being observed by glaciologists, the researchers said.

"The average rise of 1.6m per century that we find is roughly twice as high as the maximum estimates in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, and so offers the first potential constraint on the dynamic ice sheet component that was not included in the headline IPCC values," explained Dr Rohling.

Last year, a separate study found sea level rise projections could be under-estimating the impact of human-induced climate change on the world's oceans.

Stefan Rahmstorf, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany, and colleagues plotted global mean surface temperatures against sea level rise, and found that levels could rise by 59% more than current forecasts.

Arctic sets records on all fronts

Jonathan Amos, BBC News 16 Dec 07;

"The further you go down this path, the harder it is to get back," observed Don Perovich from the US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.

"Things could come back, but basically it's the fourth quarter and we're down two touchdowns," he said, using an analogy from American football.

The big thin

The extent of the sea ice cover fell to a record minimum in September of 4.13 million sq km, beating the previous low mark, set in 2005, by 23%.

This was well publicised at the time, but some of the other "Arctic numbers" have not been so widely reported.

Scientists say they demonstrate the step changes in environmental conditions in the northern polar region.

Dr Perovich himself has a number of ice mass balance buoys dotted around the Arctic measuring ice thickness.

One of them, in the Beaufort Sea, saw a 3.3m-thick slab of perennial sea ice reduced to just half a metre. The slab lost some 70cm off the top and 2.2m off the bottom.

The ablation on the bottom is five times what one would normally expect.

Dr Peter Wadhams, an expert who studies thickness using sonar data from submarines, called this observation "unprecedented".

"It's incredible, amazing," he told BBC News. "Ice cover can't stand that for many years: it'll all go."

Dr Perovich told the meeting: "One of the major concerns is that there's less ice there than we think. Ice thickness is a really important component in all this."

Warmth from below

A big driver behind the melt is the current warmth of the waters in the Arctic. In the summer of 2007, Arctic Ocean surface temperatures hit new maximums.

In waters just north of the Chukchi Sea (above Alaska and Eastern Siberia), sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) were 3.5C warmer than the historical average and 1.5C warmer than the historical maximum. SSTs of 4C were recorded.

This warming was probably the result of having increasing amounts of open water that readily absorb the sun's rays, a phenomenon known as the ice-albedo feedback: less ice means less reflection and more absorption, leading to more warming and more melting.

Warm waters from the Pacific Ocean are also flowing into the Arctic basin through the Bering Strait.

"In 2007, we had off-the-charts warming," said Dr Michael Steele, from the Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington.

But it is not just at the surface. The warmth of Atlantic sub-surface waters (100-500m down) that move into the Arctic are also in "record territory", the AGU meeting heard.

Old snow

And this picture is reflected on land, where a new record was set on the Greenland ice sheet, with snowmelt for areas above 2,000m observed to be 150% above the long-term average for the period 1988-2006.

These high elevation areas melted for 25-30 days longer this year than the observed average in the previous 19 years.

At lower altitudes, the melt was still higher than average by 30%, but it did not break any record. This year can be put in fifth place over the observed average, behind 2005, 2002, 1998 and 2004.

Dr Marco Tedesco from the University of Maryland and the Nasa Goddard Space Flight Center said the increased melting was probably the consequence of extremely warm temperatures over the Greenland ice sheet.

"Another factor which we think might be one of the concurrent causes for the record we observe is the low accumulation [of snow] for these areas," he added.

"Low accumulation means that the older snow, which absorbs more solar radiation than young snow, was exposed earlier than previous years," he added.

Regional impacts

There has been much talk at the meeting of climate "tipping points", and, in the case of the Arctic, when precisely the ocean will be totally free of ice in summer months.

One group of modellers came to the AGU conference with a projection of 2013.

While a number of scientists thought that date a little early, they said ice-free summers would come sooner than many people thought possible.

"If I could take a different angle on that question, and rather than look at when the last piece of ice goes away, ask 'when does the ice cover change in summer in a way that affects people?'," Dr Perovich said.

"I think we're already headed in that direction. This past year, the Northwest Passage was open; there's more potential for exploration for resources; we're already seeing for coastal villages that erosion is a serious problem.

"So, we're already beginning to see impacts on people that, as the melt continues, will just become more obvious."

Indonesia's haze: Some doubts linger

Straits Times 17 Dec 07;

THERE was a different atmosphere when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met in Bali during the just-concluded conference on climate change. This year, Indonesia did not export haze to neighbouring countries.

Both are surely happy.

There had been no reports of Indonesia, Singapore or Malaysia being hit by the haze, which can affect daily activities and aviation.

Some said this is a result of Indonesia overcoming forest burning and the new land clearings. But others cynically feel it is due to the rainy season coming earlier than usual. Indeed, razing of farmlands is usually done at the end of the dry season so that the fires can be doused by rainfall.

But is it true that there has been no haze at all?

Not really. At the end of the dry spell, many fire points had been discovered. Not as many as usual and not as big as during the past years, so the haze did not get to reach other countries. Meanwhile, local residents in a number of areas in Kalimantan and Sumatra did experience some haze problems.

We hope the reduction in the movement of the haze is due more to the government's action and awareness of (farm) operators. But it must be admitted that, until today, there hasn't been any detailed explanation about the fact that we have not been overcome by haze as usual.

Isn't there confirmation that the absence of the haze is due to the rainy season coming earlier? We await the government's explanation.

Actually, it is easy for the government to stop the haze invasion. Even though it has never been admitted, we are more convinced that the burning of land is done by operators who want to develop plantations, such as oil palm.

But we are always made to believe that burning of lands is done by transient farmers. The question is: why didn't this take place in the past? Why only now, during the time of much deforestation and opening of big farmlands?

Herein lies the importance of honesty on all sides. In the issue of forest fires, the parties concerned are the district government, the police and the Forestry Department. In their hands lie the responsibility of monitoring as well as deterring and acting against those who are fond of burning forests.

Through their honesty, if there are forests on fire, they only need to look at the papers stating ownership and authority on the land, the permits for farming, and groups that can mobilise manpower for forest burning.

Yet, a moderate solution becomes complicated if we are corrupt. A host of reasons will be conjured, when the Indonesian police is proven to be more sophisticated than the US police. The proof: the ability of the Indonesian police to nab criminals is much better than US police.

And most spectacular is when the Indonesian police, better than any police force in the world, is able to uncover the terrorism network to its roots. So uncovering perpetrators of forest fires should just be at the tips of their hands.

We are grateful that we have been able to go through 2007 without any significant invasion of the haze. Hopefully in 2008 and the years to come, there will no longer be forest burning. This is the nicest gift for the climate change conference in Bali.

This editorial appeared in Indonesia's Republika last Friday.

Singapore buckles down to hard work, post-Bali

Maria Almenoar, Strait Times 17 Dec 07;

"From a Singaporean perspective, this is what we always wanted. Mr Lee mentioned that everybody has to play a part"

HARD work is the order of the day now that the two-week- long climate change conference in Bali has ended.

Singapore's Minister for Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim said yesterday that the Government will have to sit down over the next two years to plan its next steps.

Areas for discussion include how to assist developing countries and the enhancement of national plans.

'The framework is actually quite adequate but the devil will always be in the details.

'So for the next two years, the negotiators now have a very broad parameter...That's the right spirit, the right framework. So I'm glad we have managed to achieve it even at the 11th hour,' he said.

Mr Yaacob was speaking to reporters after a community event in Kolam Ayer to promote youth involvement in community activities.

The 'Bali road map' launches two more years of formal negotiations to spell out what each country will have to do to slow emissions of global warning gases after 2012, when the current deal, called the Kyoto Protocol, ends.

From Singapore's perspective, the resolution is something the Republic has always wanted, said Mr Yaacob.

'Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has always said that everybody must do their part - we must be a responsible member of the international community. What that part is now, is the part that we will have to discuss.'

He also said that keeping the four 'building blocks' of adaptation, mitigation, technology and finance in mind, countries will then have to go to back to the 'drawing board' to see how funds can be better used, if the money is enough and how it can be used to help developing countries, among other things.

Asked about Singapore's plans to build dykes to combat the rising water levels due to climate change, Mr Yaacob said studies were still being done.

It would take about two years, he said, to study how such a project would affect the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea.

Only then could they look at adapting the technology the Dutch have used to suit our island.

The Government has already made contact with the Dutch to tap their expertise in building dykes.

Just Singapore's shade of green
Bali roadmap on climate change 'what Republic always wanted', says Minister Yaacob
Nazry Bahrawi Today Online 17 Dec 07;

It was an eleventh-hour resolution reached after more than two weeks of wrangling — and the new Bali roadmap on climate change, adopted by nearly 190 nations on Saturday, is what Singapore had always wanted, according to Minister for Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim.

The reason? It calls for action from all quarters, an element earlier highlighted by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

"From a Singaporean perspective, this is what we always wanted. Mr Lee mentioned that everybody has to play a part," he told reporters on the sidelines of a community event at the Kolam Ayer Community Club yesterday.

Hailing the resolution as the "best draft", Dr Yaacob added that the devil is now in the details.

"Now we have to discuss what (each country's) part is," he said. "For developed countries, it is enhanced actions. For developing countries, it is national programmes."

Still, the new roadmap lacks specific targets, unlike its predecessor the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. Following protests by the United States, Japan and others, negotiators on Saturday decided not to adopt a recommendation by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for industrial nations' emissions to be cut 25 to 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Instead, they agreed to negotiate, by 2009, countries' targets and a blueprint for fighting global warming. "That gives us a timeline," said Dr Yaacob.

Singapore is "very happy" the resolution includes projects to slow deforestation, he added. The Republic will continue to support regional initiatives to protect carbon sinks — forested regions — that offset the damage of global warming gases, he said.

Last month, Singapore set aside $1 million to fund anti-haze projects in the Indonesian province of Jambi in Riau. Norway and South Korea had offered suggestions to help with deforestation, while others have pledged money, Dr Yaacob noted. Still, the Adaptation Fund — of about $67 million — set aside to help developing countries deal with climate change "may not be enough".

Meanwhile, Dr Yaacob said, Singapore is studying "very seriously" the possibility of hosting the next Water Summit in 2009. The event is organised by the Asia Pacific Water Forum, which had, two weeks ago, invited Singapore to play host. The forum is chaired by Singapore's Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh.

Dr Yaacob also said a high level committee, comprising scientists and ministry staff, is looking at the IPCC's findings, and refining these for Singapore — especially concerning the direct impact that rising sea levels will have on the Republic.

"When we are more confident of those figures, then can we talk about adaptation measures," said Dr Yaacob, who was speaking at Project Graffiti, a community event to make the Kolam Ayer Community Club more attractive to youths.

Asian cities lauded for improving lives

Four win awards for innovative efforts in tackling urbanisation
Bhagyashree Garekar, Straits Times 17 Dec 07;

WASHINGTON - FROM software which makes sure planning applications follow the rules to determined attempts to end pollution, Asian cities are winning recognition for improving the lives of their inhabitants.

The third annual London-based NGO World Leadership Forum awards, which recognise innovative attempts to cope with the problems of rapid urbanisation, saw eight Asian cities on the shortlist of 23, with four among the 14 winners.

The Indian city of Pune made the final cut with software that can read a building plan submitted for approval and check whether the blueprint is consistent with the various rules and regulations.

For a city bustling with infotech companies, it was no great technological leap forward, but it has meant freedom from paperwork, inefficiency and malpractice.

Earlier this year, the forum, which seeks to spotlight leadership in a host of areas including public policymaking and the private sector, approached 400 of the world's largest cities and asked them to enter their most successful projects in a contest.

Categories included town planning, ways of dealing with pollution, the housing crunch, crime and health issues, and the entries were judged by a team of experts in terms of the quality of leadership displayed, the obstacles faced and the degree of inspiration held out for others.

Another Asian winner was the Taiwanese city of Taichung, which was lauded for a simple yet successful plan to boost tourism: 'Build the city with art and boost its economy.'

The Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh picked up an award for its doggedness in taking on environmental pollution.

And the southern Indian city of Chennai was feted for the way it reached out to school students to educate them about HIV/Aids.

Meanwhile, Amman, the capital of Jordan, won an award for town planning.

Buffeted by the arrival of thousands of refugees from the Iraq war as well as petrodollars from the Gulf which were rapidly buying up the city's real estate, the city produced its first detailed urban plan in the 6,500 years since it was founded.

Mr Malcolm Turner, president of the forum, said: 'More than half the projects come from the developing world - it goes to show that ideas which improve people's lives can be implemented on budgets far smaller than those employed in Europe or America.'

And he noted a jump in the entries and winners from Asia this year, saying: 'We particularly noted there were eight projects from four cities in India, and we think that has to do with the economic reforms embraced by the country's leadership.

'It is benefiting the cities and disadvantaged people.'

Mr Joel Kotkin, a Los Angeles-based urban expert and author of a noted book, The City: A Global History, agreed that Asian cities, many of which have been subject to Western colonisation, are coming into their own.

While no city has completely managed to solve problems like overcrowding or transportation, they are increasingly paying attention to their liveability, he said.

And such creative approaches to the problems that urbanisation is bringing to Asia will be increasingly necessary as experts say that, between now and 2025, the continent's urban population will increase by 60 per cent.

Meanwhile, Singapore is due to host a conference on liveable cities next June to address the related issues of urbanisation, climate change, energy and the environment.

And Mr Turner said he hoped Singapore might enter some of its well-regarded projects in the forum competition in coming years.

European cities' local fight against global warming

Big and small cities take lead in innovative measures to cut emissions
Mark Rice-Oxley, Guardian in Straits Times 17 Dec 07;

WOKING (ENGLAND) - CITIES, towns and even villages across Europe are pressing ahead with deep, unilateral cuts in carbon emissions, regardless of national or international targets, proving that one does not necessarily need a Bali-style global deal to get to grips with climate change.

From Woking in England to Vaxjo in Sweden, and from the mighty metropolises of London, Barcelona and Munich to tiny villages like Gussing in Austria, Europeans are shrinking their individual carbon footprints through an exotic range of renewables and energy efficiency projects.

The result: some towns have cut emissions by far greater amounts than was prescribed in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, while others are confidently setting targets that go well beyond any tentative suggestions put forward last week at the Bali conference of 190 nations.

'If we want to tackle climate change we have to be local,' says Mr Pedro Ballesteros Torres, manager of the European Commission's Sustainable Energy Europe campaign.

'Our aim is for the cities to push the governments to act on climate change.'

Woking is an early pioneer in Britain. With its solar-powered street lights and photovoltaic panels, its fuel cells and energy-efficient power generators, this town south of London has gained a reputation as Britain's greenest city.

'We have cut emissions by 21 per cent since 1990,' enthuses Ms Lara Curran, who heads the climate change programme for the local council. If the national grid were to go down, locals here boast, parts of Woking would remain lit, thanks to its alternative energy supplies.

'Woking is a small town but this shows we can make a difference,' says Ms Curran.

Vaxjo in southern Sweden is even further down the road to becoming fossil-fuel free, a goal it set for itself in 1996. It has since cut emissions by 30 per cent and is confident it can get a 50 per cent cut by 2010.

The main agent of change has been a centralised 'district heating system' which runs on low-emitting woodchip fuel (one of a number of stock fuels known as biomass) and provides up to 90 per cent of local heating needs.

'We are taking leftover product from forestry industry and sawmills and so on and using that as the source for heat and electricity production,' says environment controller Henrik Johansson.

Vaxjo has also expanded its bicycle network (snow is cleared from cycle paths before roads) and provides free parking for green cars. It is insulating older buildings and 50 per cent of its energy supply now comes from renewable sources.

Visitors come from all over the world to see what can be done on a local level.

'We send them the message that you don't have to wait for international agreements because you can do a lot on a voluntary local basis,' he says.

As for cities, Barcelona now requires all new buildings to install solar panels for hot water.

Munich is refurbishing old buildings for tackling energy wastage through poor insulation. It aims to shrink its footprint by 50 per cent by 2030. That compares with the likes of Copenhagen (35 per cent by 2010) and London (60 per cent by 2025).

Cities are also taking on the fastest-growing source of carbon emissions: transport.

Paris has its new 'Velib' free bicycle rental scheme, joining cities such as Copenhagen, Helsinki, Vienna and Brussels; London has its much-admired congestion charge that has cut weekday traffic through the city centre. Stockholm followed suit in August this year.

'Traffic is the big problem for the future,' says Ms Angela Harnish of the Climate Alliance of European Cities, a grouping of more than 1,400 member cities and municipalities across Europe which aim to cut their emissions by 10 per cent every five years.

'For energy and heating we have solutions but for traffic and mobility, it's harder.'

Climate change: Think big, start small, act now - Thomas L. Friedman

Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times Straits Times 17 Dec 07;

BALI - THE negotiators at the UN climate conference here came from almost 200 countries and spoke almost as many languages, but driving them all to find a better way to address climate change was one widely shared, if unspoken, sentiment: that 'later' is over for our generation.

'Later' was a luxury for previous generations and civilisations. It meant that you could paint the same landscape, see the same animals, eat the same fruit, climb the same trees, fish the same rivers, enjoy the same weather or rescue the same endangered species that you did when you were a kid - but just do it later, whenever you got around to it.

If there is one change in global consciousness that seems to have settled in over just the past couple of years, it is the notion that later is over. Later is no longer when you get to do all those same things - just on your time-table.

Later is now when they're gone - when you won't get to do any of them ever again, unless there is radical collective action to mitigate climate change, and maybe even if there is.

There are many reasons that later is over. The fact that global warming is now having such an observable effect on pillars of our ecosystem - like the frozen sea ice within the Arctic Circle, which a new study says could disappear entirely during summers by 2040 - is certainly one big factor. But the other is the voracious power of today's global economy.

Throughout human history there had always been some new part of the ocean to plunder, some new forest to devour, some new farmlands to exploit, noted Mr Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, an observer at the Bali conference.

But 'now that economic development has become the prerogative of every country', he said, we've run out of virgin oceans and lands 'for new rising economic powers to exploit'.

So, too many countries are now chasing too few fish, trees and water resources, and are either devouring their own or plundering those of neighbours at alarming rates.

Indeed, today's global economy has become like a monster truck with the accelerator stuck, so no one can stop it from wiping out more and more of the natural world, no matter what the global plan.

There was a chilling essay in the Jakarta Post last week by Mr Andrio Adiwibowo, a lecturer in environmental management at the University of Indonesia, about how a plan to protect the mangrove forests around coastal Jakarta was never carried out, leading to widespread tidal flooding last month.

This line jumped out at me: 'The plan was not implemented. Instead of providing a buffer zone, development encroached into the core zone, which was covered over by concrete.'

You could read that story in a hundred different developing countries today. But the fact that you read it here is one of the most important reasons that 'later' has become extinct.

Indonesia is second only to Brazil in terrestrial biodiversity and is No. 1 in the world in marine biodiversity. Just half a hectare in Borneo contains more different tree species than all of North America - not to mention animals that don't exist anywhere else on earth. If we lose them, there will be no later for some of the rarest plants and animals on the planet.

And we are losing them. Market- driven forces emanating primarily from China, Europe and the US have become so powerful that Indonesia recently made the Guinness Book of World Records for having the fastest rate of deforestation in the world.

Indonesia is losing tropical forests the size of the state of Maryland in the US every year, and the carbon released by the cutting and clearing - much of it from illegal logging - has made Indonesia the third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, after the US and China.

Deforestation actually accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than all the vehicles in the world, an issue the Bali conference finally addressed.

I interviewed Mr Barnabas Suebu, the governor of the Indonesian province of Papua, home to some of its richest forests. He waxed eloquent about how difficult it is to create jobs that will give his villagers anything close to the income they can get from chopping down a tree and selling it to smugglers, who will ship it out to other parts of Asia to be made into furniture for Americans or Europeans.

He said his motto was: 'Think big, start small, act now - before everything becomes too late.'

Ditto for all of us. If you want to help preserve the Indonesian forests, think fast, start quick, act now. Just don't say later.

NEW YORK TIMES

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