World Bank pledges to save trees... then helps cut down Amazon forest

Daniel Howden, The Independent 13 Jan 08;

A month ago it vowed to fight deforestation. Now research reveals it funds the rainforest's biggest threat.

The World Bank has emerged as one of the key backers behind an explosion of cattle ranching in the Amazon, which new research has identified as the greatest threat to the survival of the rainforest.

Ranching has grown by half in the last three years, driven by new industrial slaughterhouses which are being constructed in the Amazon basin with the help of the World Bank. The revelation flies in the face of claims from the bank that it is funding efforts to halt deforestation and reduce the massive greenhouse gas emissions it causes.

Roberto Smeraldi, head of Friends of the Earth Brazil and lead author of the new report, obtained exclusively by The Independent on Sunday, said the bank's contradictory policy on forests was now clear: "On the one hand you try and save the forest, on the other you give incentives for its conversion."

There are now more than 74 million cattle reared in the Amazon basin, the world's most important eco-system, where they outnumber people by a ratio of more than three to one. Fuelled by massive illegal ranches, the South American giant has become the world's leading beef exporter, rearing more cattle than all 25 EU members put together. This industrial expansion comes despite international agreements to combat deforestation, and claims from the government of Brazil that it is succeeding in slowing the destruction of the world's largest standing forest.

"Land-use change in the Amazon is first and foremost a product of ranching. It is on the hooves of cattle, out on the forest fringe, where the repercussions are being felt," said Mr Smeraldi.

The new report, "The Cattle Realm", comes after a year in which deforestation was acknowledged as the second leading cause of carbon emissions worldwide and was included in the plan for a new global treaty to fight climate change. But the catastrophic destruction of the Amazon to make way for ranches is being funded by the same international institutions that have pledged to fight deforestation.

The World Bank, which unveiled a new programme to fund "avoided deforestation" at the UN climate summit in Bali last month, is at the same time pouring money into the expansion of slaughterhouses in the Amazon region. The new report estimates that the internationally funded expansion of Brazil's beef industry was responsible for up to 12 billion tons of CO2 emissions over the past decade – an amount comparable to two years of emissions from the US.

The World Bank, which British taxpayers help to fund, lent its backing to the inclusion of deforestation in the Bali "road map" signed by 180 countries last month. At the summit the bank unveiled its Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), aimed at reducing deforestation by compensating developing countries for carbon dioxide reductions realised by maintaining their forests. The pilot programme has received more than $160m (£82m) in funding from donor governments.

The World Bank's president, Robert Zoellick, claimed that the project "signals that the world cares about the global value of forests and is ready to pay for it. There is now a value to conserving, not just harvesting the forest." But the institution, set up to provide loans to developing countries aimed at reducing poverty, has been accused of hypocrisy as it talks up relatively low levels of funding on "avoided deforestation" while spending millions more on the industries – such as cattle ranching and soya production – that are the acknowledged drivers of forest destruction.

In a single project last year, the IFC – part of the World Bank group – handed $9m to Brazil's leading beef processor to upgrade its slaughterhouse operations in the Amazon, despite an environmental study, carried out for the IFC, which showed that expansion of a single slaughterhouse in Maraba would lead to the loss of up to 300,000 hectares of forest to make way for more cattle.

The project was signed off despite angry resistance from up to 30 NGOs in Brazil and the intervention of the influential US lobbying group the Sierra Club, all of which pointed out that the high-risk agricultural project contradicted the bank's stated aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In the past three years Brazil's National Development Bank and the World Bank have poured funds into the southern Amazon, fuelling the expansion of the cattle industry with new slaughterhouses and four million additional head of cattle. "While governments insist they are doing their utmost to stop deforestation they have been putting in place incentives for the destruction of the forest. It is taxpayers' money fuelling this," said Mr Smeraldi.

Only the US rears more cattle than Brazil, which since 2004 has led the world in beef exports. The endangered eco-system of the Amazon basin has accounted for 96 per cent of all growth in the country's cattle industry. The ranchers are expanding as meat consumption soars both in Brazil and the rest of the world. Britain is the sixth largest importer of Brazilian beef, buying more than 80,000 tons in the year to November 2007.

The Amazon basin is home to one in 10 of the world's mammals and 15 per cent of land-based plant species. It holds more than half the world's fresh water, and its vast forests act as the largest carbon sink on the planet, providing a vital check on the greenhouse effect. This vital resource faces three main dangers: the expansion of the soya industry, driven by high prices for animal feed; the surge in sugarcane plantations to feed the sudden and insatiable global appetite for bio-fuels; and the traditional threat of cattle ranching, underestimated in recent years as soya and sugarcane have received more attention.

Since the "Save the Amazon" campaigns of the 1970s the role of illegal ranchers in the destruction of the rainforest has been widely known. Virtually non-existent government control has allowed ranchers to clear large areas of remote forest for pasture. But the land – while initially fertile – quickly erodes, spurring the need for new pasture and driving the chainsaws further into the forest, in a vicious cycle largely unchecked for decades. Carbon dioxide emissions from the fires set to clear the trees have helped to propel Brazil into the top four carbon polluters in the world, exceeded only by the US, China and Indonesia.

At the end of each dry season, in anticipation of the first winter rains, farmers and cattle ranchers throughout South America set fires to "renovate" pasture land. But this process has spun out of control as deforestation and climate change have created a tinderbox, leading to ever-larger blazes. Last October a record area of the rainforest went up in flames, choking vast areas of not just Brazil but Paraguay and Bolivia.

There are increasing signs that the strain placed on the Amazon's eco-system could lead to an irreversible breakdown Last month the WWF predicted that the combination of drought and fire could wipe out the Amazon by 2030, with disastrous consequences for the world.

Read more!

The Big Question: Can biofuel help prevent global warming, or will it only make matters worse?

Steve Connor, The Independent 15 Jan 08;

Why are we asking this question now?

The European Union is having second thoughts about its policy aimed at stimulating the production of biofuel – transport fuel derived from crops and other vegetation or organic waste. Stavros Dimas, the EU environment commissioner, admitted yesterday that the EU did not foresee the scale of the problems raised by Europe's target of deriving 10 per cent of its transport fuel from plant material. The rush to produce biofuels is reported to have increased the cost of food on the global market, destroyed tracts of rainforest in tropical countries and to have had little overall impact on reducing greenhouse gases.

"We have seen that the environmental problems caused by biofuels and also the social problems are bigger than we thought they were. So we have to move very carefully," Mr Dimas told the BBC. Yesterday also saw the publication of a report on biofuel by the Royal Society in London which had asked a committee of experts to examine the complex issues surrounding the technology. The report concluded that there is no simple answer to whether biofuels are good or bad for the environment, and that each type of biofuel – and how it is produced – has to be considered on its own merits.

What are biofuels and how are they meant to help fight global warming?

The principle behind biofuels is essentially the same as that behind fossil fuels such as oil. Both biofuels and fossil fuels have stored the energy of the Sun in the form of biologically-produced chemicals called hydrocarbons. The energy stored in the fuels results from the ability of plants to carry out photosynthesis – the manufacture of sugar, starch and other complex organic molecules using sunlight.

However, unlike fossil fuels, biofuels have the potential to be carbon neutral, meaning that the loss of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere caused by burning them is offset by the absorption of carbon dioxide by the biofuel plants when they are growing. (The carbon locked up in fossil fuels was put there by plants that lived and photosynthesised millions of years ago.)

If this were true – that there is a perfect balance between absorption and production of carbon dioxide – then burning biofuels would not cause an overall increase in levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, one of the principal greenhouse gases. Unlike fossil fuels, biofuels therefore have the potential to help to prevent global warming if they could replace the burning of oil-based fuels such as gasoline and diesel. They also have the added advantage over fossil fuels in that they are renewable.

It sounds like the perfect answer to all our worries

Yes it sounds like it, but the truth is not so straightforward. There are many problems with biofuel production that can significantly change the carbon balance sheet.

For a start, biofuel crops often need fertilisers and pesticides which are made from oil. The machinery used to grow, transport and process the crop is also often powered by fossil fuel. Then there are the tracts of pristine forests that are cut down to grow biofuel crops. This results in the loss of natural "carbon sinks" that are invaluable in the fight against climate change. In short, biofuels are not the universal panacea that some people believe them to be.

What can we use biofuels for?

Biofuels are mainly used for transport. This is important in the fight against climate change because, worldwide, transport accounts for something like 20 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions.

Carbon dioxide emissions from transport are also experiencing the highest growth of any energy-intensive sector. By 2030, it is predicted that carbon emissions from transport will be 80 per cent higher than current levels. So biofuels are seen as a critical element in the fight to offset these expected increases.

Biofuels can come in one of three varieties. The first is bioethanol, or alcohol, which is usually produced by the fermentation of sugars. The second is biodiesel produced from processing plant oils and the third is synthetic biofuels, which result in fuels identical to petrol, diesel and even aviation fuel.

What has gone wrong with the biofuel dream?

People have failed to look at the overall costs and benefits from the complete production process, from "farm to forecourt". This is sometimes known as life-cycle assessment and it involves taking into account all aspects of the carbon budget from one end of the production process to the other. When this is done, the simple assumptions that politicians and some environmentalists have made about the benefits begin to look hopelessly optimistic.

Take for example biofuels made from maize (in the US way) and from sugar (in the Brazilian way). The Worldwatch Institute estimates that the reductions in greenhouse gases on a life-cycle assessment resulting from ethanol produced in Brazil is about 80 per cent, compared with just 10 per cent from ethanol made from intensively-farmed maize in the US.

But the problem is not just about the efficiency of biofuel production. Britain will never be self-sufficient in biofuel and so other parts of the world will be expected to set aside land and water to supplement our needs. This has led to a growth in non-food crops in parts of the world where millions already go hungry. It has also put pressure on wildlife as forests are cut down to clear land for biofuel crops.

What can be done to retrieve the situation?

The Royal Society believes that current policy frameworks on biofuels in the EU and elsewhere must be changed so they encourage an overall reduction of greenhouse gases rather than being aimed simply at reducing reliance on imported oil. "As a result, there is no incentive to invest in the systems that would deliver low GHG [greenhouse gas] biofuels," says its report. Britain should, it says, set its own targets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions with biofuels – something that is not currently done with the Government's Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, which comes into force this April.

So are biofuels good or bad for the environment?

The right sort of biofuel crops, grown in the right way and in the right place can be better for the environment in the longer term than burning fossil fuels. However, there are many things that can be overlooked and, in order to answer the question, people need to assess the entire life cycle of the production process, including its impact on local people and wildlife.

Is it right to set targets for biofuel use?

Yes...

* Without targets, there is nothing to aim for in terms of making biofuels compete with fossil fuels

* It would be impossible to quantify improvements in biofuel production without targets

* Targets stimulate ways of making biofuel even better for the environment

No...

* Targets emphasise short-term benefits at the expense of long-term gains

* Existing targets are aimed at reducing reliance on imported oil rather than lowering greenhouse gases

* There is no benefit in setting targets that are not met, or are not met everywhere in the world

Read more!

Anti-whalers detained on Japanese ship

Michael Perry, Reuters 15 Jan 08;

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Two anti-whaling activists were "taken hostage" and tied to a radar mast of a Japanese whaling vessel in the Southern Ocean on Tuesday, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said.

Australian Benjamin Potts and Briton Giles Lane, from the Sea Shepherd vessel Steve Irwin, had boarded the Japanese whaling ship Yashin Maru No. 2 to hand the captain a letter advising that the crew was "illegally killing whales," said the militant anti-whaling group.

"They were successful in delivering the message, but then they were not allowed to leave and return back to our vessel," Sea Shepherd spokeswoman Christine Vasic told local media.

"The Yushin Maru is now still moving ahead away from us and not responding to radio contact," she said.

Japan's Institute for Cetacean Research confirmed that the two men had been detained and were being held in a locked room on the whaling ship, but denied they were tied up.

"Any accusations that we have tied them up or assaulted them are completely untrue," the Institute's director-general, Minoru Morimoto, said in a statement posted on its Web site.

"It is illegal to board another country's vessels on the high seas. As a result, at this stage, they are being held in custody while decisions are made on their future," he said.

"The two boarded the Yushin Maru No. 2 after they made attempts to entangle the screw of the vessel using ropes and throwing bottles of acid onto the decks."

The Sea Shepherd group called on Australia and Britain to demand the immediate release of the two crew members.

The anti-whaling group had been searching for the Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctic waters and said it had discovered five whaling ships on Tuesday and started pursuing them.

"We will hound these poachers for as long as we can and when we catch up with them we will disable their equipment and do everything physically possible short of inflicting injury on the crew in order to stop their illegal activities," Steve Irwin captain Paul Watson said in a statement.

Watson last year threatened to ram the Japanese flagship and collided with a whale hunter.

COURT CASE

Environmental group Greenpeace, which has distanced itself from Sea Shepherd's more confrontational tactics, said on Monday it had chased the flagship of Japan's whaling fleet from hunting grounds near Antarctica.

An Australian fisheries ship is searching for the fleet to gather photographic evidence for an international court case aimed at stopping Japan's annual "scientific" hunt.

In a purely symbolic act, but one that could inflame bilateral ties, an Australian court ruled on Tuesday that a Japanese whaling company broke environment laws by killing whales in Australia's Antarctic waters.

But the Federal Court of Australia has no jurisdiction outside Australia and the Japanese government denied the whalers were doing anything illegal.

"According to the International Whaling Commission, what the Japanese whaling fleet is doing in the South Pacific and Antarctic region is legal," said Tomohiko Taniguchi, a spokesman at Japan's Foreign Ministry. An official at Japan's Fisheries Ministry declined to comment.

Japan plans to hunt almost 1,000 minke and fin whales for research over the Antarctic summer, but has abandoned the cull of 50 humpback whales after international condemnation and a formal diplomatic protest by 31 nations.

Humane Society International (HSI) launched legal action against Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd in 2004, seeking a federal court injunction against harvesting in the Australian Whale Sanctuary.

Federal court Judge Jim Allsop ruled on Tuesday the whaler had "killed, injured, taken and interfered with Antarctic minke whales and fin whales and injured, taken and interfered with humpback whales in the Australian Whale Sanctuary in contravention of...the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act."

But the judge conceded there was little chance his ruling could be enforced.

Japan has long resisted pressure to stop scientific whaling, insisting whaling is a cherished cultural tradition. Its fleet has killed 7,000 Antarctic minkes over the past 20 years.

(Additional reporting by Isabel Reynolds in Tokyo; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Japanese harpoon ship captures UK protester
Julian Ryall, The Telegraph 15 Jan 08;

Japanese whalers have captured two environmental campaigners, including a Briton, and are holding them on one of their harpoon vessels in waters just off Antarctica.

Giles Lane, 36, from Cuckfield in West Sussex, and Australian national Benjamin Potts have been held by the crew of the Yushin Maru No 2 since 6.30pm Tuesday local time (7.30am UK time), according to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Sea Shepherd staff claim the men had been tied to the radar mast of the Japanese ship but the Japanese Whaling Association denied this.

The environmental group's vessel M/Y Steve Irwin has been shadowing the six-strong Japanese fleet for three days and, along with the Greenpeace ship Esperanza, had forced the whalers to leave their hunting grounds off Antarctica.

"They have been out there for a couple of hours already and it's freezing," said Jonny Vasic, international director of Sea Shepherd's operations, based in Melbourne.
advertisement

"It does not get really dark that far south at this time of year, but the wind will be getting to them and it will be very uncomfortable."

The two men are wearing one-piece luminous protective suits, but that will only protect from the elements for so long, Mr Vasic said.

"Their hands will be freezing and this is dangerous."

Mr Lane and Mr Potts took an inflatable craft from the Sea Shepherd to board the vessel carrying a letter that informed the captain that he was illegally killing whales in the Southern Whale Sanctuary, declared by Australia. The two men were allowed on board and not allowed to leave.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has informed the Australian Federal Police, and contacted the British Consul General in Canberra to inform officials that a UK national is being held against his will.

In the Federal Court in Sydney earlier Tuesday, Judge James Allsop banned Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd., the company that carries out the whale hunting, from operating within an area of the southern Pacific that Australia has declared to be a wildlife sanctuary.

Japan has stated that it will ignore any injunction against its whalers. In Tokyo, Makoto Ito, a spokesman for the Japan Whaling Association, confirmed that the two men were aboard the Yushin Maru but denied that they had been tied to a mast.

"It is a fact that none of the crew of the Sea Shepherd have been bound to the radar mast," he said.

"This is just propaganda by Sea Shepherd. I believe the two men are on the boat but we cannot give further details at this time.

"Sea Shepherd has been harassing our research vessels, but no-one is bound to the mast of the Yushin Maru."

Read more!

GM to make biofuel out of garbage

Reuters 14 Jan 08;

General Motors Corp. is planning on making biofuel with garbage at a cost of less than a dollar a gallon, the company's chief has said.

The US automaker has entered into a partnership with Illinois-based Coskata Inc. which has developed a way to make ethanol from practically any renewable source, including old tires and plant waste.

The process is a significant improvement over corn-base ethanol because it uses far less water and energy and does not divert food into fuel.

"We are very excited about what this breakthrough will mean to the viability of biofuels and, more importantly, to our ability to reduce dependence on petroleum," said Rick Wagoner, GM's chief executive officer, on Sunday.

GM, which was late in introducing gas-electric hybrids, is the industry leader in flex-fuel vehicles that can run on gasoline blended with up to 85 percent ethanol.

It is currently producing more than a million flex-fuel vehicles a year globally and is committed to making half its production flex-fuel by 2012.

It is also introducing 16 new hybrid vehicles over the next four years, including a plug-in hybrid which can run on electricity alone, and will soon have the world's largest fuel-cell test fleet when it delivers more than 100 Chevy Equinox fuel cell vehicles to customers in the United States, Europe and Japan.

But while these may be the vehicles of the future, flex-fuel is the best "interim" solution as it will take 12 years to replace most of the vehicles currently on the road, Wagoner told reporters at the Detroit auto show.

"There is no question in my mind that making ethanol more widely available is absolutely the most effective and environmentally sound solution," Wagoner said. "And it's one that can be acted on immediately."

Coskata's first pilot plant will be up and running in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the fuel will be used on GM test vehicles.

"We will have our first commercial-scale plant making 50 to 100 million gallons of ethanol running in 2011," said Coskata chief Bill Roe.

The prestigious Argonne National Laboratory analyzed Coskata's process and found it generates up to 7.7 times the amount of energy used and reduces CO2 emissions by up to 84 percent compared with a well-to-wheel analysis of gasoline.

The process also uses less than a gallon of water to make a gallon of ethanol compared to three gallons or more for other processes.

President George W. Bush's energy policy includes plans to increase the consumption of biofuels from 7.5 billion gallons in 2012 to 36 billion gallons in 2022.

Read more!

Nepal to run breeding centre to save vultures

Reuters 15 Jan 08;

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal will open its first vulture breeding centre to try to save the birds from extinction, a leading conservation group said on Tuesday.

Of the eight species of vultures found in Nepal, the white-rumped and slender-billed vultures are categorized as critically endangered.

The numbers of both species have plunged in Nepal and India and scientists say the decline is largely due to farmers dosing their cattle with diclofenac, a drug used to treat inflammation, poisoning the scavenging birds.

The plan is to capture at least 10 breeding pairs of vultures for each of the critically endangered species and keep them initially in two aviaries at Kasara in Chitwan National Park, said Dev Ghimire, an official with Bird Conservation Nepal.

The park, located 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Katmandu, is popular for its rare Asian rhinoceroses.

"This is just a beginning and more pairs will be subsequently trapped and released," Ghimire said. "It is a very important project and needs long-term commitment."

Conservationists estimate the number of vultures in Nepal to have dropped to about 500 nesting pairs from 50,000 in 1990, primarily from eating dead cattle treated with diclofenac.

Bird Conservation Nepal has already set up a separate feeding centre west of Chitwan for white-rumped and slender-billed vultures offering them chemical-free carcasses.

The number of vultures at the centre has risen since the complex was opened last year.

Birds for the breeding program are to be caught in the wild from March during the breeding season when it is easy to trap them.

"We can use the techniques and expertise applied by conservationists in India which also has vulture breeding centers," he said.

"But it will take at least three or four years before we can expect to release the young birds bred at the centre into the wild."

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee and David Fogarty)

Read more!

Plague a growing but overlooked threat: study

Michael Kahn, Reuters 14 Jan 08;

Plague, the disease that devastated medieval Europe, is re-emerging worldwide and poses a growing but overlooked threat, researchers warned on Tuesday.

While it has only killed some 100 to 200 people annually over the past 20 years, plague has appeared in new countries in recent decades and is now shifting into Africa, Michael Begon, an ecologist at the University of Liverpool and colleagues said.

A bacterium known as Yersinia pestis causes bubonic plague, known in medieval times as the Black Death when it was spread by infected fleas, and the more dangerous pneumonic plague, spread from one person to another through coughing or sneezing.

"Although the number of human cases of plague is relatively low, it would be a mistake to overlook its threat to humanity, because of the disease's inherent communicability, rapid spread, rapid clinical course, and high mortality if left untreated," they wrote in the journal Public Library of Science journal PloS Medicine.

Rodents carry plague, which is virtually impossible to wipe out and moves through the animal world as a constant threat to humans, Begon said. Both forms can kill within days if not treated with antibiotics.

"You can't realistically get rid of all the rodents in the world," he said in a telephone interview. "Plague appears to be on the increase, and for the first time there have been major outbreaks in Africa."

Globally the World Health Organization reports about 1,000 to 3,000 plague cases each year, with most in the last five years occurring in Madagascar, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The United States sees about 10 to 20 cases each year.

More worrying are outbreaks seem on the rise after years of relative inactivity in the 20th century, Begon said. The most recent large pneumonic outbreak comprised hundreds of suspected cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006.

Bubonic plague, called the Black Death because of black bumps that sometimes develop on victims' bodies, causes severe vomiting and high fever. Victims of pneumonic plague have similar symptoms but not the black bumps.

Begon and his colleagues called for more research into better ways to prevent plague from striking areas where people lack access to life-saving drugs and to defend against the disease if used as a weapon.

"We should not overlook the fact that plague has been weaponized throughout history, from catapulting corpses over city walls, to dropping infected fleas from airplanes, to refined modern aerosol formulation," the researchers wrote. (Reporting by Michael Kahn; Editing by Maggie Fox and Ibon Villelabeitia)

Read more!

Beetles may wipe out Colorado lodgepole pines: "not cold enough"

Ivan Morena, Associated Press 14 Jan 08;

Susan Gray, group leader for forest health management with the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region, said only 20-below-zero temperatures for a sustained period can kill the beetles.

Strands of distressed, red pine trees across northern Colorado and the Front Range are a visible testament to the bark beetle infestation that officials said will kill most of the state's lodgepole pine trees within 5 years.

The infestation that was first detected in 1996 grew by half-million acres last year, bringing the total number of acres attacked by bark beetles to 1.5 million, state and federal forestry officials said Monday.

"This is an unprecedented event," said Rick Cables, Rocky Mountain regional forester for the U.S. Forest Service.

The fire potential will increase as trees retain their needles for a couple of years after beetles attack, said Bob Kane, regional entimologist with the Rocky Mountain Region of the U.S. Forest Service. When the needles fall, the danger will decrease, and spike again when the trees fall in about 10 years, Kane said.

Officials said the infestation has been concentrated in five northern Colorado counties straddling the Continental Divide and has since spread to the Front Range and southern Wyoming. The counties affected are Boulder, Chaffee, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Lake and Larimer counties.

Boulder and Larimer counties, both east of the divide, had a 1,500 percent increase in the number of acres taken over by the beetles last year, which are preying on the tall, slender lodgepoles left vulnerable by warm winters and drought.

About 8 percent of forest landscape in Colorado are lodgepoles, said Ingrid Aguayo, forest entimologist with the Colorado State Forest Service. Aguayo said the epidemic doesn't mean it's the end for lodgepoles, but rather part of the regeneration process.

"A lot of people think this is the end of the forest, but as an entimologist, I see it as the beginning," she said, pointing out seedlings about five inches tall are already sprouting in parts where the beetles have run their course.

"It's not going to be a moon landscape like a lot of people think," she said.

In some cases entire mountainsides can be turned red as trees struggle to survive the infestation, affecting the scenic vistas along stretches of mountain highways. Eventually the trees will turn grey after the needles fall, Kane said.

It could be up to 50 years before lodgepoles return to their population before the bark beetle infestation, Aguayo said.

Jim Maxwell, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said the lack of trees will increase the water supply by 30 percent on National Forest Lands for about 20 years because trees will no longer be pumping water out of the soil.

Susan Gray, group leader for forest health management with the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region, said only 20-below-zero temperatures for a sustained period can kill the beetles.

"Unfortunately, it hasn't been cold enough long enough," she said.

Read more!

Antarctica lost more ice in last 10 years: study

Deborah Zabarenko, Reuters 14 Jan 08;

Antarctica's contribution to global sea level rise was about 0.02 inch in 2006, compared to about 0.01 inch in 1996.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Antarctica lost billions of tons of ice over the last decade, contributing to the rising seas around the world, a climate researcher said on Monday.

The ice melted from two particular parts of the southern continent, according to Eric Rignot and colleagues, who wrote about the phenomenon in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Using satellites to monitor most of Antarctica's coastline, the scientists estimate that West Antarctica lost 132 billion tons of ice in 2006, compared to about 83 billion tons in 1996. The Antarctic Peninsula, which stretches toward South America, lost about 60 billion tons in 2006.

To put this in perspective, 4 billion tons of ice would be enough to provide drinking water to the more than 60 million people of the United Kingdom for a year, fellow author Jonathan Bamber of the University of Bristol said in a statement.

This ice loss is not from the so-called ice sheets that cover the water around the continent. This melting occurred in the glaciers that cover much of the Antarctic land mass, and when that melts, it contributes to sea level rise in a way that sea ice does not.

"One immediate consequence (of the melting Antarctic ice) is to raise sea level," Rignot, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in an e-mail interview. Antarctica's contribution to global sea level rise was about 0.02 inch in 2006, compared to about 0.01 inch in 1996.

Rignot noted that the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change figured Antarctica would not contribute at all to sea level rise, and in fact predicted a growth of the big ice sheet the covers much of the continent from enhanced precipitation.

This prediction was supposed to come from increased evaporation from the oceans as the planet warmed up, but this has not been observed so far in Antarctica, Rignot said.

"In some regions the ice sheet is close to warm sources of water. ... The parts of Antarctica we are seeing change right now are closest to these heat sources," he said.

These findings are in line with what is happening to the Greenland ice sheet, which melted at a record rate last year, and with studies of Arctic sea ice, which ebbed to its lowest level ever measured in 2007.

A study last week by researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder found that older, thicker Arctic sea ice that lasts from year to year is giving way to younger, thinner sea ice that is more susceptible to melting.

(Editing by Jackie Frank)

Loss of Antarctic ice has soared by 75 per cent in just 10 years
Steve Connor, The Independent 14 Jan 08;

Parts of the ice sheets covering Antarctica are melting faster than predicted, with the net loss of ice probably accelerating in recent years because of global warming, a study has found.

A satellite survey between 1996 and 2006 found that the net loss of ice from Antarctica rose by about 75 per cent as the movement of glaciers towards the sea speeded up.

Scientists estimate that that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet lost about 132 billion tons of ice in 2006, compared with a loss of 83 billion tons in 1996. In addition, the Antarctic peninsula lost about 60 billion tons of ice in 2006.

"To put these figures into perspective, 4 billion tons of ice is enough to provide drinking water for the whole UK population for one year," said Professor Jonathan Bamber, of the University of Bristol. "We think the glaciers of the Antarctic are moving faster to the sea. The computer models of future sea-level rise have not really taken this into account."

Sea levels are estimated to have risen by 1.8mm a year on average during the 20th century, but data from the past decade or so suggest that the average rise is now about 3.4 mm per year.

Computer models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which predict that sea levels will rise by no more than about 50cm by 2100, are based largely on the stability of the Antarctic ice sheets. But many scientists now believe this forecast is too restrained. "I agree with a number of scientists who feel the IPCC is likely to have underestimated the upper bound of predicted sea-level rise by the end of the century – 50 cm is probably too conservative," Professor Bamber added.

There are two key factors in estimating the net loss of Antarctic ice. The first is the flow of glaciers towards the sea; the second is the build-up of snow over the vast landmass of the frozen continent. The IPCC models imply that global warming will increase the moisture content of the atmosphere and so may actually increase snowfall over Antarctica, much of which is too cold to be affected by rising global temperatures. This would suggest a net build-up of ice. However, Professor Bamber believes the IPCC's models have not taken into account the complex, dynamic interaction between the ocean and the ice shelves of West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, which are warmer than East Antarctica.

Eric Rignot, who led the latest study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, said the findings indicated a rapid loss of ice to the sea rather than a net gain. "We have determined that the loss is increasing with time, quite rapidly at 75 per cent in ten years," Dr Rignot said. "We have also established that most of this loss, if not its entirety, is caused by glacier acceleration. The IPCC focussed on the surface mass balance component. We find this component is not indicative of the true mass balance."

The acceleration in ice loss over the past 10 years could increase in coming decades, he added. "As some of these glaciers reach deeper beds, their speeds could double or triple, in which case the contribution to sea-level rise from Antarctica could increase quite significantly beyond what it is now. Many people suspect Antarctic ice to be immune from changes. We are finding this is not the case.

"The future is the big question. The potential exists for ice speed to increase two or three times, which will result in a doubling of the mass deficit from Antarctica."

Melting into history

* July 1985: UK scientists detect hole in ozone layer

* January 1995: Larsen A ice shelf disintegrates

* July 1998: Evidence suggests future collapse of West Antarctic ice sheet

* March 2000: An iceberg 183 miles long and 22 miles wide breaks adrift

* February 2002: Larsen B ice shelf collapses

* October 2003: World's largest iceberg splits

* March 2006: Research shows shrinking ice has raised sea levels by 1.2mm

* September 2007: Sea ice covering Antarctica melts back to record low

Read more!

China warns of faulty dams danger, plans repairs

Reuters 15 Jan 08;

BEIJING (Reuters) - Just under half of China's nearly 90,000 dams are dangerously unstable and need urgent repair, the government said on Tuesday, unveiling a three-year plan to do just that costing 27 billion yuan ($3.7 billion).

"Over the last several years, dams have had a very important effect on socio-economic development," Deputy Water Resources Minister Jiao Yong told a meeting carried live on central government Web site www.gov.cn.

"But many of these dams were built between the 1950s and 1970s, under conditions at the time which restricted objectivity," he added.

"The design and construction quality of many of these dams contain congenital deficiencies, and they are now old and in serious need of repairs. A large number have hidden dangers."

Chairman Mao Zedong, who died in 1976, ordered the country to develop at any cost, putting special emphasis on large-scale projects such as steelworks and dams.

Mao declared "man must conquer nature," and during his time in power engineers were feted for ambitious projects that sought to remold the landscape in pursuit of economic progress.

But many projects were hastily and poorly built, with little regard for the environment. In 1975, tens of thousands of residents of Henan province in central China died after two dams collapsed. That disaster was revealed to the public only in recent years.

Jiao said that of the roughly 87,000 dams in China, more than 37,000 were in a dangerous state.

"As the global climate heats up, weather extremes like torrential rain increases and as society and the economy develops downstream of dams, the potential danger gets greater and greater," he said.

"The huge number of dangerous dams has already become a weak link and unstable factor in flood prevention," Jiao said.

Vice Premier Hui Liangyu added that over the next three years the government would spend an annual average of more than 9 billion yuan to fix the problem.

"The task is very arduous, and work highly strenuous," Hui said.

($1=7.244 Yuan)

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by Roger Crabb)

Read more!

Australia court orders end to Japanese whaling

Michael Perry, Reuters 15 Jan 08;

SYDNEY (Reuters) - In a purely symbolic act but one that could inflame bilateral ties, an Australian court ruled on Tuesday that a Japanese whaling company broke environment laws by killing whales in Australia's Antarctic waters.

The Federal Court of Australia ordered Japanese whaler Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd stop killing whales in Australia's Antarctic whale sanctuary, saying that unless it was "restrained" it would continue to kill and injure whales.

But the court has no jurisdiction outside Australia.

An Australian fisheries ship is searching for the Japanese whaling fleet to gather photographic evidence for an international court case aimed at stopping Japan's annual "scientific" hunt.

Japan plans to hunt almost 1,000 minke and fin whales for research over the Antarctic summer, but has abandoned the cull of 50 humpback whales after international condemnation and a formal diplomatic protest by 31 nations.

Humane Society International (HSI) launched legal action against Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd in 2004, seeking a federal court injunction against harvesting in the Australian Whale Sanctuary.

The hearing was derailed in 2005 when the Australian government intervened on the grounds it could spark a diplomatic row with Japan, arguing the matter of whaling was best left to governments. The full bench of the federal court ordered the proceedings resume in 2006.

Federal court Judge Jim Allsop ruled on Tuesday the whaler had "killed, injured, taken and interfered with Antarctic minke whales and fin whales and injured, taken and interfered with humpback whales in the Australian Whale Sanctuary in contravention of...the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act."

CROSSBOW

Allsop said that while no humpback whales had been killed by the whaling firm, there was evidence that biopsy samples were taken from humpbacks using a crossbow.

"I am satisfied that this non-lethal method of sampling amounted to injuring, interfering with and treating a cetacean within the definition of the EPBC Act," he said.

While the whalers also killed whales outside Australian waters, a "significant number of the whales were taken inside the Australian Whale Sanctuary," Allsop said.

But the judge conceded there was little chance his ruling could be enforced.

"Unless the respondent's vessels enter Australia, thus exposing themselves to possible arrest or seizure, the applicant acknowledges that there is no practical mechanism by which orders of this court can be enforced," he said.

Australia's Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, said he would be looking carefully at the judgment to see if it could add weight to an Australian government challenge to whaling in an international tribunal.

"The Commonwealth wasn't a party to this case but our intention to continue to have an overall, holistic and fair-dinkum approach to opposing Japanese so-called scientific whaling is absolutely clear," Garrett told reporters.

Japan has long resisted pressure to stop scientific whaling, insisting whaling is a cherished cultural tradition. Its fleet has killed 7,000 Antarctic minkes over the past 20 years. Anti-whaling activists on Monday said they had chased the flagship of Japan's whaling fleet from hunting grounds near Antarctica.

(Editing by Rob Taylor and David Fogarty)

Read more!

No more logging at Sabah forest reserve

Daily Express 14 Jan 08;

Kota Kinabalu: Commercial logging operations at the wildlife-rich Ulu Segama and Malua forest reserves stopped on Dec 31.

But logging companies have been given extra time to take out the felled timber.

Sabah Forestry Department Director Datuk Sam Mannan said ongoing rehabilitation work at both forest reserves, three times the size of Singapore, were being accelerated even as the logging companies continued to transport out the timber.

"They couldn't remove all the stocks because of heavy rainfall in November and December," he said.

"We felt it would be better to allow them more time to remove the logs instead of letting them rot in the jungles."

He said rehabilitation of the two forest reserves totalling 237,777ha near the east coast Lahad Datu district which began last year would be speeded up this year.

Mannan said that last year, silvicultural works (tending of existing trees) were carried out in an area of some 4,000ha within both reserves while a similar area would be covered this year.

In addition, native trees species such as keruing, seraya and kapor were planted last year over some 400ha in both forest reserves, known to be home to diverse wildlife such as sun bears, gibbons, tambadau or wild buffaloes, Borneo pygmy elephants, Sumatran rhinos and orang-utans.

"We intend to increase the planting area to some 1,500ha in 2008," Mannan said, adding that the rehabilitation work would cost several million ringgit.

"The silvicultural works cost about RM350 per hectare while the planting works which include site preparation and others cost about RM2,500 per hectare," Mannan said.

Logging had been carried out at both forest reserves for more than 30 years and operations were stopped as recently as five years ago.

Timber extraction, however, resumed and in March 2006, Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman announced that Ulu Segama and Malua were being bequeathed as Malaysia's biodiversity gift to the world by the end of last year.

Environmentalists voiced their alarm at the resumption of logging operations, which they said would affect the wildlife there.

A State Government 2003 report had stated that there were about 800 orang-utan in Malua while Ulu Segama was home to about 2,000 of the primates.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 15 Jan 08

Singapore Nature Map
annotated photos on a google map of our wondrous nature places on the asia is green blog

Chek Jawa: The Boardwalk
personal views of its development on the singapore celebrates the reefs blog

Nature vs Urban Life
food for thought on the manta blog

Longkang habitat at Pulau Ubin
fascinating life in drains on the justin dive blog

Grey nightjar
a rare sighting on the bird ecology blog

Daily Green Action: 13 Jan
driving and lights out on the leafmonkey blog and about more on 14 Jan

Read more!

Ubin is the highlight of a visit to Singapore!

Revisiting Singapore's Shangri-La
The Telegraph 14 Jan 08;

At the weekend, Singaporeans used to flock to Sentosa Island, a grimly Disney-like resort that could have been in Florida. But there is a greener, more beguiling alternative now at Pulau Ubin, a largely undeveloped island off the north-east coast that has been turned into a conservation area.

After more than 30 years, Max Davidson returns to Singapore's Shangri-La hotel to find paradise transformed.

'Has Tony Blair ever stayed here?" I ask, gawping at the presidential suite and its views across Singapore. "No," says my minder. "But his American friend has." She gives a sly wink. "American friend? You don't mean George?" "Uh-huh." Another wink. "And the Beckhams." In fact, the presidential suite in the Valley Wing of the Shangri-La Hotel is so enormous that it could accommodate the Bushes, the Beckhams, plus hangers-on, all at once.

When I first visited the Shangri-La with my parents in 1972, it had only just opened and, compared with the colonial splendours of Raffles, seemed brash and unsophisticated. Now, particularly in the new Valley Wing, it offers the kind of sumptuousness one associates with the Oriental in Bangkok or the Peninsula in Hong Kong.

From the moment you are greeted by the doorman - a character straight out of Gilbert and Sullivan, with an extravagant moustache and even more extravagant hat - you are in a fairytale world. Even the harpist in the lounge, in a red ballgown, looks like a supermodel.

The food is excellent - I have never been so spoiled for choice at breakfast. Omelette or waffles? Mangos or curried prawns? Danish pastries or Japanese noodles? My mind flies back 30 years, eating bog-standard Chinese food at the Shangri-La with my parents, struggling with the chopsticks.

But then Singapore is that sort of place. There never was a nanny state that took its nannying quite so seriously. It is the Mary Poppins of the Orient. Earnest little signs urge you to use sunblock and to queue to the left of the notice and to be careful when you get off the escalator and to use your brakes when you cycle downhill. But behind the control freakery lies dynamism. The cynics sneer, only to be wrong-footed by the pace of progress.
advertisement

In the five years since I last visited, Singapore has not just spawned more banks, skyscrapers and malls, but let its hair down in all kinds of unexpected ways. You see everything from novelty condom shops to hospital-themed bars where the punters sit in wheelchairs, drinking beer from intravenous bags.

Boat Quay, which used to have the liveliest night life in Singapore, has been overtaken by Clarke Quay, a raucous enclave of louche bars, strange restaurants and noisy nightclubs. Shut your eyes and you could be in Amsterdam or Barcelona. There is cosmopolitan excitement in the air, the drumbeat of a thriving, modern city. Singaporeans always knew how to shop: now they know how to party. There is a revolution taking place, quiet but remorseless, and it is thrilling to witness.

And what of that older, gentler Singapore; that world of pink gins at sundown, girls playing tennis in long skirts and bougainvillea running riot on the veranda? You can still catch glimpses of it; indeed Singapore, having once made a mantra of economic progress, is starting to lay greater emphasis on its heritage. The National Museum has just had a refit and contains vivid reminders of the cosy colonial world - balls, tea parties, cinemas showing silent movies - that was so brutally interrupted by the Second World War.

Some of the best restaurants in the city are housed in some of the oldest buildings. I had a memorable meal in Graze at Rochester Park - where the black-and-white bungalows used to belong to British officers - and an equally memorable one at Au Jardin, in the heart of the old Botanic Gardens.

At the weekend, Singaporeans used to flock to Sentosa Island, a grimly Disney-like resort that could have been in Florida. But there is a greener, more beguiling alternative now at Pulau Ubin, a largely undeveloped island off the north-east coast that has been turned into a conservation area.

You cross the straits on a bumboat, then walk or cycle through the rainforest, in an environment that could hardly be more different from the forest of skyscrapers across the water. Exotically coloured spoonbills swoop through the trees, wings flapping. Wild pigs bustle through the undergrowth. There is the odd tumbledown house, with rotting veranda and leaky roof.

It is like a community frozen in time, a reminder of pre-independence Singapore, before the good times rolled. Returning by taxi to the Shangri-La - for cocktails under the stars, followed by yet another sumptuous meal - takes less than half an hour. But, at another level, it feels like leapfrogging from the 19th century to the 21st in one exhilarating bound.

Read more!

The eagles have landed ... in a Jalan Kayu home

Ng Jing Yng, Today Online 15 Jan 08;

For the better part of yesterday, Mr Chris Lau made several frustrating phone calls while two white-bellied sea eagles lay motionless on his balcony.

The large birds – standing at least a foot tall with razor-sharp beaks and claws – had appeared mysteriously at his Jalan Kayu home and seemed to be injured.

Shocked and worried about the bird flu, Mr Lau, 43, immediately called the Ministry of National Development general hotline, and was directed to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's (AVA) Centre for Animal Welfare and Control. He claimed he was advised to call the National Environment Agency (NEA).

While waiting for the latter to return his call, the businessman tried the Singapore Zoological Gardens, which told him to contact the Jurong BirdPark.

"I didn't expect it to be a whole-day affair. I couldn't do anything myself, I just had to wait as I was directed from one agency to another," said Mr Lau, who was advised not to handle the birds as they could turn aggressive.

After about an hour, one of the two eagles stood up. At about 5pm – six hours after Mr Lau first spotted the birds – help arrived. The officer from Jurong BirdPark got the live eagle into a cage, while its lifeless partner was placed in a black bag. The speculation was that the pair had been in a fight before crashing into the balcony.

In such rare instances where wildlife find their way into homes, how should members of the public deal with them?

In response to Today's queries, Jurong BirdPark said the best agency to deal with the kind of situation Mr Lau found himself in was the AVA.

The AVA advises the public to call its Centre for Animal Welfare and Control should any wild animals or birds enter their homes and refuse to leave, despite attempts to shoo them away. The public should, however, refrain from harming the animals, said its spokesman.

Only in cases of emergency, where the animal poses a danger to public safety or damages property, should people call the police, added the AVA.

It cited bats and iguanas as among the animals that have made their way into homes.

The NEA said any matter concerning the welfare of wildlife should be referred to the AVA – but should the public spot any dead bird or animal in a public area, they should contact the NEA, which will arrange for the carcass to be collected and disposed of appropriately.

Read more!

18-year-old brings green to young and old

Teo Xuanwei, Today Online 15 Jan 08;

AT just age 18, Cindy Chng chairs her constituency's latest recycling programme.

More than a green initiative, the programme is one of the ways the constituency hopes to bridge the gap between generations.

Said MP for Hong Kah GRC, Mr Zaqy Mohamad: "Concepts like recycling and global warming are quite new for some senior citizens. By having young people like Cindy driving the programme, there are opportunities for youths and seniors to connect."

The response has been encouraging so far. Out of 150 volunteers involved in collection drives and recycling activities over the past two weeks, more than 20 are senior citizens.

The newspapers, clothes and plastics collected have also been exchanged for food vouchers, which will be given to more than 140 needy families.

"It's more meaningful because we're using youths' knowledge to help both the environment and people in the community who need help," said Cindy, who is waiting for her A-level results.

The constituency also recently formed a support group for the elderly called "Happy Angels", where senior citizens become mentors to their peers to share their thoughts on issues such as active ageing, and even how to get along with their daughters-in-law or grandchildren.

More plans are in the pipeline to facilitate family bonding time.

Grassroots leaders are compiling a wish-list by residents for the soon-to-be upgraded Tembusu Park.

Besides the usual greenery, residents are asking for an amphitheatre where they can enjoy weekly performances or cultural activities with their families, for example.

Read more!

Container shipping public image make-over: 'most environment-friendly bulk transport'

New push to make over shipping's public image
Nicholas Fang, Straits Times 15 Jan 08;

'Shipping is actually by far the most environmentally sound way to transport goods in bulk.

MENTION the shipping industry and many people conjure up less-than-flattering images.

They think of slow-moving ships laden with containers spewing smoke and leaving a trail of oil as they sail around the world.

That will change if 24 of the world's top container shipping companies, including Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines, have their way. They are joining forces to try to improve the industry's public image.

The initiative, known as the Container Shipping Information Service, was launched last Friday. It aims to help people around the world better understand the industry and how it affects them.

Costing US$1 million (S$1.43 million) to set up, the project is being run by public relations firm Porter Novelli. The first effort is a public website - www.shipsandboxes.com - designed to provide basic information on container shipping by explaining technical terms, providing interesting facts and covering topical issues.

Taiwan's Evergreen Marine is one of the member lines, and its chairman, Mr Arnold Wang, said the initiative is unlikely to contribute much to the members' bottom lines.

'Our customers are not members of the public but the shippers or companies which make, buy or sell goods that need to be shipped to different countries.

'We hope to get more people to understand what we do and correct misperceptions, such as those that imply we pollute the environment.'

AP Moeller-Maersk container business chief executive Eivind Kolding says the industry continually works to cut its environmental impact.

'Shipping is actually by far the most environmentally sound way to transport goods in bulk.

'For example, a container ship emits around 40 per cent less carbon dioxide than a large freight aircraft and three times less than a heavy truck per tonne per km,' he said.

Mr Wang said more people may be drawn to the industry if they understand more about it.

'We want to show how container shipping makes a vital contribution to all our lives. Whether it be our laptops, coffeemaker, sports shoes or strawberries, container shipping makes it possible for consumers to enjoy these and at affordable prices.'

Read more!

Shrimp Farming will Ruin Nigeria’s Environment

Akie Hart and IH Pepple, thisdayonline 14 Jan 08;

As important as shrimp is to our menu, its production is very devastating to the environment. This much has been proved in some developing countries of Asia and Latin America where ponds are used to cultivate shrimp, with all the chemicals involved, which are usually injurious to the soil.

The shrimp production methods that is employed in these developing countries, that has generated public outcry, is about to start here in Nigeria.

Spearheaded by Sulalanka, a Srilankan company, Asians are making frantic efforts to start this Shrimp business in Nigeria, from all indications the South-east and South-west are the suggested locations, and this will spell disaster to the nation and soon there may be no land for conventional food cultivation as ponds would be dug, used, abandoned and new ones dug and the process will go on.

The Niger Delta environment which has been fragmented, deforested and degraded by the oil and gas exploration and production and other related industrial activities recently witnessed a greatest threat to its existence in the form of the introduction of industrial shrimp farming with presidential support from the Obasanjo.

The president ordered the ministries of Agriculture and Environment to give special encouragement to industrial shrimp farmers specially those willing to export shrimp to the United States of America.

After the first attempt was halted, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) started another attempt to start industrial shrimp farming. They also stopped on account of pressure by Non-governmental Organisations and Community Based Organisations in Nigeria.

Having failed in the Niger Delta region the Asians now prefer the South East and South West Regions of Nigeria, meaning that they would construct pounds to cultivate it. Shrimp farming is an evil that does no nation any good as in the experiences of the following countries stated below.

Thailand

In the Trang province of Thailand in the fishing communities located along the Andaman Sea, their environment has been ruined beyond remediation through the cutting of the mangroves to make way for shrimp farms which makes it impossible for the fisher folks to earn their livelihood and to support their families from their polluted seas and degraded lands.

They have migrated to the cities to look for non – existing work; those that opposed them are murdered in cold blood as two people were killed in the Baliu Laemsai village by the shrimp mafia made up of foreign investors and corrupt political leaders in the corridors of power.

Mad – it Ran Wasil, the village headman of Baliu Laemsai village spoke quite openly lamenting the devastation and impoverishing of their lands.

Today in Thailand, their resources have been degraded, and loss of natural coastal resources, unsolved pollution problems has led to the despoiling of once fecund inshore bays, formerly rich fishing grounds are being impacted and vital fish breeding by Nursery habitat are being lost to the encroaching shrimp farms. In one district shrimp farmers displaced alone 4,000 rice paddy farmers.

Honduras

In August 1996, the Government of Honduras declared a one year moratorium on shrimp farms which was further extended to allow a careful monitoring of water quality and other serious environmental problems that has cropped up in the Gulf of Fonseca.

India

The India environment has been degraded to an unprecedented degree by shrimp farming which led the Supreme Court to pass a landmark ruling calling for a moratorium on all industrial shrimp aquaculture operations. Over 100,000 acres of existing farm facilities were mandated to be dismantled by the end of March 1997 in Adrea Pradesh region 48,000 people were displaced in 3 years by shrimp farming.

Taiwan China and Vietnam

The use of Antibiotics, pesticides and hazardous chemicals has led to the spread of deadly infections viruses that has ruined once thriving Aquaculture Industries. In Taiwan it happened 1988, in china; it was in 1993, in Vietnam it was in 1995. these resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars worth of loses and massive environmental degradation in its wake.

Taiwan once the world leader in farmed shrimp production has never recovered from its crash in 1988, Thailand, Ecuador and India which have all vied for first or second place in farmed shrimp production have also suffered diseased problems which have caused 50% or more of their pond operation to be shut down, while few ponds have recuperated and put back into use, many have turned to wastelands unfit for any resource extractive purposes.

Mexico

Because of the serious disease problems of shrimp farming ,its impacts on investment and degradation of the environment lading to impoverishment of rural people, the world Bank funded a study on the disease problems of Thai shrimp ponds of Thailand. This is to diagnose the widespread disease problems in the area.

Surprisingly, the World Bank was simultaneously developing a loan proposal for Mexico to develop shrimp farming based on the same management models with Thailand.

The World Bank Mexico Agriculture loan has been indefinitely postponed due to many issues principal among them was the opposition by local environmental organizations and fishermen Associations– (From. Rosenberg’s 1992 world shrimp farming report).

Japan

Studies are currently being conducted by a team of scientist from in the united state and the Philippines to determine whether Antibiotics used for shrimp production can create a resistance to these antibiotics in human who consume farmed shrimp, due to escalating public concern over health risks, Japan has identified over 20 antibiotics used in shrimp industry and has banned shrimp farmed with these antibiotics. Nigeria is not even aware.

Sri-Lanka


More than 4500ha of productive mangrove land have been converted into artificial shrimp farms in Sri–lanka, due to this in human activity more than 8000 fisher folk families lost their lagoon fishery.

In pambala, Kakkapalliya and chilaw their land and seas have been degraded leading to migration to the cities. They are rendered so poor by shrimp farming that the small fishers’ federation of Sri – Lanka in collaboration with other international NGOs is currently supporting this water supply for them and also to assist them to have other alternative means of livelihoods this can be confirmed from the small fishers’ federation.

Sweden

The Swedish international Development Agency (SIDA) has described shrimp farming as a threat to the environment.

Malaysia

The Malaysian cabinet passed a ruling that shrimp farms should not be situated in the Mangrove because of its polluting nature vis-à-vis the fragile nature of the Mangroves.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the forest peoples programmed denounced shrimp farming during its meeting in London from 17th to 20th may 2000.

Cambodia

The Cambodian Government came up with a conclusion last year that shrimp farming failed because of its environmental pollution.

Industrial Shrimp Action Network (ISA NET)

The industrial shrimp Action Net Work (ISA NET) working to address the negative social and environmental impacts of shrimp aquaculture in 25 producing and consuming countries of industrially farmed organized a tour of delegations from 7countries namely: U.S, CANADA, SWEDEN, UNITED KINGDOM,MALAYSIA,PHILIPINES and THAILAND to shrimp farms to see its harmful impacts, and after the tour, the more than 200paricpants who attended a workshop on ‘Socio – economic and environment impacts of industries Shrimp cultivation came up with the following findings /report.

Potential Harm from Shrimp Farming
Human Rights abuses including murder, rape, false arrests.
Loss of livelihood.
Land conflicts.
Lack of food security and malnutrition.
Displacement of woman from their traditional livelihoods.
Violence against woman.
Destruction of social and cultural fabric of village society.
Migration to already over crowed cities.
Children dropping out of schools to catch shrimp fries.
Loss of biodiversity.
Significant decline in fish resources, the main protein of villagers.
Decline in the resources such as livestock, poultry, fuel and fodder.
Crisis of drinking water due to salination.
Pollution problems due to the harmful used which destroys livelihood.
Investment from profits earned are not reinvested in the local economy
Gross inequality on who received the benefits from those who suffer the consequences.


We have mentioned the reasons why these countries are rejecting shrimp farming is the same reason why we the people of Nigeria (Niger Delta, South East and South West) should reject same.

As the introduction of shrimp farming in Nigeria would lead to the total annihilation of our people who have not recovered from the on – going degradation of the physical and human environment.

The Niger Delta is in for another exploitation as the overall set – up processes and operations of Industrial shrimp agriculture are tremendously disruptive to the delicate and complex balance of coastal ecology as vast stretches of invaluable mangrove forest in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Lagos and Ondo states would be cleared to make way for shrimp ponds/ shrimp farms would replace a diverse, multiple resource Nigeria environment with large scale mono – culture operations.

Globally, hundreds of thousands of hectares of valuable mangrove forest has been destroyed by shrimp farming alone and this is only in the last two decades alone, other important coastal habitats of the Niger Delta such as mud flats, sea grass beds and coral reefs would be ruined as it has happened to other nations running away from it and that of South East/South West would also be ruined.

Also our once productive farm land which has been degraded by the oil / gas companies would be further left fallow and important water ways and underground aquifers would be further dangerously contaminated as the shrimp industry has been appropriately labelled as slash and burn enterprise which is expanding because of political corruption and collision between government regulatory officials and the richer industry investors who were often referred to as influential people.

Specific Problems with Shrimp Farming

Water

One tragic irony of Industrial shrimp aquaculture is that the process requires clean water yet it has become a source of severe water pollution, often times fouling its own nest in its bid for ever higher shrimp production, the often unrestricted use of chemicals inputs such as antibiotics, pesticides and water additives, when combined with the blind up on the pond bottoms of unused feeds and feces has led to epidemic shrimp diseases and many early pond closures of toxic effluents.

Health

Some of the antibiotics used in shrimp agriculture are closely related to those used in human medical treatment and the questions remains as to the development of resistant strains of human pathogens showing that farming poses real danger of genetic contamination and lowering of biodiversity.

Accidental release of farm raised shrimp or fish can have tremendous repercussions on the native species which may come in contact with them , competition for territory, genetic drift, disease spread and excess demand on available resources are the problems today for example Norway where the number of escaped farming salmon exceeds the total into Norwegian waters.

Food Production Problems

Shrimp aquaculture also affects essential food production processes both agriculture and fisheries are adversely affected. Salination and pollution of both land water ways by shrimp farms ruins both fisheries and crop production in some area, severe rice production losses have caused local agriculture economies to begin importation of what was once the region staple food crop.

Huge Capital needed

Who is being employed and for how long is a crucial question, initial studies conducted in Philippines and India show that much of the local people employment generated by shrimp farms is temporary, requiring high labour inputs only to construct the ponds after initial facility development is completed, the shrimp agriculture Industry is capital incentive rather than labour intensive so on employment problem would be solved by it for example an intensive shrimp agriculture business in India employs just 5 workers while a rice paddy business of equal size requires 50 workers yet in spite of its low local employment needs, shrimp aquaculture is being promoted in developing nations which have abundance of labour and shortage of capital therefore all the profits at the at the expense of the environment would be repatriated abroad.

Indiscriminate Land Use

Our lands would be converted to artificial lakes, which would be abandoned for the construction of Net Lakes / farm without restoration which would lead to the littering of the environment with disused lakes.

Why world powers support shrimp farming

Shrimp Agriculture has become a global industry that has an annual farm gate value of over $6 billion dollars and an annual retail value of over $20 billion dollars and because of this ,shrimp farming gets generous support and incentives from international leading institutes including the word Bank , Asian Development bank and inter – American development Bank because of its profitable nature to consumers nations and lending agencies, the same willingness by the same group to lend money for oil/gas exploration/production activities without minding its cost in the Niger Delta.

Conclusion

Our stand on this issue is that Industrial Shrimp farming in the country as a whole should be discouraged in spite of the Multi-million dollars it is likely to attract for the country. Our environment and our future generations should be considered, as the present happenings in the world, the Tsunamis and Katherinas should inform our decisions.

• Akie Hart and Evang. I. H. Pepple are the Chairman and Secretary of the Nigeria shrimp working group (the shrimp working group is a broad based civil society coalition to tackle industrial shrimp aquaculture in Nigeria).

Read more!

Global Warming Could Shrink Fish Populations

Andrea Thompson, LiveScience.com 14 Jan 08;

Certain fish could disappear from restaurant menus and our plates at home by 2100, as global warming changes ocean food webs, a new study suggests.

Climate change has the potential to threaten ecosystems all over the world, and those in the ocean are no exception.

Two marine ecologists led a study of the effects of climate change on the food web of the Bering Sea, which currently provides about half of the fish caught in U.S. waters each year and nearly a third caught worldwide.

"All the fish that ends up in McDonald's, fish sandwiches — that's all Bering Sea fish," said Dave Hutchins of the University of Southern California, whose former student at the University of Delaware, Clinton Hare, led the study.

The Bering Sea has already shown signs of warming, Hutchins says, which could affect the productivity of its ecosystem.

"Its warmer, marine mammals and birds are having massive die-offs, there are invasive species — in general, it’s changing to a more temperate ecosystem that’s not going to be as productive," he said.

Hare and Hutchins studied how climate change affected communities of phytoplankton, which are food for smaller fishes. The Bering Sea is so highly productive because of a large type of phytoplankton found in its waters, known as diatoms.

The researchers collected phytoplankton samples from the sea and incubated them, simulating sea surface temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations predicted for 2100. Their work is detailed in a recent issue of the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series.

They found that these conditions favored smaller types of phytoplankton at the expense of the diatoms.

As diatoms become more scarce, animals that eat them, including the fish caught in the Bering Sea, will also die off the researchers say.

"The experiments we did up there definitely suggest that the changing ecosystem may support less of what we’re harvesting, things like pollock and hake," Hutchins said.

A decrease in the number of diatoms could also intensify global warming. Because they are bigger than other phytoplankton, diatoms store more carbon when they die and fall to the sea floor. If they disappear, their smaller brethren will leave more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

RELATED ARTICLES

Bering Sea may not remain productive fishery by 2100 due to ocean warming
The Cheers 12 Jan 08;

Read more!

Canada Inuit Rap US Greens for Polar Bear Campaign

David Ljunggren, PlanetArk 15 jan 08;

OTTAWA - Leaders of Canada's Arctic Inuit people denounced US environmentalists on Monday for pushing Washington to declare the polar bear a threatened species, saying the move was unnecessary and would hurt the local economy.

The United States last week delayed a decision on whether global warming threatened polar bears on the grounds that it needed more time to analyze the data. Three US green groups said they would sue for quicker action.

The Inuit fear that if Washington does declare the bear a threatened species, it will deter US hunters, who spend millions of dollars a year for the right to shoot the animals in the Canadian Arctic.

Environmentalists say global warming is shrinking the sea ice that polar bears use as a platform to hunt seals. The fate of the bears has received widespread media coverage.

Mary Simon, president of the Inuit Tapiriit of Canada group, said green organizations were using polar bears as an excuse to attack the administration of US President George Bush over its position on climate change.

"As Inuit we fundamentally disagree with such tactics ... the polar bear is a very important subsistence, economic, cultural, conservation, management, and rights concern for Inuit in Canada," she said in a statement.

"It's a complex and multilevel concern. But it seems the media, environmental groups, and the public are looking at this in overly simplistic black-and-white terms as the demise of the polar bear from climate change and sports hunting."

Scientists estimate that the world's polar bear population is around 25,000. Two-thirds of the animals live in Canada, almost all of them in the Arctic territory of Nunavut.

The US Geological Survey said last year that two-thirds of the world's polar bears could be gone by 2050 if predictions about melting sea ice hold true.

Nunavut officials say that while there are areas of concern, the bears in general are doing well. Dr Peter Ewins, director of species conservation at World Wildlife Fund Canada, is not so optimistic.

"Things are trending very poorly right now for a number of these polar bear populations," he told Reuters, saying data showed five of the 13 Canadian populations were either seeing declines or no increases in numbers.

From July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007, a total of 498 bears were killed in Nunavut. Sports hunters -- who can pay C$30,000 (US$30,600) or more to kill a bear -- shot 120 animals.

Hunters spend an estimated C$3.5 million a year on the hunt in Nunavut, where both living costs and unemployment are high. US hunters would be banned from bringing polar bear pelts home if the animals were granted threatened status.

"This law suit is not very constructive, but meant for publicity," said Duane Smith, president of the Canadian branch of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, who insisted the hunt is highly regulated.

"Our hunters and guides benefit economically, and we are able to continue with our culture, enjoy the benefits of what we use, and ensure that this is done in a responsible and sustainable manner," he said in the statement. (US$1=$1.02 Canadian) (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Peter Galloway)

Read more!

Pressures build on Amazon jungle

Gary Duffy, BBC News 14 Jan 08;

The Amazon is not just a precious resource for Brazil but for the entire world, and the year ahead seems likely to produce important indications of what the future holds for this vast rainforest.

The scale of the challenge is widely acknowledged.

In the past 40 years, close to 20% of the Amazon has been cut down.

Land cleared for cattle is the leading cause of deforestation, while the growth in soya bean production is becoming increasingly significant. Illegal logging is also a factor. Deforestation and forest fires are now responsible for nearly 75% of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions.

In the past three years the Brazilian government has celebrated a 59% cut in the rate of deforestation, but there are now signs of problems ahead.

Fines

In December, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said there had been a 10% increase in deforestation between August and November 2007 and announced a range of measures to try to stem this.



The president signed a decree imposing fines for buying or trading goods such as beef or soya planted illegally on deforested properties.

Several hundred federal police are to be sent to the area to help combat environmental destruction, joining more than 1,600 inspectors already there.

In recent years the government says it has carried out numerous inspections, seized more than one million cubic metres of wood, cancelled thousands of land registrations and arrested hundreds of people, as well as creating large conservation areas.

At the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Bali, Indonesia, last month, Brazil also announced the creation of a voluntary fund to protect the Amazon, due to be launched in 2008.

Growing concern

On a broader international front, it was also agreed at Bali that forest conservation would be included in discussions about a future agreement on global warming.

The new measures may be a sign of growing government concern, and it will only become clear in the months ahead just how effective they will prove to be in the struggle to protect the Amazon.

Environmental groups, while welcoming the government's efforts, say the response is simply not good enough.

Critics had already warned that recent falls in deforestation could be explained by a drop in market prices for products such as soya and meat, and that once these rose again land clearance would start to increase.

"We have a national plan to fight deforestation that, historically, was a good plan on paper but lacked implementation both due to political will and due to resources," said Marcelo Furtado, campaigns director for Greenpeace in Brazil.

"Although the government could celebrate in recent years a decrease in deforestation, the fact is that structurally this didn't change.

"The environment ministry still lacks funding. You still have situations where the police don't have a helicopter to fly over a certain area or there is no fuel in the truck to go to verify if an area is being deforested or not. You still have a problem with availability of maps," Mr Furtado said.

"The tools to decrease deforestation and monitor implementation of the law are still not good enough."

Frontier mentality

That concern is reflected by John Carter, director of Alianca da Terra, a group that promotes environmental awareness in land management.

Mr Carter, however, has a different perspective on the causes and how the problem needs to be addressed.



"Most of the environmental groups are concentrating on the law and why the law is not being upheld and they mysteriously forget this is a frontier and no-one ever upheld the law in any frontier in Europe or the United States, anywhere," he says.

He believes giving producers incentives to reduce the impact on the forest will prove more effective than traditional conservation methods.

The results of failure can be seen in the thick smoke of forest fires being used to clear land.

"I would easily say [2007] was one of the worst years I have seen in 11 years living here," said Mr Carter, who was born in the US but moved here with his Brazilian wife.

"I flew with several different people at several different times in September and October and I couldn't see the end of my wings, I couldn't see the ground.

"I tried to land in the Xingu park [in Mato Grosso]... I couldn't... I couldn't see the runway. I was flying 300 ft (91m) above the forest and couldn't even see it."

Responsibility

Andre Lima, a senior official at the environment ministry with responsibility for the Amazon says it will be difficult to keep deforestation in 2008 down to the level achieved in 2007, especially given the growing market pressures.

But he believes the presidential decree will force a wider range of people to address these concerns.

"What is important to do is to share out responsibility for illegal deforestation," he says.

"The responsibility is not only with the farmers involved at the forefront, but it is the chain of production that buys from them as well. The big soya companies, the meat storage plants that have set up there and know there is no authorisation for deforestation in the area.

"They have to assume a share of the responsibility."

The next few months will be a test of that resolve, but there seems to be a growing recognition on all sides that the Amazon faces another testing period.

Read more!

Carmakers on green drive

Eco-friendly innovations unveiled at Michigan show
Straits Times 15 Jan 08;

DETROIT - GREEN is the theme of this year's North American International Auto Show.

US and foreign carmakers are pushing environmentally friendly driving to the top of their agendas as they unveil a range of green innovations designed to woo customers at the show, which is in its 100th year.

'We need to develop alternative sources of propulsion,' General Motors (GM) chief Rick Wagoner said during previews of the show.

With oil prices soaring, boosting use of alternative fuels is a 'business necessity and an obligation for society' in a world that consumes 1,000 barrels of oil a second, said Mr Wagoner, who heads the biggest US carmaker.

The Big Three US carmakers - GM, Ford and Chrysler - touted their commitment to green 'concept cars' as American consumers worry about the price of oil.

GM presented the Cadillac Provoq, a battery-powered four-wheel drive, and is to launch a test fleet of the 100 Chevrolet Equinox equipped with battery technology within weeks. It also plans to introduce eight new hybrid models - running on both fuel and electricity - in the US by the end of the year.

Last year, it had announced plans to sell a plug-in hybrid vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, some time around 2010.

Asian carmakers, which control more than 40 per cent of the US market, would not be outdone, with Toyota reminding everybody that it had introduced a hybrid model - Prius - a long time ago.

Raising the ante with GM and other carmakers, Toyota has announced plans to market a plug-in hybrid by 2010. The company will also introduce additional dedicated petrol-electric hybrids for the Toyota and Lexus brands a year from now.

Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe said on Sunday that his company will develop a fleet of plug-in hybrids that run on lithium-ion batteries instead of the nickel-metal hydride ones that power the Prius and other Toyota models.

Plug-in hybrids can be recharged externally from an ordinary power outlet. Some environmental groups have pushed for plug-in hybrids as a way to save on petrol, thus curbing emissions. In conventional hybrids, the battery is recharged from power generated by the wheels.

The Volt also is set to run on lithium-ion batteries, which are more expensive than the batteries currently used by Toyota, but which can power the vehicle for a longer time.

Mr Wagoner, meanwhile, stressed the importance of alternative 'biofuels' in weaning drivers off oil. He announced a partnership with renewable energy company Coskata to produce plant-based ethanol fuel.

'We are very excited about what this breakthrough will mean to the viability of biofuels and, more importantly, to our ability to reduce dependence on petroleum,' he said.

The carmaker unveiled a prototype of its sturdy Humvee - typically associated with high fuel consumption - that runs on E85, a blended fuel containing mainly ethanol.

Meanwhile, Ford president Bill Ford announced 'a global commitment' to become a 'leader in sustainability'.

Ford has introduced a new ecologically friendly brand called Ecoboost that will be expanded in 2010 to even big pick-up trucks. Ford wants to sell 500,000 vehicles under this label in the next five years.

The US car market must now face constraints imposed by soaring petrol prices and new government regulations that tighten fuel consumption standards.

The 'green' fashion has reached even builders of luxury cars, with Ferrari presenting for the first time the F430 Spider, a car that works on biofuel. It is just a prototype.

But 'we have the technology and we are ready' if the market situation evolves, said Mr Adam Rowley, vice-president of Ferrari North America.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NEW YORK TIMES, REUTERS

Toyota plug-in hybrid ready by 2010

Business Times 15 Jan 08;

It can be recharged from an ordinary power outlet, unlike current electric cars

(DETROIT) The Toyota Motor Corp will build its first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle by 2010.

The move, announced on Sunday, puts Toyota in direct competition with General Motors (GM), which has announced plans to sell its own plug-in hybrid vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, sometime around 2010.

Katsuaki Watanabe, the president of Toyota, announced the company's plans at the Detroit car show as part of a series of environmental steps.

Mr Watanabe said that Toyota, best known for its Prius hybrid car, would develop a fleet of plug-in hybrids that run on lithium-ion batteries, instead of the nickel-metal hydride batteries that power the Prius and other Toyota models.

Plug-in hybrids differ from the current hybrid vehicles in that they can be recharged externally, from an ordinary power outlet. In a conventional hybrid, the battery is recharged from power generated by its wheels.

Mr Watanabe said that the lithium-ion fleet would be made available first to Toyota's commercial customers around the world like government agencies and corporations, including some in the United States. He did not say when they would be available to consumers.

GM's Volt is also set to run on lithium-ion batteries, which are more expensive than the batteries currently used by Toyota, but which can potentially power the vehicle for a longer time.

Additionally, Toyota said that it planned to develop a new hybrid-electric car specifically for its Lexus division that is not based on an existing model, as well as another new hybrid for the Toyota brand. It said that it would unveil both at the Detroit show next year.

Mr Watanabe also said that Toyota planned to offer diesel engines for its Tundra pickup truck and the Sequoia sport utility vehicle 'in the near future'.

Some environmental groups have pushed for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles as a way to save on petrol, thus curbing emissions. The easiest way for car companies to reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions is to improve vehicle fuel economy.

But some say that plug-ins may not be the ultimate answer to cutting pollution, if the electricity used to charge them comes from coal-fired power plants.

Nonetheless, GM, Toyota and Ford Motor, the world's three biggest car companies, are all developing plug-in hybrid vehicles. -- NYT

Honda's clean diesel cars will be profitable immediately: CEO
Business Times 15 Jan 08;

(DETROIT) Honda Motor's yet-to-be released clean diesel cars will be profitable immediately, unlike expensive gasoline-electric hybrid cars that still yield little or no profit after a decade on the market.

'Our diesel cars are going to have an appropriate level of profit from the start,' chief executive Takeo Fukui told reporters at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

He said Honda's clean diesel cars, to be launched in the United States next year, will not require a urea tank as most European systems do.

The use of aluminium in the cylinder block instead of steel would also allow it to manufacture the engines using its existing gasoline engine facilities, keeping initial investments down, Mr Fukui added.

Honda's new diesel drive train generates and stores ammonia within a two-layer catalytic converter to turn nitrogen oxide into harmless nitrogen. The new system will clear the same emissions regulations as gasoline in the US, Mr Fukui said.

Japan's second-biggest automaker was set to announce later yesterday afternoon the launch of its first ultra-clean diesel car in the US in 2009, as planned. Honda's premium Acura brand will be the first to get the four-cylinder diesel engine, Mr Fukui said. Models fuelled by V6 diesel engines will follow after 2010, he added.

Diesel cars now make up more than half of Europe's new cars but have a poor image among consumers in the US, as well as Japan, as being both loud and dirty.

But Mr Fukui said he expected Honda's sale of four-cylinder diesel cars to reach about 150,000 vehicles globally by around 2010 with the planned roll-out in the US and Japan.

Honda now sells more than 100,000 diesel cars a year, all in Europe. Honda is also due to begin selling low-cost hybrid cars in 2009. Half of the planned 200,000 units of the hybrid-only family car are bound for North America.

A new hybrid sports car is set to follow, while the mass-volume Civic series will also get the cheap and improved hybrid system with the next remodelling. -- Reuters

Shift to greener cars accelerates
Business Times 17 Jan 08;

WHAT better time could there be for carmakers to signal a mood shift than the centenary of the Detroit auto show. Still, gas guzzlers still dominate the show, since car companies can't ignore current market realities.

Nevertheless, for the future, they are also hyping green technologies as well as fuel economy with conventional engines. Every major carmaker showcased cutting-edge technology with imaginative concept cars, betting that consumers are ready for change. While there is no sign of a magic-bullet technology, there are several innovative alternatives on offer.

Every major manufacturer is offering 'hybrids', a field led by the Japanese. Petrol hybrids, where batteries are charged intermittently, have already won many converts, but the next stop is electric cars that can be charged externally. Giants like General Motors (GM), Ford, Toyota Corp and Chrysler have shown plug-in cars which can be charged from a regular power outlet.

They offer more mileage, using a different type of battery. Some will use a petrol engine occasionally to boost the batteries but the others like the Chevrolet Chevy will be purely electric.

Toyota, which has sold a million conventional hybrid cars, has announced a lane change, going for plug-in hybrids and setting itself against GM in a race to get the cars to market by 2010. Europeans are leading the drive with clean diesel.

The ultimate goal is of course fuel-cell cars, of which Honda, GM and Chrysler all have concept vehicles. Yet another way to reduce emission and reduce fuel usage is to think small, a change that may be revolutionised by the US$2,500 Tata Nano. With electric vehicles, the leaders also face competition from venture capitalists, who are financing start-ups.

Fisker Automotive, for instance, aims to leave the giants behind, hoping to produce an US$80,000 luxury plug-in next year, with an option to use a solar panel to run the air-conditioning and other accessories.

It is heartening that carmakers are contemplating the fast lane for green vehicles. Their compulsions are great: US carmakers are bleeding. Oil prices which tested US$100 a barrel are pinching consumers and hurting car demand. And US politicians are getting restive, as evidenced by the energy bill signed into law by US President George W Bush recently.

The law, which caught the industry unawares, requires a 40 per cent boost in fuel mileage by 2020 and envisages a large share role for ethanol, including the cellulosic variety.

Further, increasing concern about global warming is creating new consumer preferences, particularly among the young. While the carmakers know they have to play ball, they are not yet sure what will replace petroleum: ethanol, electricity or hydrogen. Perhaps more consumer pressure - and incentives from governments - would help car companies make a smoother and faster transition.

Read more!