Global warming turning sea into acid bath

Mark Henderson, The Times 9 Jun 08;

Increasing carbon dioxide emissions could leave species such as coral and sea urchins struggling to survive by the end of the century because they are making the oceans more acidic, research led by British scientists suggests.

The study of how acidification affects marine ecosystems has revealed a striking impact on animal and plant life. The findings, from a team led by Jason Hall-Spencer, of the University of Plymouth, indicate that rising carbon emissions will alter the biodiversity of the seas profoundly, even before the effects of global warming are taken into account.

Greater concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere mean that more of the gas becomes dissolved in seawater, increasing its acidity. This will have good consequences for some species, but be catastrophic for others.

Dr Hall-Spencer's team investigated the likely effects of acidification by studying natural underwater vents off the coast of Italy, where carbon dioxide bubbles up through the sea floor. This makes the water around the vents significantly more acidic than it is in surrounding areas.

The study, published in the journal Nature, shows that certain species are very badly affected by rising acidity. Corals of the Caryophyllia, Cladocora and Balanophyllia varieties, for example, were common in on the sea bed in the region, but absent close to the vents. Sea urchins and sea snails were also affected badly by the high acidity.

Other species, including sea-grass and a type of algae known as Sargassum, thrived as the extra carbon dioxide has a fertilising effect. This extra growth, however, can be damaging to other sea life - Sargassum is an alien invasive species, carried to the region in the ballast of shipping.

The research team is the first to use natural underwater carbon dioxide vents to assess how acidity caused by the gas influences sea life. “Our field studies provide a window on the future of the oceans in a high CO2 world,” Dr Hall-Spencer said.

“We show the dramatic ecological consequences of ocean acidification including the removal of corals, snails and sea urchins and the proliferation of invasive alien algae.

“Our observations verify concerns, based on laboratory experiments and model predictions, that marine food webs will be severely disrupted and major ecological tipping-points are likely if human CO2 emissions continue unabated.”

This appraisal of life in a more acidic ocean was if anything conservative, Dr Hall-Spencer said, because it mimicked future ecosystems only partially.

The acidity around carbon dioxide vents can be reduced by rough conditions, which dilute the water - something that would not happen if the whole ocean was highly acidic.

The researchers also noted that while fish continued to swim through more acidic waters, they avoided breeding or spawning in them. “That isn't a problem at the moment, as they can go elsewhere,” Dr Hall-Spencer said. “But in a more acidic ocean there will be no escape.”

Global warming will also have an independent impact on sea life, by raising ocean temperatures.

Marine life is destroyed by acid environment
Paul Eccleston, The Telegraph 8 Jun 08;

Traditional marine communities containing creatures such as sea urchins and snails are being destroyed as CO2 emissions make their environment more acidic.

Algae which is vital for the well-being of coral reefs is also retreating as acidity increases and is being replaced by invasive species which don't offer coral the same protection.

The changes have been witnessed for the first time by a British-led team monitoring volcanic carbon dioxide vents off the Italian coast in the Mediterranean.

Until now marine scientists have only been able to use laboratory experiments and modelling techniques to predict what the possible consequences of increased CO2 levels for marine life will be.

But observations by the international team led by Royal Society University Research Fellow Jason Hall-Spencer at the University of Plymouth have confirmed fears that entire ecosystems face possibly catastrophic change.

Dr Hall-Spencer said; "Nobody has looked at the biological effects of ocean acidification on this scale before.

Previous studies have been small scale, short-term and laboratory-based, so it has been very difficult to predict the wider effects of increasing CO2 emissions on marine life. We show how whole marine communities and ecosystems change due to the long-term effects of acidification."

CO2 levels are expected to be double that of pre-industrial levels by 2100 and will be considerably higher than at any time for millions of years.

The world's oceans are the principal sink for man-made CO2 which is estimated to have caused a 30% increase in the concentration of hydrogen in surface waters since the early 1900s and making sea water more acidic.

Working in the Mediterranean the team found different gradients of acidity caused by gases emerging from the volcanic vents which allowed them to use it as a 'time tunnel' and to look at the type of conditions expected in our oceans in 2020, 2050, 2100 and beyond.

Concentrating on the levels of acidity expected by the end of the century they found that key marine group such as coral, coralline algae and sea urchins die out. They are replaced by groups more tolerant of acidic waters such as brown seaweed and seagrasses.

Because these species are common in oceans and seas across the globe the changes are a clear indicator that biodiversity will decrease dramatically worldwide.

Dr Hall-Spencer said: "What we saw was very dramatic and shocking.

"All the predictions made in lab experiments about acidity causing the disappearance of species is coming true.

"When we looked in the field it was already happening.

I must admit I though a lot of the claims being made about species disappearing amounted to scaremongering but now I have seen it with my own eyes.

"Our field studies provide a window on the future of the oceans in a high CO2 world. We show the dramatic ecological consequences of ocean acidification including the removal of corals, snails and sea urchins and the proliferation of invasive alien algae."

"Our observations verify concerns, based on laboratory experiments and model predictions, that marine food webs will be severely disrupted and major ecological tipping points are likely if human CO2 emissions continue unabated."

Natural lab shows sea's acid path
Richard Black, BBC News 8 Jun 08;

Natural carbon dioxide vents on the sea floor are showing scientists how carbon emissions will affect marine life.

Dissolved CO2 makes water more acidic, and around the vents, researchers saw a fall in species numbers, and snails with their shells disintegrating.

Writing in the journal Nature, the UK scientists suggest these impacts are likely to be seen across the world as CO2 levels rise in the atmosphere.

Some of the extra CO2 emitted enters the oceans, acidifying waters globally.

Studies show that the seas have become more acidic since the industrial revolution.

Research leader Jason Hall-Spencer from the University of Plymouth said that atmospheric CO2 concentrations were now so high that even a sharp fall in emissions would not prevent some further acidification.

"It's clear that marine food webs as we know them are going to alter, and biodiversity will decrease," he told BBC News.

"Those impacts are inevitable because acidification is inevitable - we've started it, and we can't stop it."

Natural lab

Corals construct their external skeletons by extracting dissolved calcium carbonate from seawater and using it to form two minerals, calcite and aragonite. Molluscs use the same process to make their shells.

As water becomes more acidic, the concentration of calcium carbonate falls. Eventually there is so little that shells or skeletons cannot form.

Around the vents which Dr Hall-Spencer's team investigated, in the Mediterranean Sea near the Italian coast, CO2 bubbling into the water forms a sort of natural laboratory for studying the impacts of acidified water on marine life.

Globally, the seas now have an average pH of about 8.1 - down about 0.1 since the dawn of the industrial age.

Around the vents, it fell as low as 7.4 in some places. But even at 7.8 to 7.9, the number of species present was 30% down compared with neighbouring areas.

Coral was absent, and species of algae that use calcium carbonate were displaced in favour of species that do not use it.

Snails were seen with their shells dissolving. There were no snails at all in zones with a pH of 7.4.

Meanwhile, seagrasses thrived, perhaps because they benefit from the extra carbon in the water.

These observations confirm that some of the processes seen in laboratory experiments and some of the predictions made by computer models of ocean ecosystems do also happen in the real world.

"I can't count the number of times that scientific talks end with 'responses have not yet been documented in the field'," said Elliott Norse, president of the Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI).

"This paper puts that to rest for several ecologically important marine groups."

Point passed

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that without measures to restrain carbon dioxide emissions, ocean pH is likely to fall to about 7.8 by 2100.

This suggests that some of the impacts seen around the Mediterranean vents might be widespread.

"I think we will see the same pattern in other parts of the world, because we're talking about keystone species such as mussels and limpets and barnacles being lost as pH drops," said Dr Hall-Spencer.

The IPCC suggests that some areas, notably the Southern Ocean, might feel the impacts at lower concentrations of CO2.

Last month, scientists reported that water with CO2 levels high enough to be "corrosive" to marine life was rising up off the western US coast.

Bottom water naturally contains more CO2 than at shallower depths. This scientific team argues that human emissions have pushed these levels even higher, contributing to pH values as low 7.5 in waters heavily used by US fishermen.

"If [pH 7.8] is a universal 'tipping point', then it indicates that sections of the western coast waters off North America may have passed this threshold during periods when this upwelling of waters high in CO2 occurs," commented Carol Turley from Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), who was not involved in the Mediterranean Sea study (PML is not affiliated with Plymouth University).

Emissions down

Organisms such as coral are also damaged by rising temperatures, and studies are ongoing into the combined effect of a warming and acidifying ocean.

There is much to learn. And during the coming week, scientists will announce the inauguration of the European Project on Ocean Acidification (Epoca), a four-year, 16m euro (£12.5m) initiative aiming to find some answers.

Studying the impacts may prove easier than doing anything about them.

"The reason that the oceans are becoming more acidic is because of the CO2 emissions that we are producing from burning fossil fuels," observed Dr Turley.

"Add CO2 to seawater and you get carbonic acid; it's simple chemistry, and therefore certain.

"This means that the only way of reducing the future impact of ocean acidification is the urgent, substantial reduction in CO2 emissions."

Read more!

Climate change blamed as mango harvest goes sour in India

Rhys Blakely and Shivani Khanna, The Times 9 Jun 08;

The news will send a shiver through fruit aficionados the world over: India's mangoes, revered for millennia for their succulence, are becoming fewer and less sweet as changes in weather patterns affect harvests.

Official estimates suggest that three million tonnes of mangoes have been wiped out by a severe winter in India so far this year and the unseasonable deluges that have swept key growing regions in recent days may weigh further on production.

Forecasts already say that this year's crop of ten million tonnes will be down by a fifth on last year's. Farmers are now lobbying the Government to provide insurance schemes against the effects of unpredictable weather on mango crops.

Mango fans have said that changes in climatic conditions mean modern mangoes are less sweet. Producers said that the decline in sweetness is because the hot, dry winds that sweep across northern and western India in the summer and help to ripen crops have failed to blow.

Insram Ali, the president of the Mango Growers Association of India, said: “The mango fruit needs heat to ripen. And with the global warming affecting weather changes across the globe it has been hit hard.”

In Uttar Pradesh in northern India, the second-largest state in terms of mango production, farmers estimate that as much as half of the harvest has been wiped out by storms in April and May. Unseasonable rain in western India has encouraged pests, which have also lowered output.

The Mango Mela, an agricultural fair dedicated to the fruit, which was held in Bangalore last week, featured only 20 varieties, compared with more than 100 last year. One farmer said that 75 per cent of his crop had been wiped out by rain.

There are also claims that mango standards are slipping as sellers use more fertilizers and pesticides to boost yields. Some have been caught lacing mangoes with calcium carbide, which accelerates ripening but can cause dizziness and seizures in those exposed to the fruit.

Umakant Kumar, of Rajasthani Mahila Mandal, a Bombay-based institution similar to the Women's Institute in Britain, said: “How can there not be change in the flavour of mangoes? They are sprayed with all kinds of chemicals. Now there is a little bitterness in the fruit.”

Ketan Dhruv, the managing director of Karma Spices, in Gujarat, a maker of mango chutney, said: “There is definitely a big difference in the quality of mangoes and their sweetness. This is so because the mangoes are not organic anymore.”

The alleged decline in quality will unnerve much of India, where the fruit provides incomes for hundreds of thousands of smallholders. The subcontinent grows half of the mangoes in the world but exports a tiny portion.

With domestic demand more than ample other countries have had to depend on barter arrangements to supply their Indian mangoes — in recent years the US has offered Harley-Davidson motorcycles in exchange for the fruit.

Read more!

Rescuers rush to save dolphins as 18 die in UK mass stranding

Lee Glendinning, The Guardian 9 Jun 08;

At least 18 dolphins have died and scores more remain stranded after swimming up a river in Cornwall, in what rescuers called the biggest mass stranding of marine life for 27 years.

Coastguards were alerted at 8.30am today after a visitor at a nearby guesthouse noticed a flailing dolphin that appeared to have beached itself in Porth Creek, near Falmouth.

When they arrived to launch a rescue operation, many more dolphins had become stranded. It is thought the first dolphin may have sent out a distress signal that lured the others up the river Percuil.

"Initially, one swam up and got disoriented in shallow water," said Neil Oliver, from the Falmouth coastguard. "It put out a distress call and it looks as though the others have followed and thought 'We'll find out what's going on'.''

Divers, the fire brigade, conservationists and lifeboats were taking part in the rescue mission.

Tony Woodley, the national spokesman for British Divers Marine Life Rescue, said the charity would put all of its resources into the operation.

"We haven't seen a stranding anywhere near this scale since 1981 when pilot whales were beached on the east coast. This is extremely rare. We are warning people that many will die but we may be able to save some."

Dave Nicoll, a lifeboat helmsman, said: "It's a horrible scene of carnage with bodies everywhere, but we are doing our best to help and will continue to support the expert groups.

"We have been trying to help those who are alive and have already succeeded in getting five back into the water. We think the pod have been attracted by the cries for help from those that are stuck in the creek."

A spokeswoman for the RNLI said three volunteer lifeboat crew members had managed to help five dolphins back out to deeper water.

20 dolphins die after biggest mass stranding for 27 years
Richard Savill and Urmee Khan, The Telegraph 9 Jun 08;

More than 20 dolphins have died in a river creek in what has been described as the biggest mass stranding of marine animals in Britain for 27 years.

Rescuers called to Porth Creek, near Portscatho, on the Cornish coast, off Falmouth Bay, described a "scene of carnage" and warned that many more dolphins could be at risk.

The first pod of about 30 dolphins swam up the Percuil River and were beached in Porth Creek yesterday morning. It was thought the stranding could have been related to a low tide.

Rescuers said they believed that after first few dolphins got into trouble, their distress calls lured others into the river. Witnesses told of seeing the mammals tangled in debris and seaweed in shallow water, with their bellies out of the water. The bodies of others were stranded on the shore.

Teams of conservationists, divers, and coastguards were in a frantic race against time last night to send surviving dolphins back out to sea.

Liz Sandeman, director of operations at Marine Connection, a charity for the protection of dolphins, said that at least 80 dolphins had been drawn into Falmouth Bay away from their deep ocean habitat and that dozens were now at risk.

"This is certainly the biggest stranding since 1981 when we had pilot whales stranded," she said.

"So far about 21 are dead and the next 24 hours will be crucial in saving any more.

"Once these animals are out of the water they are too heavy and it puts huge pressure on their organs. They would basically be killing themselves by squashing themselves.

"We still don't know what why this has happened but some have already been sent for post-mortem examination so we should know soon."

One theory is that the first pod of dolphins may have been scared by something and swam up the Percuil river to hide. Another is that they were chasing fish.

Tony Woodley, of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue charity, said the species were striped dolphins which were not naturally a coastal breed. He said they were ocean going and had probably followed in fish who were feeding on a large algal bloom in the area.

Mr Woodley said: "Logistically a rescue like this is a minefield; it is very difficult to manage.

"You have to get all the dolphins together, if one or two leave the river system they will just come back to rejoin the main social group."

Striped dolphins are closely related to the common dolphin. They grow to about eight foot in length and are acrobatic. They travel in large groups of up to 100 individuals and prefer feeding on shoals of small, deep sea fish, as well as squid and octopus.

Charities reported that some common dolphins had since become embroiled in the stranding.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue charity said: "We haven't seen a stranding anywhere near this scale since 1981 when pilot whales were beached on the east coast (of Britain). This is extremely rare."

Helmsman David Nicoll, from the Falmouth lifeboat, added: "It's a horrible scene of carnage with bodies everywhere, but we are doing our best to help and will continue to support the expert groups."

Read more!

First Whale Meat Shipment Hits Japan Import Snag

Wojciech Moskwa, PlanetArk 9 Jun 08;

OSLO - The first whale meat sent to Japan in more than a decade by North Atlantic hunters Iceland and Norway is stuck in cold storage without an import licence, officials said on Friday.

Nearly 70 tonnes of frozen meat from the marine mammals was sent to Japan last month - the first such export since the early 1990s - and whaling lobbies hailed the move as the opening of a new export market.

The Japanese embassy in Oslo said that no import licences for the meat had been granted by Japan as of Thursday this week.

"The government of Japan did not receive a request for any such import licence," diplomat Hitoshi Kawahara told Reuters.

Many countries and environmental groups oppose harpooning whales, saying that stocks are low after decades of over-hunting ended with the 1986 moratorium by the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Iceland, Norway and Japan have circumvented the moratorium and do not recognise a trade ban by the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, saying it was political and that scientific data showed whale stocks rising.

"This is just a scam, they are trying to force this meat on the Japanese, there is no new market," Greenpeace spokesman Frode Pleym told Reuters. "For the last two-and-a-half weeks, this stuff has simply been sitting in storage."

Icelandic whaling company Hvalur, which sent the minke and fin whale meat to Japan, was not available to comment.

The resumed exports come just weeks before an annual meeting of the IWC, which in past years has been pressured by the three whaling states to end the moratorium.

Whaling is a hot political issue in Iceland and to a lesser degree in Norway, with supporters saying they seek to cultivate tradition in a responsible way. Opponents say that consumption of whale meat has dropped and that the industry could make more money from whale watching tourism than killing whales.

"Japan doesn't need any imports -- they have too much whale meat in storage," Pleyn said. "Both in Japan and more recently in Norway some of the whale meat has been going into dog food, which is an indication of the consumption level."

"Which is great for the whales, so why continue the hunt?"

Read more!

Oil shortage a myth, says industry insider

Steve Connor, The Independent 9 Jun 08;

There is more than twice as much oil in the ground as major producers say, according to a former industry adviser who claims there is widespread misunderstanding of the way proven reserves are calculated.

Although it is widely assumed that the world has reached a point where oil production has peaked and proven reserves have sunk to roughly half of original amounts, this idea is based on flawed thinking, said Richard Pike, a former oil industry man who is now chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Current estimates suggest there are 1,200 billion barrels of proven global reserves, but the industry's internal figures suggest this amounts to less than half of what actually exists.The misconception has helped boost oil prices to an all-time high, sending jitters through the market and prompting calls for oil-producing nations to increase supply to push down costs.

Flying into Japan for a summit two days after prices reached a record $139 a barrel, energy ministers from the G8 countries yesterday discussed an action plan to ease the crisis.

Explaining why the published estimates of proven global reserves are less than half the true amount, Dr Pike said there was anecdotal evidence that big oil producers were glad to go along with under-reporting of proven reserves to help maintain oil's high price. "Part of the oil industry is perfectly familiar with the way oil reserves are underestimated, but the decision makers in both the companies and the countries are not exposed to the reasons why proven oil reserves are bigger than they are said to be," he said.

Dr Pike's assessment does not include unexplored oilfields, those yet to be discovered or those deemed too uneconomic to exploit.

The environmental implications of his analysis, based on more than 30 years inside the industry, will alarm environmentalists who have exploited the concept of peak oil to press the urgency of the need to find greener alternatives.

"The bad news is that by underestimating proven oil reserves we have been lulled into a false sense of security in terms of environmental issues, because it suggests we will have to find alternatives to fossil fuels in a few decades," said Dr Pike. "We should not be surprised if oil dominates well into the twenty-second century. It highlights a major error in energy and environmental planning – we are dramatically underestimating the challenge facing us," he said.

Proven oil reserves are likely to be far larger than reported because of the way the capacity of oilfields is estimated and how those estimates are added to form the proven reserves of a company or a country. Companies add the estimated capacity of oil fields in a simple arithmetic manner to get proven oil reserves. This gives a deliberately conservative total deemed suitable for shareholders who do not want proven reserves hyped, Dr Pike said.

However, mathematically it is more accurate to add the proven oil capacity of individual fields in a probabilistic manner based on the bell-shaped statistical curve used to estimate the proven, probable and possible reserves of each field. This way, the final capacity is typically more than twice that of simple, arithmetic addition, Dr Pike said. "The same also goes for natural gas because these fields are being estimated in much the same way. The world is understating the environmental challenge and appears unprepared for the difficult compromises that will have to be made."

Jeremy Leggett, author of Half Gone, a book on peak oil, is not convinced that Dr Pike is right. "The flow rates from the existing projects are the key. Capacity coming on stream falls fast beyond 2011," Dr Leggett said. "On top of that, if the big old fields begin collapsing, the descent in supply will hit the world very hard."

Read more!

New Zealand faces power crisis amid drought

Barbara McMahon, The Guardian 9 Jun 08;

New Zealanders are to be urged to wash dishes by hand and turn off lights as the country teeters on the brink of a power crisis caused by drought.

After two years of dry weather, the level of water in lakes that drive New Zealand's hydroelectric power plants is worryingly low.

The energy minister, David Parker, denied claims the country was facing rolling power cuts but said households would be asked to cut electricity consumption by up to 15% during peak early evening periods unless there was "significant" rainfall soon.

Hydroelectric stations usually produce about 75% of New Zealand's electricity but a lack of rain has reduced that output in recent weeks to 50%. Coal, diesel and gas-fired power plants are trying to make up the shortfall, but more strain is expected to be put on the national grid with the arrival of winter in the southern hemisphere.

Backed by the government, the electricity industry is to launch a TV campaign aimed at domestic, commercial and industrial users.

The prime minister, Helen Clark, said: "I think the advice will be that while it's not an emergency, it is time for people to be turning off lights in rooms they are not using, certainly not leaving the computer on all night, the heated towel rail not on for 24 hours a day."

The last time there was a serious power shortage in New Zealand was in 1992 when businesses were forced to use liquid petroleum gas and diesel. Street lighting was rationed and households endured hot water restrictions.

The public was also asked to save power in 2001, 2003 and 2006 but each time rain came soon enough to head off any serious problems.

Phil O'Reilly, the chief executive of Business New Zealand, said poor decisions by successive governments had led to New Zealanders living with the threat of electricity shortages. "You just can't run an economy like this," he said.

"If we get through to the end of winter without blackouts; it was all done by the skin of our teeth. I don't think that's a sensible proposition."

Clark said the commissioning of a new geothermal plant was being brought forward and industrial users of electricity were being targeted to see if they could ease back on demand. "A lot of things are being done to make sure that we move through this dry spell as smoothly as we can," she said.

Read more!

Vowing progress, Japan PM launches climate plan

Harumi Ozawa, Yahoo News 9 Jun 08;

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, vowing a "low-carbon revolution" against global warming, on Monday unveiled a carbon trading market to slash greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 percent by 2050.

Defying resistance from business leaders worried about Japan's fragile economic recovery, Fukuda pledged to take the lead before he hosts the Group of Eight summit of rich nations in one month.

Fukuda called for Japan to cut carbon dioxide blamed for global warming by 60 to 80 percent from current levels by 2050, and to introduce an experimental "cap-and-trade" system that mandates emission reductions.

The leader of the world's second largest economy likened the effort to the Industrial Revolution.

"I believe that we need to make an effort to create a low-carbon revolution so that our descendants 200 years from now will look back and be proud of us," Fukuda said.

Fukuda said Japan would next year set a mid-term target -- the hotly debated topic of ongoing international negotiations -- for slashing emissions after the Kyoto Protocol's obligations for rich nations run out in 2012.

The move comes just days after lawmakers from US President George W. Bush's Republican Party blocked a plan to set up a cap-and-trade system in the world's largest polluter, saying it was risky at a time of high oil prices.

Carbon trading has become a flourishing field, particularly in the European Union which has championed the Kyoto Protocol and called for ambitious mid-term and long-term emission reduction targets.

Fukuda gave few details about the carbon market but said it would be launched on an experimental basis -- "as early as this autumn" -- and he called for "the participation of as many sectors and companies as possible."

The premier also called for a tenfold increase in Japan's use of solar power by 2020 and pledged a fresh 1.2 billion dollars for a fund being set up with the United States and Britain to help developing countries cope with climate change.

Some environmentalists said the effort did not go far enough.

Kathrin Gutmann, climate policy coordinator of conservation group WWF, said that the announcement was "blurred" and that the lack of a 2020 target was "utterly disappointing."

Fukuda was "playing a numbers game to avoid a commitment to deep emission reductions," she said. "Fukuda will have to announce a clear mid-term target soon."

Negotiations on a post-Kyoto treaty have been bogged down by disagreement over the mid-term target, with developing countries insisting that rich nations historically responsible for climate change must take the lead.

Japanese industry, particularly steelmakers and the power industry, have in turn feared the economic costs of a cap-and-trade system and noted that Japan is already more energy efficient than most countries.

Industry has also argued that the 1990 base used to set Kyoto obligations is biased towards the European Union since at that time many future members were heavy polluters in the communist bloc and Britain had not finished privatising its coal industry.

Fukuda agreed with industry on the point, saying: "The action plan won't be successful unless we make changes based on the latest data."

Naoyuki Hata, director of Kiko Network, a Japanese environmental organisation, expressed concern, noting Japan's emissions had risen significantly since 1990.

"I cannot help thinking he was influenced by industry, which simply prefers not having to reduce emissions," he said.

But Jean Jouzel, a French climate expert who is on the executive panel of the UN's Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), praised the initiative.

He said that even though Japan's carbon emissions have risen rather than waned since 1990, such a large long-term cut would more than compensate for it.

"So it's a good effort by Japan," he told AFP in Paris.

The IPCC has warned that unless human-made climate change is halted, the world risks more natural disasters and droughts, putting millions of people at risk.

Fukuda is taking the decision despite sagging popularity at home, with his coalition losing another election on Sunday and the opposition preparing a censure motion against the government.

Vague Japan Climate Plan Could Risk its G8 Ambitions
Chisa Fujioka, PlanetArk 9 Jun 08;

TOKYO - A Japanese climate policy plan to be issued next week is likely to set a 2050 target to cut greenhouse gas pollution but it also needs a mid-term emissions goal for Japan to gain credibility at next month's G8 summit, experts say.

Japan is hosting the summit of rich nations to seal an agreement for the world to halve emissions by 2050, a target that the G8 said they would seriously consider at their summit last year in Germany.

But at a time when developing nations are calling for advanced countries to first commit to ambitious targets over a shorter time period, climate experts say Japan might lack bold policies at home to push international negotiations forward.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is expected to unveil a set of measures on Monday, including a target for Japan to cut emissions by 60-80 percent by 2050, but media reports say he will hold off on setting an interim target until next year.

"I understand a 2050 target is important, but as a practical, political agenda, a medium-term target for 2020 is more important," said Katsuya Okada, the main opposition Democratic Party's point person on climate change, said late on Thursday.

"I don't think we, as politicians, can commit to a target so far away," said Okada, referring to 2050, when he will be 97.

Yurika Ayukawa, vice chairperson of the 2008 Japan G8 Summit NGO Forum, agreed.

"Setting a target for 2050 would be a step forward, but the government needs to make it legally binding and set mid-term targets for 2020 or 2030 to show how it's going to meet that long-term target," she said.

"Unless it commits to a mid-term target, it will be hard to convince developing countries like China, India and Brazil to join a new global framework on fighting climate change."

Big developing nations China, India, Brazil and Indonesia will be at the G8 talks.

About 190 nations have agreed to negotiate a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol by the end of 2009. Kyoto binds 37 industrialised nations to cut emissions by an average 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12.

As pressure grows on governments to form a new plan, the International Energy Agency called on Friday for a US$45 trillion "energy revolution" to stop carbon emissions more than doubling by 2050.

INDUSTRY BACKLASH

The tough UN-led negotiations, however, have made Japan cautious about committing to numerical targets, with domestic industries having long blamed the government for what they see as unfair goals under the Kyoto agreement, analysts say.

Japan is the world's fifth-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, but the only one among the top five under pressure to meet a Kyoto target.

The United States refused to ratify the protocol, Russia is on track to meet its goal and the pact set no targets for China and India because developing nations are excluded from making emissions cuts during the protocol's first phase that ends in 2012.

Japanese industries also object to the target's base year of 1990, which they say ignores major advances businesses made in the 1980s to increase energy efficiency.

A Japanese trade ministry official has floated 2005 as a "fair" post-Kyoto base year, although Tokyo has not officially specified what it should be.

"They don't trust the government's negotiating skills and that's why they've been unsupportive," said Kuniyuki Nishimura, research director at Mitsubishi Research Institute.

Businesses, led by the powerful Keidanren business lobby, have resisted binding targets as well as mandatory emissions trading akin to that already in place in the European Union.

Fukuda, in his policy speech next week, will say the government will consider introducing an emissions trading system after the Kyoto agreement expires, without giving details on how a future scheme would be designed, media said.

"Japan has come to realise that it can't ignore the huge growth in the EU's emissions trading system and the possibility that the United States will launch its own scheme in the future," said Naoyuki Yamagishi, climate change programme director at WWF Japan.

"Throwing his support behind the idea would also be an easy way for Fukuda to show he is doing something on climate change." (Additional reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by David Fogarty)

Read more!

Green tech: is it the new dotcom?

Paul Harris, The Observer 8 Jun 08;

American speculators are pouring cash into start-up technology firms seeking environmental solutions - and big dividends

Rising up next door to an Otis Spunkmeyer cookie bakery in a nondescript Texan business park, the hulking new factory did not look like an answer to the world's energy problems.

But John Langdon, a director at Austin-based solar energy firm HelioVolt, believes that is exactly what it is. Talking over the buzz of power tools and clanging of hammers, he believes this place is part of an energy revolution that will change the face of the American - and the world's - economy.

'The whole transformation is inevitable. We are in the same place in solar energy now as the car industry was in 1901,' he says, without a trace of doubt in his Texan drawl.

Langdon's confidence is shared by many - and not just in solar energy. For HelioVolt is just one of hundreds of firms creating an industry called 'green tech' or 'clean tech'. The term refers to any sort of new technology that can be used commercially in an environmentally friendly way to produce energy or clean up pollution. It is spreading rapidly across America, grabbing headlines in a country now obsessed with spiking oil prices and rising costs of energy.

It is also an industry undergoing a massive financial boom as investors pour billions of speculative dollars into its start-up firms, similar in many ways to the dotcom revolution of the 1990s that gave the world Microsoft, Google and the internet revolution.

All over America green-tech firms are seeking to make a huge profit at the same time as solving the world's energy needs and environmental problems. The figures are huge and growing. Last year alone more than $3.6bn (£1.8bn) of investment cash poured into the industry in the US alone, on top of $2.9bn in 2006, in itself a 78 per cent jump from the previous year. 'The sector is growing at a very rapid pace,' said Jeff Holzschuh, chairman of an energy industry investment fund at Morgan Stanley.

The variety of green-tech firms is dazzling. It ranges from well known alternative energy sources such as wind energy and geothermal to more bizarre forms, such as using microscopic bugs to make synthetic petrol substitutes. Other firms look at biofuels such as ethanol from corn or less controversial sources such as switchgrass or agricultural plant waste. Still more are exploring hydrogen fuel cells big enough to power a building or small enough to fuel a laptop. A recent book, Earth: The Sequel, by environmentalist Fred Krupp, begins with a statement about green tech's possibilities: 'A revolution is on the horizon. A wholescale transformation of the world economy and the way people live.'

Just like the dotcom boom was led by Silicon Valley in California, so are hotspots of green tech appearing in America. The main area so far is probably Austin, the capital of Texas, the old heartland of America's oil industry. HelioVolt is just one of more than 50 green-tech firms now in the city at the cutting edge of a new wave of solar energy firms. It aims to produce building materials embedded with thin but powerful solar energy generators. Thus, instead of having to fit solar units to buildings, the buildings themselves will actually be made of solar power generators.

They will not only provide their own power but sell excess energy into the power grid. The company has risen rapidly, attracting powerful investors, impressed by its technology and the Austin factory, which should be up and running by early next year. Last year HelioVolt easily raised $101m from venture capital firms and its chief executive, BJ Stanbery, is a familiar sight at energy conferences around the US. Sitting in a plush hotel room in Manhattan, fresh from another presentation, he says finding backers was easy: 'Raising money is not a problem for us.'

There is also a widespread 'greening' of America's political system and its wider economy. Hillary Clinton put creating 'green collar' jobs at the heart of her presidential campaign, estimating that up to five million such jobs could be created as the US economy goes green.

Even big firms such as Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola are announcing changes in their environmental practices. Though some of this has been condemned as mere 'green-washing', there is little doubt there has been a fundamental shift towards environmentalism. Last week San Francisco imposed a series of fees on local firms that emit carbon dioxide.

The cause of the change is simple: there is money to be made in going green; that is the hard reality behind the revolution. The bankers and hedge fund managers flooding into the sector are not investing billions to save the planet, but to make a profit. 'It is a strictly for profit group,' said John Eber, managing director of Energy Investments at JP Morgan. Eber has put in a staggering $4.4bn of investment in 43 wind farms.

But, just as the dotcom sector eventually crashed, some worry that green tech may also expand and collapse. 'There is an element of bubble to it,' Stanbery admits. 'But there always is. Some firms will always fail, but others will become huge.' Optimists also point out that green-tech companies differ greatly from dotcom firms. The nature of their research requires heavy investment and equipment and exhaustive testing, not just new software tricks. 'Three guys in a garage can't do what we do,' says Langdon.

Yet there is no denying some similarities. HelioVolt has grown so quickly that its staff sometimes work two or three to a single office. Its break rooms have the requisite trendy ping-pong tables and piles of empty pizza boxes common to Silicon Valley start-ups. But Langdon thinks there is little chance the company will fail. Instead, he envisions a world of buildings constructed from materials that will generate their own power.

Surveying HelioVolt's new factory he made a confident prediction: 'This will be the smallest factory we ever build. The next ones will be much bigger.'

Read more!

Not all 'carbon calculators' are equal

Carbon copies?
Carolyn Fry looks at the best ones online
The Guardian 7 Jun 08;

In a matter of years, the term "carbon footprint" has gone from being an obscure phrase used only by academics to being an entry in the Oxford English dictionary. It is defined by the website Carbon Footprint as "a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide".

There are two ways in which we consume greenhouse gases. First, we directly use up fossil fuels when we draw on electricity and gas to heat and power our homes; when we fill up our cars with petrol and diesel; and when we fly. Second, we indirectly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions through energy that is "embedded" in the items we buy and the leisure activities we participate in.

The annual carbon footprint of the average Briton is around 10 tonnes, but the figure considered to be a sustainable yearly quota for the world's 6 billion inhabitants is just two tonnes apiece. This means we all need to give some serious thought to reducing our carbon footprint.

The first step towards doing so is to calculate the size of your footprint. Fortunately, as climate change has entered the mainstream, calculators designed to do just this have sprung up on the web. The question is how to choose which one to use.

Carbon calculators vary widely in the aspects of your carbon footprint they work out, and the level of accuracy they offer. For an all-round estimate of your direct greenhouse consumption, the government's Act on CO2 calculator is a good starting point. It uses data and factors verified by government departments to calculate the carbon footprint generated by your household's heating and lighting, use of appliances, plus travel.

Carbon Footprint provides a similar calculator, but theirs also makes an estimate of your indirect footprint, taking into account basic information on food choices, recycling, leisure activities and shopping habits.

A more in-depth general carbon calculator is that offered by Resurgence. This requires you to provide more detailed information, such as your electricity use for each quarter in kilowatts (provided on your bill), and the mileage of different journeys taken by road, rail and air. It also attempts to include some indirect greenhouse contributions in sections such as "fuel-intensive leisure activities". This calculator was developed by Mukti Mitchell, pioneer of low-carbon living who designed the zero-emission yacht Explorer.

With aviation being the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, many offsetting companies have set up dedicated flight emissions calculators. These estimate the footprint of your recent holiday flights, then show you how you how to offset them by contributing to carbon-reducing projects, such as schemes supplying fuel-efficient stoves in Uganda or installing wind turbines in China. Climate Care and the CarbonNeutral Company both offer this service.

Be warned, though, that there is great variation in the figures provided by flight emissions calculators. One of the better ones is ChooseClimate's emissions calculator, which enables you to specify the type of ticket, model of plane and occupancy rate. It displays its findings as kilograms of fuel used, kilograms of CO2 generated, and the total warming effect. The latter takes into account other emissions from aviation, such as nitrogen oxides and water vapour, and the fact that CO2 emitted at high altitude has an enhanced warming effect.

Calculators for other types of travel are beginning to become available. CO2balance.com enables you to calculate emissions from some rail and car journeys. Meanwhile, transportdirect.info provides a means to compare the emissions made by a small car, large car, train, coach and plane for a set distance. It is, however, likely to be some time before we can accurately compare travel to a wide range of destinations by train, plane, ferry, car and coach.

All carbon calculators make assumptions. For example, most calculators of household energy consumption use a conversion factor of 0.43 when working out the number of kilograms of CO2 produced per kilowatt of electricity. This figure is provided by Defra and based on the projected fuel mix of the national grid for the years 1998-2000.

However, the actual figure will be based on the mix of fuel used to generate the electricity provided by your specific supplier during a particular year. You can see how your supplier compares to the average at ElectricityInfo.org.

For the results of a survey into the most accurate carbon calculators by the Climate Outreach and Information Network, see coinet.org.uk.

Having derived an estimate for your carbon footprint, you'll need to think about how to trim it. The UK government has pledged to cut emissions by 20% before 2012, to around eight tonnes per capita. It further aims to reduce national emissions by 60% before 2050, to around four tonnes each. These are good targets to adopt as personal goals, although ultimately we should all be aiming for the global allocation of two tonnes each.

This may seem like an impossible task. But if enough people begin cutting their carbon footprint now, the CO2 saving will soon stack up, whichever you calculate it.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 9 Jun 08

Zoanthids of Cyrene
our last trip with Dr James on the wildfilms blog

Other Cyrene sightings
skin cushions on the budak blog, nudibranchs on the budak blog and hairy sea hares on the wildfilms blog

Pedal Ubin
lots of wildlife despite the rain on the toddycats blog aka Puddle Ubin

Labrador life
clip of leaf porter crab on the sgbeachbum blog

Life History of the Malay Lacewing
on the butterflies of singapore blog

Common Iora eating praying mantis and caterpillar
on the bird ecology blog

Dark-necked Tailorbird collecting floss
on the bird ecology blog

Read more!

Petrochemicals and seahorses

New Straits Times 4 Jun 08;

PENINSULAR Malaysia's latest environmental cause celebre is surfacing in the Sungai Pulai estuary, an internationally recognised area of wilderness now threatened by industrial development. Overseen by the Port of Tanjung Pelepas authority, a RM2 billion petrochemical plant is slated to rise on more than 2,000 hectares upstream of the estuary, to supply the needs of the huge new manufacturing concerns anticipated for southern Johor.

With the proposed petrochemical plant a crucial base for manufacturing enterprises in gases and solvents, paints and varnishes, fertilisers and pesticides, waste and sewage treatment and a host of other such activities, it seems a faux pas for the PTP to contend the proposed plant will cause little or no degradation to the natural environment of Johor's southwest coast.

This area is environmentally unique. Internationally recognised as a wetlands site of significant biodiversity, the Sungai Pulai estuary's mangrove forest reserve is among the country's most extensive.

Moreover, the estuary debouches onto expansive seagrass beds that are the natural habitat for the charming creature that has become the symbol of resistance to plans for industrial development there: the spotted seahorse, Hippocampus kuda, its Malay species name endearing it even more to locals.

Although the project's sponsors insist they will comply with the dictates of the project's environmental impact assessment, it would be thoroughly disingenuous to suggest that all damaging effects on this ecosystem will be minimised into irrelevance.

Such confident assurances have rung increasingly hollow over the years, as the long-term outcomes of coastal development projects on the mainland and offshore islands have tended to prove environmentalists right and developers wrong.
Yes, land-clearing did raise algal loads in waters around Pulau Perhentian and damage reefs around Pulau Redang. No, it wasn't possible to simply "transplant" an entire coral reef alive in Pulau Tioman. And yes, the Sungai Pulai project will affect the mangroves, the seagrass beds and their seahorses, as well as the birds, fish and marine mammal populations there. The estuary has already suffered considerable declines in fish and prawn stocks in recent years. A petrochemical plant upstream will hardly help restore them.

The trade-off, of course, is the billions of ringgit anticipated in recompense for the Iskandar Malaysia project; an ambitious programme carrying with it the economic hopes of the peninsular south for the rest of this century.

This is the conundrum at the heart of the matter, not whether or not this will be good for seahorses. Make no mistake: it won't be.

Read more!

Developer Allays Fears Over Project at Sungai Pulai Johor

Nisha Sabanayagam, New Straits Times Red Orbit 3 Jun 08

KUALA LUMPUR: The developer of a petrochemical plant and maritime centre at Sungai Pulai estuary has stated that it will not lead to environmental degradation along the Johor coastline.

The developer, Seaport Terminals, said the projects would incorporate strategies to reduce the possibility of damage to the surroundings.

Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) chairman Datuk Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman said the company was complying with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements on toxic waste, including building a centralised industrial waste and sewerage treatment plant.

The RM2 billion petrochemical plant and maritime centre is expected to attract more than RM15 billion of direct foreign investments in Johor.

Mohd Sidik was responding to claims by environmentalists that more than 2,000ha of mangrove forests along Sungai Boh, Sungai Chengkih and Sungai Dinar areas were in danger of destruction due to the construction of the petrochemical plant and maritime centre.

Detractors of the projects had also claimed that a vast seagrass bed housing the largest seahorse population in Malaysia was in danger of being destroyed.

A non-governmental organisation called Save our Seahorses (SOS) had even set up a website opposing the development and listing possible causes of destruction to the environment.

SOS head and University Malaysia Terengganu marine biology lecturer Choo Chee Kuang said massive development around the estuary had destroyed large tracts of seagrass beds, which was home to the Spotted Seahorse or Hippocampus kuda, which faces extinction.

He also claimed that a Ramsar wetlands site adjacent to the proposed site would be affected.

The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971 is an inter-governmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international co-operation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

While agreeing that about 2,000ha of forest would be destroyed, Mohd Sidik said there were plans to protect as much seagrass beds as possible.

The largest seagrass bed was located off Pulau Merambong, an island outside the Sungai Pulai estuary.

The island will be adopted by the PTP, which will try to have it gazetted it as a marine sanctuary.

As for seagrass beds located upstream of Sungai Pulai, he said that specific mitigation plans, as required under the EIA, would be carried out.

"We will use silt nets along the river to prevent pollution at the upstream area during the development process."

With regard to allegations regarding the Ramsar site, Mohd Sidik said 80 per cent of the planned development area had a natural buffer of about 1.5km.

"Also, only about 20 per cent of the planned area borders the Ramsar site. For this area, we have complied with the EIA requirements for the development of an eco-park, which will also act as a buffer zone."

SOS also claimed that villagers around the development area were worried about the possible effects of the projects on their livelihood.

Tan Khin Thong, a villager from nearby Kampung Simpang Arang and the head of the Orang Asli Seletar Fishermen's Association, said run- off from the plant may affect the water.

As it is, much of the port's development had affected their catch.

"We used to catch a hundred ringgit worth of fish a day, now we are lucky if we can catch RM20 worth," he said.

As an alternative, the villagers go hunting for wild boar so that they can sell the meat, said Tan, adding that the Orang Asli had been fishing in the area since the 1940s.

Seaport Terminals, on the other hand, has pledged that the projects will not lead to adverse effects on the local community or environment.

"When we built the PTP, we also built a new township for the villagers. They were also given a new and modern jetty for their fishing activities."

Those whose land had been affected by the development of the port had been compensated between RM250,000 and RM350,000 pe r acre, Mohd Sidik said.

He added that villagers affected by the projects would also be taken care of.

Read more!

Pulau Merambong: Fears of Singapore staking a claim

Satiman Jamin, New Straits Times 9 Jun 08;

JOHOR BARU: Pulau Merambong, a 0.3ha uninhabited island about three kilometres from Tanjung Kupang in Gelang Patah, was virtually unknown until neglected islands in Johor waters became a hot topic in the aftermath of the International Court of Justice decision on Pedra Banca.

The fear that Pulau Merambong could become another contentious point with Singapore stems from its proximity to the republic, being about 1.6km from the reclaimed area of Tuas.

Tales of Gelang Patah fishermen harassed by Singapore marine police near Pulau Merambong are not uncommon.

That further stoke fears that the marine police's show of authority could be a prelude to Singapore laying a claim to the island later, as was the case of Pedra Banca.

Most of the fishermen in Kampung Pendas Laut, Kampung Ladang Hujung and Kampung Tanjung Adang have long questioned the actions of Singapore marine police in Malaysian waters.
Kampung Ladang Hujung Fishermen Club chairman Abdul Rahman Salleh, 56, said his boat almost capsized after being side-swiped by a Singapore marine police vessel.

"We were well in Malaysian waters when they came alongside our boat and told us to move out of the area.

"I refused to budge and pointed out that they were the ones who should leave the area as they were trespassing."

Abdul Rahman said the Singapore vessel then made a sudden turn which almost caused his boat to capsize.

The incident occurred 10 years ago but the harassment has not stopped as other fishermen have told him of their experience with the Singapore marine police.

For a small island, Pulau Merambong has three beaches - sandy, rocky and mangrove.

Although marine life is not as abundant as it used to be, the rare kilah or noble volute (Cymbiola nobilis) and some starfish can be found during low tide.

The kilah's sweet flesh and patterned shell are highly sought after.

It is said that seahorses and dugong used to thrive in the waters, but sightings of the creatures are rare nowadays.

A newly-painted lighthouse stands at the southeastern tip of the island. Malaysian and Johor flags perched on the tower are the only visible evidence of our country's sovereignty over the island.

Further inland, a Muslim graveyard dominates the small plains at a foothill.

Fisherman Mohd Khairul Anwar Abdul Rahman, 23, said decades ago, the folk of Gelang Patah would bury their dead on Merambong as the mainland's wild animals could dig up bodies from the graves.

The graveyard is unsafe for the barefooted as the flat, thorny seeds of the sepetir tree carpet the ground.

Sepetir (Sindora siamensis) is in the list of threatened species of the International Union of the Conservation of Nature in 2006.

On the hilltop, there are two more graves under a zinc-roof shed. The kettles and water containers in the shed suggest that people had stayed there before.

Behind the hilltop graves, more than five large holes are found in the wooded area, whose origins are linked to stories of people digging for treasures left by pirates.

Only the sandy and mangrove beaches are accessible from the hilltop.

The steep cliff with jagged rocks and mossy slippery boulders is a natural barrier to the rocky beach.

The rocky beach can be divided into three areas: the rocks and boulders underneath the cliff; the wide expanse of terraced ridges of jagged rocks; and an area of stones and pebbles carved by waves.

Snails, crabs and bivalves live in the cracks and in between rocks, only visible during low tides.

The sandy beach is made up of tiny granules of pulverised rocks, the result of waves pummelling the rocky beach next to it. Thus, the sand has the same reddish brown colour as the rocks.

A few metres from the lighthouse, at the edge of the sandy beach, rambong shrubs abound. It could have been the namesake of the island.

After dark, the blinking light from the tower is dwarfed by the smokestacks of a power station in the reclaimed shores of Tuas, while the lights on the Second Link are just mere dots on the horizon.

Read more!

It’s about cruelty, not profits

Letter from Dudley Au, Today Online 9 Jun 08

THE REPLY from Resort World Sentosa (RWS) to the letter “Of sharks’ fins and high rollers” (June 5) from Liang Dingzi appears to have missed the point.

RWS :referred to a synergy of business and environment protection in “The 90-10 business decision” (June 7).

While we understand that in any business, profitability is preferred to insolvency, the moral balance sought relative to the consumption of sharks’ fins is based on cruelty. Protection, it is admitted, has a link to the species whose fins are consumed to satisfy epicurean fastidiousness, as well as traditional epicurism.

The species can be brought to the brink of extinction or extinction itself.

In this sense, RWS is correct about fauna protection because the breeding of sharks is relatively slow, having only one or two offspring between fairly long intervals.

The crucial factor, however, is the cruelty inflicted on the sharks.

The dorsal fins are sliced off and the sharks thrown back into the sea to die a slow death through starvation (unable to hunt) or falling prey to other predators because of the inability to defend themselves — the mutilation inflicted upon them has deprived the sharks of stability in movement.

Cruelty, therefore, is the prime factor around which revolves the debate and to say only a small quantity is eaten in private does not eradicate the cruelty involved to the animal and also insults logic.

This reasoning makes it clear that cruelty in small doses and the fins not seen to be eaten (in private) by high rollers is acceptable. This appears to look like convoluted logic.

Cruelty in any form and dosage is not acceptable nor justifiable. One either accepts the cruelty or rejects it.

There is no middle ground, where the supposed balance meets. What is contentious, in reality, is cruelty.

Read more!

Not mad, just Acres of love for wild animals

Shobana Kesava, Straits Times 9 Jun 08;

WHEN Mr Louis Ng set up a welfare group here to improve the lot of wild animals, he was labelled a fanatic.

Some thought he had a screw loose.

Seven years later, he is no longer a voice in the wilderness.

Acres, short for Animal Concerns Research & Education Society, has 12,000 volunteers and donors, government funding and - this is crucial - status as an institution of public character, which allows donations to it to be tax-exempt.

Mr Ng, 29, said: 'I was always told: 'You're a small fry' and 'You can't change big organisations'.'

He has not only made the authorities sit up and take notice, he now works with them to nab those in the illegal wildlife trade.

Acres is also building a shelter in Sungei Tengah big enough to house and give medical treatment to at least 400 animals; it even works with other animal welfare groups to give out grants to students for their own animal-protection projects.

His secret? Perseverance.

A baby chimpanzee named Rhamba started it all for him in 2000. Then a 21-year-old volunteer photographer for the zoo, he said he saw a keeper punch Rhamba in the face to discipline the animal.

He said: 'She ran to me and hugged me. I knew then that I had to speak on her behalf.'

He tipped off The Straits Times, which reported the incident and that started a groundswell of support from animal lovers who successfully campaigned for Rhamba to be returned to her family.

The zoo denied that this was a problem, but following the media publicity, it stopped isolating baby chimps from their families.

Adding that zookeepers have come a long way since then, Mr Ng still considers the episode 'the best thing that happened in my life'.

Inspired to do more for animals, he and eight friends started what would become Singapore's first wildlife protection agency, scraping together less than $1,000 in combined savings.

The National University of Singapore-trained biologist was then doing his masters in primate conservation part-time with the Oxford Brookes University in Britain, but through sheer will and support from friends, he got Acres up and running on a shoestring in 2001.

He and his team began by fanning out to give talks in schools.

Public education is ongoing. In the past seven years, Mr Ng estimated, Acres has reached out to over 200,000 people about animal abuse and how animals can be better protected.

In between day jobs, the Acres team started gathering information on trade in illegal wildlife here and sharing that information with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), which then launches investigations to break the chain of supply of and demand for illegal wildlife.

AVA spokesman Goh Shih Yong now refers to Acres as one among its 'extra pairs of eyes and ears'.

The money began rolling in, starting with an $8,000 grant from the Lee Foundation. To date, the largest donation has been from the Government - a $120,000 cheque from the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre.

No corners are cut on the animals.

A vervet monkey confiscated from a factory where it had been caged for six years was flown back to an African reserve, for example.

Acres' six full-time employees, however, survive on minimal wages and generous family support: Mr Ng draws only $1,400 a month. The other five employees scrape by on as little as $500 each.

His 30-year-old zoologist wife Amy Corrigan, whom he met while researching gibbons in the Wildlife Friends of Thailand Rescue Centre, is now Acres' director of research and education.

She said: 'We really need people who are completely committed because we want as much of our funds as possible to go to the animals.'

The public has delivered with tip-offs. Calls to Acres' hotline have resulted in about 200 animals being rescued in the last four years and resettled in the zoo, Jurong BirdPark and Sentosa's Underwater World.

About 2,000 dedicated volunteers also pitch in to do undercover work. They visit traditional Chinese medicine shops and pet shops armed with hidden cameras and leading questions, and keep their eyes peeled for illegal products such as bears' bile and tigers' penises or endangered animals such as pig-nosed turtles.

Once gathered, the evidence is passed to the AVA, which swoops in to confiscate the products and animals and nab the offenders.

'One time in 2005, a tip-off led us to a man who kept 11 animals of seven different species in his bedroom that he got from the illegal wildlife trade,' recalled Mr Ng.

Mr Ng also takes pride in Acres' successful lobbying to increase the penalty for wildlife smuggling tenfold - from $5,000 per animal to $50,000.

To do this, it worked with Dr Geh Min, the immediate past president of the Nature Society of Singapore and then Nominated Member of Parliament.

Dr Geh said she was struck by Mr Ng's thoroughness and commitment: 'We met several times and he'd done all his homework. It was really because of his recommendations and determination that we got the amendment to the Bill pushed through in 2006.'

Acres' expertise in the field has also been acknowledged by the American embassy. US officials who had negotiated a Free Trade Agreement with Singapore asked Acres for its input on whether Singapore was staying true to the section of the pact on illegal animal trade.

Mr Ng took that as a cue to raise the need for the improvement of legislation on the trade and possession of endangered species, and a wildlife rescue centre.

The group's efforts have so impressed Law Minister K. Shanmugam that he agreed - on short notice - to speak at Acres' seventh anniversary celebrations last month.

Referring to Mr Ng, the minister said to the dinner guests: 'This young man has a lot of spunk and we should, in Singapore society, support organisations like this and a young man like this.'

The dinner raised $80,000 and the menu was - naturally - vegetarian.

Read more!

The best of both worlds: environmental engineering in Singapore

Zul Othman, Today Online 9 Jun 08;

YOU could say that it was a concept ahead of its time.

At least a decade before the Government singled out the environmental science and civil engineering sectors as the industries to watch recently, two campuses on different continents — Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Stanford University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering — were already in discussion about a collaboration.

The aim was simple: To prepare students for a career in a field that includes wastewater management, water quality, air pollution and environmental microbiology.

“It’s hard to predict where this course is going to go, but the Singapore water hub concept shows we are on the right track,” joked Associate Professor Edmond Lo Yat-Man (picture), co-director of the Singapore Stanford Partnership (SSP). “We’d like to think we had the foresight to have this programme in place even before the Government began making plans for the concept!”

Set up in 2003, the SSP offers both the NTU Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in Environmental Science and Engineering.

Foresight or not, they readily admit that the last few years were a steep learning curve for the institution.

“When we started, no one quite knew what to expect and the first batch of students got a real shock :— they had the most intense summer programme anyone has survived,” chuckled Professor Stephen Monismith of Stanford University.

“It worked well and what I findinteresting is that the students we see in the SSP programme aren’t those who would typical apply to Stanford and they see the opportunities more than the students in the United States do.”

Response has since been overwhelming: Each year, 120 to 150 applicants from throughout Asia, including Indonesia, China, India, Vietnam and Thailand :— vie for places even though the school only accepts 30 students each time.

They are also expecting 10 Singaporean students next year, the largest number they’ve seen so far, said Prof Lo.

Course work is identical on both campuses, but the MS programme requires one year, with the first quarter in residence at the Stanford campus in California, while the PhD degree requires approximately four years of study.

Teaching at the Singapore campus is done by Stanford and NTU faculty, giving students ample opportunities to interact with professors from both universities. This also makes for exciting classroom dynamics, said Prof Monismith.

“Recently, we had a joint study on lakes so we had a mix of Stanford and SSP students getting on boats and studying the Kranji Reservoir.

“All the students thought that was enjoyable, as it was a great opportunity for international exposure and networking,” he added.

To forge closer bonds between students and lecturers in both schools, Prof Lo also noted that lessons between SSP and Stanford are linked via cyberspace.

“Other then the time difference, which plays a big part since the hours overlap, we’re also looking at increasing our PhD component,” he said. “Right now we have six PhD students under us, we’re hoping to increase that because they will give us a chance to do more cutting edge research.”

That is what attracted Mr Ronn Goei, 23, to the master’s course in the first place. Aside from securing a lucrative job within an emerging industry, he believes that the union between East and West also means he gets an education which is the best of both worlds.

“They don’t only throw stuff at us and force us to study for the exams,” said Mr Goei. “We are given options to explore our field of study more through projects and research. It’s harder but it definitely makes you put more thought into what you’re learning.”

Read more!

Cyclists-on-footpaths trial may be extended

Study shows Tampines residents quite positive to idea of sharing paths
Melissa Sim, Straits Times 9 Jun 08;

THE year-long trial in Tampines to allow cyclists on footpaths might well be extended.

Residents will know the decision in two weeks - be it to extend the trial, to allow cyclists on footpaths or to send them back to the roads.

Speaking at the fourth Tampines Town Hall Forum, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, a Tampines GRC MP, said the Tampines grassroots groups would consult the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Traffic Police, but 'ultimately, whether we proceed or not, depends on the residents'.

He noted that the response to the trial and figures from an evaluation done by an independent consultancy seem to indicate that Tampines residents were 'moderately positive' about cyclists and pedestrians sharing the footpaths.

The trial ended on May 30.

It had its roots in a 2005 parliamentary debate, when Tampines GRC MP Irene Ng called for footpaths to be opened up to cyclists, given a rising number of road accidents involving them. She offered Tampines as a testing ground as it has paths as wide as 3m in some areas.

Already some infrastructural changes have been made in the housing estate in the last year.

MP and Tampines Town Council chairman Ong Kian Min told residents that the council had built a short bicycle lane in Tampines Street 32 behind a bus stop to end friction between cyclists and bus commuters.

On top of this, about $1million will go into building 2.2km of additional bicycle lanes in the estate by mid-next year.

The LTA will also work with the town council over the next three to five years to build a $3.5 million, 7km-long bicycle network that will connect residents to schools, train stations and bus interchanges.

Mr Mah said he knew Tampines as an estate of cyclists, and that the trial was aimed at making it safer for them to get around.

But, he said, this should not be at the expense of the safety of pedestrians, some of whom feel that sharing the footpaths with cyclists would put the young and the very old at risk of being run down.

Figures from the Traffic Police, however, indicate that no pedestrian-cyclist accidents happened in Tampines before or during the trial.

On the roads there, 25 reported accidents between motorists and cyclists occurred last year and three in the first quarter of this year.

TSM consultancy, engaged by a committee comprising Tampines grassroots groups, the LTA and the Traffic Police to evaluate the trial, noted that 'conflict rates' - calculated from the number of times cyclists had to swerve or brake divided by the number of cyclists observed - have been more than halved.

The evaluation also suggested that cyclists were practising the footpath courtesies they had been taught at the start of the trial.

A poll of 565 cyclists and non-cyclists in Tampines also turned up a positive response: About 70 per cent of non-cyclists either said they were for allowing cyclists on footpaths or for extending the trial; 80 per cent of cyclists took this view.

Tampines North resident Edmund Quay, 70, a retiree, said he was for the trial continuing, but with 'a greater emphasis on safety education for both cyclists and pedestrians'. Of cyclists speeding on the footpaths, he said: 'Those are just a few black sheep. As a pedestrian, I still support the idea.'

Tampines considers extending trial to let cyclists share footpath with pedestrians
Channel NewsAsia 8 Jun 08;

SINGAPORE : Going green is becoming a popular choice among some Tampines residents in this age of rising fuel prices.

They are considering whether to extend a year-long trial of allowing cyclists on the same paths as pedestrians.

Cyclists can be seen all over Tampines, probably one of the most bicycle-friendly towns in Singapore.

Last May, it started a year-long trial to let cyclists share the footpath with pedestrians.

They even had volunteer traffic wardens to educate both parties on the right use of the path.

The area's MPs are now looking at three options - legislate the system, extend the trial or drop it altogether.

But before a decision is made, residents got a chance to give their feedback on Sunday, and there were strong opinions for and against the idea.

One resident said, "If cyclists choose to go on the footpath, then they must observe all the safety precautions."

Another said, "Cycling on the footpath - I will definitely appreciate it."

A third commented, "It is a good way to promote bicycling."

A fourth noted, "I am of the view that (we are) not ready to legislate until the infrastructure is all ready."

One concern the residents have is of pedestrians being knocked into, even when they have right of way.

Another is that the authorities are merely shifting the problem of high accident figures involving cyclists on the roads, to the footpaths.

But Tampines Town Council Chairman Ong Kian Min said cyclists were already on pavements all over Singapore, and the Tampines trial was to make things safer for everyone.

In fact, well-known transport academic Dr Paul Barter even suggested having a "Mr or Ms Bicycle" within the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to co-ordinate policies.

However, all of them agreed that there is a need for three things to happen - education for all, enforcement for the errant few and improved infrastructure.

National Development Minister and MP for Tampines GRC, Mah Bow Tan, said, "One day you may be a cyclist, and (on) another (day), you may be pedestrian, so don't think you are in one camp or the other. We are all cyclists or pedestrians at one time or another, and if we all learn to co-exist, we are actually making life more pleasant for ourselves and our families."

A decision on the issue is expected in the next fortnight, after MPs speak with the Traffic Police and LTA.

Regardless of the final decision, Tampines Town Council will be building at least 2.2 kilometres of new cycle paths at the cost of S$1 million, and it will be ready by the middle of next year.

Tampines GRC is also working with the LTA to not just create more bicycle paths but also widen existing pedestrian footpaths, at the cost of S$3.5 million over the next three to five years. - CNA/ms

Read more!

Malaysia's forests: Have they grown or shrunk?

States and government agency report different sets of figures on the acreage of forest reserves
Straits Times 9 Jun 08;

KUALA LUMPUR - HAS Malaysia recorded a net gain or net loss of permanent forest reserves over the past five years? The answer depends on how one, and who, reads government gazettes, reported the New Sunday Times.

According to statistics from state gazettes, state governments added 38,800ha of forest reserves, but cut down 40,500ha, between 2001 and 2005. This means that peninsular Malaysia lost a net total of 1,700ha - the size of more than 2,000 football fields - of its permanent forest reserves in five years.

But the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia (JPSM) painted a contrasting picture, saying there was an additional 6,800ha in permanent forest reserves during the period.

It stated that there was an addition of 23,300ha over the period, with omission, or degazetted areas, of only 16,500ha.

When states add forest reserve acreage, they gazette these areas. Similarly, omission means degazettement.

Interestingly, the department also cited the gazettes as its source of information.

Discrepancies between the figures in the state gazettes and what the department reported, based on those same figures, are baffling.

For example, JPSM placed reserve cuts at 16,500ha. This does not tally with what the gazettes - the only legal documents proving a permanent forest reserve addition or excision process - state, reported the New Sunday Times.

Based on four major excisions plucked from the gazettes, the total had already breached the 18,000ha mark. There were 115 other excisions in those five years.

On the inconsistencies in the figures, the department said: 'Since the procedures of gazettement and degazettement are lengthy and involve several parties, figures might be displaced along the process.'

Over the past decade, forest reserves have been on a slight, but steady, decline.

In 1978, the National Forestry Council and the National Land Council jointly approved a proposal for a permanent forest estate of 5.18 million ha, which is about 40 per cent of the land area of peninsular Malaysia.

The target, which has not been met, continues to appear unattainable if the recent trend is any thing to go by.

Between 1999 and 2004, total forest reserves fell from 4.85 million ha to 4.68 million ha, and stabilised at 4.7 million ha, according to JPSM's statistics.

On how viable the 5.18 million ha target was, considering that peninsular Malaysia is short of a whopping 480,000ha of forest reserves, the department played down concerns.

'There are no worries of diminishing reserves in the near future because the role of the Forestry Department pertaining to permanent forest reserves is still relevant,' it said.

The department added that forests played a significant role in the socio-economic development of the country.

However, some of the areas had to be sacrificed or converted to other uses for the betterment of the country, such as in poverty alleviation, it said.

This was especially so in the case of massive land development and resettlement schemes such as Felda, it said.

'Malaysia aims to be an advanced developing country and should not be hindered by global development issues such as climate change,' it said.

'Nevertheless, active steps are being undertaken by JPSM and state forestry departments to ensure more gazettement of forest areas and to further classify them as protection forests.'

Biggest losses in Perak and Negeri Sembilan
Straits Times 9 Jun 08;

THE states of Perak and Negeri Sembilan experienced the biggest net loss in permanent forest reserves between 2001 and 2005.

Perak lost about 11,900ha, an area larger than the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, while Negeri Sembilan lost 8,800ha, reported the New Sunday Times.

Pahang, which is 42 per cent covered by forest reserves, had an impressive net gain of 26,600ha.

Although it cleared 3,000ha of reserves, it added 29,000ha, said its Forestry Department deputy director, Mr Jalil Md Som.

Most of the increase was from the gazettement of peat swamp forests, he said.

'These peat swamps are not to be logged or even touched, although they are categorised as agriculture land,' he said. 'We have to keep them forested because of their importance as carbon sinks.'

Perlis and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya registered no change in the size of their reserves.

Negeri Sembilan forestry director Ahmad Zainal said a quarter of the state was still covered with reserves as of 2005.

On how the state was going to increase its permanent forest reserves, he said: 'Any state land can be planted back with forests and regazetted. There are such things as reforestation and afforestation.'

Read more!

Bumper harvests look likely to check food prices

But don't expect cheaper produce immediately or the lows of the past
Jessica Lim, Straits Times 9 Jun 08;

SINGAPOREANS emptying their pockets to pay for skyrocketing food prices can expect some breathing space later this year.

Bumper harvests in wheat, rice, sugar and dairy products have caused prices across the board to dip.

The reason for the supply surge: huge increases in crop areas and animal production to combat the record-breaking highs that food prices hit earlier this year.

Wheat, for example, traded in international markets at US$7.85 (S$10.72) per bushel on Friday - down from a peak of more than US$13 per bushel in February - on the back of a projected record wheat crop of 645 million tonnes worldwide in 2008/2009.

Prices continue to go south, but it is unclear if they will hit last year's June average of US$5.36 per bushel.

Similarly, rough-rice futures on the Chicago Board of Trade have fallen about 20 per cent since touching a record US$25.07 per 100 pounds on April 24.

But there is no reason to cheer just yet.

Consumers will have to wait a few more months before they feel the trickle effects in their pockets: supermarket stock is still mainly the high-priced stuff, said importers.

Explained rice importer Goh Hock Ho: 'When prices on the market go down, we importers do not feel it until some time later.

'Now we are still paying high prices for Thai rice, we have not seen any fall.'

A Straits Times check with supermarkets unearthed only one product which has become cheaper so far.

A 1kg packet of Mitrphol Pure Refined Sugar that cost $1 in April, now costs 95 cents.

This despite sugar prices dropping by far more.

Prices have decreased 35 per cent since the beginning of the year - and sugar is now selling on international markets at about 10 US cents a pound, about half the price level of two years ago.

Local food producers spoken to have yet to adjust their prices.

Flour manufacturer Prima Food, for one, will not be reducing prices until the end of this year.

The reason: The firm bought its wheat in bulk earlier, and prices were high then.

'We do not expect our raw material costs to be lower until the fourth quarter of the year,' said a Prima Foods spokesman, who added that any cost savings would be passed on to customers immediately.

Prima Food manufactures about 400 tonnes of flour daily, and supplies wheat flour to most manufacturers and retailers here.

Mr Liow Kian Huat, chairman of the Singapore Bakery and Confectionery Trade Association, said: 'The new crop has not come in yet, so it will take a few months till prices go down. Both consumers and bakers here should understand that.'

While prices are stabilising, they are not likely to return to the lows of a decade ago, said analysts, partly because of the competition for crops for fuel production and land use for industrialisation, as well as the effects of hoarding and market speculation.

The latest rice prices, for example, are still far above the average price of around US$385 a tonne in January, and even further beyond the 2003 price of about US$200 a tonne, leaving poorer consumers struggling to afford the staple.

'Current high prices are not sustainable, but I doubt that we will see price levels fall to those of a couple of years ago, because the emerging economies like China and India have been consuming so much,' said Mr Jimmy Koh, treasury research head of United Overseas Bank.

limjess@sph.com.sg

NO SIGNS OF A RECESSION, SAYS THARMAN: HOME, PAGE H4

Going down

WHEAT

Feb: US$13 (S$17.74) per bushel

Now: US$7.85


SUGAR

Feb: 13 US cents per pound (0.45kg)

Now: 10.6 US cents


WHOLE MILK POWER

Feb: US $4,625 per metric tonne

Now: US$4,400


BUTTER

Feb: US$4,375 per metric tonne

Now: US$4,150

Note: All prices are estimates.

Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research and Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics

Read more!

For Singaporeans, a dose of discomfort

Pain of rising priceswill be with us fora while, says Tharman
Loh Chee Kong, Today Online 9 Jun 08;

THE weekend surge in oil prices might have sent ripples around the worldand prompted drastic government measures across the globe but there is no need to press the panic button in Singapore for now.

Giving a snapshot of how the Republic’s economy is coping with inflation and rising commodity prices, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam nevertheless said yesterday that Singaporeans have to experience “discomfort” that would “be with us for a while”.

Speaking on the sidelines of a People’s Association event to promote entrepreneurship among the Indian community, Mr Tharman said that while global rice prices are heading south, “unfortunately, the fuel price increase in Malaysia means that vegetables, poultry and some other prices will go up”.

When asked if Singapore could be headed for a slump, Mr Tharman said: “I don’t think we are heading towards a recession, at least from the signs that we are having at this point. But there will be discomfort on the ground.”

Noting that commodity prices “are much higher than they used to be”,Mr Tharman said the Government “are tackling it and we are confident of tackling it” through its measures including the growth dividends and Goods and Services Tax offset package, as well as ground up community initiatives to help the needy families.

“Despite all the problems we have, it’s worth reminding ourselves that it’s still an economy that is growing,” Mr Tharman said. “Unemployment rate is low. From the latest surveys, our polytechnic and university grads have exceeded their predecessors’ starting pay as well as the speed at which they obtained their jobs.”

And in spite of the tight labour market, Mr Tharman was heartened with the rising number of Singaporeans “who want to do their own thing”.

This bodes well for the country’sefforts to instill an entrepreneurial spirit in its citizens, he added.

Earlier in his speech, Mr Tharman observed how the Indian community, which used to comprise mainly teachers, civil servants and workers, has began churning out entrepreneurs.

Said Mr Tharman: “Even in today’s context, you ask a non-Indian what he thought of the Indian community, he would say, ‘Oh, very good doctors and lawyers’.”

Over the last five years, he hasobserved a “significant” change in theattitudes of Singapore youth of all races, who are now “more willing to try something different, instead of following well-trodden paths”.

Recounting his recent visit to Israel, Mr Tharman described the country as an “unruly democracy where everyone has his own opinions”. But he added that “it creates a highly innovative economy”.

And he believes Singapore can become likewise.

Said Mr Tharman: “We have it in ourselves to do the same. It is not outside our cultures to be questioning people, to be people who have minds of our own. But we have more evolving to do.”

Read more!