Best of our wild blogs: 10 Jan 09

St John's northern shore
on the wonderful creation blog

All "Four" One, One "Four" All
a trip to Cyrene Reef on the Psychedelic Nature blog and wild shores of singapore blog.

People as polyps: gatecrashing the Hard Coral Workshop
on the wild shores of singapore blog

Citizen Science and the collection of bird data in Singapore
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Nature in Singapore: first articles of 2009
on the wild shores of singapore blog

An Indian Cuckoo and three Straw-headed Bulbuls
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Read more!

Recession and the Singapore dream

Home is where the Singaporean heart is, this year
Neo Chai Chin, Today Online 10 Jan 09;

THE recession has wrought dramatic changes in the Singapore dream — it has shifted closer to home and hearth, with luxuries like travel and buying a car playing second fiddle in the year ahead.

The top priorities are now children, starting a family, and buying or upgrading one’s home, according to OCBC Bank’s survey released on Friday. Singaporeans’ top aspiration last year of “seeing the world” is now just a mid-priority.

Four in 10 respondents intend to cut spending this year, due to worries of losing their job. This weighed most heavily on the minds of singles and those with young children — half listed job loss as their top concern. These same groups were the most pessimistic, with one in two thinking their goals would now take longer to achieve. Only one in three of the other groups surveyed — those without children, and those with older children — felt that way.

The mature Singaporeans, those with older children, were the most carefree, with two in three saying they did not have any concerns at all. For over half of them, the dream was to achieve financial freedom and retire comfortably.

Singaporeans look set to be less generous this year, however — while charity and volunteering ranked seventh on their list of goals last year, it did not even feature in the top ten this year. Sociologist Paulin Straughan sees this as a pragmatic reaction. “When you don’t have excess, you’ll look within your own needs, though this becomes a concern for charities and voluntary welfare organisations,” she said, noting that OCBC’s survey of 400 Singaporeans aged 18 to 64 was not representative of society-at-large.

On 2009’s priorities, Associate Professor Straughan said: “When dreams tied to material gains are threatened, we start to see how vulnerable they are and retreat to the kind of support we know we can count on. Family will always be there for you.”

The survey was conducted last October and November, and OCBC’s head of global wealth management Nicholas Tan said the bank would use the findings to refine its products and services.

Read more!

Citizens will be engaged through Reach

Official feedback unit will be the main platform for Government
Li Xueying, Straits Times 10 Jan 09;

THE Government will engage citizens online more actively - but on its own turf.

Reach, its official feedback unit, will become the main platform through which it will interact with netizens.

Responding to individual blogs and forum postings - a recommendation by the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (Aims) - will require a huge amount of resources and be 'extremely difficult', said Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lee Boon Yang.

But he underlined the Government's commitment to e-engagement.

Asked about Aims' call for the Government to be more open in engaging with the diversity of views on the Internet, he said: 'This mindset change has already taken place; the Government is fully into e-engagement.' For instance, ministries are using tools such as Facebook.

He added: 'But we are in the early days and we will continue to work on it; we will continue to improve on it.'

So Reach will be given more resources and beefed up.

Its chairman Amy Khor promised this: All views left on its portal will be read, will likely be responded to - and could possibly even lead to changes 'if the idea is good'.

Another aspect of its appeal is this: 'The interested citizen will be able to see just from one portal - rather than from different websites at different ministries, what the Government is consulting on, what are the current hotly-debated issues, and what his involvement can be or what he could contribute in terms of policymaking, in terms of bringing about change,' she added.

At the same time, Reach will look at closing the feedback loop by formally recognising well thought-out suggestions.

But is the Government preaching merely to the converted - those who would go to its website? What about the disenfranchised clicking and typing elsewhere?

Responding, Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew said: 'The question really is, with that group, should we intrude on their space? Would they welcome such an intrusion? Maybe the way to do it is to provide a platform where if they choose to, they can at least start that process of engagement.'

Added Dr Lee: 'Websites are springing up by the thousands every minute. It's just not possible for Government to go out there and reach (out) to every website.'

But he said the Government will, from now, reply to letters sent online to the mainstream media if this is warranted.

And recognising that ministries and agencies need to have a deeper understanding of the new media, it will invest in training its employees in this.

Aims chairman Cheong Yip Seng said that overall, the measures are a major step forward, and will 'lead to greater use of the new media for discussion between the Government and its people'.

However, on the decision to use Reach as its main platform, he said: 'I'm not 100 per cent convinced that the Government needs to be this cautious - there are reasoned and constructive views online although in my view, the bulk of online chatter is not worth responding to.

'But maybe with greater online experience they will engage this group.'

Added blogger Gerald Giam: 'No one is expecting the Government to respond to all blogs. But this should not prevent them from responding to some blogs, particularly those of serious socio-political bloggers who make cogent and rational suggestions in their posts.

'It is true that not all bloggers welcomed the Government's voice on their private blogs, but there are some that do welcome a response.'

Yesterday, Dr Lee did not close the door on this possibility: 'Once we acquire this capability, we have more experience, better knowledge of the key players in new media that are active in their debates and discussions, we will consider which are the ones that have the standing, that have the objectivity and the accountability to provide a platform on which Government should also engage.

'Over time, we hope we will be reaching not just those people who want to be reached, but also communicate with all Singaporeans interested to know the facts behind various government policies and issues debated in the public domain.'

For the ‘serious-minded’ to engage the Government?
Alicia Wong, Today Online 10 Jan 09;

FROM encouraging users to start conversations on its website, to inviting ministries to join its discussion forums, the Government’s e-engagement portal, Reach, is working hard to encourage more exchange of views.

But how effective will this be in reaching out to those outside its current community?

Acknowledging there “will always be a certain group who will never come on board”, chairwoman Amy Khor said the website will appeal largely to “serious minded citizens who are interested to engage the Government”.

Reaching out to a wider audience and getting them to debate policy issues “will always have to be work-in-progress”, she said — but “the idea is to let people know there is such a site. If they want Government feedback, or to interact with the Government, or want to know what’s going on in terms of policies, they can come to this website.”

Since its launch in 2006, the portal has seen “a lot more interaction and discussion”, Dr Khor said.

As an information-age incarnation of the Feedback Unit that was set up in 1985, Reach sees about 86 per cent of discussions today initiated by users.

Last year, there was a 30-per-cent increase in the number of postings, and a 20-per-cent increase in page views to1.5 million.

To ensure that people do not see their feedback as going into a “black hole” Reach features suggestions that have led to policy change. It also summarises Government responses to feedback.

Reach has also conducted eight live web chats since 2007, where netizens can interact with Government leaders and among themselves.

A “perennial problem”, said Dr Khor, is the lack of awareness about Reach. So, the website staff has been holding exhibitions, appointing junior ambassadors and even publicising itself in MRT stations.

While limited by its small budget, it could get some reprieve as the Government said it will devote more resources to e-engagement.

Read more!

Coming soon: Crisp images from new eye in the sky

Serene Luo, Straits Times 10 Jan 09;

IT MAY be 700km above the ground, but a new civilian satellite can pick out a man on a golf course or even the oars on a rowboat.

These images - said to be the most detailed commercial shots in the world - will soon be available from Singapore's Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing, or Crisp.

The research facility and satellite ground station - which also monitors forest fires and ocean pollution - has inked a multimillion-dollar deal with the company that owns the satellite to capture and sell the images.

They will come from the GeoEye 1, launched into space on Sept 6 last year. Its makers say the eye in the sky can 'see' items just 50cm large on the ground.

Crisp will be the only commercial outfit in South-east Asia to offer these satellite images to worldwide clients, its director Kwoh Leong Keong said.

Though traditionally used by the military and government, satellite images have become popular in other industries as people find more uses for the images.

Researchers use them to track climate change or forest fires, while architects use them to plan urban areas. Businessmen use them to keep tabs on their land or to track buildings by their competition.

The system could also be used by disaster relief groups to track homes and roads destroyed by earthquakes, floods and typhoons.

A spokesman for the Singapore Red Cross said it is planning to use images from the satellite. Field workers and planners would find higher-resolution images helpful, especially if they were timely enough to reflect what was happening on the ground, the spokesman said.

Geographer Avijit Gupta, a visiting scientist from the University of Leeds, uses satellite images in his research into rivers. He is contemplating using the GeoEye and said the satellite might help him identify even small shrubs, which can say a lot about a waterway.

'For instance, on beaches which have been destroyed by natural disasters, maybe we can tell if similar vegetation is coming back after some years,' he said.

Before this, satellite images for sale here could only zoom in and see objects that were bigger than 1m.

Until recently, US government guidelines had prevented American satellite owners, who had the most powerful equipment, from selling more detailed images to other countries, Mr Kwoh said.

Charges for the new shots will start from S$37 per sq km for images.

Despite the resolution of the cameras, Crisp said privacy and security would not be compromised. It is 'impossible to recognise people' at the 50cm resolution, and this is considered outside the threshold of personal privacy, a Crisp spokesman said.

Also, in Singapore, images of the Republic are subject to clearance and censorship by the police before they can be delivered to customers.

Read more!

'Karung guni queen' turns trash into cash

SGH housekeeper raises $16,339 for patients by making handicrafts
Judith Tan, Straits Times 10 Jan 09;

MS CONNIE Wong is known to her friends as the 'karung guni queen'.

That's because the housekeeper at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is best known for recycling the trash she picks up and turning them into objects of value.

Value is the operative word as MsWong and her colleagues have raised thousands of dollars for the hospital's needy patients.

For one month every year since 2002, they rework discarded wrappers, banners, sample tiles, CDs and bottle caps into pretty trinkets that are sold at the hospital's annual Clean and Green Fair.

Not only is she 'okay with the nickname', she has also inspired the name-callers to join her trash-collecting club, she said gleefully.

As a housekeeper, Ms Wong, 40, knows exactly what is being thrown away and 'rescues them from the furnace'.

To encourage recycling, there are no wastepaper baskets in the housekeeping department.

'Everything is recycled, even sweet wrappers. The housekeeping department is known as the karung guni centre and my colleagues now join me in my quest to create art from trash,' she said.

Her enthusiasm is infectious, said her manager, Ms Caroline Wong, who forgives the clutter in her office. 'Connie's craft ideas have not only helped show staff that waste material can be reused creatively and beautifully, we are also glad the items benefit our needy patients,' she said.

Ms Connie Wong said: 'Every year, my colleagues and I brainstorm what to make. We try to offer different handicrafts for sale each year so that patrons do not get bored.'

On regular shopping visits to Bangkok, she buys beads, sequins and other raw materials to decorate the recycled artwork.

For some colleagues, creating art from trash 'has become second nature'.

'They roll pieces of paper even on the MRT trains so much so that they get strange stares,' Ms Wong said.

The 'crew' has turned bottle caps and sample tiles - collected when parts of the hospital were being renovated - into fridge magnets.

Toilet rolls and empty intravenous (IV) bottles have been papered over with old calendars and returned as pencil holders.

Even drink cans are shredded and twisted into ornamental animals such as frogs and lobsters.

Ms Norkhamalia Radzuan, 27, an operations executive, said she would do anything for her 'karang guni queen' despite the stress.

'Every year, we have to think of new products and must go through a few rounds of 'auditions',' she said.

Their efforts have paid off.

In 2007, more than $7,000 was raised from the sale of their handicrafts during Clean and Green Week.

'Last year, we more than doubled that amount. We raised $16,339 at the fair on Nov 12,' said Ms Wong.

The proceeds went to the SGH Needy Patients Fund, which helps tide patients over initial financial difficulties which may arise from illness. It needs over $500,000 yearly.

She and her colleagues also organised demonstrations during the one-day fair to teach those interested how to turn their waste into money-spinners.

Ms Wong, a Malaysian, also encourages her housemate to recycle at home.

Though the year has just begun, she is already thinking about this year's sale.

In the pipeline are bags and purses made from used banners, washing powder and rice bags.

'They are still prototypes and we are looking at how to improve them and make them attractive,' she said, her karung guni brain ticking away.

Read more!

Animal testing: Have a care for lab animals

Straits Times Forum 9 Jan 09;

I REFER to last Saturday's science feature on animal experimentation, 'Lab-testing of animals on the rise here', which reported the ominous news that lab-testing of animals is on the rise in Singapore.

Although much of the article contained reassurances from various sources that Singapore research laboratories follow 'best practices', what are today's internationally recognised best practices is nowhere mentioned.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is also concerned that there appears to be no independent assessment in determining whether or not existing standards are met, and if they are internationally accepted as best practices.

I refer to the remarks that criticisms by groups like Britain's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) are unfounded in relation to National Advisory Committee for Laboratory Animal Research (Naclar) guidelines instituted in 2004.

For the record, when Naclar was set up in 2004, the standards in its guidelines for the husbandry and care of laboratory animals were found by the RSPCA to be inadequate.

The RSPCA told Naclar its cage sizes were extremely small and did not permit adequate exercise, normal social behaviour or appropriate environmental enrichment. Naclar standards for cage sizes at that time were based on United States Institute for Laboratory Animal Research standards.

As of June 2007, the European Commission (with expert input from RSPCA scientific staff) has adopted new guidelines for the housing and care of animals used in laboratories. The revised Appendix A may be found at www.coe.int/t/e/legal_affairs/legal_ co-operation/biological_safety,_use_of_animals/laboratory_animals/A_texts_docs.asp#TopOfPage .

In view of the report that Singapore research labs follow 'best practices', the SPCA sincerely hopes that Naclar has adopted or will adopt these guidelines, which will result in improved welfare for laboratory animals in Singapore.

The comments from Professor Bernard Tan will distress those in the animal welfare community: 'It could take anything from 50 years to never to eliminate animal research, because we do not know the complexity of organisms' cells and tissues. At the end of it all, we want to alleviate human suffering; so if you want to quarrel with that, quarrel with that.'

As cited in the report, the National University of Singapore has already developed two animal-free testing methods. The SPCA sincerely hopes Singapore will continually strive to seek alternative research methods which do not involve the use of animals.

As much as there was justification in the article that animals need to be tested on, and assurance that they receive 'top-quality' care in laboratories here, the immense suffering they endure in the name of science must never be trivialised. Animals in this situation have no choice and no voice.

Deirdre Moss (Ms)
Executive Officer
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Read more!

Hispaniolan solenodon: Venomous mammal caught on camera

Rebecca Morelle, BBC News 9 Jan 09;

Rare footage of one of the world's most strange and elusive mammals has been captured by scientists. Large, and with a long, thin snout, the Hispaniolan solenodon resembles an overgrown shrew; it can inject passing prey with a venom-loaded bite.
Little is known about the creature, which is found in the Caribbean, but it is under threat from deforestation, hunting and introduced species. Researchers say conservation efforts are now needed.

The mammal was filmed in the summer of 2008 during a month-long expedition to the Dominican Republic - one of only two countries where this nocturnal, insect-eating animal (Solenodon paradoxus) can be found (the other is Haiti).

The researchers from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Ornithological Society of Hispaniola were able to take measurements and DNA from the creature before it was released.

Dr Richard Young, from Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, said: "My colleagues were excited and thrilled when they found it in the trap.

"But despite a month's worth of trapping effort, they only ever caught a single individual."

Specialised teeth

The Hispaniolan solenodon is one of the creatures highlighted by the Zoological Society of London's (ZSL) Edge of Existence programme, which focuses its efforts on conservation plans for animals that are both endangered and evolutionarily distinctive.

Dr Sam Turvey, a ZSL researcher involved with the programme, told BBC News: "It is an amazing creature - it is one of the most evolutionary distinct mammals in the world.

"Along with the other species of solenodon, which is found in Cuba ( Solenodon cubanus ), it is the only living mammal that can actually inject venom into their prey through specialised teeth.

"The fossil record shows that some other now-extinct mammal groups also had so-called dental venom delivery systems. So this might have been a more general ancient mammalian characteristic that has been lost in most modern mammals, and is only retained in a couple of very ancient lineages."

Dr Turvey and other scientists working for the Edge programme recently discovered a population of solenodons living in a remote corner of Haiti.

The researcher said that the team was surprised to find them; previously it had been feared that the creatures had become extinct in this country because of extensive deforestation, recently introduced mongoose and dogs, and hunting by humans for food.

He said: "They are still incredibly vulnerable and fragile. So it is really important to get back out there to work how how these animals are surviving."

Conservation efforts are now needed in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the teams believe, but the first step would be to find out more about the animal.

Dr Young said: "We know little about its ecology, its behaviour, its population status, its genetics - and without that knowledge base it is really difficult to design effective conservation."

The research will be undertaken by ZSL's Edge programme, Durrell, the Ornithological Society of Hispaniola, the Audubon Society of Haiti, and the Dominican Republic's National Zoological Park and Agency for Protected Areas and Biodiversity.

See BBC website for videoclip.

Rare venomous 'giant shrew' caught on camera for first time
The Telegraph 9 Jan 09;

One of the world's rarest mammals, that looks like a giant shrew and has a venomous bite - the Hispaniolan solenodon - has been filmed for the first time in the Dominican Republic.

Like an enormous rat, with a long thin snout, the Hispaniolan solenodon is the last of an ancient lineage of species stretching back to the age of dinosaurs. It is one of the few mammals that have survived in the Caribbean islands since the arrival of humans and is now under threat from deforestation, introduced species like dogs, climate change and development.

In an effort to find out more about the solenodon, scientists from the Gerald Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust tracked mammals on the Dominican Republic for four weeks last summer.

However despite a huge effort, only one specimen was trapped. The animal was filmed being handled by a member of the expedition wearing gloves. DNA samples were taken and important information on behaviour noted before it was released back into the wild.

The mammal has a number of distinctive characteristics because of its unique evolutionary process. For example it has specialised teeth capable of delivering venom that is found in only a few other very ancient species. It is not yet known whether the "dental venom delivery systems" are for self defence or to immobilise prey.

Professor John Fa, director of conservation science at the Durrell Trust, said the study of the animal is extremely important because of their long unique evolutionary history. Also because they are among a handful of survivors of over 100 mammal species that have gone extinct in the West Indies since the arrival of humans.

The nocturnal insect-eating mammal is only found today in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

He said: "There is currently very little information known about this endangered animal, so we are trying to build up a picture of how the solenodon lives, breeds and the threats it faces, in order to support the local NGOs and Government. We can then complete a plan for this species' conservation in Haiti and the Dominican Republic."

Read more!

WWF blasts Greek plans for bluefin tuna-fattening farm

Yahoo News 9 Jan 09;

ATHENS (AFP) – The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on Friday slammed Athens over plans for a second bluefin tuna-fattening farm the group fears will exacerbate over-fishing of the species in the Mediterranean.

Greece's authorisation of an additional bluefin tuna fattening farm "shows the indifference of the country towards the protection of this species," a WWF representative in Greece told AFP.

There is already a "surplus" of these farms in Greece, Yiorgos Paximadism -- in charge of tuna with WWF Greece -- told AFP.

Despite a 1,000-tonne capacity, the 2008 quota for Greece's existing bluefin tuna-fattening farm in the Ionian Sea stood at 477 tonnes.

The second farm, on the island of Crete, would add to this an additional 1,100-tonne capacity.

Environmental groups also blasted Greece for not attending the November conference of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which saw bluefin fishing quotas further reduced.

"This absence also shows Greece's indifference at protecting bluefin tuna," said the head of Greenpeace in Greece, Antzela Lazou.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature said ICCAT's quota reductions for Mediterranean bluefin tuna -- over-fished in particular by France, Italy and Spain -- were insufficient for protecting the species.

Read more!

Iceland: campaign to press for to allow whaling, expand quotas

Reykjavik faces campaign to allow whaling, expand quotas
Yahoo News 9 Jan 09;

REYKJAVIK (AFP) – Forty-two organisations, unions and municipalities signed an advertisement published Friday urging Iceland's government to allow whaling again this year, while whalers said any quota should be dramatically expanded.

Iceland, which had observed an international moratorium on commercial whaling for 16 years until a controversial October 2006 decision to resume the practice, allowed the culling of 40 whales last year and has not yet taken a decision on whether hunting will go ahead this year.

The "start whaling" petition, published in the Frettabladid daily Friday, called on the government in Reykjavik to ensure that hunting was allowed when the season begins in June.

"I am certain that whaling will be permitted (this summer)," said Fridrik Thor Arngrimsson, the head of the Federation of Icelandic Fishing Vessel Owners, which signed the petition.

"What I am uncertain of is how much we will be allowed to catch," he told AFP.

Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, who heads a federation of minke whale hunters, told Frettabladid his organisation expected the ministry to authorise a quota of at least 200 and perhaps as many as 400 minke whales this season.

"Last year we only hunted for the Icelandic market," he said, pointing out that the island had in 2008 decided to begin exporting whale meat to Japan.

"What we are thinking now is to sell 90 percent of the meat to Japan," he said.

In recent weeks, Icelandic businesses, media and public officials have been the targets of a campaign by German environmentalists threatening to boycott travel to Iceland if the country resumes whaling this year.

Iceland was the second country after Norway to authorise commercial whaling. Japan officially hunts whales for scientific purposes, although the whale meat is sold for consumption.

Read more!

Zimbabwe troops 'eat elephants'

BBC News 9 Jan 09;

Zimbabwean soldiers are being given elephant meat for their rations, a wildlife campaigner has told the BBC.

Jonny Rodrigues from the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said that several soldiers had complained to him that was the only meat they were given.

Zimbabwe is believed to have some 100,000 elephants - more than its parks can sustainably hold and its economy is in freefall.

The defence ministry has not yet commented on the reports.

Mr Rodrigues said that the use of elephant meat began last June but has recently increased.

The ZimOnline website quoted an unnamed senior army officer in Harare as saying: "Soldiers started eating elephant meat last week."

The officer said the meat was a welcome relief, with the website saying soldiers had previously only been given sadza (maize-meal porridge) to eat.

Mr Rodrigues said that army contracts to supply beef to feed soldiers had been cancelled.

"It is cheaper and easier to use elephant meat," he said.

Zimbabwe's national parks have the capacity for 45,000 elephants and the population is culled to contain numbers.

The economy is collapsing and soldiers have recently gone on the rampage in the capital, Harare, after being unable to withdraw their salaries in cash from banks.

The pay of many civil servants is barely enough to pay for their transport to and from work, so most people survive by trading on the black market or on the money sent by relatives abroad.

The army plays a key role in keeping President Robert Mugabe in power.

It was accused of leading a campaign of violence against the opposition during last year's election run-off but this was denied by defence officials.

Read more!

Destructive alien species being transported around the world by sea

The world's shipping industry is destroying delicate ecosystems by unwittingly transporting alien species across the world, according to environmentalists.

Louise Gray, The Telegraph 8 Jan 09;

The majority of the world's freight is transported by sea, with more and more ships taking goods to developing countries like India and China.

However the cargo ships are unwittingly transporting larvae and tiny organisms that could cause damage to other species. This is because cargo ships take up water for ballast once they have discharged their load. When they arrive at the new destination the water is dumped – along with any living stowaways on board.

Over the years ships have transported comb jellyfish from the US to the Black Sea, where they have decimated fish stocks. The European green crab has caused problems in the US and Australia and Asian kelp has caused havoc in New Zealand, Europe and Argentina.

In the UK the Chinese mitten crab and European zebra mussel are just some of the invasive maritime species transported by sea threatening native species.

It is estimated that up to 10 billion tonnes of ballast water is transferred globally each year.

Participants in the Volvo Ocean Race are currently taking tests from waters around the world to gauge the scale of the problem.

Friends of the Earth say it is a "ticking time bomb" that could cause serious damage to major ecosystems beneath the waves. Although many of the organisms transported are very small it can have a knock-on effect that damages the fish stock and ultimately other life – including humans – that rely on the sea.

The International Maritime Organisation is calling on every country in the world to sign up to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments that would require ships coming into port to clean the ballast before entering.

So far 60 countries have signed up - but not the UK.

Jim Fitzpatrick, the shipping minister, said the Government was supportive of the idea and working hard to improve the situation.

Read more!

'Climate fix' ship sets sail with plan to dump iron

Catherine Brahic, New Scientist 9 Jan 09;

The largest and to date the most comprehensive experiment to soak up greenhouse-gas emissions by artificially fertilising the oceans set sail from South Africa earlier this week.

The ambitious geoengineering expedition has caused a stir among some campaigning groups, but has the scientific backing of the UK, German, and Indian governments, as well as the International Maritime Organisation.

Within weeks, the ship's crew hope to dump 20 tonnes of ferrous sulphate into the Southern Ocean. Plankton need iron to grow, and the aim of the expedition is to trigger a plankton bloom and boost the amount of carbon that is sucked out of the air and locked up at the bottom of the ocean.

The team, led by Victor Smetacek of the Alfred Wegner Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany, will also monitor the population of krill to see if their populations also increase. These small crustaceans feed on plankton and are an important food source for many marine species. So, if the population grows, this could give fisheries a boost.
'Anti-offset crusaders'

Ocean fertilisation experiments have been carried out on a few occasions in the past, but became controversial in 2007 when a company called Planktos announced it would dump iron fillings off the coast of the Galapagos islands.

Some environmental organisations, including the ETC group, expressed concerns that this was tantamount to pollution and, by affecting plankton at the bottom of the food chain could have unforeseen consequences.

Planktos eventually cancelled the expedition and the company folded due to lack of funds. It blamed a "highly effective disinformation campaign waged by anti-offset crusaders".

Following on the Planktos affair, both the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the Convention on Biological Diversity recommended that governments restrict ocean fertilisation activities.

So the fact that Smetacek's expedition - backed by the German government, which hosted the CBD's meeting last year - has been allowed to proceed has raised eyebrows.

"If this iron dump goes ahead it will be in clear defiance of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity," warns Jim Thomas of ETC Group. The CBD resolution makes an exception only for small coastal experiments, but Smetacek says his expedition has been approved by the German environment ministry.
'Slippery slope'

Regardless of the CBD's recommendations, which are not legally binding, Smetacek's experiment is not in contravention of the IMO's London Convention on ocean pollution.

Its statement on ocean fertilisation (pdf) says "ocean fertilization activities other than legitimate scientific research should not be allowed" and adds that scientific experiments should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Smetacek insists his experiments have been approved by all necessary parties.

"Twenty tonnes of iron particles in the vast ocean is very much drop in the bucket and is unlikely to have a lasting effect," says Ken Caldeira of Stanford University. "The rational concern is that experiments will lead down some slippery slope - that small experiments could be scaled up without any regulation."

Planktos was a commercial organisation. It intended to sell carbon credits to companies that would pay the company to dump iron in the oceans, which would in theory suck CO2 out of the atmosphere and counter their own polluting activities.

For now, the CBD and the IMO agree there is not enough evidence that this would work and so are firmly against commercial activities. Smetacek's experiments could reveal whether or not ocean fertilisation will work.

Even if it does, however, Caldeira does not believe companies should be allowed to sell carbon credits in return for fertilising the oceans. He says this would simply encourage companies to continue emitting greenhouse gases. Ocean fertilisation and other geoengineering schemes, says Caldeira, should be seen as potential short-term solutions that could cool temperatures while humans switch to non-fossil sources of energy.

Read more!

Metro Madness: Lots of Trash Talk, But No Action

Simon Pitchforth Jakarta Globe 10 Jan 09;

Looking back this week through the nearly 200 odd columns of stultifyingly ill-informed drivel that I’ve churned out over this millennia, I suddenly noticed one glaring omission regarding the subjects that I’ve held forth on, namely that of litter.

This perennial global, but especially Indonesian, problem was brought home to me recently during my Christmas holiday in Lombok. After a stormy night on the idyllic island of Gili Trawangan, I went for a dip in the usually pristine waters and suddenly realized with horror that I was surrounded by discarded plastic packaging. Presumably the previous evening’s wind and rain had washed the detritus ashore. I leapt from the sea as if the victim of a combined hammerhead shark and jellyfish attack, my holistic, new age, island fantasy rudely shattered by the tsunami of trash.

In a recent study I read on another of my favorite destinations, Pulau Seribu, the “Thousand Islands” that lie off Jakarta Bay, I learned that on 23 of the islands, 34,000 pieces of litter in 11 categories were found, the most common items being polystyrene blocks, plastic bags and discarded footwear. Why shoes and flip-flops score so highly is beyond me as few Jakartans can really afford the Imelda Marcos lifestyle. Plastic bags are a perpetual menace, of course, and are presumed to carpet the bottom of inshore Jakarta Bay.

The amount of litter that lies all over the Indonesian archipelago is one of the most dispiriting things that I’ve encountered in my years here. Much as I dislike to stereotype and tar an entire culture with the same brush, Indonesians in general have a disappointingly more laissez-faire attitude to the problem than perhaps the majority of other countries in the world.

Aqua bottles are nonchalantly lobbed out of bus windows as if this were just the way of things, while Jakarta’s floods are hugely exacerbated by the sedimentary layers of noodle and detergent packets that accumulate on the bottom of the rivers here. A friend of mine popped down to one of the fun and frolicsome anti-Israel demonstrations that ran during the past week and reported that a terminal moraine of polystyrene meal containers carpeted the area when the whole thing had finished.

The problem can’t simply be put down to poverty, as other poor countries don’t have a litter problem nearly as bad as the one here. People here are scrupulous about keeping themselves and their houses clean but all concern about the general state of the environment seems to stop at their front gates. Simply toss your rubbish out the car window onto the street and it’s “no longer my problem.” This seems like a sad metaphor for the wider antisocial evils of corruption and general lack of civic pride in Indonesia.

There is also the public health issue of litter, which leads to rats and insect populations ballooning in urban areas. In the 14th century, organic litter contributed greatly to the bubonic plague epidemic that raged through Europe.

Admittedly though, there aren’t a whole lot of trash bins around. As I recall, a few years ago one of the city’s endless list of heroic underfunded failures was to install receptacles around town that were handily split into bins for organic and inorganic waste. As I seem to remember, though, the scheme was scrapped after many of the bins were stolen. People also like to burn their trash here too, but if anything, the choking, acrid, carcinogenic smoke that is produced seems even worse than the litter problem itself to those whose lungs are unaccustomed to smoking two packets of ultra-high tar kretek cigarettes per day.

My few attempts to educate people here about litter (well, confront them with their inconsiderate behavior, in fact) have not been a great success, to be frank. A couple of years back I tried returning an Aqua bottle to a motorist who had just thrown it from his Honda. He graciously took it on board, drove off … and then tossed it out the window again another 200 yards down the road. Five percent success there I would estimate.

This is not particularly commendable, to be sure, but it’s rather better than I fared this week when I attempted the same act of public admonishment while “researching” this column. I won’t go into the details, but suffice to say that I nearly got my head kicked in. It would have been no less than I deserved, for neglecting to pick on a litter bug smaller and more defenseless than myself.

In fact, according to research conducted by the author Frances McAndrews in the book “Environmental Psychology,” women, young people, rural dwellers and people who live alone litter more than men, older people, urban dwellers and multiperson households. Next time I’ll take the book’s advice and choose a nice young single country girl to lecture. Suits me just fine.

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Rice prices set to rise

Credit crunch will make it hard for farmers to secure cash to buy essential supplies
Today Online 10 Jan 09;

MANILA — Rice prices are likely to rise sharply for the second straight year in 2009 as the global economic slowdown hits farmers and consumers alike, the International Rice Research Institute warned yesterday.

The worldwide credit crunch will make it hard for farmers to secure cash to buy essentials such as seeds and fertiliser, the Philippines-based body said in the latest edition of its quarterly journal Rice Today.

At the same time, it added, the economic downturn may increase demand for rice in developing nations as falling income forces poor people to switch back to less expensive staples.

The price of rice — a staple food for half the world including nearly 700 million poor Asians — shot up to US$1,080 ($1,597) a tonne last April, triggering fears of social unrest. It slid to about US$575 six months later due to record production and the early effects of the economic slowdown.

However, the institute warned, “production uncertainty due to tight credit and declining rice prices, combined with strong demand growth” point to another rise in rice prices in the coming months. “Price volatility will remain high.”

Even if they had the cash, farmers burned by the sudden plunge in commodity prices “will likely play safe and reduce input for their 2009 crops.”

Due to high rice consumption levels in five of the last seven years, governments have had to dip into their reserves to make up the shortfall. Historic low levels of rice stocks contribute to the volatility, it added.

While rice prices have dropped from their 2008 peaks they are still high relative to 2007 levels, and are likely to remain too high for millions of poor people.

The institute said the only solution was to boost rice yield growth through greater investments in research, and developing infrastructure to let farmers put new scientific breakthroughs to work. afp

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Recycling: from east to west, a chain collapses

Millions to lose their jobs as world's largest importer of waste hit by collapse in demand for packaging

Tania Branigan, The Guardian 9 Jan 09;

The scrap trader was immovable, despite Wu Wenxiu's pleas. She would pay one yuan - roughly 10p - for a kilogram of plastic. Around the corner in Shi Yuhai's yard, the offer was no better. Wu shrugged his shoulders and began to heave bags from his tricycle on to the scales. "One kuai [yuan] here, one kuai there - everywhere's the same these days. This industry has broken down," he grumbled.

Wu is one of 160,000 collectors in Beijing who make a living from the detritus of urban life - plastic sheeting, office printouts, bottles, radiators and scraps of cardboard. Recycling has become a global industry and China is the largest importer of the world's waste materials, taking in as much as a third of Britain's recyclables for example. Then came the slump, decimating the Chinese recycling industry and leaving Britain, the US and others grappling with growing volumes of recycled waste and nowhere to send it.

"It's a canary in the coalmine: it's the front and back end of industry," said Adam Minter, who runs the Shanghai Scrap blog and specialises in the metal trade. "Until about eight weeks ago, for example, the entire [US] west coast paper market was sent to China and most of it was sent south. It was processed and made into packaging for products that then shipped back to the US ... But when US consumer demand dropped off, that broke the cycle."

Across the scrap trade, prices have halved or worse in a matter of months. Each link in the chain is disintegrating, from factories to scrapyards to collectors such as Wu, 56, a former farmer who now plans to return to Hubei province.

Official media reported that four-fifths of China's recycling units had closed and that millions will eventually be left without employment.

Dongxiaokou, on the outskirts of Beijing, is a village composed of scrap: blocks of crushed metal are stacked in a tower, heaps of plastic bottles glint in the sunshine and piles of newspapers and rags fill yards. But the merchants all have the same story - they have lost tens of thousands of pounds in a few months, wiping out years of hard work.

Shi puffed on a cigarette as he counted out notes for Wu. "I've been in this business for 15 years and it's been bad before, but never this severe. Everyone's lost a huge amount of money and some can't sell their stock," he said. "Usually we sell to factories and they recycle them into plastic chips. But the price of chips has dropped so it's had a knock-on effect on us."

This area deals in domestic waste rather than imports, but Shi said every part of the industry had been affected.

Beijing dealers have taken a particularly hard hit. They stockpiled large quantities of recyclables because prices were soaring, but as the market began to soften, the Olympic security clampdown prevented trucks from entering the capital. The merchants could only watch as the value of their holdings plummeted.

"In a good year we can earn about 50,000 yuan but this year we lost 200,000," said Gong Rongchuan, 45, whose yard lies across the rutted alley from Shi's. "We came here more than 10 years ago and at the beginning we collected ourselves. Then we managed to start the business. We were too poor to get loans but we managed to borrow 100,000-200,000 from friends and relatives and we work from morning to night every day. But we haven't paid them all back because of our losses."

Minter says the predicament is typical of the trade. "People would borrow money from relatives and buy a container of scrap and then throw all that money back in and reinvest it. Great if it goes up - but the moment it starts slipping, especially if it's slipping 20-30%, you're finished," he said. Gong said: "Once we have sold all this stock we'll leave. My son's sorting it because we can't afford workers any more. We haven't figured out what to do next. We have seven people in the family and only 2.5-3 mu [less than half an acre] of farmland. It's too many people and too little land, so even if we go home there's not much we can do. We have both old and young to support."

The effects can be felt across China. Most of Gong's customers were plastics recyclers in Wen'an, Hebei, where by one estimate 93% of income depends on the trade. Some are already bankrupt. Wen'an Dongdu Jiacheng Recycling Resources is clinging on. But Miss Han, a materials buyer, said all but three of the 26 production line workers had been sent home for the new year holiday more than a month early.

There is no longer demand for plastic granules from nearby companies such as Hongkai Plastic Products, which made items such as bicycle handlebars. Its owner, Mr Zheng, has sent 20 workers home. "My factory was hit by the economic crisis - it's been closed for two months already," he said. "We usually sell our products to a dealer and most of his business is exports. He didn't give us any more orders."

At a factory down the road, the response to queries was more brusque. "We've already gone bust," said a man, and hung up.

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The world is not flat: World Bank

Urbanisation necessary for countries to progress, says report
Robin Chan, Straits Times 10 Jan 09;

THE world is not flat, contrary to recent theory, and geography still counts for much in the global economy.

A new report from the World Bank refutes the popular notion that globalisation and technology have flattened out differences between nations.

It maintains that economic success will remain unbalanced in a country because of inherent geographical barriers, so trying to spread growth within borders will be counter-productive.

Citing the experience of developed countries, it stated: 'A generation of economic research confirms this: there is no good reason to expect economic growth to spread smoothly across space.'

Instead, developing mega cities is still the best way to promote growth and galvanise a population's productivity and governments should make it easier for people to move to urban centres.

'Big cities, mobile people and connected countries - these are necessary for progress,' said the report's director, Dr Indermit Gill, who spoke at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies yesterday.

'People fear bigger cities, fear the need to move to places that are doing well, and fear greater openness to trade.

'But we say these are things that are absolutely necessary for economic development. If countries want to grow, they must also think about how to increase economic density, shorten economic distance and lower economic divisions.'

The aim is also to include all groups in society, so no one is left out.

World Bank economists insist that development can still be inclusive. People who start their lives far from economic opportunity can benefit from these growing concentrations of wealth as long as governments do a better job of making it easier for people to get there.

Dr Gill said: 'These are the things that have helped countries like the US, Western Europe and Japan get to high income, and these are the things that are helping countries like India, China and those in South-east Asia also get to higher and higher levels of income.

'And we believe that there is no reason to think that the world will be so dramatically different in the future that these will not be necessary for other countries.'

The report, which was released last November, proposes three levels of policies to encourage urbanisation.

The most fundamental function is to establish institutions to provide basic social services in education, health, water and sanitation.

Once urbanisation has begun, roads and railways and other infrastructure must be built to ease movement of people and goods and services within a country and internationally. At its most advanced stage, urbanisation brings problems of overcrowding and slums, which then must be addressed by targeted policies aimed at lifting living standards.

The bank recognises Singapore's success in developing a vibrant, workable city and joined forces last month to set up the World Bank-Singapore Urban Hub to provide advice on urbanisation for other countries.

A companion publication to the report focuses just on East Asia. One chapter explains how huge benefits could result if the many economic barriers between Malaysia and Singapore were to be overcome.

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International Energy Agency 'blocking global switch to renewables'

International Energy Agency accused of consistently underestimating potential of wind, solar and sea power while promoting oil, coal and nuclear as 'irreplaceable' technologies

David Adam guardian.co.uk 9 Jan 00;

The international body that advises most major governments across the world on energy policy is obstructing a global switch to renewable power because of its ties to the oil, gas and nuclear sectors, a group of politicians and scientists claims today.

The experts, from the Energy Watch group, say the International Energy Agency (IEA) publishes misleading data on renewables, and that it has consistently underestimated the amount of electricity generated by wind power in its advice to governments. They say the IEA shows "ignorance and contempt" towards wind energy, while promoting oil, coal and nuclear as "irreplaceable" technologies.

In a report to be published today, the Energy Watch experts say wind-power capacity has rocketed since the early 90s and that if current trends continue, wind and solar power-generation combined are on track to match conventional generation by 2025.

Rudolf Rechsteiner, a member of the Swiss parliament who sits on its energy and environment committee, and wrote today's report, said the IEA suffered from "institutional blindness" on renewable energy. He said: "They are delaying the change to a renewable world. They continue touting nuclear and carbon-capture-and-storage, classical central solutions, instead of a more neutral approach, which would favour new solutions."

Today's report compares past predictions about the growth of wind power, made by the IEA and others, with the capacity of wind turbines actually installed.

It says: "By comparing historic forecasts on wind power with reality, we find that all official forecasts were much too low."

In 1998, the IEA predicted that global wind electricity generation would total 47.4GW by 2020. This figure was reached in December 2004, the report says. In 2002, the IEA revised its estimate to 104GW wind by 2020 – a capacity that had been exceeded by last summer.

In 2007, net additions of wind power across the world were more than four-fold the average IEA estimate from its 1995-2004 predictions, the report says. "The IEA numbers were neither empirically nor theoretically based," it says.

The IEA's most recent forecast, in its 2008 World Energy Outlook, predicts a fivefold increase in wind energy from 2006-2015, but then assumes a rapid slowdown in deployment over the following decade. The Energy Watch report calls this a "virtual stagnation" and says "no arguments are given why the wind sector should suffer such a crisis by 2015 and after".

The report concludes: "The IEA outlook remains attached to oil, gas, coal and nuclear, and renewables seem to have no chance to reverse this trend. This organisation… has been deploying misleading data on renewables for many years [and is still doing so]."

It adds: "One has to ask if the ignorance and contempt of IEA toward wind power and renewables in general is done within a structure of intent."

Mr Rechsteiner, who says he has investments in a handful of wind turbines, said the IEA routinely drew senior staff from the fossil-fuel industry. "The oil business is very skilful in keeping its energy access exclusive," he says.

The IEA describes itself as an "intergovernmental organisation which acts as energy policy advisor to 28 member countries in their effort to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for their citizens". It refused to comment on today's report. The Energy Watch group is run by the Ludwig Bölkow Foundation in Germany.

John Hemming, the Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley and a member of the Energy Watch group, said: "The IEA has been complacent, and part of the conventional wisdom that the solution is more oil and gas. The British government relies on the IEA. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king — but the IEA's one eye has a cataract."

Today's report says the number of wind turbines installed over the last decade has grown by 30% annually, and total windpower capacity is more than 90GW – the equivalent of 90 conventional coal or nuclear power stations. It adds that the boom in wind energy is "so far barely touched by any sign of recession or financial crisis".

If current trends continue, the report claims wind capacity could reach 7,500GW by 2025 – making half of all new power projects wind or solar. Conventional power stations could be phased out completely by 2037, it claims.

Werner Zittel of the Energy Watch group, said: "It is time to realise that the many detractors of wind energy have got it wrong. We have seen more than 10 years of unprecedented growth in this sector… This is not about morals or environment but the commercial reality that wind, coupled with hydro, solar, biomass and geothermal energy is not only a rapid and cost-effective alternative, but one that could deliver all our energy requirements within the first half of the century."

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Exxon CEO doubts Obama's alternative energy goal

Tom Doggett, Reuters 8 Jan 09;

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson said on Thursday it would be difficult to meet President-elect Barack Obama's goal to significantly boost U.S. alternative energy production.

In a speech at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, Obama said he wanted the United States to double its output of alternative energy sources during the next three years as part of his plan to revive the American economy.

"I think that's going to be very challenging to do," Tillerson told reporters following a speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington.

He said the United States will not be able to double biofuels output during that period and there was not enough manufacturing capacity to build the wind turbines needed to meet Obama's goal.

"I'm not wanting to be critical of his aspirational goal. Aspirational goals are good because they challenge us all to go out and find the right answer," Tillerson said of Obama's plan.

But he added: "Let's be realistic about timeframes. Let's not fool ourselves."

Despite calls for more alternative energy use, he said, "for the foreseeable future" the world will rely on oil and natural gas for 60 percent of its energy needs.

Renewable energy sources, which include solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, biofuels and other biomass, accounted for 7 percent of U.S. energy supplies in 2007, according to the Energy Department.

Tillerson said the slowdown in the global economy would be temporary and then strong energy demand from emerging nations will return.

He also said that even with the weak economy, Exxon remained committed to investing in projects to meet future energy demand.

He said the company was sticking with its $125 billion capital spending budget planned for the next five years, despite the steep drop in oil prices and the global economic slowdown. Any changes to the capital spending budget will be announced in March at a meeting with analysts, he said.

Separately, Tillerson reiterated that it would be better for Congress to pass climate change legislation that levies a carbon tax to curb greenhouse gas emissions, instead of imposing a complicated cap-and-trade system that allows businesses to buy and sell pollution permits to spew emissions.

Tackling climate change is a top priority for the incoming Obama administration and the Democratic-majority Congress.

Tillerson said a carbon tax, which could be tacked on to fuel supplies and electricity consumption, was the most efficient way to reflect the cost of carbon.

By comparison, a cap-and-trade system is difficult to verify, requires new government regulators and "a Wall Street of emissions brokers," he said.

(Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by Walter Bagley)

Obama's green energy plans build hopes, skepticism
Jasmin Melvin, Reuters 8 Jan 09;

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Proponents of alternative energy and energy efficiency were elated on Thursday by President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus speech, but some analysts warned his energy agenda could hit turbulence in Congress or from the slow economy.

Obama asked Congress "to act without delay" to pass legislation that included doubling alternative energy production in the next three years and building a new electricity "smart grid."

He said he also planned to modernize 75 percent of federal buildings and improve energy efficiency in 2 million homes to save consumers billions of dollars on energy bills.

Billionaire oil investor T. Boone Pickens said Obama's plan would help kickstart the slow economy.

"Investing in alternative energy, focusing on conservation and rebuilding our power grid to deliver that energy to every corner of our country are critical components of this effort," Pickens said in a statement.

"President-elect Obama's prescriptions will address the twin challenges of an ailing economy and the threat of global warming," the League of Conservation Voters said.

Some analysts questioned Obama's ability to boost spending on higher-cost renewable fuels during a recession.

"It will be more difficult to meet the alternative fuel goals if oil prices keep falling and we are in a recession," said Phil Flynn, oil analyst with Alaron Trading in Chicago.

It will take political finesse to implement the plan, said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citigroup in New York.

"All of the details of whatever policy he wants will be heavily negotiated in the legislative arena," Evans said.

SOLAR EQUIPMENT STOCKS SOAR ON SPEECH

Solar stocks climbed after Obama said his economic recovery plan would result in more jobs building solar panels.

First Solar Inc rose 4.6 percent to $155.36, LDK Solar closed 5.2 percent higher at $14.50, and SunTech Power was up 6.3 percent at $12.75. The shares outpaced the broad S&P 500 index, which climbed only 0.3 percent.

The solar industry is ready to create jobs as soon as funding from the stimulus plan comes through -- in hard-hit manufacturing areas like Ohio and Michigan, said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association.

"The reality is what President-elect Obama is talking about are policies and incentives that will create jobs in all 50 states," Resch told Reuters.

Not everyone cheered Obama's plan. Private companies could use domestic energy resources like oil and coal to create jobs without the hefty price tag for taxpayers, said Thomas Pyle of the Institute for Energy Research, in a statement.

"The road to economic recovery will be paved with private sector investment, not government-sponsored asphalt," he said.

(Reporting by Jasmin Melvin; additional reporting by Robert Gibbons and Joshua Schneyer in New York)

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