Best of our wild blogs: 13 Feb 09

Baby horseshoe crab at Pasir Ris
on the wonderful creation blog

Back to the back mangroves at Pulau Semakau
on the wild shores of singapore blog

Lower Peirce Reservoir Park
on the Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature blog

Fanworm 1 @ Semakau
video clip on the sgbeachbum blog and Fanworm 2 and Fanworm 3

abandoned fish trap @ semakau
video clip on the reddotbeachbum blog

Red-breasted Parakeet and Dillenia suffruticosa
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Family’s encounter with pair of nesting bulbuls
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Seen on STOMP: Singapore's own bush-fire in Sengkang
on the Lazy Lizard's Tales blog

Where Can I Find Recycling Bins?
on the Zero Waste Singapore blog

Echinoderm Sex: More ALL-Star PSEUDOCOPULATION!
on the Echinoblog

Happy 200th birthday Charles Darwin!
on ecotax and wild shores of singapore

Read more!

Public transport in Singapore: updates and plans

Five stations on Circle Line to open in May
Transport improvements with new lines and more trains to save travel time
Yeo Ghim Lay, Straits Times 13 Feb 09;

RESIDENTS in areas such as Lorong Chuan and Bartley Road will have an MRT station at their doorsteps a tad earlier than expected.

Circle Line Stage 3, which has five stations, will open on May 30 instead of June, Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced in Parliament during yesterday's debate on his ministry's budget.

The remaining 24 stations on the new line will open progressively from next year, helping to reduce crowding on the existing MRT lines.

When completed, the Circle Line will take about 10 to 15 per cent of commuter trips from existing lines.

'(It) will help commuters save travel time, by reducing the need to make detours into the city centre to transfer across MRT lines,' said Mr Lim.

The five stations that will open are Marymount, Bishan, Lorong Chuan, Serangoon and Bartley.

Bishan will be the interchange station for the North-South line and Serangoon, the North-East line.

Student Jerald Seow, 15, who lives near Bartley Road, was among those who jumped with joy yesterday on hearing the earlier opening date.

He now takes a 25-minute bus ride to Paya Lebar MRT station and hops on a train to get to town on weekends.

'When Bartley station opens, I can take a train to Bishan MRT instead. It will be a lot more convenient,' he said.

The Circle Line is among $40 billion worth of rail projects that will double Singapore's rail network.

Besides adding new rail lines, the Transport Ministry is also intent on reducing waiting time along existing lines, which introduced 900 extra train trips a week last year.

One major move is the purchase of 22 new trains, to be delivered in 2011.

Another is to expand Jurong East MRT station, where there is a bottleneck.

Trains arriving there from Bukit Batok now have only one platform and track to stop at before they turn around. A second train will have to wait for the first to leave before it pulls into Jurong East.

A project to add another platform and track will be completed by 2011 instead of 2012, said Mr Lim.

The changes to Jurong East station and the new trains will cost $800 million in all. They will help boost carrying capacity along the North-South and East-West lines by 15 per cent and slash the waiting time between trains to two minutes in 2011 from the current 2.1 to 4 minutes.

It is not possible to go lower than two minutes, the ministry said, as the signalling system on the North-South and East-West lines cannot support a shorter time between trains.

Yet another project that will come onstream earlier is the extension of the North-South MRT line to Marina South. It will be completed a year earlier, in 2014.

Meanwhile, trains are likely to be more crowded as public transport ridership grows, before relief arrives in 2011.

Overcrowding on trains was raised by Madam Cynthia Phua (Aljunied GRC).

Responding, Mr Lim said the crowding level is still below what is acceptable.

At their most crowded, trains here carry an average of 1,300 to 1,450 passengers, compared to the Land Transport Authority's standard of 1,600 passengers.

They are also less crowded than trains in other cities. Singapore's trains pack in four people per square metre, which is similar to those in Hong Kong but lower than London's (five people) , Tokyo's (seven) and Shanghai's (eight).

Parliament sitting continues today, the last day of the nine-day Budget debate.

Blueprint for bus network in the works
Govt will balance needs of commuters with viability of the networks
Maria Almenoar, Straits Times 13 Feb 09;

THE Government is working on a blueprint that will plug the gaps in Singapore's bus network and make journeys more convenient for commuters.

In drafting it, it will be guided by three main factors: How the bus, rail and road networks support one another, improving the overall quality of journeys and ensuring the bus network is financially viable.

Transport Minister Raymond Lim spelt out these considerations yesterday, in his reply to MPs seeking an update on the centralised bus planning system.

He also assured commuters that 'LTA will look at the best way to benefit as many people as possible while maintaining the overall viability of the bus network'.

The final transfer of this planning job to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will take place at year's end. And the first few tenders of bus routes are likely to take place early next year.

Meanwhile, the LTA is making sure profits will not be sacrificed in the new network.

Mr Lim said an unprofitable system will reduce the quality of bus services in the long run because operators will not have enough revenue to invest and upkeep the system.

One example of balancing the needs of the public with financial viability is that of bus services duplicating rail routes, he added.

LTA will have to decide judiciously on this, he said. On sections where the rail system is heavily congested, this would make sense. But for other areas, duplication may not prove useful.

Mr Lim assured Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Marine Parade GRC) that the LTA, while looking at financial viability, will not automatically shut down bus routes that are not profitable.

It will consider suggestions to reduce bus frequency instead and look at the viability of the whole system rather than each route individually.

It is understood that the Transport Ministry is considering packaging unprofitable bus routes with more profitable ones to make the overall package attractive to bidders.

Yesterday, Mr Lim said the LTA was on track to take over the route planning from the two operators - SBS Transit and SMRT - later this year.

Tendering out the bus routes will bring competition 'for the market', said MrLim, rather than competition 'in the market' as suggested by Mr Alvin Yeo (Hong Kah GRC).

Mr Lim pointed out that competition 'in the market', which means more than one bus plying the same route, will be wasteful duplication.

Competition 'for the market', which the Government prefers, will see operators bid for different bus routes.

There will then be 'threat of competition' to keep dominant market players on their toes because routes will go up for tender after contracts expire.

Overall, when making decisions on bus planning, LTA will take a consultative approach, said Mr Lim.

From the second half of the year, it will speak to grassroots leaders on these changes and listen to feedback from residents through grassroots representatives.

'One of our guiding principles is to avoid making any radical Big Bang-type changes to bus services...Otherwise there will be mass confusion,' said Mr Lim.

However, he warned that even with the Government planning the routes, painful trade-offs will still be necessary.

For example, a feeder bus service with a circuitous route may be straightened out to stop it from taking 'one big round' before reaching an MRT station.

While this may please some residents, others who may be going to the market, will lose their direct service.

The proposed consultation with grassroots leaders will help resolve some of these issues, said Mr Lim.

Four MRT lines in Marina Bay by 2018
Straits Times 13 Feb 09;

BY 2018, the Marina Bay area will be served by four MRT lines - the North-South Line, Circle Line, Downtown Line and the Thomson Line.

Commuters will be able to reach an MRT station within a walking distance of no more than 400m on average.

Transport Minister Raymond Lim revealed this in response to MP and deputy chair of Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport Ong Kian Min's question on what was being done to make transport seamless in the Marina Bay area which will house the integrated resort.

Mr Lim said that the ministry was also working on making access to MRT stations in the new downtown seamless, with walkways underground, at street level and above ground.

Some could also be malls, like the link between Suntec City and City Hall MRT station.

MARIA ALMENOAR

Fast growth in public transport ridership
Straits Times 13 Feb 09;

MORE people took buses and trains last year, pushing public transport ridership up by 7.4 per cent, the fastest growth rate in many years, said Transport Minister Raymond Lim yesterday.

But this has slowed down with the onset of the economic recession, he added.

Ridership grew by 9.4 per cent last September compared to the year before, but the year-on-year growth rate was 6.4 per cent in October and 4.9 per cent in December.

The preliminary estimate for last month indicates that ridership actually fell by 3.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Mr Lim said this could be due to Chinese New Year, which fell in February last year.

'But it could also be that the economic slowdown has led to cutbacks on discretionary trips,' he said.

YEO GHIM LAY

Phase 1 of Circle Line to open on May 30
Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia 12 Feb 09;

SINGAPORE : Public transport ridership has been going up - and with it comes more crowding.

To ease the situation, the government announced that two rail projects - Jurong East Modification project and the North-South Line extension - are being brought forward, and 22 new trains being bought.

Still, with the changes only kicking in by 2011, the squeeze will still be on for a while.

Last year, public transport ridership spiked by 7.4 per cent - one of the fastest rates in years. And the overcrowding is being felt on MRT trains.

"MRT trains still suffer from an overcrowding problem. Has LTA (Land Transport Authority) reviewed the capacity? Is it possible to add more tracks on the existing lines, which are now overcrowded and have reached maximum capacity," asked Cynthia Phua, MP for Aljunied GRC.

With 900 additional train trips per week added since last year, that is the best the system can do in terms of train frequencies, given the current constraints.

Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said the only way to increase capacity is through infrastructural changes.

Currently, there is a bottleneck at the Jurong East Interchange station. The whole system is slowed down as the train does a turnaround, because there is only a single platform for this.

LTA is now building a second platform so that two trains can turn around at the same time, with the project completion brought forward by a year to 2011.

22 new trains are also being bought. When they enter the system, it should lower waiting times to as low as 2 minutes at the busiest stretches.

Opening new lines will also ease the crunch. Phase 1 of the Circle Line will officially open on May 30. The new MRT line will open its first five stations - Bartley, Serangoon, Lorong Chuan, Bishan and Marymount.

The other stages of the Circle Line are expected to open from 2010 onwards, and they are expected to divert about 10-15 per cent of passenger traffic.

But such large infrastructure projects take time to kick in, with one of the main changes coming only in 2011. At the same time, public transport ridership is increasing, and may go up even further during the economic downturn. So the situation may just get worse before it gets better.

One other major initiative this year is the LTA taking over the role of central bus network planner. This will be a two-stage process - first, talking to the industry, operators and experts, and then to grassroots representatives.

The transport minister said: "One of our guiding principles is to avoid making any radical, big-bang-type changes to bus services. Commuters make more than three million trips on buses every day, and we are conscious that any change must be gradual. Otherwise, there will be mass confusion.

"Our approach instead is to identify any gaps in connectivity, try to plug them, and see where bus services can be streamlined to improve efficiency of the network."

And it is only after this is done, can LTA look at how best to package the bus routes for competitive tendering. - CNA /ls

To ease the squeeze
New track at Jurong East MRT Station to boost capacity in 2011 as Govt speeds up major projects
Neo Chai Chin, Today Online 13 Feb 09;

IT IS a happy headache for the authorities: Public transport ridership increased by 7.4 per cent last year, the fastest rate in many years and about double what had been expected. And in Transport Minister Raymond Lim’s words, “if out of every five car trips, one is taken on public transport, then indeed we are on the way to success”.

But success will come with a squeeze, a concern yesterday of MPs, and the authorities are now bringing forward as many projects as possible.

Where demand has shot up most — rail, which saw a 10- to 15-per-cent hike — the work to build a new track and platform at Jurong East interchange, a critical node in the rail system that is affecting train frequency now, will be completed in 2011, one year ahead of schedule.

The Jurong East Modification Project will create a second platform for the North-South line to ease the current bottleneck in train turn-around times and boost the North-South and East-West lines’ capacity by 15 per cent.

By 2011, 22 trains would have been added to SMRT’s current fleet of over 100, Mr Lim revealed yesterday in Parliament. The tender has already been called. But until then, commuters will feel the squeeze.

But Mr Lim promised that the crowd will remain below the operating standard of five persons per square metre.

“Even at the most crowded stretches in the morning, peak-of-peak, say, at Toa Payoh south-bound, the trains are carrying an average of 1,300 to 1,450 passengers. This is about four passengers per square metre,” he said.

The economic downturn may slow ridership growth; preliminary numbers in January showed a 3.1-per-cent dip from a year ago. This could be due to cutback on discretionary trips, or the Chinese New Year holiday, he said.

Going forward, he acknowledged, ample capacity is “vital” in getting more people to switch to public transport. Hence, also brought forward by a year is the North-South line extension, to 2014. It will link Marina Bay station with upcoming Marina Bay developments such as the integrated resort.

In two weeks’ time, the Boon Lay Extension will be running, and on May 30, the Circle Line Stage Three, from Bartley to Marymount, will open. Beyond 2020, when all rail lines will be completed, the LTA will review the need for a new train signalling system — likely to cost billions of dollars — with other agencies like the Finance Ministry, said Mr Lim.



BUS ROUTES: NO RADICAL CHANGES

On the topic of buses, at least seven MPs voiced concerns and suggestions on Central Bus Planning, a role the Land Transport Authority will undertake this year. Mr Cedric Foo, Government Parliamentary Committee chairman for transport, urged for thoroughfares to be implemented by this year, while Mdm Cynthia Phua suggested that the feeder bus sector be opened to more private operators. Mr Lam Pin Min noted the lack of bus connectivity in Sengkang and Punggol.

But LTA’s new role will not result in “radical, big bang-type” changes, to avoid confusion among commuters, said Mr Lim. It will fix service gaps and inefficiencies in the network.

LTA will consult grassroots leaders on central bus planning, and will ensure the overall financial viability of the bus network, “rather than insist that every route on its own make a profit”.

“But this doesn’t mean we can add economically unviable services to the network in an indiscriminate manner,” said Mr Lim. The Public Transport Council will decide by this month whether to implement thoroughfares at one go or to phase it in, and will reveal details on transport fare reductions.

Read more!

Changes in transport policy for cars

24% fewer COEs this year, Vehicle Quota System under review
Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia 12 Feb 09;

SINGAPORE : The number of Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) available this year will be about 24 per cent lower compared to last year.

A total of 83,789 COEs will be available for this quota year, which starts from May and ends in April next year.

Transport Minister Raymond Lim said part of this quota is to allow the vehicle population to grow by 1.5 per cent, a target set under the Land Transport Masterplan announced last year.

Bidding under this quota will start in April this year.

The drop in COEs available came as no surprise. It is in line with a previously announced move to reduce the annual vehicle growth cap from 3 per cent to one and a half per cent.

And more changes are set to take place. Mr Lim said his ministry is looking at tweaking the Vehicle Quota System.

When the transport ministry comes up with its annual COE quota, it looks at two things - the 3 per cent caps and the expected number of vehicles that will be deregistered.

One common complaint in the past was that there was a mismatch between the number of deregistrations projected by LTA and the actual numbers.

"Such forecasts have inherent inaccuracies and the net vehicle growth rate may turn out higher or lower from the targeted rate," said Cedric Foo, GPC (Government Parliamentary Committee) Chair for Transport.

Mr Lim acknowledged this. "This is not to say the COE system does not work. It does, because any errors in projections are always corrected in current or subsequent years," said the transport minister.

However, he added the system could be improved. One possible approach is more frequent reviews.

"It will improve the responsiveness of the system, but there will, however, be trade-offs, such as more uncertainty over the quota released," said Mr Lim.

And so, the LTA will consult the motor vehicle industry as part of its review.

Meanwhile, the ministry is also looking at ways to enhance the Off-Peak Car Scheme to attract more motorists to make the switch.

Currently, there are about 42,000 such cars on Singapore roads - that is an eight-fold increase over the last three years. However, there have been complaints - from limited hours of use to cumbersome paper licences.

So, three areas are being looked at.

1) Replacing paper licences with tamper-proof electronic ones
2) Giving cash rebates to motorists who convert their normal cars to off-peak cars, instead of when the car is deregistered
3) Relook at the restricted hours where off-peak car owners can drive freely. They have long lobbied for full-day free use on Saturdays instead of half a day.

However, such measures may come with changes in the tax breaks such motorists now enjoy. - CNA/ 938 LIVE/ls

COE supply to be slashed by a quarter
New 1.5 per cent cap on annual growth rate to remain for three years
Christopher Tan, Straits Times 13 Feb 09;

CAR sellers and buyers will have to contend with far fewer COEs this year.

For the quota year April 2009-March 2010, there will be 83,789 certificates of entitlement - 24 per cent or 26,565 fewer COEs than the previous year.

The supply takes into account a new 1.5 per cent cap on annual growth rate of the vehicle population. If the previous 3 per cent cap were still in place, the COE quota reduction would have been around 12 per cent.

The new supply included adjusting for an oversupply of 10,103 COEs in the previous quota.

Despite calls from some MPs for the vehicle growth rate to be cut further on account of the weak economy, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said the 1.5 per cent cap will remain for three years before another review takes place.

He said it is important to make gradual changes 'so that people have sufficient time to adjust'.

Mr Lim also said the vehicle population growth rate 'should not be dependent on prevailing economic conditions, which are volatile'.

He said long-term factors such as the pace of road construction, public transport improvements and progress in road management technology are more critical.

The motor industry was not entirely surprised by the news.

Motor Traders Association (MTA) president Tan Kheng Hwee described the fresh quota as 'within expectations' and 'reasonable'.

Singapore Vehicle Traders Association president Neo Nam Heng said the used- car trade welcomes the cut.

'We hope COE prices will rebound and stabilise the market,' Mr Neo said. 'This will benefit existing car owners as well as improve the confidence of banks, so that they can start lending again.'

COE premiums have plummeted to historic lows in recent months. The worsening global economy and an abundant supply of certificates caused car COE rates to fall to as low as $2.

Mr Neo said if COE prices do not rebound, car resale values will slump. 'People may be able to afford a new car, but they can't afford to sell their existing car.'

Traders also said an uptrend in COE premiums would also put a check on premature scrapping of cars.

But the shrunken supply is worrying some distributors. Mr Koh Ching Hong, managing director of Toyota agent Borneo Motors, the biggest vehicle group here, said the cut 'is bigger than expected'.

Meanwhile, Minister Lim also announced that the formula for determining COE supply will be tweaked.

The current formula has often resulted in a drastically uneven vehicle population growth pattern over the years, as well as an oversupply and undersupply situation that has led to price swings.

Observers said that this had contributed to the worsening road congestion in recent years.

But Mr Lim noted that the supply formula had been working well over the long term. He said the compounded average growth rate of Singapore's vehicle population since 1990 had been within the 3 per cent prescribed by the COE system.

Off-peak car scheme to get a tune-up
Govt to replace paper permits, relook rebate system and restricted hours
Christopher Tan, Straits Times 13 Feb 09;

IT COULD soon become more attractive for would-be car buyers to consider off-peak cars (OPCs), and for existing motorists to switch to such cars.

The Government will look into enhancing the scheme in three areas.

Firstly, the supplementary day licence, currently a cumbersome paper permit that is prone to tampering, will be replaced.

Head of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport Cedric Foo, a strong OPC advocate, suggested an electronic system like London's camera-based congestion charging system.

As street cameras are already widely deployed here, details of the cars can be readily captured when they are on the road. The owners can then pay up by cash or direct debit within 24 hours, Mr Foo suggested.

'Our OPC system must be made more robust and tamper-proof,' he said.

Transport Minister Raymond Lim concurs. He said in Parliament yesterday that the Land Transport Authority will look at how an electronic charging system can be applied.

Secondly, the Government will look into granting cash rebates to motorists who convert their normal cars to OPCs. This, Mr Lim said, will be more attractive an incentive than the current system, where car owners can realise the rebates only when they finally scrap their vehicles.

Lastly, the Government will relook the restricted hours that OPCs can ply without charge.

Currently, these red-plated cars can be used only from 7pm to 7am on weekdays, and after 3pm on Saturdays, and for the full day on Sundays and public holidays.

Over the years, the Government had received 'numerous feedback' from OPC owners, with many asking for free use for the whole of Saturdays.

Minister Lim hinted that free use for the whole of Saturdays could be possible, but there would be commensurate adjustments to the tax breaks that OPCs are accorded.

Today, OPCs get a one-off $17,000 rebate on their registration taxes.

Mr Lim said the OPC scheme 'is something we should encourage'.

'It provides an alternative and a lower-cost means for people to own cars, and as its name suggests, helps to alleviate peak-hour congestion on our roads,' he added.

He pointed out that there are about 42,000 OPCs today, eight times more than the 5,000 back in end-2005. They make up about 7.7 per cent of Singapore's car population.

Motor Traders Association president Tan Kheng Hwee said 'we look forward to more details regarding the improved OPC scheme'.

'We hope the announcement on OPC will be made soon,' she added. 'Otherwise, those who are considering an OPC may be unsure whether they should commit now or wait until the new scheme is announced.'

OPC owners welcome the proposed improvements. Student Cynthia Elizabeth Tang, 27, said the electronic charging system 'is a good move'. She said it would be more 'hassle-free' than today's paper coupon system.

'There have been times when I tore the wrong date, and it's $20 gone,' the owner of an off-peak Nissan Sunny said.

She also said extending the free use to full day on Saturdays would make the scheme more attractive to would-be owners - even if the $17,000 tax break is adjusted. 'It makes sense, as more people work a five-day week now,' she added.

No change to road tax and registration fees
Straits Times 13 Feb 09;

THE Government will not change reductions to road tax and additional registration fees (ARF) on cars even if it collects less revenue from Electronic Road Pricing (ERP).

Transport Minister Raymond Lim said yesterday that additional revenue from new ERP gantries and revised charges implemented last year might fall to $50 million a year from the projected $70 million.

But the Government will not change the cuts to road tax and ARF, costing $310 million in all. The minister also addressed a question from Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Marine Parade) on why ERP is implemented on roads where there is no congestion.

He explained that the rate for a gantry within a wider cordon is determined by speeds along roads in that cordon. Gantries in a cordon must have the same rate, or motorists will jam the road with the gantry that charges a lower price.

YEO GHIM LAY

Car-ving out change
Leong Wee Keat, Today Online 13 Feb 09;

WITH their origins in the 1990s, both the off-peak car (OPC) and Certificate of Entitlement (COE) schemes received welcome tweaks in Parliament yesterday.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is seeking to make the OPC scheme “more attractive and convenient to motorists”, and will study three areas: An electronic licence system to replace paper licences; cash rebates for those who convert their cars to OPCs; and fewer restricted hours for OPCs, in particular, on Saturday.

Transport Minister Raymond Lim also announced a review of the formula for determining COE quotas, which in recent years have led to vehicle growth rates of more than the 3-per-cent cap.

This year’s COE supply, beginning in April, was slashed yesterday by 24 per cent to 83,789, taking into account the new vehicle growth rate of 1.5 per cent. And a review of the formula, said Mr Lim, will “improve the responsiveness of the system” but carry trade-offs, “such as more uncertainty over the quota released”.

Motor Traders Association president Tan Kheng Hwee welcomed consultations with LTA on the review and said this year’s COE quota fell within industry expectations.“It’s actually good that the substantial reduction is happening during a period of relatively low demand,” she said. “We expect COE prices should still fluctuate between $1,000 and $10,000 for the next 12 months.”

MPs Cedric Foo and Seah Kian Peng, however, wanted to see vehicle growth rate of only 1 per cent — commensurate with road expansion, the worsening economy and falling COE prices.

While growth rates may be further reduced in the longer term, replied Mr Lim, the public should be given sufficient time to adjust to the changes.

For OPCs, though, motorists and the motor industry are hoping for a speedy review. “Otherwise, those who are considering an OPC may be unsure whether they should commit now or wait until the new scheme is announced,” said MTA’s Ms Tan.

Remisier Jimmy Ho, who gave up his off-peak car for a normal car two years ago, added, “If (the review) had been implemented earlier, I might not have wanted to convert to a normal car.”

OPCs have gained popularity recently, numbering 5,000 in 2005 and 42,000 now, and the scheme should be encouraged, said Mr Lim. “It provides an alternative and a lower-cost means for people to own cars, and as its name suggests, helps to alleviate peak hour congestion.”

Read more!

Better cycling facilities in 5 neighbourhoods

Straits Times 13 Feb 09;

RESIDENTS in five neighbourhoods will be the first to get improved cycling facilities under a $43 million programme to promote it as a mode of transport.

Work will begin on 6.9km of cycling tracks for Tampines residents in the second half of this year, while 7.5km of tracks will be added in Yishun from next year. Plans are also in the pipeline for tracks in Sembawang, Pasir Ris and Taman Jurong.

These will either be dedicated 2m-wide cycling tracks or, where space is restricted, the tracks will join existing pedestrian footpaths but have painted markings to clearly identify them for cyclists.

The five were chosen because they have strong support for cycling, are relatively compact and have land available for the cycling tracks.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Transport) Teo Ser Luck announced these measures yesterday during the budget debate on estimates for the Transport Ministry.

He was responding to Ms Irene Ng (Tampines GRC), Madam Cynthia Phua (Aljunied GRC), Mr Wee Siew Kim (Ang Mo Kio GRC) and Mr Ang Mong Seng (Hong Kah GRC) who, while encouraged by the increasing use of bicycles, were concerned about safety and how cyclists would interact with pedestrians and other motorists.

Mr Teo, in acknowledging the competing demands for space, said the authorities had taken 'a very careful and deliberate approach to finding that balance between the various stakeholders'.

And while there was still some way to go before Singapore could be considered a 'cycling nation', he outlined initiatives to move the country in that direction.

First, a scheme to allow foldable bicycles on public transport has been approved after a six-month trial.

Foldable bicycles will be allowed on buses and trains during the off-peak periods of 9.30am to 4pm and after 8pm on weekdays, and all day on weekends and public holidays.

Other initiatives include 823 additional bicycle racks at three MRT stations - Pasir Ris, Tampines and Yishun - and safety signs on popular cycling routes.

An avid cyclist, Ms Ng, said that while cyclists were now allowed to share bus lanes, they were constantly squeezed out by buses. She called for markings on bus lanes to make them 'bike-bus lanes'.

Responding, Mr Teo said too many markings may confuse users. He suggested education and publicity as an alternative approach.

Mr Ang - who brandished a model of a bicycle, photographs and a bicycle light and bell when speaking during the debate - wanted bicycles to have licence plates so cyclists could be held responsible if they were reckless.

Mr Teo said this may not be practical or feasible to implement, and noted that bicycle-friendly cities like Paris and Amsterdam did not have such a regulation.

'Instead, we should focus on improving cyclist and pedestrian behaviour, which is really the crux of the matter,' he said. 'This is why we can move only at a pace that people are reasonably comfortable with, all the while actively consulting and engaging the various groups before taking the next step.'

MARIA ALMENOAR

LTA to spend S$43m on building cycling tracks in HDB estates
Channel NewsAsia 12 Feb 09;

SINGAPORE: More is going to be done to promote cycling in Singapore. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will spend S$43 million to design and construct dedicated cycling tracks next to pedestrian footpaths in HDB estates.

The first phase of this programme will be implemented in Tampines, Yishun, Sembawang, Pasir Ris and Taman Jurong.

Foldable bicycles will also be allowed on MRT trains and public buses during off-peak hours on weekdays and all-day on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, from March 15.

The scheme follows an earlier six-month trial where an average of 70 foldable bicycles were brought on board trains and two foldable bicycles on board public buses each week.

LTA said eight out of 10 train commuters and about seven out of 10 bus commuters surveyed support the initiative. - CNA/vm

Cycling on a wheel of change?
Today Online 13 Feb 09;

CYCLING has been given a further push as a transport mode here.

First, foldable bicycles will be allowed on trains and public buses during off-peak hours from March 15. Second, dedicated cycling tracks next to pedestrian footpaths in HDB estates will be introduced at five estates. The scheme will start in Tampines later this year with a 6.9km track, before making its way to Yishun next year with a 7.5km track. Sembawang, Pasir Ris and Taman Jurong will also see such cycling tracks in their estates over the next few years.

The Government expects to spend some $43 million to create these tracks, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Teo Ser Luck yesterday.

Earlier, several Members of Parliament had suggested a variety of ways to make cycling here even more popular. Ms Irene Ng (Tampines) said existing bus lanes could be shared with cyclists as “bike-bus lanes” — similar to the ones in France and Germany — giving them greater protection on the roads. Mr Teo said the Transport Ministry would consider her suggestion.

Mr Teo stressed that greater acceptance and consideration must be developed between the different road users to protect cyclists’ safety. “However, it will take time to develop this,” he said.LEONG WEE KEAT

Read more!

Preserve Environmental Balance To Prevent Floods: Malaysian PM

Bernama 12 Feb 09;

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 (Bernama) -- Everyone must seriously endeavour to preserve the environment in carrying out physical development to avoid natural disasters, especially floods, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The Prime Minister said that in achieving the goal of becoming a developed and prosperous nation, everyone must accept the fact that carrying out physical development without considering environmental sensitivity could contribute to floods.

The floods would have a direct impact on national development, affect the people's wellbeing and lead to environmental pollution, he said.

"The hardships faced by the people as a result of the floods would erode public confidence in the flood mitigation programmes and initiatives implemented by the government in the affected areas," he said in his speech at the launching of the Sungai Damansara Flood Mitigation Project, here, Thursday.

The text of his speech was read by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas.

Also present at the function were Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan and Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Maznah Mazlan.

The Prime Minister said that the frequent floods occurring in Malaysia had been due to the combined factors of the environment and human activity.

"As a country that receives substantial rainfall amounting to 3,000 millimetres a year, it is certainly exposed to the risk of floods," he said.

At the same time, Abdullah said the expansion of flood-prone areas was expected to occur due to the effects of climatic change

The situation would be aggravated if the land was developed without proper planning which could raise the intensity and frequency of the floods.

Abdullah said the outcome of the study, 'National Register of River Basins' in 2003 indicated that 29,799 square kilometres of land in Malaysia were exposed to floodings, which accounted for nine per cent of the total land area in the country and affected almost five million people with an estimated annual losses of RM915 million.

Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, RM5.3 billion had been allocated for the implementation of 163 flood mitigation projects in the country, compared with only RM2.1 billion allocated under the Eighth Malaysia Plan and RM890 million in the Seventh Malaysia Plan, he added.

-- BERNAMA

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Blooms Away: The Real Price of Flowers

What is the environmental impact of all those flowers given on Valentine's Day?

Carolyn Whelan, Scientific American 12 Feb 09;

Roses are red… They are also fragile and almost always flown to the U.S. from warmer climes in South America, where roughly 80 percent of our roses take root; to warm the hearts of European sweethearts, they are most often imported from Africa. They are then hauled in temperature-controlled trucks across the U.S. or the Continent and locked up overnight in cold boxes before their onward journey to the florists of the world.

According to Flowerpetal.com, which tries to limit the environmental impact of flower purchases, sending the roughly 100 million roses of a typical Valentine's Day produces some 9,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from field to U.S. florist. So what's a lovesick, albeit "green," beau to do?

First off, don't assume that imported roses are environmentally hostile. A 2007 study by Cranfield University in England found that raising 12,000 Kenyan roses resulted in 13,200 pounds (6,000 kilograms) of CO2; the equivalent number grown in a Dutch hothouse emitted 77,150 pounds (35,000 kilograms) of CO2. (Both examples include energy used in production and delivery by plane and/or truck. The roses from Holland required artificial light, heat and cooling over the eight- to 12-week growing cycle, whereas Africa's strong sun boosted rose production by nearly 70 percent over those grown in Europe’s flower auction capital.

"In Ecuador, the low-carbon impact of flower farms was evident. Greenhouses used no artificial heating or lighting, and most farm workers walked or biked to work," observes Amy Stewart, author of Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers. "In the U.S., most flowers grown commercially come from climate-controlled greenhouses, and many workers drive to the farm."

Although there is no study that makes a similar comparison of flowers grown in and outside the U.S. Colombia set up a "Florverde" (Greenflower) brand in 1996, and now labeled as such on bouquets at Wal-Mart and other big chains, with high environmental and social (worker benefits) standards. Roughly one in five U.S.-bound Colombian blooms is Florverde-certified, meaning stringent standards are verified by annual inspections done by Icontec in Bogotá and Geneva-based SGS, S.A. (Société Générale de Surveillance).

Similar "Sustainable-," "Fair Trade-" and "Organic-" branded bouquets are increasingly available at mega- retailers and florists in the U.S., including Sam's Club, FTD, natural food stores and Web sites like Flowerbud.com, Organicbouquet, TransFair, and 1-800-flowers. (Due to the expensive nature of going organic, however, international "organic" brands may have laxer guidelines than those in the U.S., authorizing less, but not zero, pesticide use; they also may be produced from cuttings that were not organically grown.) They boast labels like FlorEcuador or the U.S.'s VeriFlora, each with their own standards and independent inspection schemes.

Florverde's standards, for example, include minimal water use via drip irrigation and rainwater collection; hummus fertilization; boilers with air pollution filters; sulfur vaporization; integrated pest control for 46 percent less pesticide use; and environmentally sensitive waste disposal. Among social programs and benefits offered to workers: educational and housing subsidies; day care centers; literacy education, higher- and shorter- than-average wages and workweeks, respectively; on-site health care; full benefits including medical, disability and retirement insurance; and a floriculture school for those displaced by violence. Florverde is working to further grow the program and cut energy use, according to Colombian floral association, Asocoflores, chairman, Ernesto Vélez. With advice from U.S. universities, it is also testing biological pesticides, such as natural predators, and sending heartier breeds like carnations by ship.

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Fish Seen Shifting 125 Miles By 2050 Due To Warming

Alister Doyle, PlanetArk 13 Feb 09;

OSLO - Global warming will push fish stocks more than 200 km (125 miles) toward the poles by mid-century in a dislocation of ocean life, a study of more than 1,000 marine species projected.

Tropical nations were likely to suffer most as commercial fish stocks swam north or south to escape warming waters, the report said. Alaska, Greenland and Nordic nations would be among those to benefit from more fish.

"We'll see a major redistribution of many species because of climate change," said William Cheung of the University of British Columbia in Canada and the University of East Anglia in England who was lead author of the study.

"On average, fish will change their distribution by more than 40 km (25 miles) per decade in the next 50 years," he told Reuters of the report in the journal Fish and Fisheries, to be presented at a meeting in Chicago on Friday.

He said the report, written with scientists in the United States and projecting average shifts of more than 200 km over five decades, was the first to model climate impacts for more than 1,000 species such as herring, tuna, sharks or prawns.

Stocks of many species are already under pressure from over-fishing or pollution.

In the North Sea, a northward shift of cod could cut numbers by 20 percent. At the same time, North Sea stocks of the more southerly European plaice might rise by more than 10 percent.

And some cod populations off the east coast of the United States might decline by half by 2050, the report said.

TROPICS TOO HOT

"Countries in the tropics will suffer most from reductions in catches," Cheung said. The U.N. Climate Panel says emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly from burning fossil fuels, are stoking climate change such as droughts or rising seas.

Overall, Cheung said total fish catches from the world's oceans would be little changed by mid-century despite the shifts. "It's more about reshuffling the catch," he said.

The study made computer models for the movements of 1,066 species -- 836 types of fish and 230 invertebrates, such as crabs and lobsters.

Some species could die off, such as fish that thrive in cold waters and would have nowhere to go if the oceans warmed.

"Some species will face a high risk of extinction, including Striped Rock Cod in the Antarctic and St Paul Rock Lobster in the Southern Ocean," the University of East Anglia said.

Cheung said shifts were under way. Trawlers off the Western United States, for instance, were having to travel further north to catch the same fish. That led to problems, for instance, of coping with currents or rocks in unfamiliar waters.

Cheung said he hoped the study would help governments plan ways to manage fisheries. More than 190 governments plan to agree by the end of 2009 a new U.N. pact for fighting climate change to succeed the existing Kyoto Protocol.

Tropical fish swimming north because of global warming
Tropical fish are heading towards the cooler waters of the North pole, according to the results of a new study on the impact of climate change on fish.

Louise Gray, The Telegraph 12 Feb 09;

Scientists looked at the likely impact of a warming climate on the distribution of more than 1,000 species of fish around the globe.

They found fish will shift their distribution by an average of more than 40km each decade. While some fishing grounds will become richer, many species in cooler climates will go extinct.

Developing countries in the tropics will suffer the biggest loss as their fish swim north to cooler waters with Nordic countries, such as Norway, ending up with the lion's share.

The study, published in the journal Fish and Fisheries, found by 2050 the North Sea will see a 10 per cent increase in the number of plaice from Southern Europe – but will lose 20 per cent of the current Atlantic cod population.

Dr William Cheung, of the University of East Anglia, based the model on the predictions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for temperature rises over the next century.

"Our research shows that the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity and fisheries is going to be huge," he said.

"We must act now to adapt our fisheries management and conservation policies to minimise harm to marine life and to our society.

"For example, we can use our knowledge to improve the design of marine protected areas which are adaptable to changes in distribution of the species."

Climate Change And Fisheries: US Atlantic Cod Population To Drop By Half By 2050
ScienceDaily 12 Feb 09;

Scientists have for the first time calculated the likely impact of climate change on the distribution of more than 1,000 species of fish around the globe.

The new research was carried out by scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA), the Sea Around Us project at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Princeton University.*

It has long been known that ocean conditions such as temperature and current patterns are changing due to climate change, and that these changes directly affect the numbers and locations of different species of fish.

Dr Cheung and his team have developed a new computer model that predicts for the first time exactly what might happen under different climate scenarios to the distribution of commercially important species – including cod, herring, sharks, groupers and prawns.

Current conservation and fisheries management measures do not account for climate-driven species distribution shifts and it is hoped this research will change this.

The disturbing results demonstrate for the first time:

* There will be a large-scale re-distribution of species, with most moving towards the Pole
* On average, fish are likely to shift their distribution by more than 40km per decade and there will be an increasing abundance of more southern species
* Developing countries in the tropics will suffer the biggest loss in catch
* Nordic countries such as Norway will gain with increased catch
* In the North Sea, the northward shift of Atlantic Cod may reduce its abundance by more than 20 per cent, while European plaice - a more southerly fish - may increase by more than 10 per cent
* In the US, there may be a 50 per cent reduction in the number of some cod populations on the east coast by 2050
* Some species will face a high risk of extinction, including Striped Rock Cod in the Antarctic and St Paul Rock Lobster in the Southern Ocean
* The invasion and local extinction of species may disrupt marine ecosystems and biodiversity

"Our research shows that the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity and fisheries is going to be huge," said Dr Cheung. "We must act now to adapt our fisheries management and conservation policies to minimise harm to marine life and to our society.

"For example, we can use our knowledge to improve the design of marine protected areas which are adaptable to changes in distribution of the species."

He said the next step would be for the research to focus on the socio-economic impact of the predicted scenarios.

*The findings were presented at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago on February 13 by the paper's lead author Dr William Cheung of UEA's School of Environmental Sciences.

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Migratory Songbird Mystery Solved

Hayley Rutger, National Geographic magazine 12 Feb 09;

For the first time, scientists have tracked entire migration routes of individual songbirds, following them thousands of miles further than in earlier studies and revealing the birds fly two to three times faster than previously known. The new information will aid future conservation efforts.

The researchers equipped 14 wood thrushes and 20 purple martins with tiny geolocators—the first tracking devices small and light enough for songbirds to carry—to map their round trip between North America and the tropics with unprecedented accuracy.

They tracked two purple martins for about 9,300 miles (15,000 kilometers), from Pennsylvania to the Amazon basin and back, and tracked five wood thrushes to Central America and back.

"This is a real breakthrough," said Bridget Stutchbury, a biologist from York University in Toronto and lead author of a paper detailing the results, which appears this week in the journal Science. Her team, she said, was able to "accurately track where the birds spent the winter and how they got there" from their breeding ground in Pennsylvania.

"For most people studying migratory birds, this has been a daydream for years," said Stutchbury, who received funding for the study from the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration and worked in collaboration with the Purple Mountain Conservation Association.

(Read a related National Geographic News story: "Where Are All the Migratory Birds Going?"

Super-Fast Birds "Breaking All the Rules"

Stutchbury and her team released their birds in summer 2007 and snagged returnees the next spring, along with data on their routes and migration rates.

The birds' travel speeds astounded them. All flew two to six times faster during their spring return journey than in fall. One female purple martin dashed back north in 13 days at a speed of about 358 miles (577 kilometers) a day, shattering previous estimates for songbirds of 93 miles (150 kilometers) a day.

"Maybe this is some kind of super-bird, but still I was really impressed that any bird can do this," Stutchbury said. "These birds are traveling really fast and breaking all the rules."

Until now, ornithologists had been stymied by the details of songbird migration, a source of concern since many of these birds are declining in population and no one knows exactly why.

Songbirds—about 46 percent of Earth's bird species—are too dainty to lug around the most accurate tracking devices, satellite tags that relay their locations immediately to computers. So scientists have mainly relied on "snapshots" of songbird travels, by observing large flocks on weather radar screens or marking birds and trying to re-capture them in transit.

One thrush was tracked with a radio transmitter for an unrivaled 940 miles in 1973.

Thanks to miniaturized tracking technology, Stutchbury's team has blown this record away.

Their breakthrough was made possible with dime-sized geolocators, battery-powered devices weighing a fraction of an ounce that record light and store data on sunrise and sunset times, which vary with latitude and longitude. Stutchbury rigged the birds with mini-versions of devices that were first developed by the British Antarctic Survey to track albatrosses.

Conservation for Songbirds in Decline

In addition to showing the birds flew faster than previously known, the geolocators also revealed that some birds engaged in leisurely stopovers during their fall migration—three to four weeks in Mexico's Yucatan for the purple martins.

Stutchbury learned as well that wood thrushes stuck closely together on their winter grounds in Honduras and Nicaragua. Both sets of information may be useful for future conservation efforts.

Until this study, "We didn't know where—or if—they stopped along their spring or fall migrations," said Duke University conservation ecologist Stuart Pimm, who did not participate in Stutchbury's work.

"This new study reveals where those stopovers are, and that they are important feeding spots."

The Honduras-Nicaragua region is a crucial area to protect, Stutchbury said, because wood thrushes have declined in number by about 30 percent over the past four decades, possibly from threats like deforestation and habitat loss in this region.

"Many species of migratory songbirds over the past 40 years have been in a tailspin. The magic of geolocators is that they will help us direct conservation for individual species. The problems might be different for a thrush, a bobolink, or a shrike."

Overall, it's important to protect songbirds, Stutchbury emphasized, because many control insects or help maintain forests by dispersing seeds. "I like to think of migratory songbirds as nature's blue-collar workers," she said. "They do important jobs."

Many small songbirds like warblers and vireos are still too puny to track with geolocators. But someday, that, too, may be possible—along with other advances, like tracking songbirds with temperature-sensing geolocation.

Russell Greenberg, director of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center in Washington, DC, which has also started using geolocators on songbirds, hopes someday to use such devices on birds that winter in the temperate zone, where changing weather may strongly influence migrations.

"There's a lot of research that shows that birds are being affected by climate change," Greenberg said. "If the temperature warms up in January, do they start moving north again?"

Now that Stutchbury and her team have made the initial breakthrough with geolocators, Greenberg said, questions like this may finally be answered.

"It opens up an incredible door to things people didn't think they could do with songbirds."

Scientists flabbergasted by speedy birds
Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press Yahoo News 13 Feb 09;

WASHINGTON – Little songbirds cover more than 300 miles a day on their annual migrations, flabbergasting researchers who expected a much slower flight. For the first time, scientists were able to outfit tiny birds with geolocators and track their travel between North America and the tropics, something only done previously with large birds such as geese.

New tracking equipment, weighing only a little more than a paper clip, is now allowing the tracking of purple martins and wood thrushes, researchers report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

"The migration was surprisingly fast," said Bridget Stutchbury, a professor of biology at York University in Toronto, Canada.

That's much faster than the 90 miles or so per day that had previously been estimated.

"We were flabbergasted by the birds' spring return times. To have a bird leave Brazil on April 12 and be home by the end of the month was just astounding. We always assumed they left sometime in March," said Stutchbury.

"I don't think anybody had an idea that these little songbirds could travel that fast," she said in a teleconference arranged by the National Geographic Society.

And they made better time going north in the spring than heading south in the fall.

Stutchbury said she believes the spring migration is faster because there are major advantages to arriving first on breeding grounds, including getting the best nesting spots, the chance to get high quality mates and to start breeding first.

"This is a breakthrough for understanding of bird migration and for conservation of smaller birds. I am surprised by the speed of flight, which is comparable to larger birds like the Pacific Golden Plover," said Helen F. James, a curator of birds at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

"It's simply wonderful that we're going to be able to see these movements," said James, who was not part of the research team.

Indeed, the aim of the research is to understand how migration, and changes such as in climate and habitat, are affecting songbirds.

"Thirty species of songbird in North America show significant long-term decline," Stutchbury said. "We need to know whether it's the winter grounds or the breeding grounds driving these populations down."

In the study, wood thrushes and purple martins were captured in western Pennsylvania and fitted with the locating devices. The 1.5 gram clear plastic trackers sense and record sunrise and sunset, and when the birds return and are recaptured the data can be downloaded to a computer. Purple martins and wood thrushes weigh about 50 grams each — just under 2 ounces.

The timing of sunrise and sunset gives the location of the bird on each day of recording.

The tracking devices were placed on 14 wood thrushes and 20 purple martins during 2007 to track the fall takeoff, migration south, and journey back. In the summer of 2008, the researchers retrieved the geolocators from five wood thrushes and two purple martins. It wasn't clear what happened to most of the other birds, though Stutchbury said at least two were seen but the researchers could not catch them a second time.

The purple martins migrated to the Amazon basin in Brazil for the winter, while the wood thrushes wintered in a narrow band of Nicaragua and Honduras. Some of the birds took pauses along the way, spending a few days in the southeastern United States or in Mexico's Yucatan area.

Stutchbury said she initially worried that the tracking devices would slow down the little birds, "but those worries kind of ceased when I looked at their spring migration speeds."

She is now conducting further tests on these same species, and other researchers are doing similar tests in other small birds such as bobolinks, she added.

The research was funded by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the National Geographic Society and the Purple Martin Conservation Association.

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Big Science Role Is Seen in Global Warming Cure: Steven Chu

John M. Broder and Matthew L. Wald, New York Times 11 Feb 09;

WASHINGTON — Steven Chu, the new secretary of energy, said Wednesday that solving the world’s energy and environment problems would require Nobel-level breakthroughs in three areas: electric batteries, solar power and the development of new crops that can be turned into fuel.

Dr. Chu, a physicist, spoke during a wide-ranging interview in his office, where his own framed Nobel Prize lay flat on a bookcase, a Post-it note indicating where it should be hung on the wall.

He addressed topics that included global warming, renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, the use of coal and a proposed repository for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

Dr. Chu said a “revolution” in science and technology would be required if the world is to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and curb the emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases linked to global warming.

Solar technology, he said, will have to get five times better than it is today, and scientists will need to find new types of plants that require little energy to grow and that can be converted to clean and cheap alternatives to fossil fuels.

Dr. Chu, who once called coal “a nightmare” in the way it is currently used, said the United States must also lead the world in finding a way to burn the fuel cleanly, because other countries with big coal reserves, like India and China, will not turn away from coal.

But Dr. Chu said such developments were not impossible. At the turn of the last century, he noted, scientists like Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch made Nobel-winning discoveries that allowed the development of cheap nitrogen fertilizers, saving Europe from starvation.

“I think science and technology can generate much better choices,” Dr. Chu said. “It has, consistently, over hundreds and hundreds of years.”

Dr. Chu said members of Congress who are drafting legislation to limit emissions of global warming gases had not yet sought his advice, although he added, “I would expect that they might.”

He said that while President Obama and Congressional Democratic leaders had endorsed a so-called cap-and-trade system to control global warming pollutants, there were alternatives that could emerge, including a tax on carbon emissions or a modified version of cap-and-trade.

Dr. Chu said reaching agreement on legislation to combat climate change would be difficult in the current recession because any scheme to regulate greenhouse gas emissions would probably cause energy prices to rise and drive manufacturing jobs to countries where energy is cheaper.

“The concern about cap-and-trade in today’s economic climate,” Dr. Chu said, “is that a lot of money might flow to developing countries in a way that might not be completely politically sellable.”

But, he said, he supports putting a price on carbon emissions to begin to address climate change.

The Energy Department is involved with efforts as varied as developing nuclear weapons and sequencing the human genome. Dr. Chu said the department’s nuclear weapons program, which the White House is considering moving to the Defense Department, should be more tightly coupled to science in critical tasks like safeguarding nuclear materials and detecting nuclear proliferation.

One major decision facing his department is what to do about Yucca Mountain, a site 100 miles from Las Vegas chosen by Congress for burial of high-level radioactive waste. Mr. Obama and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, have opposed the project.

Dr. Chu said the political difficulties in trying to obtain a license for the Yucca Mountain site should serve as a guide in searching for other nuclear waste repositories in the future. “There are political realities,” he said.

Last year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has the final say, began work on an application from the Energy Department for a license for the project. Dr. Chu said the Energy Department should continue to answer questions from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about the application and then let the commission make a decision.

Dr. Chu would not say whether the department would open the site if allowed to do so. But, he said, “you can put a hold on” preparation.

The electric utilities, he noted, expected the department to live up to contracts signed in the 1980s for it to dispose of the nuclear waste.

Dr. Chu said he was still adjusting to his surroundings and title after most of a career spent as an academic scientist. Asked whether he preferred to be called “Dr. Chu” or “Mr. Secretary,” he answered, “Steve is fine.”

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Garbage Disaster Looms At Giant Mexico City Dump

Mica Rosenberg, PlanetArk 13 Feb 09;

NEZAHUALCOYOTL - Mexico City is facing a crisis over where to put its trash -- enough to fill four sports stadiums a year -- with its sprawling dump already crammed to bursting and under a closure order.

One of the world's biggest landfills, the Nezahualcoyotl dump site is a fifth the size of Manhattan and sits inside the urban sprawl of the fast-growing Mexican capital.

Mexico City is built on a dried-out lake bed first settled by the ancient Aztecs and grew at such a frenetic pace in the 1980s and 1990s that it now envelopes outlying villages, the dump and the international airport.

Now, mountains of refuse piled several stories high are pressing against a major drainage canal that runs along the dump's edge. That risks a rupture that could flood residential areas and the airport with stinking effluent and grime, says the federal government which ordered the dump closed in January.

But city officials are stalling in court, arguing that the danger is exaggerated and asking for more time to implement ambitious recycling and green energy projects.

"If the canal breaks it would be a disaster, you would have thousands of people inundated with sewage," said Mauricio Limon, an official at the Environment Ministry, which has been trying to close down the landfill for years.

"More time in operation means more polluting methane ... tainted aquifers, more contamination of the surrounding areas, damaged wildlife and bad odors," Limon said.

Mexico City's left-wing government is facing off with the ruling conservatives to keep the dump open and find green alternatives to absorb the 12,500 tons of garbage produced each day by the capital's 20 million residents.

City officials say garbage can be heaped up at the 4-square-mile (10-square-km) site on the edge of Mexico City for several more years. Small privately run landfills are offering their services, but at triple the price and with less space.

"If we close it, they'll start chucking it wherever they can. Soon this garbage will be in our ditches," said Martha Delgado, the city's head of environmental policy. "Crises should give us opportunities to change. We need a profound transformation in the way this city deals with its waste."

WORMS TURN INNARDS TO COMPOST

Mexico City launched a campaign several years ago to teach households to separate organic waste from recyclables. Sorting centers were built to replace informal workers who rake through trash for scraps of metal, plastic and paper.

Despite that, only 15 percent of the city's garbage is recycled, compared to up to 60 percent in parts of Europe.

There are no waste reduction programs. Styrofoam plates, cups and plastic straws pile up at taco stands and shoppers pack groceries into doubled-up plastic bags.

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, with one eye on a future presidential bid, has made strides toward making the capital greener, adding cycle lanes and public transport. Now he has big plans for a $186 million recycling center and a methane gas project like one that fuels the metro in the northern city of Monterrey.

The plans could take years to come to fruition, however.

Nezahualcoyotl workers pushing bulldozers over animal carcasses from food markets, computer parts and plastic bottles say they are caught in the middle of a political fight.

Pilot projects at the dump include one that has 7 million worms chomping away at organic waste, including 14 tons a day of animal innards, to turn it into rich compost.

Another project uses a water filter to skim off some of the black sludge that bubbles off the trash heaps and distill it into yellowish water, used to wet dusty roads in the area.

The city wants to build infrastructure to capture 1.4 million tons a year of greenhouse gas belched by decomposing trash and burn it to run power stations, helping reduce smog.

"If they close it now it would be a step backward from the very small advances we've made so far," said Judit Lopez, 39, who runs a plant turning old trees into sawdust for compost.

(Editing by Sandra Maler and Catherine Bremer)

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CO2 Hits New Peaks, No Sign Global Crisis Causing Dip

Alister Doyle, PlanetArk 13 Feb 09;

OSLO - Atmospheric levels of the main greenhouse gas are hitting new highs, with no sign yet that the world economic downturn is curbing industrial emissions, a leading scientist said on Thursday.

"The rise is in line with the long-term trend," Kim Holmen, research director at the Norwegian Polar Institute, said of the measurements taken by a Stockholm University project on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard off north Norway.

Levels of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas from human activities, rose to 392 parts per million (ppm) in the atmosphere in Svalbard in December, a rise of 2-3 ppm from the same time a year earlier, he told Reuters.

Carbon dioxide concentrations are likely to have risen further in 2009, he said. They usually peak just before the start of spring in the northern hemisphere, where most of the world's industry, cities and vegetation are concentrated.

Plants suck carbon dioxide, which is released by burning fossil fuels, out of the atmosphere as they grow. Levels fall toward the northern summer and rise again in autumn when trees lose their leaves and other plants die back.

"It's too early to make that call," he said when asked if there were signs that economic slowdown was curbing the rise in emissions. And he said any such change would be hard to detect.

"That's a tricky one to do," he said. "If we had, for example, a year with an unusually warm Siberian winter, that could cancel the human variation."

A warm Russian winter would allow more bacteria to break down organic material in the soil, releasing carbon dioxide.

800,000-YEAR PEAKS

Levels of carbon dioxide are around the highest in at least 800,000 years, and up by about a third since the Industrial Revolution.

The increase is caused by "mainly fossil fuel burning and to some extent land use change, where you have forests being replaced by agricultural land," Holmen said.

The U.N. Climate Panel says rising greenhouse gas concentrations are stoking warming likely to cause floods, droughts, heatwaves, rising seas and extinctions.

Latest data is from December because measuring equipment on Svalbard is being replaced.

"We can see the trend from these winter numbers," Holmen said. The numbers are higher than annual average year-round figures reported by groups such as the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

More than 190 nations have agreed to negotiate a new international deal by the end of 2009 to fight climate change. It would succeed the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol, which sets carbon dioxide limits for 37 industrialized nations.

(Editing by Andrew Roche)

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Low Carbon Price To Cut Renewables Investment

Nina Chestney and Gerard Wynn, PlanetArk 13 Feb 09;

LONDON - Record low carbon prices have cut the attractiveness of investments in renewable energy and may even favor the construction of new, high-carbon coal plants, conflicting with the aims of Europe's carbon market.

The EU emissions trading scheme is the 27-nation bloc's main weapon to fight global warming. It imposes a cap on carbon emissions by factories and power plants using a fixed quota of emissions permits.

The scheme is meant to force power plants, for example, to cut their emissions by switching from coal to lower carbon gas or to wind power, or else buy carbon permits.

"If you look at the price today it may start to become very attractive, not for compliance purposes today, but for compliance purposes for years," said Citigroup's head of emissions trading, Garth Edward.

The prospect of utilities buying cheap permits in bulk to cover their emissions for several years into the future did not pose a threat to the scheme, however, said Edward.

"The purpose of an emissions trading program is to deliver emissions below a certain cap, end of story. We all probably want the advantage of investment into (low carbon) technologies, but that's an indirect and uncertain effect," he added.

Analysts do expect the present record-low carbon price to cut investment in low-carbon renewable energy, by cutting the cost of carbon emissions.

"It's going to make new renewable capacity less attractive," said Deutsche Bank's Mark Lewis.

Bigger reputation problems for the scheme would emerge if utilities started exploiting the low carbon price to build new coal plants.

"Then I think you really would have a question mark (over the objectives of the scheme)," said one analyst who declined to be named.

"Absolutely there is a danger of that, potentially, and that would be terrible."

FREE

Prices of carbon permits called European Union Allowances (EUAs) have lost three quarters of their value since last July and are already down nearly 50 percent since January 1.

EUAs traded at about 8 euros ($10.20) a ton on Thursday, a record low for the 2008-12 trading period of the scheme, and could fall as low as 5 or 6 euros, traders and analysts said.

That fall is partly due to sagging industrial output and therefore falling carbon emissions and less demand for EUAs.

However, also to blame and contributing to an "over-sell" is a feature of the EU emissions trading scheme where participating companies got most or all of their EUAs for free.

That means that they now have an incentive to sell their surpluses, to raise cash during the downturn. Exaggerating that effect, companies can borrow EUAs from future years until 2012 -- meaning they can now dump five years' worth of estimated surpluses at little risk.

Utilities usually only buy EUAs to cover their expected emissions from power production, for example from coal or gas plants, which they have sold two to three years into the future.

But the prospect of a 5 or 6 euros carbon price could entice them to make longer bets, unconnected to any power sales, especially given that many will have to pay for all their carbon emissions from 2013.

"If you're a utility looking to build coal plants in post-2012 this is a bargain," said a trader at a bank.

(Editing by Guy Dresser)

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Top Airlines Want Aviation Emissions In Climate Pact

David Fogarty, PlanetArk 12 Feb 09;

SINGAPORE - Four leading airlines called on Thursday for aviation emissions to be included in a broader climate pact, after growing criticism from green groups that the sector was not doing enough to fight global warming.

The move is the first step by the world's airlines, which account for around two percent of global pollution, to steer the debate on an emissions pact toward a deal they are happy with, rather than having one imposed on them.

Air France/KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic and airport operator BAA issued the call in Hong Kong and outlined a series of principles a new global deal for aviation must adhere to.

Conservation groups such as WWF say aviation has not been doing enough to tackle the sector's growing share of greenhouse gas pollution and must pay for its emissions like many other industries.

Emissions from international aviation comprise about two percent of mankind's total carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution from burning fossil fuels and deforestation and are expected to keep rising as economies and populations grow.

Green groups and governments say airlines should be part of emissions trading schemes as a start.

"This is the first time a group of airlines has got together to call for aviation to be included in a climate change treaty," Dominic Purvis of Cathay Pacific told Reuters.

"We're contributing to climate change and we need to play our part," said Purvis, the airline's general manager for environmental affairs.

Nations meet at the end of the year in the Danish capital Copenhagen to try to agree on a broader climate pact that replaces the Kyoto Protocol, the United Nations' main weapon to fight global warming. Kyoto's first phase ends in 2012.

The idea is to find a way for developing nations to sign up to emissions curbs and to include aviation and shipping, which together make up 5 percent of mankind's CO2 emissions, a fifth of which come from U.S. emissions of 6 billion tonnes a year.

COST-EFFECTIVE

The United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has been working for more than a decade to develop a global scheme to tackle aviation emissions.

Purvis said the four airlines would discuss existing proposals to curb emissions and feed the group's ideas to ICAO and other airlines to try to settle on a fair and environmentally sound approach for inclusion at Copenhagen.

"The best thing is to have something effective and easy to apply and cost-effective rather than to wait for someone else to come up with it and potentially take a course of action not necessarily appropriate for aviation," he said.

The four airlines and BAA are meeting in Hong Kong and in their communique laid out principles for a global approach that included balancing social and economic benefits of flying with the industry's responsibility to cut global emissions.

The airlines also said a new global climate deal for aviation must preserve competitiveness and avoid market distortions.

Many airlines say only a global approach is fair and criticize the European Union's decision to include aviation in the bloc's emissions trading scheme from 2012.

Airlines will have to pay for their emissions over the entire route, not just within EU airspace, a rule many Asian airlines flying long-haul routes to Europe say is unfair.

(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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