Tanah Merah - Day Of The Scorpionfish
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Dolphin hunt film sparks dilemma for tourists
Brian Alexander, msnbc.com 6 Aug 09;
The affecting cloak-and-dagger documentary “The Cove,” which documents a brutal dolphin hunt off the Japanese town of Taiji, is putting would-be amusement park visitors in an ethical bind and park owners on the defensive.
The film’s protagonist, Ric O’Barry, who trained the animals that played TV’s Flipper before he had a change of heart, indicts businesses like Sea World as being either overtly or tacitly complicit in the cruelty. “The captivity industry keeps the slaughter going,” O’Barry charges in movie. If he has his way, the gruesome images of bloody dolphins will keep you from buying a ticket to a marine park, or stepping into a pool of one of those “dolphin encounters” at a tropical resort.
Park owners, on the other hand, are crying foul, insisting they have nothing to do with dolphin slaughter and that buying a ticket helps support valuable education and environmental work.
Sea World, part of Busch Entertainment, a division of Anheuser-Busch, which itself is owned by the Belgian beer giant InBev, rejects O’Barry’s criticism, pointing out that it condemns the Taiji dolphin hunt.
“Ric O’Barry has been opposed to dolphin captivity since ‘Flipper,’ ” said Fred Jacobs, the vice president of communications for Busch Entertainment. “He has made a tidy living with that and to take Taiji and somehow lay blame for that tragedy at the feet of Sea World is an outrage ... We hope people will see this as really an outrageous overreach on his part.”
Long notorious for its brutality, the Taiji slaughter is a so-called “drive hunt,” during which fishermen in a string of boats use clanging sounds to herd dolphins into small coves. Once penned, some dolphins are picked out by dolphin trainers and animal brokers for purchase and transport to amusement parks and resorts. The rest are killed with spears, knives and clubs in an orgy of cruelty. As the film graphically shows, the sea water churns into a bloody froth. The cries of the dolphins are pathetic.
But is it really possible that American tourists buying tickets to Sea World are somehow supporting this hunt and others like it? To understand the answer, it helps to know how amusement parks obtain their animals.
Born in captivity
In this country, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 makes it illegal to take a marine mammal out of the wild without a permit, and illegal to import any marine mammal that has been captured inhumanely. In fact, with public sentiment running strongly against capturing wild animals for shows, said Trevor Spradlin of the National Marine Fisheries Service division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “the reality is that the public-display industry has not requested permission to catch animals since the late 1980s.” Instead, the American industry has switched focus to captive breeding and artificial insemination.
Though Sea World used to buy from drive hunts and obtained animals through capture, these days about 80 percent of Sea World’s marine mammals were born in captivity, Jacobs said, with most of the rest arriving as the result of an animal rescue operation, such as a stranding.
O’Barry acknowledges this. But he indicts the industry on two counts: creating an international market for animals and failing to take action against the drive hunts.
Captive cetaceans (whales and dolphins), earn an ocean of money for their owners. According to financial statements, InBev's entertainment business — made up mostly of Sea World and Busch Gardens outlets — contributed pro forma revenue of 932 million Euros (about $1.34 billion at today’s exchange rate) to the company.
Businesses around the world hoping to mimic that cash flow journey to places like Taiji or the Solomon Islands which also has a drive hunt. There, park and dolphinarium owners purchase dolphins for well over $100,000 each.
“These are the economic underpinnings of the largest slaughter of dolphins in the world,” O’Barry told msnbc.com. “If we stop trafficking it would be difficult for this to survive.”
Jacobs denied that the international market for animals spawns drive hunts. “The question I would ask Ric O’Barry is if there were no dolphinariums, would the drive fishery sustain itself? Would it collapse under its own weight? It’s centuries old!”
Head in the sand?
O’Barry and the producers of “The Cove” are on stronger ground when they say the industry has turned a blind eye to the hunts Jacobs called “horrifying.”
Jacobs, for example, refused to condemn those who still buy from Taiji. He likened such purchases to a salvage operation that prevents some animals from being killed. “We stopped [buying from drive hunts] and have not resumed, not because we are ashamed, but it was not something that we cared to be involved with any more. It is difficult to go over there even if you are saving animals, and that is how we viewed it.”
This reluctance to call out others, and then take action, is O’Barry’s biggest beef. While some biologists have signed petitions and some aquariums and amusement parks decry the practice, even starting an organization called Act for Dolphins in 2006, such declarations are simply ignored.
“They know who the dealer is: Ted Hammond in Taiji,” O’Barry said, identifying Asia-based American veterinarian and amusement park consultant Ted Hammond. “They could get him under control by isolating him from the rest of the community! Sea World and these other parks know who traffics from Japan and the Solomon islands. They should see what they could do to stop them other than have some politically correct statement. They have to make up their minds what they want to do about it.”
But they won’t.
Hammond has been instrumental in brokering Taiji sales and has consulted for the Solomon Islands capture operations. But he remains a member in good standing of major international organizations. For example, a 2008 “Proceedings of the International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine,” edited by Sea World’s chief vet, lists him as both a “founding member” and an “honorary life member.”
(Msnbc.com contacted Hammond for comment on drive hunts, his role in brokering animals, his relationship with a new aquarium in Beijing which has made Taiji’s infamous Whale Museum its sister organization, and the issue of capturing dolphins for tourists. But after first promising to respond, he later declined saying, “As you probably know, there is an active lawsuit between one of my clients and Ric O'Barry of which I am a primary witness. My legal counsel has requested I do not respond to any outside questions or volunteer any information regarding Taiji or any associated activities at this time.”)
Big fish in a small pond
Sea World, the largest marine park enterprise in the world, would seem to have a great deal of clout in industry organizations. But aside from issuing statements, Jacobs could not name any action Sea World has taken or plans to take.
Sea World is trapped, he argued, by its history. “I do not know how to answer what our position is. We are opposed [to the hunts] but we find ourselves defending against the kind of criticism O’Barry levels at us and we are distracted by that. And, at one point, we collected animals from one of these hunts. We do not want to be accused of being disingenuous ... if we go to an aquarium in China and say ‘You guys should not be involved,’ the first thing out of their mouths will be ‘Well, you did it’ and we cannot argue that point.”
International bodies are equally reticent.
Gerald Dick, executive director of the Switzerland-based World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) told msnbc.com that “WAZA clearly condemns any cruelty against animals, as laid out in the Code of Ethics.” So what happens to those who defy the code? “If a member defies such appeals, we have a standard complaint procedure in place, which consists also of a dialogue with the relevant institution or regional association.” WAZA, he said, is now “in dialogue” with Japan “to sort out the relationship between the takes for aquaria and the slaughter.”
The International Whaling Commission, said Ryan Wulff, the IWC coordinator for NOAA, cannot even agree if it has any authority to regulate small cetaceans like dolphins. The U.S. position is that it does.
Even if strong actions were taken against rogue players, some, like O’Barry, argue that it is unethical to keep these animals in captivity in the first place.
There are currently 512 living cetaceans in captivity in the United States according to NOAA; Sea World is by far the biggest holder
‘Jury is out’ on lifespans
According to Georgetown University biologist Janet Mann, Ph.D., who studies a wild population of dolphins off Australia, and was the first to prove that dolphins teach each other how to use tools, some dolphins, like bottlenose, appear to live a long time in a well-maintained facility, sometimes longer than in the wild.
Killer whales, the biggest dolphin species and the keystone of Sea World’s image, don’t fare as well as their bottlenose cousins. “Killer whales can live at least into their 80s,” Mann said. “There are no cases of captive killer whales living that long or even reaching half that age.”
Jacobs replied that there is ongoing “debate” about killer whale lifespans and that the “jury is out.”
Mann believes that capturing wild dolphins for display is unethical, but dolphins born in captivity cannot be released into the wild. It’s been tried and always fails.
Regardless of the animals’ lifespans, say experts — including Sea World’s Jacobs — it is impossible to know what the animals think about living in a tank. Which leads to a philosophical question potential park visitors should consider: “If you kept a human in a clean and safe environment for their entire life (a bit like the film “Truman,” let us say),” Mann posits, “then is it OK?”
Promoters like Jacobs argue strenuously that it is, largely because of the park’s educational value. “We will have something north of 11 million people visit a Sea World park this year,” he said. “Virtually all of them will come into direct contact with a marine mammal in the setting of a show or some form of interaction. I have seen people who have that experience and are touched by it, moved to act by it. They are far more sensitive and aware and respectful because of that experience.”
Fantasy world
University of Illinois communications professor Susan G. Davis disagreed. She believes the value being communicated by marine parks “is a very radically human-centric value. It is that human beings, but especially humans organized as a big economic conglomerate, can create and recreate the natural world. I just think that is preposterous.”
Davis, author of the book “Spectacular Nature: Corporate Culture and the Sea World Experience,” called it “a disastrous way of looking at the human place in the natural world. It is just putting wilderness and wild animals in a place where they can always be synthesized.”
A marine park is a fantasy, she said, that perpetuates a mistaken notion. “Through these very crafted performances ... I think the implication is that this enormous, dangerous, beautiful thing is in compliance with our wishes because we love it and it loves us.”
But according to Mann, dolphins are wild animals and top line predators. Wild dolphins do not love people and don’t even remember individual persons. People have to get away from this idea that dolphins and other animals are on earth to somehow interact with us, she said.
Whether or not we will remains to be seen. O’Barry hopes tourists buying tickets will see that they are part of the problem. For his part, Jacobs doubts attendance will fall in response to “The Cove” or O’Barry’s agitating.
Meanwhile, next month, the Taiji drive hunt will resume.
Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia 6 Aug 09;
SINGAPORE: The haze is back in Singapore and you can expect more hazy days ahead. Smoke haze shrouded Singapore on Thursday morning, with an acrid burning smell hanging in the air.
And the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI), which measures the air quality in Singapore, was around 60 on Thursday. Though this is still in the moderate range, it is however slightly higher than Wednesday's reading of 52.
Smoke haze has been blowing into Singapore and the National Environment Agency (NEA) said that over the past few days, its satellite pictures detected significant hot spots with moderate to dense smoke.
The hot spots are mainly in the Sumatran provinces of Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra. On Wednesday alone, 50 hot spots were detected in Sumatra.
NEA added that with prevailing dry weather in the region and the wind direction expected to remain the same in the next few days, hazy conditions can be expected in Singapore over the next few days.
Doctors have cautioned against outdoor activities if the situation worsens, especially for those with respiratory illnesses.
Dr Chuah Li Li, a general practitioner from My Family Doctor, said: "Usually the discomfort is felt in the eyes, where people will feel there is a little bit of the smarting discomfort or a dry sensation. The other thing that you might feel is throat discomfort.
"For people who have lung problems - chronic obstructive lung disease and asthma - there might be... a little bit of difficulty in breathing and a chest tightness or cough.
"Elderly people with pre-existing lung condition or children with asthma should actually cut down on outdoor activities, especially strenuous activities like playing basketball and football."
But members of the public are currently not too concerned about the situation.
"At the moment, still not so serious. Maybe if it gets serious, we will do some precautionary measures," said a member of the public.
Singapore has expected the haze to return this year as the El Nino weather phenomenon develops, bringing with it hotter and drier weather. The situation is expected to worsen in the coming months, especially when the dry weather peaks in September.
The haze is the result of smoke from slash and burn activities in Indonesia, when farmers clear their lands to make way for new crops. Hot and dry weather can also cause dry twigs and leaves to burst into flames spontaneously.
On July 24, Singapore handed over three air and weather monitoring stations to Jambi Province in Sumatra to help calculate the risk of fires starting and spreading in the surrounding areas during dry weather.
- CNA/ir
Shifting winds bring haze
Dry weather will see smoke lingering over Singapore, experts warn
Amresh Gunasingham, in Singapore & Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, in Jakarta
Straits Times 7 Aug 09;
THE haze is back in Singapore, fuelled by raging fires in Sumatra.
Smoke blanketed large parts of the island, from the Central Business District to Sengkang, causing the 24-hour pollution standards index (PSI) to peak at 60 yesterday.
Though still in the moderate range, yesterday's PSI was the highest recorded here in almost two years. Visibility in the morning ranged from 3km to 6km, but improved in the afternoon to 5km to 7km.
The National Environment Agency's (NEA's) Meteorological Services Division said 50 hot spots were detected in Sumatra yesterday, although there might have been more - cloud cover prevented satellites from giving a clearer picture.
There has been a spike in the number of fires burning in Sumatra since June, but Singapore was spared the haze because of favourable wind conditions.
But over the last two days, winds blowing from the south and south-west blew the smoke this way.
Parts of Indonesia and Malaysia have also been badly affected. In Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province, the Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport was shut for two hours yesterday morning as visibility fell to 300m, far below the 1km safety mark.
In Malaysia, several areas, one in Kuala Lumpur, were plagued by unhealthy pollutant levels, said The Star newspaper.
Satellite images also showed dense smoke over parts of Sabah, Sarawak and of Kalimantan on Borneo island.
The almost annual haze episodes have led to complaints against Indonesia by its Asean neighbours, and comments made yesterday by Jakarta's Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban are likely to add to the stir.
In comments which the Jakarta Post newspaper called 'mind-boggling', Mr Kaban said the Indonesian government would only take firm action against those setting fires if flights were disrupted and protests erupted in neighbouring nations.
He said the issue 'was being exaggerated domestically', adding: 'Why should we care about domestic affairs? Our international image is what's important.'
When asked about his comments, Mr Kaban told The Straits Times: 'What I said was that this haze issue was being exaggerated domestically. Why are we ourselves making the noise? Even they (Singapore, Malaysia, other neighbours) are keeping quiet.'
Meanwhile, experts here said yesterday the haze might linger over Singapore for a while, due to the prevailing south-west monsoon season conditions, which typically last till late October.
Said Associate Professor Matthias Roth from the department of geography at the National University of Singapore (NUS): 'The south-west winds that bring the smoke can vary from day to day, but generally, we have to be ready for haze in the coming months.'
An NEA spokesman said hazy conditions can be expected over the next few days due to the prevailing dry weather in the region and the wind direction.
A developing El Nino weather pattern, which leads to hotter and drier conditions, could make the situation worse.
Asked if any public advisories would be issued here, an NEA spokesman said: 'When the air quality is in the good and moderate range - that is, a PSI reading of 100 or less - there is no need for the public to take any special precautions.'
However, doctors warned that people with respiratory conditions could find their symptoms worsening because of the haze. Asthmatics could be hit especially hard because of the H1N1 epidemic.
Already, some are feeling the effects. Mr Chew Hock Chuan, 41, a public relations executive, decided against a morning walk yesterday. 'I will not be able to take my daily brisk walk if the haze gets worse. My eyes have already started tearing,' said the nose cancer survivor.
Haze forces Riau airport to close
But Indonesia Forestry Minister's approach to fires appears 'hands-off'
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Straits Times 7 Aug 09;
JAKARTA: As the haze worsened yesterday, the airport in Pekanbaru, capital of Riau province, was closed temporarily in the morning as visibility fell to 300m. Visibility of 1,000m is required for safe landing and take-off.
The return of the haze is also affecting Indonesia's neighbours Malaysia and Singapore.
But Indonesia's Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban was quoted as saying in a local newspaper yesterday that firm action would be taken only if flights were disrupted and neighbouring countries mounted protests.
Riau, which is located near Singapore, is the worst-affected province in Sumatra. Hot spots and dense haze were also detected in Sarawak and parts of Kalimantan in Borneo.
'The winds coming from the south-east and south-west are blowing towards Malaysia and Singapore,' weather official Aristya Ardhitama at the meteorological office in Pekanbaru told The Straits Times by telephone.
Satellite images showed that the number of hot spots in Sumatra had risen from 44 on Wednesday to more than 60 yesterday. A hot spot is defined as a fire covering a hectare of land or larger.
Mr Kaban, whose comments the Jakarta newspaper described as mind-boggling, was quoted as saying: 'We must accept the fact that haze might reach other regions, like Batam and other parts of Sumatra.'
He added: 'Why should we care about domestic affairs? Our international image is what matters.'
Asked about his comments yesterday, the minister told The Straits Times: 'What I said was that this haze issue was being exaggerated domestically.
'Why are we ourselves making the noise? Even they (Singapore, Malaysia, other neighbours) are keeping quiet.'
He said in the phone interview that Indonesia's regional governments were responsible for tackling the fires, not the central government, and that they should not wait until neighbouring countries start protesting before doing something about the situation.
The fires, caused by slash-and-burn farmers who are clearing land for planting, have led to complaints from Indonesia's neighbours since smog started to envelop the region almost annually in the past 12 years.
Mr Kaban, when told that the haze has reached some parts of Malaysia and Singapore, said there were also hot spots in Sabah and Sarawak.
Other officials said yesterday that there had been no let-up in the smog, which smelt of burnt leaves and wood, in Sumatra.
Before the closure of Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru yesterday, the Dumai Airport in the same province was also closed temporarily due to poor visibility.
Yesterday, in the Siak Regency in Riau, the local government ordered all schools to be closed at least until Aug 8 after visibility fell to only 50m, Vivanews.com reported, citing Mr Arfan Usman, the regency's head of education.
'At first, on Aug 3, we decided to send home only the Year 3 primary students as the younger kids are obviously more susceptible,' Mr Arfa was quoted as saying. But as the situation worsened, the authorities decided to stop all classes, the online news portal reported.
There is a possibility that the haze could be prolonged this year.
Mr Aristya said that Indonesia will likely see the rainy season coming only in January - four months late - because of the the impact of the El Nino phenomenon.
Q&A WITH INDONESIA'S FORESTRY MINISTER M.S. KABAN
'Don't ask the central government to do everything'
Straits Times 7 Aug 09;
# Straits Times: We saw a report quoting you as saying the government would take firm action to control fires only if the haze disrupted flights and sparked protests in Malaysia and Singapore.
Kaban: What I said was that this haze issue was being exaggerated domestically. Why are we ourselves making the noise? Even they (Singapore, Malaysia, other neighbours) are keeping quiet.
# But the haze has reached Malaysia, and to some extent Singapore. And some residents there have blamed Indonesia.
There are also hot spots in Sabah and Sarawak.
It is a matter of what direction the wind is blowing in. They need to base it on an investigation to say the haze came from Indonesia.
# How about Singapore, which is near Riau?
Like I said, it depends on what direction the wind is blowing.
# What is the government doing to try and reduce the forest fires?
That (task) is technically under the domain of the regional governments. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has told regional governments to act fast.
Don't ask the central government to do everything. The central government is only helping.
The national police have sent helicopters. The Forestry Ministry also has permanent teams working on the ground.
# What is your advice for people in Sumatra and Kalimantan?
People need to be assisted by the regional governments. They need to be given adequate tools so they will not do slash and burn...
There are a few success examples like the one in Oki area in South Sumatra.
# Must we wait for protests from abroad and flight delays before doing anything?
It shouldn't be like that. Like I said, it is mainly the responsibility of the regional governments.
NOT CONCERNED YET
'Why should we care about domestic affairs? Our international image is what matters.'
Indonesian Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban, saying Jakarta would only take firm action to control fires if the haze disrupts flights and sparks protests in neighboring countries.
In Malaysia Haze thickens; Health Minister warns it may worsen H1N1 situation
Hazlin Hassan, Straits Times 7 Aug 09;
KUALA LUMPUR: The thick haze blanketing some parts of Malaysia could worsen the Influenza A (H1N1) situation by triggering more respiratory illnesses, Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai has said.
Experts have warned that the current forest fires in Indonesia and Sarawak, if left unchecked, may bring about the region's worst haze in 10 years.
Malaysia has reported 14 H1N1 flu-related deaths and about 1,426 infections.
'The H1N1 virus attacks the lung cells directly. It then causes serious pneumonia. Those with respiratory ailments have weaker immune systems and the attack can be more serious,' Datuk Seri Liow was quoted as saying by The Star daily.
Meanwhile, many residents in Kuala Lumpur complained about the smell and discomfort they have to put up with because of the haze.
Forty-year-old personal assistant Anita Abdullah said she had dry eyes and an itchy throat this week. 'Every year it comes in July and August. I can smell it, and I can see it. I'm just wondering why they can't tackle it,' she said yesterday.
Said investment manager Fiza Mohamad, who has asthma: 'Yesterday was a bit tough, and I coughed non-stop.'
Environment Department director-general Rosnani Ibrahim said the number of hot spots has gone up since Sunday, caused by a combination of the dry weather and open burning activities.
'We hope that it will improve. It depends on whether it will rain, and how hard they will fight the fire,' she told The Straits Times.
Mr Faizal Parish, director of the Malaysia-based Global Environment Centre, said there were fears of a repeat of the haze crisis that hit the region in 1997-1998 and caused an estimated US$9 billion (S$13 billion) in economic losses.
'The situation is likely to get worse,' he told The Straits Times.
'Because of the drought, it could potentially develop into the worst haze seen in 10 years or more,' he said.
On Wednesday, Malaysia was hit by the worst haze this year as 'unhealthy' levels were recorded in Cheras, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Kuantan in Pahang. Bintulu, Samarahan and Sibu in Sarawak were similarly hit.
Air quality is considered unhealthy when readings are in the 101-200 range, very unhealthy, in the 201-300 range, and hazardous if the reading exceeds 300. A reading of 0-50 is deemed good and is moderate if it is within 51-100.
An official with the Meteorological Department said yesterday that visibility was down to 2km in Selangor and Malacca.
Malaysia Airports senior general manager Azmi Murad said flights have so far not been disrupted despite decreased visibility.
Haze from forest fires is Indonesia's annual headache
Eliswan Azly, Antara 6 Aug 09;
akarta (ANTARA News) - The chronic haze problem in Indonesia has to many people become like the classic puzzle of which came first into the world: chickens or chicken eggs.
Indonesia as the world`s largest archipelagic country with vast forest areas is routinely suffering from forest fires which the power elite consider a headache but are unable to solve once and for all.
This year, more severe forest fires are expected to happen in Indonesia because of an extended dry season, Blucer Dolok Pasaribu, the head of the meteorology agency in Riau`s provincial capital of Pekanbaru, said recently.
A rise in the flow of choking smoke blowing across neighboring countries in August was also unavoidable creating problems with those countries, he said. "As well as being unhealthy, the smog can cause major economic disruptions costing the tourism, transport and farming sectors billions of dollars."
"Haze is like an immune and incurable headache in Indonesia which always happens every year," he said.
With the peak of the dry season (in Riau) between June and August, the number of hotspots would automatically increase. The haze could even travel to Malaysia and Singapore with the wind coming from Australia to Asia.
In addition, haze and fog on Tuesday (Aug 4) were also reported to have blanketed Pekanbaru city, Dumai, Siak, Pelalawan, Indragiri Hulu, Rokan Hilir and Bengkalis in Riau province.
The thick fog which covered the city before noon had also lowered visibility and was affecting human health.
"The air which smells like smoke is also affecting our breath. Our eyes become irritated," Nasir (46), a civil servant working for the provincial administration said.
A resident, Nasir, was suffering so seriously of breathing problems and cough he had to seek medication at the Petala Bumi General Hospital.
"It seems many people are suffering from breathing problems and cough. No one can stand this dirty air," Nasir said.
Another resident, Anita from Bagansiapi-api, the Rokan Hilir district`s capital also complained about fog which again blanketing her residential area after a few days of free from weather problem.
"The thick smoke again permeats the air and reduces visibility," she said.
Meanwhile, haze and fog also blanketed the industrial town of Dumai due to forest and land fires. Ash particles were clearly flying in the air over the town, she said.
Thick fog also blanketed land traffic in the eastern part of Sumatra linking Pelalawan, Pekanbaru with North Sumatra.
In the meantime, Muaro Jambi, occupying a tenth of Jambi province on Sumatra Island, is an epicenter of the annual fires set to bushes as part of seasonal land clearing activity.
The practice of razing the land, which also takes place in Kalimantan (Borneo) is what gives rise to the smoky haze that has often choked Indonesia and neighboring countries over the past decade.
Indonesia has lost US$9 billion (RM32 billion) in tourism revenue and flights delayed or cancelled because of poor visibility.
But Indonesia`s argument has consistently been that it lacks the money and technical expertise to prevent or control the fires across its vast archipelago.
Jambi Governor Zulkifli Nurdin said slash-and-burn farming is practised out of necessity. It is a cheaper way for poor farmers to clear land for planting.
To make things worse, the country`s peatland releases carbon dioxide as it dries out. When set alight in the dry season, thick smoky plumes result.
The chief of the Jambi Natural Resources Conservation Center, Didy Wurdjanto, said local officials have found it difficult to convince farmers to stop the burning, especially when they cannot afford to buy machines to clear the land.
Equipment such as excavators and tractors can cost up to 1 billion rupiah, and the typical small-scale farmer makes at most only 2 million rupiah a year, said Afdhal Mahyuddin, a communications officer of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) in Riau, another fire-prone area in Sumatra.
Mahyuddin noted that while Indonesia has been effective in punishing small-scale landowners, companies with larger land concessions continue to get away with it.
Environmental groups say at least 70 percent of Sumatra`s forest fires come from land owned by plantation and paper-pulp companies.
But despite calls on Jakarta to impose stiffer penalties, few companies are prosecuted because of lack of evidence.
Environmentalists have also long alleged collusion and corruption between government officials and the companies.
According to Mahyuddin, the country`s headache becomes worse with the export of haze to Malaysia and Singapore as its neighbors.
The situation of haze in Riau had reached a serious level and strong winds blowing from the southeast to the northeast may bring the haze to Malaysia and Singapore.
The existing data on haze showed the number of hotspots in Sumatra based on satellite surveillance had fallen to 28 as of Sunday from 99 last week after rain, but on Kalimantan island the number of hot spots rose to 69 from 17 last week.
"If the weather remains dry, they (hot spots in Borneo) will gradually increase just like in Sumatra and will cause haze," Endarwin, head of extreme weather at Indonesia`s meteorology agency said.
The agency has so far not issued recommendations to stop flights because visibility was still above minimum level of 1,000 metres (3,280 ft), he said.
Maitar of Greenpeace criticised a government move earlier in the year to end a moratorium on allowing palm oil plantations and pulp companies to operate in peatlands.
Environmentalists are particularly concerned over an increasing trend towards converting peatland forests.
Once these areas are drained, peat soil is highly flammable, producing more smoke and carbon emissions than other soil types.(*)
El Nino and land clearing aggravate peat fires
Amy Chew, New Straits Times 7 Aug 09;
THE haze in Malaysia is not expected to ease any time soon as forest fires continue to blaze in Indonesia from the clearing of land by large plantation companies and the local communities.
The Indonesian Forestry Ministry listed the total number of hot spots as of Aug 5 at 300.
"The fires are likely to worsen as local communities and plantation companies are conducting open burning to clear the land," said World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) fires officer Dedi Hariri.
The occurrence of El Nino, the weather phenomenon which brings about extreme weather conditions, including drought, is expected to further fan the burning flames.
"El Nino is predicted to occur in the later part of this year and is expected to last until next year.
"It will prolong the dry season, making it easier for the land to burn and more difficult for the fires to be extinguished," Hariri added.
The worst fires are currently burning in Riau province in Sumatra, which faces Peninsular Malaysia, and West and Central Kalimantan which borders Sarawak.
"The fires are burning on peat land which gives out a lot of smoke and which is also very difficult to put out as the fire rages beneath the ground," said government fire investigator Bambang Hero Saharjo.
Peatland stores billions of tonnes of carbon which is released into the atmosphere when set alight, contributing to greenhouse gases which change the climate.
Riau's peatlands are estimated to store 14.6 billion tonnes of carbon, according to Greenpeace.
Satellite data for the first six months of this year shows Riau province had the largest number of hot spots in Indonesia totalling 4,782 hot spots, according to Eyes on the Forest, a coalition partner of WWF.
"Nearly one quarter of the Riau fires happened within concessions affiliated with Sinar Mas Group's Asia Pulp and Paper company, more than in any other single company's concessions," Eyes on the Forest reported.
"Forest and peat fires are a major threat to Indonesia's public health, biodiversity, regional economy and global climate.
"They are often deliberately set as a quick and easy way to clear land after clear-cutting natural forest and before establishing plantations," the group added.
According to WWF, plantation companies and local communities continue to burn their land as few of them ever get caught.
"The people continue to burn the land despite the fires of the past. And even if they are caught, no one is given a heavy penalty," said Hariri.
On a journey between Central Kalimantan's district of Kumai to the provincial capital of Palangkaraya, a distance spanning some 500km last Saturday, red flames reaching several metres high could be seen from the road.
The fires were blazing on grassland and bushes which had grown over forests that had been chopped down by illegal loggers.
The Indonesian Forestry Ministry said 2,500 personnel spread across the nine worst affected provinces is on standby to fight the forest fires.
Jambi not happy with Riau’s haze
The Jakarta Post 6 Aug 09;
Jambi Governor Zulkifli Nurdin has criticized neighboring province Riau for doing little to stop the fires causing haze that is now affecting his province.
The governor said he was sure that the haze was coming from “neighboring provinces” as Jambi does not have a significant fire problem, unlike Riau.
"Based on our reports, Jambi has only 49 hotspots, while Riau has thousands of hotspots," Zulkifli Nurdin said, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
Nurdin added that he had discussed the issue of the worsening haze with Riau Governor Rusli Zainal.
Nurdin said, the worse forest fires were burning in peat lands, which were difficult to extinguish.
Nurdin further said that his administration had asked all regencies in the province to allocate special funding to fight forest fires.
The Star 6 Aug 09;
MALACCA: The state government has defer-red plans to redevelop Pulau Upeh, one of the country’s top Hawksbill turtle nesting sites, pending the outcome of environmental and fisheries impact assessment (EIA and FIA) reports.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the studies would be carried out to determine if the proposed project by a private company would pose a threat to the turtles’ landing and nesting patterns.
He said if the studies showed that the project could be harmful to the turtles, it would scrapped.
Speaking to reporters here yesterday, Mohd Ali said that everything involving the proposed project to revive an abandoned resort and chalets on the island which was scheduled to begin this month, would hinge on the outcome of the studies.
Located off the reclaimed land in Limbongan, the 2.5ha island has a 100m stretch of beach which is home to an estimated 100 turtle nests, representing more than 20% of the entire estimate of 350 nests in Peninsular Malaysia.
In the late 1980s, the state Economic Development Corporation developed a resort and 120 chalets on the island.
However, it was abandoned in the mid-1990s and in 2003 it was sold to Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) for RM10.4mil as a training centre.
This year the state bought it back from TNB for RM6.5mil.
An earlier proposal to the Fisheries Department to convert the island into a turtle-nesting centre fell through due to lack of federal funds.
On July 15, Mohd Ali announced plans to revive the island’s chalets including building 80 additional units in a move to tap the eco-tourism market.
His announcement had caused an outcry from members of the public, including WWF-Malaysia, that the project would adversely affect the turtles.
M. Jegathesan Yahoo News 6 Aug 09;
KLANG, Malaysia (AFP) – Thousands of bird "motels" have opened across Malaysia to lure the swiftlets whose nests are harvested to make bird's nest soup, a costly delicacy in Chinese cuisine.
But as the business booms and flocks of swiftlets -- who make the nests out of their saliva -- descend on towns and villages, the noisy, messy practice has triggered a wave of protest.
In the heart of the coastal town of Klang, southwest of the capital Kuala Lumpur, the owner of the Goldcourse Hotel has converted part of the multi-storey building into a swiftlet "motel".
To entice the swiflets to build their nests in their concrete home -- and not their natural cave habitat -- from sun-up to sun-down a soundtrack of shrill bird noises including mating calls is blasted from speakers.
Nearby, other entrepreneurs have opened competing ventures by turning four-storey shophouses into bird havens, and the cacophony and shower of bird droppings is alienating those living and working nearby.
"The sound is so loud and irritating, and the bird droppings can be harmful to our health," said local resident Abdul Hamid Abdullah as he watched the swiflets dart in and out of the buildings.
"These birds build their nests in caves. That is where they should be," the 46-year-old told AFP.
Malaysia's swiftlet industry began in the 1980s but gained momentum after the 1997 Asian financial crisis when entrepreneurs converted the interiors of abandoned properties into bird motels.
Fans of the gelatinous soup, which is popular in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, say it can stave off ageing, boost sex drive, prevent lung disease and enhance the complexion.
A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the small, cup-shaped nests can fetch 4,000 ringgit (1,130 dollars), and the combination of big profits and a lack of legislation has seen countless swiftlet "farms" established illegally in populated areas.
Kenneth Khoo, from the Small and Medium Industries Association in northern Penang, told AFP that the global trade in raw bird's nests was estimated at 20 billion ringgit (5.7 billion dollars).
"Swiftlet farming in Malaysia is a sunrise industry. Demand far exceeds supply as more wealthy Chinese emerge," he said, adding that bird's nest soup remains a status-booster on business menus in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Khoo said Indonesia controls up to 70 percent of the business in the region, sourcing its bird's nests from both caves and farms, while the other two main producers are Thailand and Malaysia.
He estimated that there are at least 35,000 swiftlet farms in Malaysia, only about 4,500 with legal permits, in a business worth 800 million to 1.2 billion ringgit.
But as the industry expands along the east and west coasts of peninsular Malaysia, opposition to the swiflet farms is growing louder and environmentalists are demanding a complete ban.
There are also allegations of cruelty as some "farmers" reputedly destroy chicks and fertilised eggs in order to harvest the nests at times when prices are high.
Conservation group Friends of the Earth has condemned the trade and called on the government to close down the proliferating swiftlet farms.
"This rather impetuous booming industry has led to complaints from the public due to the nuisance, health hazards and the number of bird hotels coming up," said Mohamad Idris, president of the group's Malaysian branch.
"Collectors may not wait long enough for the young to fledge, often throwing the chicks onto the ground or leaving them to die after taking the nests," he said.
"In view of the problems faced by many in the farming of swiftlets and from the welfare point of view of the birds, we would like to call for a ban on all farming of swiftlets."
Daily Express 6 Aug 09;
Kota Kinabalu: State Forestry Director Datuk Sam Mannan Wednesday rejected opposition claims that the creation of 12 forest reserves in Sabah is merely a public relations exercise to mislead the people.
He stressed that the Government is not taking the forest away but protecting and preserving it for future generations.
"We're making a lot of sacrifices (by turning it into forest reserves) but it is in the best interests of the future generation," he said, after attending the launching of HSBC Malaysia Rainforest-Carbon Project in Danum Valley at Hyatt Regency Kinabalu.
He said the preservation of forests by gazetting them into forest reserves is also an excellent policy.
Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Vice President, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, claimed that the creation of 12 new reserves was to mislead the people and international community that Sabah still has large tracts of forests.
He said three million hectares of forest were given to various Forest Management Unit (FMU) companies for 100 years adding that the exercise was merely to reclassify the forest.
Sam in rebutting the statement said the mangroves of Sungai Lasun and Pulau Evans at Kuala Maruap in Lahad Datu is the best mangrove forest he had ever seen anywhere in Sabah.
"The 3,856.56ha mangrove forest is in excellent condition."
He said the 1,253ha Bukit Hampuan Forest Reserve in Ranau that was excised from the National Park for mining but has never been mined, is a vital water catchment area.
Similarly, in Kudat, the 590ha Gomantong-Geluang-Gesusu is a beautiful water catchment area. "Then you also have another mangrove forest in Klias that is in excellent condition," he said.
He said people living in the area had demanded that it be returned into a protected area and the Forestry Department complied with the community's needs.
Describing further the creation of new forest reserves, Sam said in Nabawan and Sook, they have a very unique forest called karangas now known as Karangas Forest Reserve.
It is about 400 hectares over a unique eco-system totally surrounded by development.
"It would prove to be a new source of horticulture material for the future," he said adding that there are beautiful species of ferns and other plants there that can be adapted for landscape apart from the unique timber species.
On the other hand, he said despite the Deramakot Forest Reserve being a very small area, which only about 56ha, it is an extension of a world class certified forest.
Some people, he said, have been applying for the small piece of land but that instead of turning into development, the Government decided to take it back and restore it to become part of a world class certified forest.
On Pulau Tabun and Pulau Saranga in Lahad Datu, he said it needed to be preserved as it has good coral life and eco-system.
"Pulau Malawali in Kudat is one of the biggest islands in this country and we've taken over 700haÉalmost all the mangroves there and turned it into a mangrove forest reserve," he said.
While the Malawali is not quite an oceanic island, he said its distance is far from the coast and the next step is for the Government to take the entire island and gazette it as forest reserve.
Imbak Valley, a 17,000ha pristine forest, he said has a lot of timber stock in it. "I reckoned its worth about two million cubic metre of timber which is more than RM1 billion in potential export earning for the country, RM200m worth of royalty for the State Government and RM200m worth of returns for the Sabah Foundation," he said.
Present during the event were HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad Deputy Chairman and CEO, Irene M. Dorner, Research Coordinator of Royal Society South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme (SEARRP), Professor Rory Walsh and Director of SEARRP, Dr Glen Reynolds.
Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com 6 Aug 09;
A new study finds oil palm plantations store less carbon than previously believed, suggesting that palm oil produced through the conversion of tropical forests carries a substantial carbon debt.
The study, conducted at two sites in Sumatra and Kalimantan by scientists at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), found that mature oil palm plantations store less than 40 tons of above-ground biomass. By comparison logged-over forests at the two sites stored 70-200 tons of carbon per hectare. Untouched forest contains even more carbon, sometimes in excess of 400 tons per hectare.
The finding that oil palm plantations store less carbon than natural forest are not a surprise, but the new figure is lower than earlier estimates. Other research has shown that palm oil produced from plantations grown in place of tropical forests incur a "carbon payback time" of decades to centuries. Carbon payback time refers to the number of years it takes for the emissions saved by the replacement of fossil fuels with biofuel to offset the carbon emissions generated when the land is converted for growing the biofuel feedstock. Since oil palm plantations are typically planted on a 25-year cycle, a carbon payback time exceeding 25 years makes palm-oil biodiesel a larger source of emissions than conventional petroleum. But payback times are considerably lower when plantations are established on grasslands and abandoned, non-forest agricultural land, where the amount of carbon stored is significantly less than in forest vegetation. Under such circumstances, palm oil can have one of the lowest carbon payback times, owing to its high productivity.
Accordingly, the authors of the ICRAF study recommend that conversion should only take place in shrub and grassland areas where aboveground carbon stock is less than 40 tons per hectare. Areas with higher carbon stock should be set aside in conservation areas, allowing the forest to re-generate where it has been degraded by logging. Companies that employ this strategy may benefit from payments under REDD, a proposed climate change mitigation mechanism that would pay developing countries for avoiding emissions from deforestation. Already some plantation companies have shown interest in the concept. Last month Sinar Mas and First Borneo Group agreed to forgo conversion of peat forest in West Kalimantan on the island of Borneo in exchange for carbon payments. By some estimates, REDD could make conservation of high carbon ecosystems profitable relative to other forms of land use.
Deforestation accounts from nearly 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Forest clearing and degradation of carbon-rich peatlands are the primary reason Indonesia ranks as the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases despite having limited industrial activity.
Dr Meine van Noordwijk, Dr Sonya Dewi, and Suseno Budidarsono. Carbon Footprint of Indonesian Palm Oil Production: a pilot study. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) July 2009.
New Straits Times 7 Aug 09;
KUCHING: Sarawak has begun rationing water in two coastal areas as the current dry spell started to worsen.
Authorities are also considering rationing water in Kuching city.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam said the water level at the main river that fed the city's catchment areas in Bau, Sungai Sarawak Kiri, had dropped to a critical level.
"It's very low," he said yesterday at a briefing on the latest situation on the drought, water shortage, the influenza A (H1N1) and the haze.
"The water level is going down too fast. We might have to start rationing," said Dr Chan, who is also the state disaster and relief management committee chairman.
Water rationing has, however, been imposed in the Simunjan area of the Samarahan division and the coastal areas of the Sarikei Division in central Sarawak.
Dr Chan said the water shortage in Sarikei division was "critical" and the fishing village of Belawai was one of the areas hardest hit in the current drought.
Water at the new Gerugu dam in Sarikei has water to last only two weeks if it does not rain soon.
Authorities started rationing water in Simunjan yesterday and would start rationing in Sarikei today.
However, 75 villages in the state are totally without water.
The majority of them are in the Niah, Bekenu and Bakong areas of the Miri division triggering a large-scale water relief supplies.
The Public Works Department are already sending water to these areas in a fleet of water tankers and barges.
Cloud seeding would begin Monday over Kuching, Sarikei and Belawai.
Sarawak starts water rationing
Jack Wong, The Star 7 Aug 09;
KUCHING: Sarawak has started water rationing in certain areas as water levels in dams and rivers have dropped drastically.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam said thousands of residents in Sarikei Division in central Sarawak would be affected, starting today.
“Notices will be given out tomorrow (Friday) on the time of water rationing in Sarikei,” he told reporters at his office in Wisma Bapa Malaysia yesterday.
The water authorities in Sarikei draw raw water from the Gerugu Dam. Dr Chan said Tanjung Manis, Belawai and Beladin in Mukah Division were among the water-stressed areas because of the prolonged drought.
Dr Chan, also state disaster relief committee chairman, said water rationing has also been imposed in Simunjan in Kuching Division.
He said the Sungai Sarawak Kiri, where the Kuching Water Board draws its raw water, has dropped to “a very low level”.
Clouding-seeding activities at the water catchment area here, Sarikei, and some coastal areas will begin on Monday to induce rain.
Dr Chan said the authorities had supplied nearly two million litres of drinking water to villagers in drought-hit areas.
“Barges may be used to transport drinking water to the affected villagers,” he said.
He advised the people to conserve water, and stop using it to wash cars.
Dr Chan also said the haze situation had worsened, adding that there were 164 hotspots statewide and 594 hotspots in neighbouring Kalimantan, Indonesia, as of Wednesday.
He said forest fires were raging in Miri and Sibu, and he urged all agencies and the private sector to supply manpower and equipment, like water pumps, to help firemen to put them out.
Some of the fires, he said, could have been started by plantation companies.
Pointing out that opening burning has been banned, he warned that stern action would be taken against the offenders.
The Star 7 Aug 09;
KUALA LUMPUR: There’s no reason now why more unwanted electronic and electrical equipment cannot be disposed of in way that does not poison the earth.
The Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom) and the Department of Environment (DoE) have set up more than 400 e-waste collection bins around the country.
These collection points are located in government agencies and offices, residential areas and university campuses.
The DoE is also finalising a framework for a uniform e-waste management programme involving members of the ICT industry and the general public.
Pikom’s e-waste recycling campaign is part of its National ICT (information and communications technology) Month 2009 that ends later this month.
Growing problem Simon Seow, e-waste campaign chairman at Pikom, said the dumping of unwanted electronic and electrical products, such as cellphones and PCs, is turning into a serious environmental problem for the country.
He said the situation is compounded by the millions of refurbished secondhand computers that are being exported by the developed nations to emerging markets in the world.
“According to market research company Gartner, 37 million refurbished secondhand PCs were exported last year,” said Seow.
“These exports are expected to rise to 69 million by 2012 and will no doubt create e-waste in huge proportions. It is important that we start realising the importance of recycling such material.”
Break it down
“More than 80% of a desktop computer or laptop can be recycled,” said Pikom chairman David Wong.
“The discarded machines will be sent to (facilities operated by) our partners, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Samsung and others, where they will be stripped down for reusable parts.”
Pikom promoted its e-waste campaign at its recent PC Fairs in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Kuantan.
Its upcoming PC Fairs — Kota Baru and Kuala Terengganu (Aug 13-15), as well as Johor Baru and Ipoh (Aug 14-16) — will also feature booths dedicated to programmes that create awareness on the need to recycle e-waste.
Yahoo News 6 Aug 09;
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (AFP) – Brunei, one of the world's top oil and gas producers, is venturing into alternative energy with the construction of Southeast Asia's largest solar power plant, officials said Thursday.
The plant will supply 1.2 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, the equivalent of powering about 400 homes, according to Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation which is fully funding the project.
Osamu Ito, general manager of Mitsubishi's operations in the tiny kingdom, said construction was under way after a groundbreaking ceremony this week, and that the facility will be operational by mid-2010.
Although Brunei is blessed with abundant natural energy reserves, the government is keen to pursue energy conservation, he said.
"The government wants to promote other energy sources in order to more effectively utilise their precious natural resources," Ito told AFP.
"Mitsubishi is funding the project to strengthen our relationship with the Brunei government," he added. Mitsubishi has a long history in Brunei's energy and agriculture sectors.
Ito would not disclose the cost of the project, Tenaga Suria Brunei (Solar Power Brunei), which will be built at the existing Seria Power Station.
The plant will save the burning of some 340,400 litres of crude oil and cut about 940 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Brunei, a Malay Muslim kingdom, is Southeast Asia's fourth-largest oil producer and the world's ninth-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, according to a World Trade Organization report.
ScienceAlert 7 Aug 09;
The lack of knowledge about the importance of pollination in restoring native ecosystems is threatening the successful restoration of global biodiversity hotspots, according to Professor Kingsley Dixon, of the University of Western Australia.
Professor Dixon, also the Director, Science, Kings Park and Botanic Garden, has warned of a "global meltdown" in pollination capability because of the lack of research into pollination in restoring native bushland, such as the 40ha of the park burnt in last summer's bushfire.
"Due to a lack of pollination knowledge, one of Australia's largest urban woodland restoration programs at Kings Park and Bold Park in Perth, involving $5 million and re-establishment of one million plants, could not consider pollinator enhancement as part of the program," Professor Dixon wrote in the prestigious international journal Science.
The importance of pollination is well understood in agriculture, where 75 per cent of crop species depend on animal pollinators. But, according to Professor Dixon, less is understood about pollination in restored native ecosystems.
Ecosystems with high levels of specialised plant-pollinator interactions are particularly at risk, he said. For example, the first recorded orchid extinction in the WA's south-west biodiversity hotspot could be related to the disappearance of its specialist wasp pollinator.
With at least 70 per cent of the land area in the world's 25 biodiversity hotspots cleared, future restoration will depend on the ability of vertebrate and invertebrate pollinators to migrate and establish across highly fragmented landscapes.
Yet little is known about pollination networks and the threat posed to them by climate change. Pollinators include insects, birds, terrestrial mammals and lizards.
In agriculture overseas, the effects on bees of varroa mite infestation and colony collapse disorder have meant hives have had to be imported from countries not affected, or electric vibrators have been used to replicate bee pollination in tomato crops.
Professor Dixon has called for more research into the movements of pollinators in restored landscapes, to restore plants that facilitate pollinator migration, and to ensure that the foraging patterns of pollinators optimise plant seed quality and vigour.
Original news release.
Matt Sedensky, Associated Press Yahoo News 6 Aug 09;
MARATHON, Fla. – The turtles at this waterfront hospital have been hit by boat propellers, caught in fishing nets, attacked by sharks, stricken with tumors and lost flippers.
Or, as their veterinarian puts it, they've had a heck of a lot of luck.
Most injured turtles are never spotted and die at sea. The fortunate ones are brought to The Turtle Hospital — a converted strip club where workers graft the waterproof fabric Gore-Tex to patch badly injured shells and find other innovative ways to save lives. On this particular day, a 13-pound green sea turtle named Fin is being treated for a potentially debilitating tumor.
"He's got a new life now," says Dr. Doug Mader, the center's chief veterinarian.
___
The seafoam green hospital, halfway through the Florida Keys, offers round-the-clock care to the turtles that call the waters around this ribbon of islands home.
Morning is just beginning, and the hospital's patients are already being prepped on the X-ray room floor. Iain, an 89-pound loggerhead, and Fin are on their backs in plastic kiddie pools, being sprayed with disinfectant. Another green sea turtle on deck for surgery, 37-pound Rocky Thyme, awaits attention.
Iain is eventually lifted onto a steel cart and wheeled into the operating room. A half-dozen hospital staffers gather around the turtle, including Mader, who is wearing blue Wrangler jeans and Teva sandals.
"Ready?" Mader asks.
"Ready," says Richie Moretti, the hospital's founder and director, who assists in surgery but is not a veterinarian. And a morning of surgery begins.
Iain's tumor is removed with the flash of a laser. Fin's surgery is a bit more complex: her flippers flutter against a white towel as a breathing tube is inserted, and a manual respirator causes her shell to lift slightly with her lungs every six to seven seconds as 15 tumors are removed.
Finally the surgeons move on to Rocky Thyme, who has clung to life even though a boat split her spine.
Rocky has external tumors and is weakened by injury. If she has internal tumors, too, she will have to be euthanized.
Mader enters Rocky's body with an endoscope; a crack in her shell glows orange from the light. On a small Sony screen, the black-and-white image shows her insides — lungs, kidneys, intestines.
"Good news," says Mader, a volunteer. Rocky shows no signs of internal tumors. She'll be nursed back to health and eventually have external tumors removed to prevent the fibropapilloma from spreading.
There is a bittersweet side to this: Rocky is still paralyzed and will never fully recover. She can never again live in the wild.
___
This used to be a strip club.
Moretti bought a 21-room motel next door in 1981. He turned a saltwater pool into an aquarium for fish, but children fascinated by the cartoon "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" kept asking where the turtles were.
The only way the state would let him keep endangered animals was to help rehabilitate them. So in 1986, the hospital was born.
At first, it was a makeshift operation. Turtles were mostly sent to local veterinarians for treatment and nursed back to health at the motel. But surgeries were done there, too, and guests could see vets in scrubs carrying turtles into motel rooms for treatment.
In 1991, Moretti bought the shuttered strip club. The motel had to close after Hurricane Wilma in 2005, but the turtle sanctuary has lived on in the converted club.
Out back, a 100,000-gallon pool — and a number of smaller ones — house recuperating turtles. Some can only float, with spinal cord injuries causing paralysis. Some have the bite marks of a shark on their shells. One was attacked by wild dogs.
Along the way, Mader, 51, and others have had little guidance on how to treat these creatures. Other turtle hospitals exist, though treatments can still be tricky — a drug that's effective on humans or even dogs and cats probably has never been tested on a sea turtle.
Mader still can't forget when he used a canine pain medication on two turtles. One died. The other nearly did.
"I still feel like crap almost 12 years later," he said. "You feel so bad."
The staffers try hard not to become too attached to the turtles. Mader wanted to just give each patient a number, but he lost, and the roster of turtles — Bubble Butt, Rebel, Cracker, Whit's End, Snoop and so on — crowds a white board near the entrance. The affection felt for these turtles is evident.
As afternoon crawls on, Moretti, 65, uses a boat brush to rub algae from turtles in the main pool.
"We're gonna clean your shell!" he says with the pitched enthusiasm of a grandparent. "We're gonna clean your shell!"
___
Despite the illness and injuries, this is a place of happiness.
Hale, a 68-pound green sea turtle who spent 53 weeks hospitalized, is being released today. He came here entangled in fishing line wrapped so tight it cut down to the bone. His right front flipper was amputated and tumors plagued him. Today, he is ready to go home.
The turtle flops around in seeming anticipation once he's loaded into a black plastic container. After a short trip to the dock, Hale is taken 12 miles out to sea on Moretti's boat.
Moretti and Ryan Butts, the hospital's administrator, lift the container to the boat's ledge. Hale lowers his head and, in a moment, he disappears.
Everyone on board raises a bottle of water, and Moretti offers a toast.
"To the turtles," he says.
As Moretti and Butts hug and offer compliments on their work, a tiny head pokes up from the water half a football field away. It is Hale.
"Same thing," Moretti says. "We'll get no Christmas card."
___
Later, after lunch, when the crew is back ashore, the call comes in. A turtle at Sombrero Beach. The ambulance — a converted van complete with flashing lights and a kiddie pool in the back — is dispatched.
Butts and a marine biology student, 30-year-old Micah Rogers, are greeted at the scene by a sheriff's deputy.
"It's a big guy," the deputy warns.
But the turtle, a loggerhead, is sliced open and decaying. It looks like a boat hit it, but they won't know for sure even after the necropsy.
The stench of decay is overwhelming as it's loaded into the ambulance. If it had been spotted sooner, things might have been different.
___
Back at the hospital, a happier scene awaits. The three patients who underwent surgery this morning are resting in their pools, shrouded in wet towels.
They'll spend the night recovering, and Fin and Iain may one day return to sea — the moment staff members relish, the one they talk about for years.
Mader remembers the first time they grafted a shell. It took months for Puka to heal, and finally the day came, like it has for more than 1,000 turtles they've released. When she first hit the water, it was joyous.
"If a turtle could smile," he said, "she was smiling."
Everyone here has their own perception of what makes these animals so captivating — their peacefulness, their personalities, the affection in their eyes and face. But for Mader and Moretti alike, it is the sense of history, being near an animal that has lived since prehistoric times and struggles to survive today.
With each one that's rescued, this is what they think of. That each turtle matters. That each one is a gift. That with every turtle saved, the species stands a little better chance.
Tanalee Smith, Associated Press Yahoo News 6 Aug 09;
ADELAIDE, Australia – Sam the koala, who gained worldwide fame and sympathy when she was rescued during Australia's devastating wildfires this year, was euthanized Thursday after a veterinarian found the cysts that threatened her life were inoperable.
The 4-year-old koala had developed the cysts associated with urogenital chlamydiosis, which affects more than 50 percent of Australia's koala population.
During surgery, the disease was found to be so advanced that it was inoperable and Sam was euthanized, said Peita Elkhorne of TressCox law firm, which represents the shelter where the koala had lived since the February fires.
"It was so severe that there was no possible way to be able to manage her pain," Elkhorne said in a statement. "All of those who have been involved with Sam are devastated with this loss."
John Butler, the veterinarian who was conducting the operation, said Sam was too scarred inside to carry out the surgery.
"She was going to be left in pain in the state she was in," Butler told reporters. "We had no hope of helping her any further."
As fires raged, Sam was gingerly making her way on scorched paws past a fire patrol north of Melbourne when one of the firefighters spotted her. The volunteer firefighter, David Tree, was photographed holding a bottle of water to her lips, an image that resonated around the world.
Tree was in tears Thursday as he spoke to reporters about Sam's death.
"It means something to everyone," he said. "The focus was never meant to be ... on a firefighter. It's simply about our wildlife and just how precious it is."
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the photograph and video made Sam a symbol of hope for Australia.
"I think that gave people of the world a great sense that this country, Australia, could come through those fires, as we have," Rudd said. "And Sam the koala was part of the symbolism of that. It's tragic that Sam the koala is no longer with us."
Sam suffered second- and third-degree burns to her paws and had been recuperating at the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter. Officials there had said she would be returned to the wild within months after she was completely healed.
It was not known whether Sam had the infection before the fire. The disease, one of the main killers of the koala, is brought on by stress.
Deborah Tabart, CEO of the Australian Koala Foundation, said she was saddened by Sam's death but noted that thousands of other koalas die every year of the disease and are not lamented nor cared for by the government.
"Sam's just the tip of the iceberg," Tabart said. "Sam's doing her wild cousins a huge favor by this international interest. Our koalas are in serious trouble across the country."
Sam was found in early February, when record temperatures, high winds and forests dried by years of drought set off infernos that swept a vast area of Victoria state, killing more than 170 people and destroying thousands of homes.
Kate Ravilious, New Scientist 6 Aug 09;
WITHIN 60 years the Arctic Ocean could be a stagnant, polluted soup. Without drastic cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions, the Transpolar Drift, one of the Arctic's most powerful currents and a key disperser of pollutants, is likely to disappear because of global warming.
The Transpolar Drift is a cold surface current that travels right across the Arctic Ocean from central Siberia to Greenland, and eventually out into the Atlantic. It was first discovered in 1893 by the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who tried unsuccessfully to use the current to sail to the North Pole. Together with the Beaufort Gyre, the Transpolar Drift keeps Arctic waters well mixed and ensures that pollution never lingers there for long.
To better understand the dispersal of pollution in the Arctic Ocean, Ola Johannessen, director of the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center in Bergen, Norway, and his colleagues studied the spread of radioactive substances such as strontium-90 and caesium-137 from nuclear testing, bomb factories and nuclear power-plant accidents. Measurements taken between 1948 and 1999 were plugged into a high-resolution ocean circulation model and combined with a climate model to predict Arctic Ocean circulation until 2080.
Their model confirmed that most pollutants, including pesticide, petroleum residue and nuclear fallout, are currently washed out into the north Atlantic by the Transpolar Drift. But perhaps not for much longer.
In a "business-as-usual" scenario, in which atmospheric carbon dioxide levels double by 2070, Johannessen and his colleagues found that the Transpolar Drift stops and the Beaufort Gyre, Greenland Current and Gulf Stream weaken considerably (Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2009.01.003). One reason for this sluggish behaviour is a change in wind patterns driven by global warming and rapid melting of the Arctic sea ice.
As a result, pollution takes much longer to disperse in this scenario. Much of this pollution would congregate along the non-European coastlines of the Arctic Ocean, the model suggests.
Jeff Ridley of the Met Office Hadley Centre in Exeter, UK, agrees that surface circulation in the Arctic Ocean will weaken if sea ice disappears, but he doubts it will happen quite so fast. He also points out that other currents in the region would continue to disperse pollutants.
Bradley S. Klapper, Associated Press Yahoo News 6 Aug 09;
GENEVA – Villagers from deeply Roman Catholic south Switzerland have for centuries offered a sacred vow to God to protect them from the advancing ice mass of the Great Aletsch glacier.
Global warming is making them want to reverse their prayers, and the Alpine faithful are seeking the permission of the pope.
Since the vow was established in 1678, the deal was simple: the citizens of the isolated mountain hamlets of Fiesch and Fieschertal would pledge to lead virtuous lives. In exchange, God would spare their homes and livelihoods from being swallowed by Europe's largest glacier as it expanded toward the valley with heavy winter snows.
Times have changed, and the once-fearsome Aletsch is melting amid temperatures that are 0.7 degrees Celsius (1.3 Fahrenheit) warmer than in the 19th century. The pastor at the Ernerwald Chapel has warned his flock that a new danger threatens.
"We all know — and the Holy Father reminded us in his Easter message — that an unprecedented change in the climate is taking place," Rev. Pascal Venetz said in his sermon to 100 people at the chapel, where until modern times pious women were prohibited from wearing colored underwear for fear of provoking the glacier.
"Glacier is ice, ice is water and water is life," Venetz said to the villagers from the Valais region, which has sent its sons to protect the Vatican as Swiss Guards since the 16th century. "Without the glacier the springs run dry and the brooks evaporate. Men and women face great danger. Alps and pastures vanish and towns die out."
The Aletsch was once seen as a threat because it could encroach on inhabited areas. These days, the glacier is more of a threat because of its melting ice, which risks worsening floods in the valley and, eventually, a loss of water supply. Experts say the glacier will continue to shrink — even if temperatures stay at current levels — because the warming of the last few decades has yet to take full effect.
In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Venetz said many townsfolk have begun questioning the ancient vow that has been commemorated every year since 1862 in a procession to the chapel on July 31, St. Ignatius' feast day.
The idea to alter the vow came from Fiesch Mayor Herbert Volken, but the concern was not driven by worldly or secular impulses. Instead, the villages "were seeing nature change all around them," and realized the glacier might soon need saving, Venetz said.
Conservation body Pro Natura says the glacier base is receding up the mountain by about 100 feet (30 meters) a year. University of Zurich geographer Hanspeter Holzhauser estimates the river of ice has retreated 2.1 miles (3.4 kilometers) since peaking in 1860 at a length of 14 miles (23 kilometers). Nearly half of the shrinkage has happened since 1950.
Venetz said there were "countless, horrible natural catastrophes" in his parish from the 17th to the 19th centuries as the glacier expanded. "These led to the big volumes of water with floods that brought great damage and calamity in our villages," he said.
Villagers should continue with the vow, but the request for divine assistance should be adjusted to conform with the changing reality of nature, the pastor said.
"Praying should of course continue, because our villages should be spared from natural catastrophes," Venetz said in his sermon. "We should at the same time pray that our glacier does not melt any further, but instead grows, and that the most important thing in life — water — remains well preserved."
He said he would ask the local bishop to seek Pope Benedict XVI's permission to change the vow, and a statement from the cantonal (state) government of Valais said a papal audience was planned for September or October.
"At our next procession, we might just be able to pray against climate change, global warming and the receding of the glacier," Venetz said.
Reviewing five decades of data on three 'benchmark glaciers,' researchers say that shrinking glaciers clearly result from global warming.
Jim Tankersley, LA Times 7 Aug 09;
Reporting from Washington -- The federal government Thursday released the most comprehensive study of melting glaciers in North America -- and the results show a rapid and accelerating shrinkage over the last half a century because of global warming.
One of the glaciers in the study, the South Cascade Glacier in Washington state, has lost nearly half of its volume and a quarter of its mass since 1958, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey said. The two others in the study, the Wolverine and Gulkana glaciers in Alaska, have both lost nearly 15% of their mass.
In all three cases, the melting has increased over the last two decades. The acceleration is the result of warmer, drier climates in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska caused by global warming, the researchers said.
"By having a 50-year record, you can look over what's going on, look over the meteorological, climatological record, and really get an idea of what's going on in the mountains," said Edward Josberger, a scientist with the USGS Washington Water Science Center in Tacoma, Wash., who has worked for a decade on the study.
"Climate change effects are starting to become more and more noticeable," he added, "and this is one of the effects that's being displayed."
The three glaciers in the study are known as "benchmark glaciers" because their varying climates and elevations are representative of thousands of other glaciers across the continent.
For five decades, USGS researchers have periodically measured the glaciers' size with tools including measurement stakes and photographic surveys. Their data include tallies of winter snow accumulation and summer melt.
In each case, the data show that summer melting accelerated in the last 20 years. At the same time, winter snowpacks have tapered off. The reduced accumulations and increased melts have resulted in shrinking glaciers.
South Cascade Glacier, for example, had a volume of nearly 0.06 cubic mile of water in 1958, Josberger said. By 2008, it was down to 0.03 cubic mile.
When glaciers shrink, water runoff declines, setting the stage for drier conditions in the region, particularly at the end of summer, when other supplies of water dwindle.
In the past, shifting ocean conditions explained some of the shrinking trend, the USGS researchers reported. But the latest acceleration suggests rising temperatures are "overwhelming" those natural cycles, the report concluded.
Alaska glaciers shrinking fast: survey
Yereth Rosen, Reuters 6 Aug 09;
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Three major glaciers in Alaska and Washington state have thinned and shrunk dramatically, clear signs of a warming climate, according to a study released Thursday by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The three glaciers -- Gulkana and Wolverine in Alaska and South Cascade in Washington -- are considered benchmarks for those in alpine and maritime climates because they closely parallel other glaciers in their regions. They have also been the subject of close scientific scrutiny since 1957.
"These are the three glaciers in North America that have the longest record of mass change," said Shad O'Neel, a United States Geological Survey glaciologist in Anchorage who was one of the study authors.
"All three of them have a different climate from the other two, yet all three are showing a similar pattern of behavior, and that behavior is mass loss."
Scientists are keeping a close watch on melting glaciers, as a rise in sea-levels would threaten coastal and low-lying areas around the world.
The latest study compares records of snow and ice thickness and densities over the years, the factors used to calculate mass. The glaciers have lost mass as melting outpaced new snow and ice accumulation, and for all three, the losses were especially dramatic over the past 15 years, according to the USGS study.
By themselves, the glaciers and their changes are not proof of global warming, he said. But their behavior fits with a pattern of warmer weather or drier weather or both.
"It certainly says that the place where these glaciers are, the climate is not supportive of healthy glaciers anymore," he said.
Ed Josberger, the Tacoma, Washington-based USGS hydrologist who coordinated the study, said the results from the Gulkana, Wolverine and South Cascade glaciers mirror worldwide trends.
"There is no doubt that most mountain glaciers are shrinking worldwide in response to a warming climate," Josberger said in a statement released by the Department of Interior.
Climate change melting US glaciers at faster rate, study finds
US geological survey commissioned by Obama administration indicates a sharp rise in the melt rate of key American glaciers over the last 10-15 years
Suzanne Goldenberg, guardian.co.uk 6 Aug 09;
Climate change is melting America's glaciers at the fastest rate in recorded history, exposing the country to higher risks of drought and rising sea levels, a US government study of glaciers said today.
The long-running study of three "benchmark" glaciers in Alaska and Washington state by the US geological survey (USGS) indicated a sharp rise in the melt rate over the last 10 or 15 years.
Scientists see the three - Wolverine and Gulkana in Alaska and South Cascade in Washington - as representative of thousands of other glaciers in North America.
"The observations show that the melt rate has definitely increased over the past 10 or 15 years," said Ed Josberger, a USGS scientist. "This certainly is a very strong indicator that climate change is occurring and its effects on glaciers are virtually worldwide."
The survey also found that all three glaciers had begun melting at the same higher rate - although they are in different climate regimes and some 1,500 miles apart.
For South Cascade, the average surface loss rate grew to 1.75 to 2m a year from about 1m a year.
USGS researchers have been measuring the three glaciers for more than 50 years, drawing on photographs and a network of stakes driven into the glaciers to gauge the accumulation of snow during winter, and the resulting melt each spring. It is the oldest such record of glacier activity.
In a sign of the Obama administration's focus on climate change, this year's survey was promoted by the interior secretary, Ken Salazar, who called it an important contribution to dealing with climate change. "This information is helpful in tackling the effects of climate change and it is exactly the kind of science we need to invest in to measure and mitigate the dangers impacts of climate change," he said.
Shrinking glaciers have led to a reduction in spring run-off which is intensifying the effects of drought in California and other states, especially later in the summer when other water sources dry up.
Glacier loss has also contributed to rising sea levels, which has put low-lying coastal areas - such as New Orleans - at greater risk of storm surges.
Turning the sun's heat into electricity--by concentrating it with thousands of mirrors onto a tower
David Biello, Scientific American 6 Aug 09;
In southern California's Antelope Valley, 24,000 silver-bright mirrors have been positioned to reflect light on two 50-meter-tall towers. And at 11:08 A.M. local time Wednesday, this concentrated light heated steam in those towers to turn a turbine—the first "power towers" in the U.S. to convert the sun's heat into electricity for commercial use.
Dubbed Sierra SunTower, the power plant can produce five megawatts, enough to power roughly 4,000 local homes at full capacity—and provide the modular blueprint for larger plants in California and New Mexico, according to eSolar, the Pasadena start-up behind the power plant.
"We call this a commercial demonstration," says eSolar senior vice president of engineering Craig Tyner. "A 46-megawatt commercial design will incorporate 16 of these towers, two of which we have at Sierra" as well as more than 200,000 mirrors capable of generating at least 90 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year.
Harvesting the sun's energy as heat is hardly a new idea: During the energy crisis of the 1970s, designs for solar thermal power plants took off. And ever since 1984, vast arrays of curved mirrors have been concentrating the sun's rays on pipelines filled with synthetic oil at the Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) power plant in California's Mojave Desert. But power towers, at least theoretically, would be more efficient than these so-called parabolic trough designs, because all the heating and fluid is contained in one central tower.
The key to eSolar's design are the mirrors—known as heliostats in the concentrating–solar power industry. By precisely calibrating the mirrors with computer algorithms driving shoe box–size motors, eSolar can build its sunlight-harvesting power plants with many more small, flat mirrors, roughly one square meter in size, as opposed to the large, curved specialty mirrors employed in other designs. "We're using more software algorithms and less steel," says Bill Gross, CEO of the Google-backed solar company who, at the age of 15 in 1973, started Solar Devices, a firm which sold plans and kits for solar power, before pioneering pay-to-click advertising for search engines in the 1990s.
But the multiplicity of mirrors could also prove the technology's weakest link. "The question is going to be the maintenance of all those heliostats," says Mark Mehos, program manager for concentrating solar power at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. "You have orders of magnitude more heliostats that you're going to have to maintain and that you're going to have to track."
Sierra SunTower has a number of environmental points in its favor in addition to the renewable energy it generates. It employs reclaimed water for its cooling and was built near existing transmission lines on what used to be farmland rather than the pristine desert areas nearby that have provoked opposition to some other planned solar power plants. "This model makes the destruction of public lands unjustified," says David Myers, executive director of nonprofit environmental group the Wildlands Conservancy. "There are 200,000 acres in southern California of lands that are degraded or disturbed that we support for solar electricity."
Gross, for his part, estimates that the entire state of California's peak electricity demand could be generated from an eSolar field of 65 square kilometers. That electricity would cost no more than 13 cents per kilowatt-hour, the current average price of power in the state, although the company refused to reveal how much the existing plant cost to build or what price Southern California Edison is paying for the power. "This is a second industrial revolution to power the planet cost-effectively from the sun," Gross says.
Ben Hirschler, Reuters 6 Aug 09;
LONDON (Reuters) - A British start-up company developing a cement that absorbs carbon dioxide has raised 1 million pounds ($1.7 million) to fund its work, underscoring the growing interest in eco-friendly construction ventures.
Novacem, a spin-out from Imperial College London, is one of a number of young companies tapping new technologies to reduce the cement industry's notoriously large carbon footprint.
With an annual production of more than 2.5 billion tons, conventional Portland cement is responsible for an estimated 5 percent of global CO2 emissions, more than the airline industry.
Novacem believes its "carbon-negative" cement answers the problem because it absorbs more carbon dioxide over its life cycle than it emits.
The trick is to make cement from magnesium silicates rather than calcium carbonate, or limestone, since this material does not emit CO2 in manufacture and absorbs the greenhouse gas as it ages.
Other companies working on rival low- or zero-carbon systems using a range of new materials and recycled industrial by-products include Calera of California, Australia's Calix, Carbon Sense Solutions of Canada and British-based Cenin.
Novacem Chairman Stuart Evans said the cash injection from Imperial Innovations, the Royal Society Enterprise Fund and the London Technology Fund would help fund a pilot plant that should be up and running in northern England in 2011.
The company is working with Rio Tinto on the supply of raw materials and is in discussions with a number of cement makers on future commercial production, which could be around five years away.
"We are definitely knocking at an open door here," Evans told Reuters.
"The building and construction industry knows it has got to do radical things to reduce its carbon footprint and cement companies understand there is not a lot they can do without a technology breakthrough."
Novacem estimates that for every ton of Portland cement replaced by its product, around three-quarters of a ton of CO2 is saved, turning the cement industry into a big emitter to a big absorber of carbon.
Major cement makers are working hard to reduce CO2 emissions by investing in modern kilns and using as little carbon-heavy fuel as possible, but it reductions to date have been limited.
The world's top cement producers include France's Lafarge, Swiss-based Holcim and Cemex of Mexico.
($1=.5887 Pound)
(Editing by Karen Foster)
Paul Collins, New Scientist 6 Aug 09;
When Paris hosted the Exposition Universelle in 1900, it unveiled its vision for the future of transport. Below ground, the city's stylish new Metro made its debut, while above ground was something more avant garde. The trottoir roulant was a moving walkway that circled the fair in a 3-kilometre loop, its articulated wooden segments "gliding around like a wooden serpent with its tail in its mouth", according to one reporter. Nearly 7 million visitors hopped on. A few even brought folding chairs, which proved useful when one woman gave birth in transit. Her child was promptly christened Trottoir Roulant Benost. A new kind of traveller had been born.
BY 1902, New Yorkers had finally had enough of the rush-hour crush on the Brooklyn Bridge. Mass transit lines converged at both sides of the East river, disgorging thousands of travellers onto already packed streetcars or teeming sidewalks. It was a "daily torture", wrote one disgruntled commuter. For Bridge Commissioner Gustav Lindenthal there was an obvious solution: a high-speed moving walkway across the bridge.
The first moving walkway had been unveiled eight years earlier at the Chicago World's Fair and had proved a huge success at subsequent expositions in Berlin and Paris. Chicago's walkway, the brainchild of engineer Max Schmidt, consisted of three rings, the first stationary, the second moving at 4 kilometres per hour and the third at 8 km/h, an arrangement that allowed walkers to adjust to each speed before moving to the next.
With the Brooklyn Bridge walkway, Schmidt upped the ante. This time he envisaged a loop system at each end of the bridge, with a series of four ever-faster walkways. Passengers moved from one to another until finally taking a seat on the benches aboard the fastest, which whisked them across the bridge at 16 km/h. Because the system ran constantly, there would be no waiting and little momentum lost on stops and starts.
In fact, the idea of high-speed walkways had been established in New York longer than anywhere else. Back in 1871, local wine merchant Alfred Speer patented the first "endless-travelling sidewalk", and promptly proposed an ambitious elevated moving walkway along Broadway. It would have zipped pedestrians along at up to 30 km/h, a prospect with comic possibilities that delighted pundits. One newspaper suggested that getting trapped with interminable bores would be a thing of the past: one "has only to suddenly step on the passing sidewalk to be carried rapidly beyond sight or hearing of his tormentor". Despite building a working model and lobbying state and city politicians for a decade, Speer discovered his invention was simply too visionary to find a backer.
Thirty years on, the idea of a moving walkway across the East river had more chance of finding favour. Equipped with posts to hold on to and benches along the fastest ring, the walkways had proved remarkably safe. "A record of 12,000,000 passengers of both sexes and all ages carried in Paris, Berlin, and Chicago without accident, tends to dispel any grave anxiety on this score," declared The New York Times.
Although details about lighting and shelter from the weather were still to be worked out, Lindenthal approved the proposed walkway - only to have his recommendation quietly and inexplicably excised from the public record by New York's mayor, Seth Low. Many years later, the suspicion arose that a rival company, Brooklyn Rapid Transit, probably had a hand in burying the idea. BRT, which had a near-monopoly on the borough's public transport system, would have taken a dim view of other technologies or operators on its turf.
Undaunted, Schmidt proposed a flurry of similar projects around Manhattan - running down Broadway, along Wall Street, over the Williamsburg Bridge and across 23rd and 34th Street. To Schmidt, the advantages of the moving walkway were so compelling that he was convinced they would supplant some subways rather than supplement them. By 1909, he was pushing a massive $70 million scheme that would provide Manhattan with a network of subterranean moving sidewalks.
So why aren't there any walkways sliding past the Stock Exchange or beneath the Empire State Building? "That is the question I have struggled with," says Lee Gray, a historian of moving sidewalks at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. "But there was the political clout of companies pushing subways - and their familiarity. Everybody gets what a train is, whether it's above ground or below ground."
New York was left pondering whether to install a more modest moving sidewalk between Times Square and Grand Central Station. But by the 1920s, the bug had bitten other cities: underground walkways were considered for Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles and even car-crazy Detroit, where they would have sped along at a heady 40 km/h. Even the nation's capital pondered the possibility of propelling politicians along an underground walkway from their offices to Capitol Hill.
Not surprisingly, science fiction writers were very taken with the idea. H. G. Wells was a fan, and Robert Heinlein, in his 1940 short story The Roads Must Roll, envisioned interstate passenger platforms moving at speeds of up to 160 km/h. Others were more bemused: in the midst of Schmidt's crusade in Manhattan, the New York Tribune called for "a moving sidewalk from Texas to New York to bring up cotton and those cheap winter strawberries", while another newspaper jokingly suggested that city buildings be placed on moving walkways so that people could simply stand around and wait for the right one to arrive.
The future, though, is where all these proposals remained. Despite their advantages, the novelty of moving sidewalks counted against them. So did the spectre of crippling breakdowns. Unlike an out-of-service subway car, a broken-down section of sidewalk could not simply be shunted aside. Parisians had also discovered that one disadvantage of trains - that they don't run constantly - could be a blessing. An otherwise admiring account of the trottoir roulant noted that it made a non-stop racket that alternated between "the din made by the lids of twenty million Brobdingnagian kettles" and "a high pitched, fierce iron screech".
It took another half a century and the development of quieter, rubber-covered surfaces by the Goodyear Tire Company for moving walkways to make a comeback. Most appeared at increasingly sprawling airports, but railways weren't immune to their charms either. In 1960, 57 years after it was first proposed, the Travelator opened at London's Bank underground station. Even the notion of moving sidewalks to the US House of Representatives and to Times Square awoke from decades of slumber, leaving The New York Times to innocently wonder "why this improvement was not considered when this present [subway] system... was built".
These new walkways, however, were essentially a single conveyor moving from A to B, far simpler than the earlier many-ringed, multispeed systems with multiple points of entry and exit. The modern moving walkway is not a transport system in its own right, more a minor supplement to other forms of transit. Its most ambitious use in modern times came in 1961, when the city of Tacoma in Washington built an underground "escalade" of moving sidewalks. It was boarded up in 1984 after years of urban decay and vandalism.
Paris, however, never entirely lost its dream of a trottoir roulant. Even before the 1900 expo, there had been proposals for a citywide system 17 kilometres long. It seemed fitting then that a new incarnation, the Trottoir Roulant Rapide, was unveiled at Montparnasse Metro station in 2003.
Instead of three adjacent walkways moving at different speeds, the new walkway changed speed along its length. The first section moved slowly. The long midsection rolled along at a brisk 11 km/h - and deposited passengers onto a final deceleration section in readiness for their return to terra firma. Dogged by design and reliability issues, it was taken out of service in May this year, with the French magazine Rue 89 delivering the stinging verdict that those who had promoted it "sold this toy as a flagship of French technology". But a century ago, the trottoir roulant was no toy. It was, for a brief time, a brisk stroll into the future.
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