The greener car park alternatives to America's asphalt jungle

With car parks accounting for up to 10% of land in US cities, measures to make them more environmentally friendly are urgent
Mark Harris, guardian.co.uk 18 Nov 09;

In the 40 years since Joni Mitchell sang about paving paradise, putting up parking lots remains an American obsession. Scientists estimate that up to 10% of land in US cities is now devoted to car parks, causing environmental damage whether they are used by Humvees or hybrids.

Stormwater run-off from roads, drains and parking dumps the equivalent of more than a dozen Exxon Valdez tankers of oil directly into US rivers each year, in addition to dangerous levels of heavy metals, pesticides, bacteria and industrial pollutants. Traditional car parks also encourage sprawl, contribute to urban heat islands and offer little biodiversity.

Now the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided that it's time to turn grey car parks green. It has begun road-testing alternative paving materials that allow water to slowly filter back into the ground rather than rush down the drain.

For the test, a 4,000 sq m asphalt car park at an EPA facility in Edison, New Jersey, is being replaced by three different types of permeable surfacing and a variety of rain gardens.

Research has already shown that gardens and swales can capture up to 90% of nitrogen and heavy metals from water, but the EPA is hoping to develop new systems that can perform even better – and deal with contaminants like leaking oil.

The shift to greener car parks has its roots in the energy crises of the 1970s, when Californian cities passed laws requiring half of all parking spaces to be shaded by trees. Although the aim was to reduce temperatures in parked cars and cut demand for air conditioning, the trees had an unexpected side-effect: improving air quality. The US Department of Agriculture says that heavily shaded car parks absorb smog-producing ozone, cut overall hydrocarbon emissions from vehicles by 2% and reduce run-off by more than 175 gallons per tree.

Some sunny car parks are even getting a 21st-century twist. Photovoltaic "solar trees" provide more shade than real trees, while simultaneously generating clean electricity. The Solar Grove at Kyocera International's headquarters in San Diego consists of 25 power-generating solar trees shading 186 parking spaces.

The panels produce over 430,000 kWh a year (see daily figures online), used to power the offices, provide lighting without light pollution and, soon, recharge plug-in electric vehicles. While the artificial trees can't soak up water or pollutants, run-off flows into swales where organic and inorganic filtration yields clean water at the drain.

Such innovations are welcome, but there's still a lot of ground to cover. A recent Purdue University survey estimated that car parks in US cities take up three times as much room as parks for people, and the EPA surface research is expected to last a full 10 years.

It doesn't look as if America is going to be pulling up parking lots and replanting paradise any time soon.

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California requires TVs to be more energy-efficient

Samantha Young, Associated Press Yahoo News 19 Nov 09;

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California regulators have adopted the nation's first energy-efficiency standards for televisions, a move that will eventually ban power-hungry sets from the state's store shelves.

Wednesday's action by the California Energy Commission could lead the way in a general reform of standards for an industry increasingly focused on wide-view, flat-screen, high-definition sets.

The 5-0 vote by the California Energy Commission is just the latest effort by the state to secure its place in the forefront of the environmental movement.

California represents such a big consumer market that environmental groups hope the new standards will lead manufacturers to make energy-saving TVs for the rest of the nation, just as California's stringent fuel standards for cars and trucks forced automakers to produce more efficient models for all of the U.S.

"Once again, California is leading the way, and we hope others will follow," said Noah Horowitz, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Some manufacturers warned that the regulations will cripple innovation, limit consumer choice and hurt California stores, because people could simply buy TVs out of state or online. The industry also complained that manufacturers will be forced to make televisions with poorer picture quality and fewer features than those sold elsewhere in the U.S.

"Instead of allowing customers to choose the products they want, the commission has decided to impose arbitrary standards that will hamper innovation and limit consumer choice," said Jason Oxman, a vice president with the Consumer Electronics Association. "It will result in higher prices for consumers, job losses for Californians, and lost tax revenue for the state."

Californians buy about 11 percent of the 35.4 million TVs sold in the U.S. each year, according to industry figures. The industry group said it was already working with the federal government to promote more efficient TVs through the federal Energy Star program.

"We have every confidence this industry will be able to meet the rule and then some," Energy Commissioner Julia Levin said. "It will save consumers money, it will help protect public health, and it will spark innovation."

At least one TV manufacturer has said it could meet the standards — Vizio Inc., the largest seller of flat screens.

The regulations requiring televisions to be more efficient will be phased in beginning in 2011.

The new standards will apply to new televisions up to 58 inches. Those larger than 58 inches, which account for no more than 3 percent of the market, were left out in a concession to sellers of high-end home-theater TVs. But the commission is expected to regulate them in the future.

The commission estimates that TVs account for about 10 percent of a home's electricity use. The fear is that energy use will rise as people buy bigger, more elaborate TVs, put more of them in their homes, and watch them longer.

The average plasma TV uses more than three times as much energy as an old cathode-ray tube set. Liquid-crystal display, or LCD, TVs use about 43 percent more energy than tube sets, according to Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the state's biggest utility. LCDs now account for about 90 percent of the 4 million TVs sold in California each year.

Under the rules adopted Wednesday, all new 42-inch TV sets must use less than 183 watts by 2011 and less than 116 watts by 2013.

That is considerably more efficient than flat-screen TVs placed on the market in recent years. A 42-inch Hitachi plasma TV sold in 2007 uses 313 watts, while a 42-inch Sharp Liquid-crystal display, or LCD, TV draws 232 watts, according to the Energy Commission.

The energy commission previously set aggressive energy-efficiency standards for refrigerators, washing machines and other household appliances, paving the way for more efficient models sold nationwide.

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Researchers ask: Are caged chickens miserable?

Michael J. Crumb, Associated Press Yahoo News 19 Nov 09;

DES MOINES, Iowa – Are cramped chickens crazy chickens?

Researchers are trying to answer that question through several studies that intend to take emotions out of an angry debate between animal welfare groups and producers.

At issue are small cages, typically 24 inches wide by 25 1/2 inches deep, that can be shared by up to nine hens. About 96 percent of eggs sold in the United States come from hens who live in the so-called battery cages from the day they're born until their egg-laying days end 18 to 24 months later.

Public opinion appears to side with those who oppose the cages. Voters in California approved a proposition last year that bans cramped cages for hens. And Michigan's governor signed legislation last month requiring confined animals to have enough room to turn around and fully extend their limbs.

Peter Skewes, a Clemson University researcher, is leading one of the studies comparing how different housing affects egg-laying hens. He said there are plenty of "emotional" opinions about whether the cages are inhumane, but few are based on facts.

"Hopefully we will contribute something so decisions can be made based on science and knowledge about how we house birds and the implications for different systems," said Skewes, who is in the early stages of a three-year study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

But even as Skewes and others conduct research, some question the need to study an issue they argue was resolved long ago.

Bruce Friedrich, a spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said banning the cages is a solution to an obvious problem.

"Think about the ... effects of not moving for up to 24 months," Friedrich said. "Their bones and muscles waste away and they go insane."

Paul Shapiro, senior director of the Humane Society of the United States' Factory Farming Campaign, agreed.

"The egg industry is trying to muddy the waters by misleading people into believing that it's possible to confine birds in barren, tiny cages and have high welfare," he said.

Producers see it differently, claiming caged hens are healthier and satisfied with the only lives they've ever known. Although the chickens can't fully extend their wings, producers contend they're not stuffed so tightly that they can't move around the cage.

"Is this animal cruelty? This absolutely is not," said Bob Krouse, an egg producer based in Mentone, Ind., and president of the United Egg Producers industry group.

Or as K.Y. Hendrix, owner of Rose Acres Farms in Seymour, Ind., puts it, "We can produce a better egg, produce a healthier chicken if we keep them inside."

Producers began experimenting with hen cages in the late 1950s. By the early 1970s, cages were commonly used for egg-laying hens and are now the standard home for hens, which can lay up to 300 eggs a year.

Hens lay eggs for up to two years, then typically are used as meat for humans or animal feed.

Whether they're a delaying tactic — as animal welfare groups claim — or needed research, studies on chicken cages are proceeding.

Skewes will compare emotional and behavioral patterns of caged hens with non-caged counterparts. Part of that will including studying behaviors such as wing-stretching, perching and foraging.

"We're looking at what ... things they would still do if given the opportunity," Skewes said. "So you deprive them of that, and the welfare component is, so what? There are difficult questions."

Another study, coordinated by the University of California at Davis and Michigan State University, weighs several issues involving caged chickens, including their welfare and impact on the environment and human health as well as food quality and safety.

The study, funded by the American Egg Board, also considers the economics of egg production. In California, producers estimated the voter-backed rules would add about a penny to the cost of each egg, but Krouse put the cost at up to 50 cents per dozen eggs.

"We hope we can say ... what the effect is going to be on prices, the environment and on the welfare of hens," said Joy Mench, a UC Davis researcher.

UC Davis and Michigan State also plan another study that will include several advisers, including food companies such as McDonald's and Cargill Inc., the Department of Agriculture's Research Service, and groups such as the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Center for Food Integrity.

Mench said that study will examine egg production sustainability, hen welfare, worker safety, food safety and food quality.

Dr. Gail Golab, director of the veterinary association's Animal Welfare Division, said she hopes the studies can clarify the debate.

"A number of us that work in the animal welfare field are frustrated at efforts to say one system is all good or all bad and not being able to quantify welfare values," Golab said. "(We want to) look for the best possible solution we can for raising these animals."

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Best of our wild blogs: 19 Nov 09

Red-legged Crake – road kill
from Bird Ecology Study Group and Encounter with a dead Red-legged Crake

A new sponge species - including a Singapore specimen!
from wild shores of singapore

Cyrene - Still as beautiful in the drizzle
from wonderful creation and Singapore Nature and wild shores of singapore

Mystery of a Caterpillar
from My Itchy Fingers

Job offer: Full-time TA position for Biodiversity & Ecology modules from ecotax at Yahoo! Groups

Acres job opening: Community Outreach Officer
closing date 25 Nov, on the acres website

Starry Starry Night
from Dee Kay Dot As Gee

Leonids let down?
from wild shores of singapore

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Only 40 sand lorries from Malaysia cross to Singapore

New Straits Times 19 Nov 09;

JOHOR BARU: The state Customs Department yesterday revealed the number of lorries carrying sand that ply between Johor and Singapore via the Causeway.

The figures were for lorries passing through the Wisma Kastam cargo checkpoint at Tanjung Puteri here.

The figures showed that 1,000 lorries moved between Johor and Singapore through the checkpoint daily.

It was reported on Tuesday that out of 1,000 lorries going through daily, 500 were carrying sand.

Department director Mhd Subre Ishak said the 500 lorries did not carry sand, but various materials with only a small number carrying silica sand.

"There are only 40 Singapore-bound lorries which carried silica sand on a daily basis," he said.

His clarification was aimed at quashing worries of large exports of sand to the republic, which is an issue of controversy. Local suppliers are alleged to have ignored local demand and preferred to export their sand to Singapore due to the high exchange rate.

Sand also became an issue during the controversial reclamation works done by Singapore at Tuas and Pulau Tokong near Kota Tinggi, which began in December 2002.

Subre said the Customs Department conducted stringent checks on sand-laden lorries at the checkpoint, including taking samples and sending them for tests at the Geology Department.

He said his department also kept tabs on "high-risk" exporters, which were companies with records of Customs offences.

Extra lane at CIQ complex to ease traffic congestion
New Straits Times 18 Nov 09;

JOHOR BARU: Contractor Gerbang Perdana will build an extra lane to ease congestion at the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex.

Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said the extra lane would be a ramp leading to the new Eastern Dispersal Link on the Johor side, and would be completed in a month.

Shaziman said once the new lane was completed, there would be three lanes for cars to enter Johor Baru, after the Customs checkpoint.

The new lane is among several routes, called medium-term routes, that will be completed by the end of next year.

"We have asked Gerbang Perdana to complete the work earlier as all medium-term routes are supposed to be completed in March 2011.

"The work is 47 per cent complete. The medium-term routes cost RM253 million."

On complaints of congestion caused by lorries at the Causeway, Shaziman said the problem should be resolved as the cargo checkpoint for lorries in Tanjung Puteri began operating 24 hours since Sunday.

He said the congestion was caused by Singapore-bound lorries that wait near the Tanjung Puteri cargo checkpoint after clearance by Customs.

"Many lorry drivers wait for the right time to enter Singapore. They usually wait for the operation hours (of businesses) to begin at 9am before proceeding. This is one cause for the congestion," Shaziman said after visiting the CIQ complex and cargo complex for lorries at Tanjung Puteri.

He said 700 lorries travelled from Singapore to Malaysia through the Causeway daily, while the daily number of lorries from Malaysia to Singapore was 1,000. About 500 of the Singapore-bound lorries carry sand.

Shaziman said he would brief the cabinet on Friday on other measures to ease traffic congestion at the CIQ complex.

Among them is a proposal to add another 36 immigration booths to the current 36 at the complex. "PLUS (Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan) Bhd has agreed to this."

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Food security a matter of breaking habits

Quality counts, not whether your chicken is from Malaysia or Brazil
Jessica Lim, Straits Times 19 Nov 09;

WITH Apec dominating the news, what occurred on Wednesday last week would have barely registered on most Singaporeans' radar.

To recap: You could not have bought fresh pork here last Wednesday if you had tried.

That strange state of affairs was caused by a hairline crack in a metal tube supplying ammonia to cool the air in the meat chillers in Singapore's sole abattoir.

Operations were halted, and meat from 900 pigs was incinerated in case of contamination. The ruptured pipe was replaced and slaughter resumed the next day. Because fresh pork needs to be sufficiently chilled before sale, no pork was market-ready last Wednesday.

Big deal? Not to many here. My guess is that most Singaporeans either did not notice, or switched their dinner menu. In the grander scheme of things, however, it was a very big deal.

A leaky pipe caused last week's problem. But if one stopped to think about it, there are any number of events that could disrupt Singapore's food supplies.

The World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature said just that in a report released last week. It said that because of Singapore's dependency on imports - more than 90 per cent of all food consumed here is brought in from abroad - 'any significant damage to crops in neighbouring countries will affect agriculture and food supplies'.

In fact, such events have already occurred. Last month, vegetable wholesaler Gary Ong, 43, imported 20,000kg less cabbage and bak choy from Indonesia after heavy rains there destroyed crops.

Again, however, customers did not notice.

Mr Ong, whose Vat Thoa Vegetables Wholesaler supplies greens to hawkers and supermarkets, simply switched to Chinese sources instead.

This happy state of affairs is the result of Singapore's successful efforts to diversify its food sources. The effort began in 1985, but it picked up steam last year when hikes in fuel and commodity prices led to sharp increases in food prices.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) is Singapore's point agency in scouring the ends of the earth for new food sources.

As a result, we now have fish from Namibia, rice from Vietnam and eggs from the United States to complement the usual sources - Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, respectively. Diversification, said an AVA spokesman, is a key strategy in ensuring 'food resilience'.

The AVA's efforts have paid dividends. As of March this year, 745 companies from all over the world were accredited to export meat, processed meat and eggs to Singapore. This is up from 218 in 2004.

In 1992, food exports from 14 countries were allowed in Singapore. That number is now 31.

When it comes to processed food, some 2,475 types across 38,662 brands from 155 countries are imported - about twice the number of brands in 2004.

So with so many sources, what is the problem? Well, you, the consumer, actually.

We Singaporeans love our food. Perhaps because of this, we are extremely picky about it, too.

Despite food from many countries being approved for sale here, the reality is that little is brought in.

Rice importer Jimmy Soh, for instance, stopped importing the US grain two years ago because of poor sales.

'Restaurants stopped ordering it from us after a few months, so we stopped bringing it in,' he said. Consumers, he explained, preferred the longer-grain Thai variety.

The restaurant Peach Garden has a similar story to tell. It began importing goose meat from France and Taiwan in 2004, when supplies from China were cut in January that year after bird flu hit the country. The move bombed spectacularly.

Said Peach Garden spokesman Veronica Tan: 'The response was really bad. Customers complained that the meat was tough, old and dry. So we stopped selling it altogether.'

For Ong Joo Joo Food Industries, too, the diversification experiment has not gone well. It battled for two whole years to sell customers on frozen pork, and many are still not convinced.

Therein lies the rub, said the meat importer's managing director, Mr Ting Puong Huat.

'If the consumers don't accept new products, importers might not bring them in,' he said.

At best, this means a smaller basket of goods on the market. At worst, it means importers will not be able to switch sources quickly enough when the need arises, leading to shortages, and, eventually, higher prices.

Of course, food is a matter of taste. Until we are faced with a genuine shortage, we will be loath to change what works for us. But, really, is there such a big difference? Or are we just slaves to habit?

Chef Yadi Musmulyadi of the Changi Village Hotel believes it does not make 'much difference where the food is from if it's all high quality. It is all about habit'.

'If we tell customers the chicken is from Malaysia, some turn their noses up at it. If we say it's from Brazil, they think it tastes better,' he said, adding that if cooked well, the difference is hardly noticeable.

Go to a supermarket, however, and the tables are turned. Customers will instinctively ignore frozen Brazilian chicken and pick the chilled fowl from Malaysia, believing it to be fresher. If that is not habit, I do not know what is.

Last year, when prices went through the roof, Singaporeans had no trouble switching from olive oil to housebrand cooking oil.

Choice, obviously, is a good thing. But what if global warming, a freak weather pattern, some new virus or a hairline crack in a pipe results in disruption?

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Solar energy firms in Singapore 'face challenges'

Seris says it needs tech innovations to make it competitive without subsidies
Joyce Hooi, Business Times 19 Nov 09;

SOLAR energy may be deemed the most promising renewable energy in Singapore, but a lack of subsidies has kept costs high, made building owners wary and created challenges for solar energy firms here.

'The challenge in Singapore is that there is no clear incentive scheme. Most people perceive solar energy to be expensive,' said Christophe Inglin, managing director of Phoenix Solar.

While solar module prices have come down 35 per cent over the past 12 months, they remain costly. Installing a solar photovoltaic system for a typical landed residence in Singapore costs $100,000 on average.

'For commercial buildings in Singapore, the payback period is 20 years. In Europe, it's 10 years because of the subsidies,' said Mr Inglin.

European countries, the United States and Australia have already adopted the 'feed-in tariff', an incentive structure that obliges electricity utility companies to buy renewable energy electricity at above-market rates, which will defray the high costs of solar energy installation.

In Queensland, Australia, customers who participate in this scheme are paid 44 cents (S$0.56) per kilowatt hour for surplus electricity fed back into the grid.

In Singapore, commercial building owners need to apply for a licence to sell back excess electricity generated from solar energy, and then only at market rates.

'There should have been a feed-in tariff in place from the beginning. The solar energy industry is a very technology-driven industry that is very suitable for a country like Singapore,' Armin Sandhoevel, chief executive officer of Allianz Climate Solutions, told BT yesterday.

The Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (Seris), however, believes in tackling the cost issues inherent in solar energy production.

'We need technological innovations to make solar energy competitive without any subsidies,' said Armin Aberle, deputy chief executive officer of Seris, speaking at the Clean Energy Expo panel discussion yesterday.

Other practical concerns continue to dog a solar energy industry that has yet to mature here.

While landed properties are well-placed to benefit from roof-top solar photovoltaic systems, similar efforts by residents in condominiums and multi-storey buildings have been thwarted by lack of coordination.

'The initiative has to come from the property developers,' said Jason Lee, a sales manager with Phoenix Solar.

The field of renewable energy is also such a novel one that mechanical and engineering consultants here lack familiarity with installation.

On that front, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) has moved to launch a handbook for contractors and laymen on installing solar photovoltaic systems.

In the absence of a clear mandate for solar energy, however, the EMA said yesterday its renewable energy test-bed site on Pulau Ubin will include wind and bio-mass energy along with solar energy. This suggests that Singapore continues to hedge its bets where the choice of renewable energy is concerned.

'There is currently no clear winner, but solar photovoltaic energy is the most promising one in Singapore,' said EMA deputy chief executive David Tan.

Currently, 1MW of solar photovoltaic capacity has been installed in Singapore and another 4MW is planned.

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Clean energy pact will help Singapore firms enter Indonesia

Jessica Cheam, Straits Times 19 Nov 09;

SINGAPORE companies involved in the clean energy sector could soon gain easier access to the huge Indonesian market, thanks to a clean energy pact inked yesterday.

The Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (Seas) inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the Sustainable Energy Association of Indonesia yesterday to collaborate on sustainable, renewable and energy efficiency issues.

Seas chairman Edwin Khew said yesterday that as Singapore's market size was limited, it is crucial for firms to be able to gain access into the bigger, neighbouring markets.

'Indonesia has a lot of potential for clean energy projects and Singapore can help develop this sector by providing a one-stop shop for technology, services, and finance,' he said.

Being home to the largest collection of banks, clean technology funds and green funds in Asia, Singapore can provide equity and debt for Asian clean energy projects, he added.

The former nominated MP noted that the sector is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rather than multinationals, and that the only way to bring SMEs together is through forging associations across Asia.

'This is where Singapore can play a regional role,' he said.

The MOU was signed yesterday at the opening of the three-day Clean Energy Expo Asia trade fair and conference, which forms part of the Singapore International Energy Week.

Guest speaker Michael Liebreich, chairman and chief executive of research firm New Energy Finance, said Singapore was well positioned to tap the US$100 billion-worth (S$139 billion) of clean investment money that flowed into Asia each year.

'Singapore can play the same role as London. Singapore is also a financing centre, plus a technology and logistics hub. A lot of that US$100 billion will go through Singapore,' he said.

The gathering momentum of clean energy investment has been made evident by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which has announced that it is poised to sharply increase lending for clean energy projects in the Asia-Pacific region by 2013.

Its deputy director-general for regional and sustainable development, Woochong Um, told The Straits Times that the bank aims to almost double annual lending for clean energy projects from about US$1.2 billion this year to US$2 billion by 2013.

And it is set to reduce lending to fossil-fuel projects.

The bank may well up its share of clean energy lending from less than half in 2005 to 80 per cent of its total energy lending programme in 2013, he added.

The Seas and ADB are working together to promote clean energy in Asia under a programme called Energy for All (E4All), which aims to provide energy access to 100 million people by 2015 using low carbon technologies.

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$10b Bridge Best Option for Linking Java, Sumatra, Says Government

Dion Bisara, Jakarta Globe 18 Nov 09;

The government has decided that a bridge is the most feasible of three options for connecting Java and Sumatra, paving the way for construction of the $10 billion Sunda Strait bridge to proceed, officials said on Tuesday.

The decision removes at least some of the uncertainty over the fate of the bridge, which would connect the country’s two most populous islands.

Last week, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said the government was still considering the tunnel, while Deputy Transportation Minister Bambang Susantono said in September, when he was deputy to the coordinating minister, that improving ferry services might be the answer.

However, Hermanto Dardak, the newly appointed deputy minister of public works, said on Tuesday that it had been decided that the bridge was the solution for linking the islands.

“The Sunda Strait is a 150-meter-deep ocean trench. So considering the potential dangers from earthquakes, the bridge option was selected for safety reasons. It is also better as rail services can be accommodated,” he said. “If we opted for a tunnel, capacity would be severely limited.”

Hermanto said a presidential decree would be issued establishing a committee to oversee a feasibility study.

Marzan Aziz Iskandar, head of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), agreed that a bridge was the best option.

“We are quite familiar with bridge technology, compared with tunnels, with which we have little experience. Indonesia can avail itself of the expertise gained during the building of the Suramadu Bridge [linking Surabaya and Madura] and a bridge in Batam.”

The Banten and Lampung provincial governments, which initiated the Sunda Strait bridge proposal, can now breath a little easier as observers had warned that central government support would be essential if there was to be any realistic prospect of it ever being built.

PT Bangungraha Sejahtera Mulia, a subsidiary of Artha Graha Networks, has already completed a preliminary study on the project’s viability.

The BSM study calls for a 30-kilometer bridge spanning the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. The project would consist of a series of spans carrying a six-lane highway and double-track railway via the islands of Prajurit, Sangiang and Ular.

The longest span is projected to be about three km in length, more than 50 percent longer than the main span of the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan, the longest suspension bridge in the world.

Indonesia To Build World's Longest Bridge
Bernama 19 Nov 09;

JAKARTA, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- Indonesia would begin constructing the world's would-be longest bridge in Sunda Strait connecting two main islands of Sumatra and Java in 2014, as an effort to boost infrastructure development in the southeast Asian largest economy.

The 30-km long bridge is expected to boost economy in both islands, particularly in Sumatra island, in which over 80 percent of the country's about 230 million population live, said Public Works Minister Joko Kirmanto said here Thursday.

"The bridge could become a landmark of Indonesia," Antara news agency cited the minister as saying.

Kirmanto said that that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had asked him to establish a task force team to analyze the mega project.

"We expect the construction would start in 2014. The President has instructed the public minister to set up a team which will analyze the project within the first 100 days of the cabinet work, " he told reporters after a cabinet meeting at the State Palace here.

"As the technology of bridge has developed, the bridge could be a land mark of Indonesia," said Kirmanto.

The project could cost over 100,000 trillion rupiah (some US$10.6 billion), according to a pre-feasibility study.

"The team would count the real cost of the project and to determine the source of the funds. It may be from the state budget or private sector, or the combination of them," he said.

In January 2010, the team would start working, said Kirmanto.

According to the pre-feasibility study, the bridge would have the longest span in the world, about 220 meters.

President Yudhoyono, who was re-elected for his second term on July 8, has promised to boost development of infrastructure during his second term to reach an annual economic growth of at least 7 percent at the end of his term in 2014.

In June, Indonesia completed the building of the longest bridge in Southeast Asia with about 5 kilometers in length, connecting East Java and its island of Madura.

Experts had predicted that the sea ports in the strait could not facilitate the growing economic activities in the two islands within ten years.

-- BERNAMA

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Power project `poses threat' to Bali starling

Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post 18 Nov 09;

The construction of high-voltage power lines connecting the East Java and Bali grids may pose a further threat to the critically endangered Bali starling, an ornithologist warned Tuesday.

The power lines, which are expected to boost the island's electricity supply by 1,000 megawatts (MW), could pass over the West Bali National Park, a natural habitat for the bird.

Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) ornithologist Jarwadi B. Hernowo said the inevitable opening up of the park due to the project could lead to increased poaching of the starlings.

"There's no guarantee that there won't be any poaching of the birds or destruction of their habitat," said Jarwadi, who recently did a study on the local starling population.

"It's a security problem that threatens the species."

The Bali Crossing project will transmit power from the Paiton plant in East Java to Bali, which currently has a supply of only 500 MW.

"The shortest way to connect the two islands is through Lampu Merah, Labuan Lalang, Kotal and Brumbun, most of which is part of the national park," Jarwadi said. "So the project will certainly affect the habitat."

However, state electricity monopoly PT PLN has made assurances the project will not pass over the national park area, located on the western tip of Bali.

PLN Bali general manager Arifuddin Nurdin said transmission towers to support the cables would be installed along the periphery of the national park, without actually crossing into the protected area.

He said the company had discussed the plan with the provincial administration to ensure minimum impact on the park.

PLN will suspend the cables around 45 meters above the tallest trees, Arifuddin said.

Should the power lines pass over the national park, Jarwadi said, supervision by forest rangers should be tightened to prevent poaching of wildlife and destruction of conservation areas.

An estimated 80 Bali starlings live in the park. The population began dwindling in the 1990s due to rampant poaching of the indigenous species, which fetched up to Rp 40 million a bird at that time.

Conservationists have conducted numerous reintroduction programs to boost the starling population.

Park head Bambang Darmaja called for a win-win solution to the electricity issue.

"We must ensure the species are not threatened, and at the same time the project must go ahead to supply more power to Bali," he said. "We support the project, so long as we can find a win-win solution."

The Forestry Ministry has not yet issued a permit for the project.

A joint team of park officials, scientists, academics and government officials will be set up to evaluate the impact of the project on the park and its wildlife.

Bali Starling Threatened by Poaching, Development
Made Arya Kencana, Jakarta Globe 18 Nov 09;

Kuta, Bali. The future of Bali’s critically endangered avian emblem, the Bali starling, is increasingly heading the way of the extinct Bali tiger due to continued poaching and an electricity development project that threatens the bird’s dwindling habitat.

Jarwadi B Hernowo, an ornithologist from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), said his research had revealed that the reduction of the West Bali National Park — established in Jembrana district largely to protect the bird, known locally as jalak Bali — had increased access to the protected coastal forests, leading to increased poaching.

Speaking at an international workshop in Kuta on Tuesday about improving management systems at the park, Jarwadi said his research from June 2008 through October 2009 showed that there were just 60 to 80 of the birds left in the wild. In 1978, by comparison, 550 Bali starlings were recorded in the wild.

He also believed the entire population — with the exception of at least three hatchlings — comprised birds released into the wild over the past three years.

The other major threat to the population, Jarwadi said, was the Java-Bali interconnected power transmission network, also called the Bali Crossing project.

He said the shortest distance between Java and Bali was from the northwest, through the West Bali National Park. If transmission lines were to be constructed throughout the park, he said the habitat would be under even greater threat.

Jarwadi said the Bali Crossing project could lead to new road networks in or around the park, opening up access to the forests.

“Perhaps [such plans] will not affect the Bali starling’s food and water supply, but its safety should also be considered. Remember that poaching poses the most significant threat to the birds,” he said.

Jawardi gave as examples several national projects that had infringed on wildlife habitats across the country, including Ladya Galaska, a road project in Gunung Leuser National Park in North Sumatra and Aceh, and the construction of a road that dissects the Baluran National Park in East Java.

Arifuddin Nurdin, general manager for state power utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara in Bali, said the power grid for the Bali Crossing would be situated on the periphery of the park, without infringing on the forest.

Bidding for the project is currently underway with at least three foreign firms expressing interest, he said, adding that the project was expected to be operational by 2013.

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Freedom sought for bile-farm bears in Vietnam

Vietnam News 18 Nov 09;

HA NOI — Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) has received more than 7,000 letters from around the world urging the Vietnamese Government to confiscate bears being held illegally on bile farms in the popular tourist spot of Ha Long Bay, in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

The letter-writing campaign was launched by the AAF after trying for two years to convince the authorities to confiscate 79 bears (endangered Asiatic black bears, also known as moon bears) that are not registered and have no microchips – legal requirements in Viet Nam.

A police raid in October confirmed there were 24 illegal bears held on one farm at Dai Yen just outside Ha Long city.

More than 7,000 people including politicians from the UK, Australia and Europe, and internationally best-selling authors had written letters to the Vietnamese Prime Minister, according to Jill Robinson, founder and CEO of AAF.

"This sends a very strong message that the world is watching and people will not remain silent while endangered moon bears are treated so cruelly and driven to the point of extinction," Robinson said. "All we are asking is that the government implement its own laws and protect this majestic species for future generations."

Bear bile farming was made illegal in Viet Nam in 1992, but farmers are allowed to keep the bears to display to tourists. In an attempt to protect the few bears remaining in the wild, the authorities together with the World Society for the Protection of Animals – micro-chipped the 4,000 bears on farms. The 79 bears in question, including the 24 targeted in the recent raid, have no microchips, which means they were probably illegally caught in the wild.

"We put our faith in the government, and have built a world-class bear rescue centre to accommodate these bears. The government’s failure to act is tarnishing Viet Nam’s image around the world and not fulfilling its international commitment in protecting endangered wildlife," said Tuan Bendixsen, Animals Asia’s Viet Nam director.

Viet Nam’s Environmental Police and the local Ha Long Police caught employees of the Dai Yen farm extracting and selling bear bile to Korean tourists last month.

Bile extraction equipment and more than 200 vials containing freshly extracted bile were confiscated, yet still no one has been charged. According to the police report, each month, 30 to 40 tour groups visit the farm to buy bear bile.

Animals Asia investigators first alerted the authorities to the illegal activities at farms in the Ha Long Bay area in 2007. Undercover film footage and photos proving bile was still being extracted from bears and sold to tourists was passed over to the Government. This prompted an earlier raid on farms in the area, with 80 bears being identified as being held illegally.

So far, just one bear has been removed to the Viet Nam Bear Rescue Centre. Animals Asia and other non-governmental organisations – Education for Nature Viet Nam, Free the Bears Fund Inc, Wildlife at Risks, and the World Society for the Protection of Animals – have formed the Viet Nam NGO Bear Taskforce.

Bear bile is used in traditional medicine for a range of "heat-related" ailments such as eye and liver disease. In November 2005, Animals Asia signed an agreement with the Vietnamese Government to rescue 200 bears and care for them at the Viet Nam Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Tam Dao National Park.

To date, the centre hosts 28 bears confiscated by the government and currently has the capacity to receive 100 more bears rescued from bear farms.

At least two deputies of the Viet Nam’s National Assembly, Prof Nguyen Lan Dung and Nguyen Dinh Xuan, are planning to call for the confiscation of the 24 bears during the assembly’s November 17-19 session.

The 7,000-plus letters, which will be delivered to the Prime Minister’s office soon, include those from internationally acclaimed authors Bryce Courtenay and Bradley Trevor Greive. — VNS

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Rare crocs found hiding in plain sight in Cambodia

Michael Casey, Associated Press Yahoo News 18 Nov 09;

BANGKOK – Conservationists searching for one of the world's most endangered crocodile species say they have found dozens of the reptiles lounging in plain sight — at a wildlife rescue center in Cambodia.

DNA taken from 69 crocodiles housed in the moats of the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center showed nearly 50 percent were Siamese crocodiles, which until recently were believed to have become extinct in the wild, researchers said Wednesday.

"For the first time in Cambodia, we have a captive population of animals that we know 100 percent are purebred Siamese crocodiles," said Adam Starr, who manages the Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Program, a joint effort between the government and Fauna & Flora International. The Washington, D.C.-based conservation group Wildlife Alliance also took part.

Once common throughout Southeast Asia, the Siamese crocodile or crocodylus Siamensis is locally extinct in 99 percent of the areas it once roamed and is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Much of the wild population was wiped out by habitat loss and poaching.

Those left in the wild — thought to be less than 250, with nearly all in Cambodia and the rest in Indonesia and Vietnam — face the new threat of hydropower dams being built in two of their three known habitats in the country.

Starr said the discovery of the captive population would give conservationists new options for breeding and reintroducing the crocodiles into the wild, most likely in places not affected by the dams. He said up to 60 crocodiles a year could be released into areas where they once thrived.

DNA analysis, which was done at Thailand's Kasetsart University, is necessary because it is virtually impossible to tell the difference between Siamese crocodiles and the hybrid crocodile species that are also housed at the center.

Nhek Ratanapech, director of the wildlife center, said he was surprised to learn that so many of the crocodiles turned out to be pure Siamese.

"Before we conducted the DNA testing, we thought perhaps only three or four of them in the zoo were Siamese crocodiles," he said.

Siamese crocs are said to be a bit smaller at just under 10 feet (3.5 meters) than hybrids, and their snouts are shorter and wider.

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