Red tide blamed for Calif. bird deaths

Terence Chea, Associated Press, Yahoo News 30 Nov 07;

Hundreds of dead or injured seabirds have washed up on the shores of Monterey Bay in recent weeks, and scientists believe a red tide of marine algae is to blame.

About 600 birds have been found stranded on beaches in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties since a large rust-colored algal bloom began circulating in the bay about three weeks ago, scientists say.

About 70 of the birds have died, while 530 have been taken to wildlife rescue centers, said Michael Ziccardi, director of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.

The affected birds include loons, pelicans, western grebes, northern fulmars and surf scoters, said Dave Jessup, a veterinarian with the state Department of Fish and Game. Fish and marine mammals do not appear to be affected.

Officials initially believed the birds were victims of the San Francisco Bay oil spill that has killed or injured at least 2,800 birds. But tests found that the sticky, yellow substance found on the Monterey Bay birds was not petroleum or vegetable oil.

Scientists now believe the birds were injured by a protein that sticks to the birds' feathers and disrupts their ability to stay dry and warm, forcing them from the water where they live and feed.

"The birds are in distress because their feathers are no longer keeping them warm," Ziccardi said. "It's doing something to their waterproofing."

Researchers believe the protein is produced either directly or as a byproduct of the red tide, which is common in Monterey Bay this time of year.

Red tides that produce a neurotoxin have been known to kill sea lions and other marine mammals, but such algal blooms have not occurred in several years.

Many of the beached birds are cold and wet but otherwise healthy when they arrive at the rescue centers, and they recover quickly after their feathers are cleaned, Ziccardi said.

Algal blooms are increasing in frequency and intensity around the world, a trend scientists say may be linked to climate change as well as the use of pesticides and fertilizers.

The algal bloom likely will stay in Monterey Bay and continue injuring birds until a major weather system pushes the red tide out, Jessup said.

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Amazon rainforest 'could resist climate change'

Charles Clover, Telegraph 29 Nov 07;

The Amazon rainforest can withstand climate change and can help to mend the global climate as long as enough forest cover is protected, scientists said.

Previous computer simulations by the Meteorological Office's Hadley Centre suggested that if global average temperatures rose more than 3ºC - the amount predicted by the end of this century - the Amazon forest would be likely to dry out and the rainfall in the region would drop.

Researchers say there is mounting scientific evidence that intact Amazon forests are more resilient to drying out than was previously suggested because of their deep root systems and because plants would acclimatise to increased temperatures and lack of water.

However, where fragmentation and clearing has already occurred, forests are more vulnerable to drying out and the spread of fires, according to an article in the journal Science.

Scientists calculated that the zone with the highest drought risk is in the south east, with a 70-80 per cent risk, while the risk of drying out in the west is only 20 per cent.

Prof Yadvinder Malhi from Oxford university, which led the research with the Met Office in conjunction with some of the world's leading experts on the Amazon, said: "The latest science points to intact rainforests being fairly resistant to a possibly drier 21st century climate in the eastern half of Amazonia.

"However, this resistance breaks down when the forests are opened up and fragmented by roads, logging and agriculture, and become vulnerable to fires. Once burnt, a forest becomes even more vulnerable to the risk of fires.

"Once the forest starts breaking up, rainfall in the region is likely to decline. Hence maintaining sufficient forest cover in Amazonia is an effective means of protecting the region from climate change, as well as directly contributing to slowing down global warming."

Scientists involved in writing the paper will be among the experts attending next week's UN conference in Bali next week where new financial mechanisms for funding the protection of standing forest will be high on the agenda.

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Invasive species threaten land of the dodo

Ed Harris, Reuters 30 Nov 07;

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Three centuries after the dodo's demise, the rich plant and animal life of Mauritius is still under threat, this time from exploding populations of non-native species such as Chinese guavas and Malagasy geckos.

Conservationists on the Indian Ocean island that was once home to the flightless dodo bird say predators like rats and monkeys are being joined at accelerating pace by new arrivals like the giant Madagascar day gecko which first came as a pet.

"From there, it has either been released or escaped. The population is just exploding at the moment," said Nik Cole, a reptile expert with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation.

The Malagasy species is a major threat to native reptiles such as the Mauritian day gecko, he told Reuters.

Other recent arrivals include the apple snail and the red-eared terrapin.

On the small Mauritian island of Rodrigues, scientists have noticed the disappearance of native centipedes since the arrival less than 10 years ago of the Indian musk shrew.

"With many exotic introductions, you don't notice an impact until their numbers reach a certain level," Cole said, echoing the warnings of many other local environmentalists.

"You have got species that are found nowhere else in the world, and they are very naïve to certain types of competition or predation, so they can very easily be wiped out," he said.

The exotic imported animals, plants and even germs out-compete or hunt native Mauritian species which evolved in a less competitive environment over millions of years.

Plants are also at risk from aggressive arrivals such as the Chinese guava, the Malagasy traveler's palm and hiptage which often smother the Mauritian trees.

"Most of the plants in Mauritius that are rare, are rare because of invasive species," Vikash Tatayah, Conservation Manager at the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, said by phone.

His organization has had notable success in saving endangered birds such as the echo parakeet, the pink pigeon, and the Mauritius kestrel, down to just 4 known birds in 1974, though the local broad-billed and grey parrots are extinct.

In the case of the green-feathered echo parakeet, ravaged by rats, monkeys and the loss of forests, conservationists swap eggs or chicks between mother birds to maximize their chance of survival, wrap plastic round tree trunks to deter climbing rats, and deepen holes in trunks to hide nests from monkeys.

Scientists say the world has suffered five mass extinctions in its history and a sixth is looming, linked to human activity.

Small islands like Mauritius, evolving at a distance from the larger landmasses, often developed a rich and unique biodiversity -- but in modern times find their flora and fauna threatened with extinction as a result of the growth of global travel and trade.

(Editing by Tim Pearce)

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WTO proposal limits fisheries subsidies

Reuters 30 Nov 07;

GENEVA (Reuters) - New negotiating proposals at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Friday impose tough limits on subsidies on fisheries, a move that delighted environmentalists concerned about overfishing.

The proposals, from Uruguay's WTO ambassador Guillermo Valles Galmes, who is chairing WTO negotiations on "rules" -- dumping, subsidies and fisheries subsidies -- do not propose a blanket ban on all subsidies to fisheries.

But they list a large number of subsidies, including those for the construction of new vessels, and for operating costs of fisheries, including fuel, that would be banned.

Both the European Union and Korea subsidize fuel for fishing vessels.

Certain subsidies in developing countries, where many poor people depend on fishing for their livelihoods, are exempted from the proposed bans, but countries benefiting from waivers must operate fishery management systems to conserve fish stocks.

The proposals from Valles came in a negotiating text for the Doha round, launched six years ago to boost the world economy and help developing countries grow out of poverty.

WTO delegations agreed on Friday to aim to wrap up the round by the end of next year.

Oceana, which campaigns to protect the world's oceans, said the text from Valles was an important step by the WTO.

"A strong fisheries subsidies agreement would be a hands-down win for the environment," said Courtney Sakai, campaign director for Oceana, which also advises the United States on fisheries subsidies.

"The WTO faces challenges in tackling the issues of subsidies and overfishing, but the potential benefits are enormous," she said. "If the Doha round fails, the oceans will be the big loser.

(Reporting by Jonathan Lynn; Editing by Stephen Weeks)

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Papering over the cracks in carbon credit

Matthew Phan, Business Times 1 Dec 07;

THAI pulp and paper company Advance Agro owns no plantations, yet uses 18 million to 20 million trees a year, providing enough pulp for its mill, which has a 600,000-tonne capacity.

Through an arrangement with farmers in a fertile area with a radius of 200 km in central Thailand, Advance Agro plants fast-growing eucalyptus trees between the farmers' plots of land, then buying the mature trees. This supplements the farmers' income, and does not cause the deforestation for which paper companies elsewhere are criticised.

Unfortunately for the group, carbon credits from avoided deforestation or afforestation cannot be traded under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism.

This is a pity, since forestry was a pilot sector of the CDM when it first started. It is difficult to measure exactly the amount of greenhouse gases reduced by keeping a forest, and negotiators were afraid that dubious credits might flood the market.

Another issue is permanence. A tree captures carbon dioxide but releases it again when uprooted. So is it fair to say that the carbon is permanently removed from the atmosphere?

As Rob Fowler, managing director of Abatement Solutions, says, the concept of permanence is 'very difficult for the legal system to deal with'. For example, is 100 years enough to consider permanent? Who bears the liability if, at the 90-year mark, the carbon is inadvertently released?

By UN estimates, deforestation accounts for a quarter of global emissions. And forests often bring other benefits to a region, like higher income or biodiversity. Officials and negotiators have said that they will raise the issue at their meetings in Bali this month.

At Advance Agro, though, carbon credits were not the driving force behind its business model, says senior vice-president Thirawit Leetavorn.

Rather, it wanted a long-term supply of wood that could supplement the income of local farmers, rather than taking a major income source from them as a plantation would have.

'We're a Thai company, this is our second or third generation in the agri-business, so we're close to the farmers,' he says.

A typical rice farmer earns about US$600 per year, and 'may break even if lucky', says Mr Thirawit. The trees, harvested every three years, bring them in an extra US$100 per year.

By using established road networks, Advance Agro avoids building new ones, although it must transport the wood over longer distances. It is also thinking of converting its trucks to use natural gas.

The firm's environmental efforts go beyond forestry. According to Mr Thirawit, its ISO 14001-certified mill uses only six to seven cubic metres of wood to make a tonne of pulp, compared to ten times that at other mills. And it burns the tree waste for electricity, saving some 200 million litres of diesel per year.

Sounds great, but is the model replicable? Perhaps not in places like America, Mr Thirawit concedes. But there is plenty of fertile farmland left in central and north Thailand, and in other South-east Asian countries like Laos and Vietnam, he says.

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Business call for climate change framework

Paul Eccleston, Telegraph 30 Nov 07;

International business leaders have called for a legally-binding framework to tackle climate change.

In an unprecedented move 150 global companies have signed up to a communiqué issued on the eve of the Bali climate summit.

Some of the world's biggest brands including Coca-Cola, Shell, Dupont, Gap, GE, Johnson and Johnson, and Nike have put their names to the initiative as well as a number of Chinese companies including Shanghai Electric, Zhufeng Technology and Suntech.

The Prince of Wales, who is backing the initiative, said: " It is my fervent hope that the communiqué will strengthen the resolve of those gathered in Bali to make the tough decisions the world so urgently needs."

The communiqué has been sent to the 130 Environment Ministers who will attend the Bali conference beginning next week. It will also be hand delivered to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon who will be attending the second week of the conference.

It sets out the companies' belief that "a sufficiently ambitious, international and comprehensive, legally-binding United Nations agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will provide business with the certainty it needs to scale up global investment in low-carbon technologies."

It said the scientific evidence on climate change was now overwhelming and that it presented very serious global social, environmental and economic risks which demanded an urgent global response.

But it also presented a strong business case for action and the shift to a low-carbon economy would create significant business opportunities.

"As business leaders, it is our belief that the benefits of strong, early action on climate change outweigh the costs of not acting," the communiqué said.

The costs of action were "manageable" but each year of delay would cause greater disruption.

The business leaders indicated that overall targets for emissions reduction had to be guided primarily by science and not by economic principles.

They noted that evidence from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) already pointed to a reduction in CO2 emissions being required of "at least 50 per cent by 2050" and that the greatest effort was needed by the big, industrialised countries.

The communiqué was backed Friends of the Earth executive director Tony Juniper, who said it was a significant moment in the fight against climate change. "The shift to a low-carbon economy is not only an environmental imperative but also an unprecedented economic and social opportunity.

"Scaling up clean energy systems and using energy more efficiently could not only slash emissions, but help to improve quality of life for billions and create millions of jobs," he said.

But he warned the time available to make changes was "strictly limited" and a strong outcome was needed from the UN talks starting next week in Bali.

James Smith, chairman of Shell UK, said: "The message is principally one of support for international leaders that business wants to support what they're doing in efforts on climate change.

"It's also that these businesses get it, they see the threat of climate change and they know that action needs to be taken, and that it makes economic sense to tackle climate change.

"They know tackling climate change is the pro-growth strategy and ignoring it will lead to decline."

He said companies wanted to see support for new technology, carbon markets, a price on carbon and regulation and standards on energy and other sectors - with details developed in co-ordination with business once the overall framework had been set by governments.

Alain Grisay, chief executive of F&C Asset Management said his company, which manages investments, believed Sir Nicholas Stern's review on the economics of climate change that inaction would cost more than tackling the problem.

"We also believe it is not just about constraints - the good news is one of development of incentives to develop new technologies.

"By incentivising companies and people who build technologies to move now, we're going to make these companies more competitive, creating new jobs and new job opportunities," he said.

The Bali communiqué is led by the Prince of Wales UK and EU Corporate Leaders Groups, which were developed by the University of Cambridge's Programme for Industry under Charles's Business and the Environment Programme.

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US, EU aim to free up trade in 'green' goods

Yahoo News 30 Nov 07;

Solar panels, wind turbines and other "green" goods and services should face fewer tariffs and other trade barriers, the United States and European Union proposed at the World Trade Organisation on Friday.

Washington and Brussels jointly proposed that all 151 members of the WTO cut tariffs on at least 43 types of environmentally-friendly goods and services in order to boost their use worldwide.

"By eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers to environmental goods and services, particularly clean energy technologies, we can lower their costs and increase global access to and use of these important products," US trade representative Susan Schwab said in a statement.

"By making it cheaper and easier to trade in these goods and services the proposal would help to spread green technologies globally, especially to industrialising developing countries," the EU said in its own statement.

"Other products with a clear environmental benefit, for example goods related to waste water management and potable water treatment, waste management, and air pollution control could be added to this list," the EU said.

The two trading powers also proposed a new WTO agreement to further open trade in green goods and services, on the basis of a complete list of environmental goods submitted by the EU and other WTO members earlier in the year.

The US said that global trade in the goods covered by the proposal amounted to around 613 billion dollars (417 billion euros) in 2006, with exports growing by an average of 15 percent per annum since 2000.

A recent World Bank study claimed that removing tariff and non-tariff barriers on key clean energy technologies could increase trade by between 7-14 percent annually.

"A corresponding increase in use of such technologies and services could contribute importantly to global efforts to address climate change and energy security," the US said.

US, EU propose tariff cuts on green goods
Business Times 3 Dec 07;

End of trade barriers may spur use of green technologies

(GENEVA) The US and the EU have proposed eliminating tariffs worldwide on solar, wind and related technologies to spur their use and reduce global warming.

The proposal, made at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva last Friday, calls for all 151 members of that global trade body to eliminate tariffs on goods directly linked to curbing climate change as part of the continuing Doha Round of trade negotiations.

By ending tariff and non-tariff barriers to those products, 'we can lower their costs and increase global access to and use of these important products', US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said in a statement.

After spurning the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on curbing greenhouse gases, the Bush administration is on the defensive as some European industry groups urge tariffs on goods from countries that have not implemented the agreement.

US President George W Bush opposes a mandatory cap on greenhouse gases such as those called for under Kyoto.

The joint proposal calls for the immediate elimination of barriers to trade for 43 products ranging from thermostats to universal joints for wind turbines to parts for boilers.

The proposal also calls for liberalisation in investment rules for environmental services and a longer-term, broader round of tariff cuts for other environmental technologies.

Total trade in those goods topped US$600 billion in 2006, and global exports of these goods have grown annually by an average of 15 per cent since 2000, the US said.

Eliminating those tariffs and other restrictions may spur exports from the US, Japan, China and Germany, which are among the largest exporters of those goods, by more than 13 per cent, the World Bank said in a report last month. -- Bloomberg

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Boomers Seek 'Green' Death

Heather Whipps, LiveScience.com, Yahoo News 30 Nov 07;

It seems going green is all the rage these days, including after you die.

Green burial—which eschews the use of embalming chemicals and caskets that refuse to biodegrade—is on the rise across North America, say trend trackers.

Environment-minded baby boomers are driving the movement, said Mark Harris, author of "Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial" (Scribner, 2007).

"I think green burial speaks to the old-fashioned values of thrift, simplicity and love for family," said Harris, "things that resonate with the vast majority of Americans."

Returning to old ways

When the first green cemetery in the United States opened in South Carolina in 1998, it was an anomaly. Ramsey Creek Preserve invited people to bury their loved ones—or plan a burial in advance for themselves—in a forest setting, with simple grave markers of natural stone or greenery.

"The body is wrapped in either a cloth shroud or put in a highly degradable coffin like one made of cardboard or pine," Harris told LiveScience, "and returned to the Earth to renew the cycle of life."

Nine states now offer burial services that can be considered environmentally sensitive, according to the Green Burial Council, a non-profit organization founded to promote the practice. The council expects to add 25 more approved locations by the end of 2007.

"Green burial is in many ways a return to the ways we used to practice burial in the first few hundred years of this country," said Harris.

Misinformation

Most importantly for the baby boomer generation choosing the green option, Harris said, is how little it impacts the Earth compared to today's conventional burials.

"Green burials appeal to environmentalists because they use less resources, produce less pollution and preserve lands," said Harris. More people would choose to go the natural route if they really knew what goes into a modern burial, he thinks.

Common practice among "normal" cemeteries is to embalm a corpse, place it in a durable metal casket and then lower the casket into a metal-lined concrete vault embedded in the earth to prevent soil collapse.

"That bucolic resting place we call a cemetery really functions more like a landfill," said Harris, who has calculated that "enough metal is diverted to coffins and vault linings every year to rebuild the Golden Gate Bridge."

Because mortuary services have remained the same for so long, most Americans assume they do not have any other option. That's just not the case, said Harris.

"When someone dies, you really can do everything on your own," Harris said. Embalming isn't required and offers no public health benefit, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Last act gives back

Instead of preserving the body through embalming—which Harris compares to a kind of abuse of a corpse—green burials accept the reality of what actually happens after death, he said.

"Green burial lets the individual's last act be to return some of the resources they used during their life back to the Earth," said Harris, "so why not embrace the idea that the natural end of all life is decomposition?"

If nothing else, penny-pinching baby boomers might be willing to embrace the economic good sense of natural burial, which is thought to cost one half to one-third the price of a regular burial.

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Check your carbon footprint -- on your cell phone

Reuters 30 Nov 07;

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Do you have a big carbon footprint? Get out your cell phone and check.

European scientists have devised an online application to measure how much greenhouse gas people emit from the way they travel, light their homes, choose dinner or watch television.

"The idea is to help people be aware of the impact that their personal behavior can have," said Antonia Mochan, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, whose scientists came up with the new application.

"Climate change seems such a big story, people think 'Where can I start?' This can help," she said.

The application, which requires users to input information on their behavior, is available via Web site http://mobgas.jrc.ec.europa.eu/mobgas/app/MainPage.po? and is free of charge.

(Writing by William Schomberg)

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Climate change: "Carbon footprint" enters everyday vocabulary
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Ocean Fertilization 'Fix' For Global Warming Discredited By New Research

Science Daily 30 Nov 07;

If, during natural plankton blooms, less carbon actually sinks to deep water than during the rest of the year, then it suggests that the Biological Pump leaks.

ScienceDaily (Nov. 30, 2007) — Scientists have revealed an important discovery that raises doubts concerning the viability of plans to fertilize the ocean to solve global warming, a projected $100 billion venture.

Research performed at Stanford and Oregon State Universities suggests that ocean fertilization may not be an effective method of reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a major contributor to global warming.

Ocean fertilization, the process of adding iron or other nutrients to the ocean to cause large algal blooms, has been proposed as a possible solution to global warming because the growing algae absorb carbon dioxide as they grow.

However, this process, which is analogous to adding fertilizer to a lawn to help the grass grow, only reduces carbon dioxide in the atmosphere if the carbon incorporated into the algae sinks to deeper waters.

This process, which scientists call the "Biological Pump", has been thought to be dependent on the abundance of algae in the top layers of the ocean. The more algae in a bloom, the more carbon is transported, or "pumped", from the atmosphere to the deep ocean.

To test this theory, researchers compared the abundance of algae in the surface waters of the world's oceans with the amount of carbon actually sinking to deep water. They found clear seasonal patterns in both algal abundance and carbon sinking rates. However, the relationship between the two was surprising: less carbon was transported to deep water during a summertime bloom than during the rest of the year. This analysis has never been done before and required designing specialized mathematical algorithms.

"By jumping a mathematical hurdle we found a new globally synchronous signal," said Dr. Lutz.

"This discovery is very surprising", said lead author Dr. Michael Lutz, now at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. "If, during natural plankton blooms, less carbon actually sinks to deep water than during the rest of the year, then it suggests that the Biological Pump leaks.

More material is recycled in shallow water and less sinks to depth, which makes sense if you consider how this ecosystem has evolved in a way to minimize loss", said Lutz. "Ocean fertilization schemes, which resemble an artificial summer, may not remove as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as has been suggested because they ignore the natural processes revealed by this research."

This study closely follows a September Ocean Iron Fertilization symposium at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) attended by leading scientists, international lawyers, policy makers, and concerned representatives from government, business, academia and environmental organizations.

Topics discussed included potential environmental dangers, economic implications, and the uncertain effectiveness of ocean fertilization. To date none of the major ocean fertilization experiments have verified that a significant amount of deep ocean carbon sequestration occurs. Some scientists have suggested that verification may require more massive and more permanent experiments. Together with commercial operators they plan to go ahead with large-scale and more permanent ocean fertilization experiments and note that potential negative environmental consequences must be balanced against the harm expected due to ignoring climate change.

During the Ocean Iron Fertilization meeting Dr. Hauke Kite-Powell, of the Marine Policy Center at WHOI, estimated the possible future value of ocean fertilization at $100 billion of the emerging international carbon trading market, which has the goal of mitigating global warming. However, according to Professor Rosemary Rayfuse, an expert in International Law and the Law of the Sea at the University of New South Wales, Australia, who also attended the Woods Hole meeting, ocean fertilization projects are not currently approved under any carbon credit regulatory scheme and the sale of offsets or credits from ocean fertilization on the unregulated voluntary markets is basically nothing short of fraudulent.

'There are too many scientific uncertainties relating both to the efficacy of ocean fertilization and its possible environmental side effects that need to be resolved before even larger experiments should be considered, let alone the process commercialized,' Rayfuse says. 'All States have an obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment and to ensure that all activities carried out under their jurisdiction and control, including marine scientific research and commercial ocean fertilization activities do not cause pollution.

Ocean fertilization is 'dumping' which is essentially prohibited under the law of the sea. There is no point trying to ameliorate the effects of climate change by destroying the oceans -- the very cradle of life on earth. Simply doing more and bigger of that which has already been demonstrated to be ineffective and potentially more harmful than good is counter-intuitive at best.'

Indeed, the global study of Dr. Lutz and colleagues suggests that greatly enhanced carbon sequestration should not be expected no matter the location or duration of proposed large-scale ocean fertilization experiments.

According to Dr Lutz "The limited duration of previous ocean fertilization experiments may not be why carbon sequestration wasn't found during those artificial blooms. This apparent puzzle could actually reflect how marine ecosystems naturally handle blooms and agrees with our findings. A bloom is like ringing the marine ecosystem dinner bell. The microbial and food web dinner guests appear and consume most of the fresh algal food."

"Our study highlights the need to understand natural ecosystem processes, especially in a world where change is occurring so rapidly," concluded Dr. Lutz.

The findings of Dr. Lutz and colleagues coincide with and affirm this month's decision of the London Convention (the International Maritime Organization body that oversees the dumping of wastes and other matter at sea) to regulate controversial commercial ocean fertilization schemes. This gathering of international maritime parties advised that such schemes are currently not scientifically justified.

Strategies to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide, including the enhancement of biological sinks through processes such as ocean fertilization, will be considered by international governmental representatives during the thirteenth United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Bali next month.

This research was recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Adapted from materials provided by University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science.

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Animal health seen crucial in bird flu battle

Maggie Fox, Yahoo News 29 Nov 07;

"Livestock and farm animals are a kind of time bomb in our midst. We must rear our animals in a healthy way."

Most governments are working quickly to attack avian flu when it pops up among birds but the virus is now entrenched in at least three countries, the United Nations and World Bank reported on Thursday.

And domestic animals can act as a "time bomb," providing a place for the virus to hide and change, potentially into a pandemic strain, the U.N.'s top bird flu official said.

The H5N1 avian influenza virus has now been reported in 60 countries since 2003, according to the report. It has killed 206 out of 335 people infected and could mutate into a form at any time that would easily spread from person to person, killing tens of millions.

But the report says most countries had taken the threat seriously and were building up the infrastructure needed to fight outbreaks.

"The efforts of thousands of good men and women are starting to pay off," U.N. bird flu coordinator Dr. David Nabarro told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Nabarro said much more needs to be done.

"Highly pathogenic avian influenza is currently entrenched in Indonesia, Egypt and Nigeria, and possibly in some locations in China and Bangladesh," the report reads.

"Once the virus is entrenched, control and elimination become a major challenge, and the risk of human infection with H5N1 increases."

One big problem is veterinary services in poor countries, some of which lack the facilities to even test for bird flu.

"Controlling disease in animals lies at the root of preventing human infections and reducing the probability of a pandemic," the report reads.

"Livestock and farm animals are a kind of time bomb in our midst," Nabarro said. "We must rear our animals in a healthy way."

"SUB-STANDARD" ANIMAL HEALTH SERVICES

In countries where bird flu has spread to people, poultry are often raised in backyard flocks and people come into close physical contact with infected birds.

The report is based on surveys of 146 countries, 95 percent of which said they had a bird flu plan.

"The results presented in the report indicate that substantial progress has been made in the initial 'emergency' phase of the global response to highly pathogenic avian influenza and threats to public health," the report reads.

"Outbreaks are being detected more rapidly and the response is more effective. However, animal health services are still sub-standard in most countries -- they lack necessary regulatory frameworks, budgets, laboratory capacity and implementation of bio-security measures," it adds.

And countries, especially in Africa, lack the capacity to diagnose bird flu in people.

Those countries that have taken immediate action now need to move to longer-term strategies "with an increased focus on bio-security in both family and commercial poultry production systems," the report recommends.

And countries must share virus samples, it said. The United Nations and Indonesia have been arguing over how to share viruses taken from birds and people with researchers trying to formulate vaccines against the disease.

(Editing by Will Dunham and Xavier Briand)

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'Unethical' luxury brands criticised by WWF

Graham Tibbetts, Telegraph 29 Nov 07

"The world of celebrity leads by example and generates an aspirational desire for branded products. These stars have the responsibility to make sure that the brands they are endorsing are not damaging the planet."

Celebrities such as Sienna Miller are being urged to sever their ties with luxury brands whose allegedly poor environmental practices are highlighted in a damning report today.

Some of the most exclusive companies in the world of fashion and jewellery are heavily criticised in a study for WWF which ranks them based on the sustainability and ethics of their business.

Bottom of the list was the Italian leather company Tod's, endorsed by Miss Miller, which scored 35 out of 100 and was awarded a grade F. L'Oreal, associated with Claudia Schiffer and Penelope Cruz, came top with 70 and earned a grade C+, just ahead of Hermes.

The report, Deeper Luxury, says "the power of these celebrities to build brand value is enormous".

It adds: "Tod's first celebrity ambassador, actress Sienna Miller, campaigns against climate change through her association with Global Cool. She also endorses Tod's, which came bottom of our index of environmental, social and governance perfomance."

The study looks at the top ten holding companies for luxury brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, IWC, Garnier and Louis Vuitton. The ranking system is derived from their own sustainability reporting, as well as the way they have been judged in the media and by non-governmental organisations.

Researchers found that in some cases the luxury goods industry, worth £77 billion worldwide, is depleting natural resources, exploiting labour and hiding its supply chain from outside scrutiny.

Conflict diamonds - mined and sold in warzones to fund military campaigns - are being used in some luxury items, while gold mining is displacing communities, contaminating drinking water and destroying pristine environments.

In July the luxury cosmetics firm Garnier, a subsidiary of L'Oréal, was found guilty of racial discrimination after it sought to exclude non-white women from promoting its shampoo in French stores.

The report noted that LVMH, owners of Louis Vuitton and TAG Heuer, was de-listed from the FTSE4Good index earlier this year as a result of poor compliance with supply chain requirements.

The US firms Coach and Tiffany scored badly on environmental factors, due to a lack of reported environmental monitoring or performance. An unwillingness to respond to questionnaires resulted in Tod's coming last, just behind Bulgari and Richemont - owner of Cartier and IWC.

Anthony Kleanthous, WWF's senior policy adviser, said: "This report is a call to action for the world's top brands to improve the way they do business. Luxury companies must do more to justify their value in an increasingly resource-constrained and unequal world.

He said that many celebrities now shunned conflict diamonds as a result of the film Blood Diamonds and called for them to take the same attitude with other luxury goods. The wildlife charity is urging famous names to adopt their "star charter" - a commitment to consider the environmental and social performance of the brands that they endorse.

"The world of celebrity leads by example and generates an aspirational desire for branded products. These stars have the responsibility to make sure that the brands they are endorsing are not damaging the planet. Let's face it, who wants to pay extra for a dirty brand?" said Mr Kleanthous.

A spokesman for Tod's said: "Tod's is committed to the process of developing long term strategies to address the very serious issues of global warming, ethical production and the potential environmental crisis.

"Tod's products are made in Italy, skins sourced from Europe and the USA only and from the late 1980's Tod's has been using natural vegetal treatments on skins over the chemical equivalent, where possible, and is actively endeavouring to increase all aspects of sustainable brand development.

"We understand that the contents of this report are based on lack of information in the public domain or EIRIS as opposed to fact."

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