Climate change 'cultural genocide' for Aborigines

Yahoo News 4 May 09;

SYDNEY (AFP) – Climate change would force Australia's Aborigines off their traditional lands, resulting in "cultural genocide" and environmental degradation, a human rights watchdog warned Monday.

Australia's original inhabitants, whose cultures stretch back many thousands of years, Aborigines would be deeply affected by the impact of global warming, the government-funded Human Rights Commission said.

Rising sea levels and soaring temperatures would make their homelands uninhabitable, severing spiritual links and laying waste to the environment, according to the commission's annual Native Title Report.

"Problems that indigenous Australians will encounter include people being forced to leave their lands, particularly in coastal areas," the report said.

"Dispossession and a loss of access to traditional lands, waters, and natural resources may be described as cultural genocide; a loss of ancestral, spiritual, totemic and language connections to lands and associated areas."

Being robbed of their traditional caretaking role for land and water resources would also result in "environmental degradation and adverse impacts on biodiversity and overall health and well-being," the commission said.

Blood-borne tropical illnesses such as malaria and dengue fever would increase, while food security for subsistence farmers and hunters and gatherers among indigenous populations would be threatened.

At the time of white settlement in 1788 Aborigines were believed to number more than one million, but now account for just 2.5 percent of the population, with an estimated 517,000 people.

A quarter of these lived in remote outback and coastal areas, with up to 80 percent of adults in these communities relying on the natural environment for their livelihoods, the report said.

They owned, controlled, used, managed or had access to about 20 percent of the Australian continent, and fishing and hunting for food were common activities. Natural resources were also used for commercial activity such as arts and crafts, and tourism.

Aborigines have much higher rates of infant mortality, health problems and suicide than other Australians, with many living in squalid camps where unemployment, alcoholism and lawlessness are rife.

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Ethanol test for Obama on climate change, science

H. Josef Hebert, Associated Press Yahoo News 3 May 09;

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's commitment to take on climate change and put science over politics is about to be tested as his administration faces a politically sensitive question about the widespread use of ethanol: Does it help or hurt the fight against global warming?

The Environmental Protection Agency is close to proposing ethanol standards. But two years ago, when Congress ordered a huge increase in ethanol use, lawmakers also told the agency to show that ethanol would produce less pollution linked to global warming than would gasoline.

So how will the EPA define greenhouse gas emissions from ethanol production and use? Given the political clout of farm interests, will the science conflict with the politics?

Environmentalists, citing various studies and scientific papers, say the agency must factor in more than just the direct, heat-trapping pollution from ethanol and its production. They also point to "indirect" impacts on global warming from worldwide changes in land use, including climate-threatening deforestation, as land is cleared to plant corn or other ethanol crops.

Ethanol manufacturers and agriculture interests contend the fallout from potential land use changes in the future, especially those outside the United States, have not been adequately proven or even quantified, and should not count when the EPA calculates ethanol's climate impact.

"It defies common sense that EPA would publish a proposed rule-making with harmful conclusions for biofuels based on incomplete science and inaccurate assumptions," complained Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

He was one of 12 farm-state senators, both Democrats and Republicans, who wrote EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in March, urging the agency to stick to assessing only the direct emissions.

Ethanol, which in the future may come from cellulosic sources such as switchgrass and wood chips, is promoted by its advocates as a "green" substitute for gasoline that will help the U.S. reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, especially foreign oil. That transition is a priority of the Obama White House.

In 2007, Congress ordered huge increases in ethanol use, requiring refiners to blend 20 billion gallons with gasoline by 2015 and a further expansion to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022.

Congress said any fuel produced in plants built after 2007 must emit 20 percent less in greenhouse gases than gasoline if it comes from corn, and 60 percent less if from cellulosic crops.

Meeting the direct emissions would not be a problem. But if indirect emissions from expected land use changes are included, ethanol probably would fail the test.

Nathaniel Greene, director of renewable energy policy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, said that wouldn't mean the end of ethanol.

Ethanol from existing production facilities is grandfathered and "there are ways to produce advanced ethanol's that would comply with the greenhouse thresholds," even using land use climate impacts if the industry chose to adopt them, Greene said.

But farm interests and their allies in Congress are pushing to get the EPA to at least postpone any consideration of the land-use impacts issue, arguing the science surrounding the issue is uncertain.

The senators' letter said that an overreaching regulation by EPA on ethanol's link to climate change "could seriously harm our U.S. biofuels growth strategy by introducing uncertainty and discouraging future investments."

Environmentalists say there have been enough studies on the indirect impact of ethanol on greenhouse pollution to justify the science.

Ignoring the indirect impacts "will undermine the environmental benefits" of the renewable fuels program "and set a poor precedent for any future policies attempting to reduce global warming pollution," 17 environmental group wrote Jackson in response to the senator's plea.

Greene said the EPA's handling of the ethanol rule will be a "a test of our ability to follow sound science" even when it conflicts with the interests of powerful interests.

The environmental organizations noted that Obama has "vowed to make the U.S. a leader on climate change" and put science over politics, and "now is the time to uphold those pledges."

EPA spokeswoman Andora Andy declined to say when an agency proposal — a holdover issue from the Bush administration — would be issued. Interest groups on both sides of the debate said it could come in days. The White House Office of Management and Budget concluded its review of the EPA proposal last week.

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China triples wind power capacity goal: report

Yahoo News 4 May 09;

BEIJING (AFP) – China has more than tripled its target for wind power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2020, likely making it the world's fastest growing market for wind energy technology, state press said.

China is aiming for an annual wind power growth rate of 20 percent for the foreseeable future, Feng Junshi, an official with the National Energy Administration, told a Beijing conference, according to the China Daily.

The new target for 2020 is up from a goal of 30 gigawatts announced by the government 18 months ago, the report said.

China currently has 12 gigawatts of installed wind power, but that is set to grow to 20 gigawatts by next year, the newspaper said.

"China is powering ahead with no visible signs of slow down," the report quoted Steve Sawyer of the Brussels-based Global Wind Energy Council as saying.

"They intend to become the largest market in the world, very clearly, and they probably will unless things take off in the US again in the relatively near term."

China is currently the fourth largest producer of wind power after the United States, Germany and Spain.

In addition to vast wind power facilities in its arid north and northwest regions, China is also actively building wind farms off its eastern and southern coasts.

The country is the world's second largest energy producer, but is struggling to wean itself off its dependency on coal, which is highly polluting and blamed for emitting the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

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Australia delays emissions trading

Amy Coopes Yahoo News 4 May 09;

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia on Monday increased concessions for big polluters and delayed the start date of its emissions trading scheme because of the global financial crisis, in a stark shift on climate policy.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the deepening global recession meant local emissions trading could not begin until July 2011, one year later than previously planned.

In a concession to green groups, Rudd said Australia would cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent of 2000 levels by 2020 -- up from 15 percent previously.

But he said the revised target would only apply if world leaders also signed up to an "ambitious" reduction goal in Copenhagen in December. Without an agreement, Australia's target will remain unchanged at five percent.

"The worst global recession since the Great Depression means we must adapt our climate change measures but not abandon them," Rudd told reporters.

"The start date of the carbon pollution reduction scheme will be delayed one year to commence from July 1, 2011."

It was a marked change in position by Rudd, who has for months insisted his government would proceed with emissions trading in 2010, despite the global market turmoil.

With Australia already suffering its worst drought in a century, the prime minister said late last year that failure to act on climate change could be disastrous, labelling any delay "reckless and irresponsible".

But in a change of tack, Rudd pushed back the trading scheme start date and said a one-year fixed-price period for carbon pollution permits would apply until July 2012 to assist businesses hit hard by the credit crunch.

Rudd said that during the fixed-price phase, an unlimited number of permits would be issued to eligible companies at a price of 10 dollars (seven US) per tonne.

He also said a "global recession buffer" would be provided for emissions-intensive trade-exposed industries, extending their pollution allowances for a "finite period".

Rudd won office on a strongly pro-green platform in late 2007 and the delay means the politically-contentious emissions trading scheme, which critics say will cost jobs, will not begin until after the next election in late 2010.

The prime minister rejected claims the changes softened his centre-left government's stance on climate change, saying the slower start would mean a "stronger, greener conclusion".

"I believe (this) is the most sensible, rational, balanced response to a fundamental change in economic circumstances," Rudd said.

If agreement was reached in Copenhagen to stabilise carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere by at least 450 parts per million by 2050, Rudd said Australia would reduce its emissions by 25 percent by 2020.

Such an agreement would mean it was possible to save the Great Barrier Reef, Rudd said, adding that Canberra would agree to realise five percent of its commitment by purchasing international carbon credits.

Rudd, who ratified the Kyoto Protocol as his first act of government, is now faced with the task of pushing his climate laws through a hostile parliament.

Opposition party leader Malcolm Turnbull said he would not support the amended scheme, which he described as a "massive backdown" and "panic response" to criticism.

The minority Greens party accused Rudd of "browning down" his stance by giving major polluters 2.2 billion dollars in free permits, and described the revised 25 percent target as an "almost irrelevant green distraction".

Greenpeace said the concessions to industry "reek of industry lobbying" and the new scheme fell dismally short of what was required to effect real change.

But other conservation groups welcomed the pledge to more sweeping targets, while business groups commended Rudd for delaying the scheme and recognising the challenges of the economic crisis.

Australia delays emissions scheme
BBC News 4 May 09;

The Australian government says it will push back a planned carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) by a year.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the delay was necessary because of the poor economic climate.

But he also suggested that Australia could pursue tougher emissions reductions targets if an international deal was reached.

The ETS, which has been criticised by both industrial and environment groups, was due to launch in July 2010.

Business say the scheme will delay economic recovery and lead to job losses. The environmental lobby, meanwhile, says that the targets are not tough enough.

Australia has the highest per capita emissions in the developed world and coal is its biggest export.

'Appropriate response'

In a speech in Canberra, Mr Rudd said that the carbon trading scheme - requiring industrial polluters to buy licences to emit carbon - would be pushed back until July 2011.

"The worst global recession since the great depression means we must adapt our climate change measures but not abandon them," he said.

A one-year fixed price period would be introduced for the first year, he said, with carbon permits costing A$10 ($7, £5) per tonne, followed by a floating price until July 2013.

"This, we believe represents an appropriate response to current uncertainty," he said.

But - in a move aimed at the environment lobby - Mr Rudd said that the range of the emissions reduction target could be increased up to 25% of 2000 levels if other nations agreed similar targets.

The previous target was to reduce emissions by between 5 and 15% of 2000 levels by 2020.

Mr Rudd needs the support of Greens senators to pass the carbon trading legislation.

He admitted that he had been under pressure from industry and the resources sector to delay the scheme, reports the BBC's Nick Bryant, in Sydney.

He also conceded that there had been international pressure on Australia to make deeper cuts in emissions.

The policy changes reflect the difficulties of reconciling the needs of the domestic economy against global expectations, our correspondent says.

Australia's Tougher CO2 Target Good For Climate Talks
David Fogarty, PlanetArk 5 May 09;

SINGAPORE - Australia has given UN climate talks a boost by saying it could toughen emissions targets by 2020, something developing countries want from richer nations as the world tries to seal a broader climate pact.

But the government also bowed to industry demands as it announced on Monday a delay to the start of emissions trading by a year until July 2011, raising doubts that fighting climate change was still top of the political agenda amid a recession.

Australia has tried to project itself as a leader in UN climate negotiations and emissions trading since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd won office in late 2007 and ratified the Kyoto Protocol as his first official act.

But the world's top coal exporter, and a big producer of steel, aluminium and liquefied natural gas, is now more of a laggard as it struggles to cut the nation's carbon pollution, among the world's highest per capita.

"Australia has delivered a mixed message to the rest of the world. A delayed start to the emission trading scheme suggests a reduced importance of tackling climate change," climate policy and development expert Matthew Clarke told Reuters.

"However, the increased reduction target highlights a strong commitment to reducing Australian carbon emissions," added Clarke, of the School of International and Political Studies at Deakin University in Melbourne.

The government said it would back a 25 percent cut in emissions from 2000 levels by 2020 if other rich nations agreed something similar as part of deal at the end of the year to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

The previous range of 5 to 15 percent is well below the UN Climate Panel's finding that developed nations need to cut their emissions between 25 to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Delegates from nearly 200 nations meet at the end of the year in the Danish capital to try to agree on the broad outlines of a pact to replace Kyoto from 2013.

EYES ON THE TARGET

China, India and other big developing nations have demanded cuts of 25-40 percent as well as substantial funding for climate change adaptation and transfer of affordable clean-energy technology to earn their support for a post-Kyoto deal.

The administration of US President Barack Obama is also trying to get emissions trading legislation through Congress and will be eyeing closely what Australia is doing.

"The fact the government's signalled 25 percent, which is still very difficult to achieve, that will seen as positive by the United States," said Greg Bourne, CEO of environmental campaigners WWF-Australia.

"They won't care about the emissions trading scheme slowdown," he told Reuters. "They'll see that as just a pragmatic thing to do during a global financial crisis and they may have to do something similar."

Obama has pledged to cut US emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020, or about 15 percent down from 2000 levels.

Academic Ian Lowe, president of the Australian Conservation Foundation, described the 25 percent target as a significant step forward.

"It puts Australia in a leadership position along with the EU in relation to developed countries targets which will be crucial for a sound Copenhagen outcome," he said. The EU backs a 20 percent emissions cut by 2020 from 1990 levels, up to 30 percent if other rich nations agree on deep reductions.

Yet doubts remain on the strength of Australia's commitment.

"The global financial crisis may now be seen as a reason to delay action on climate change. Therefore, pressure to deliver a post-Kyoto agreement at Copenhagen at the end of this year may now be reduced," said Clarke in a response to questions emailed by Reuters.

The Australian Greens, whose support for the emissions trading laws in the Senate will be crucial in coming weeks, said the 25 percent target was not good enough. "The Rudd Government has put such stringent conditions on their 25 percent target that no-one internationally could have any faith that they will actually move," Australian Greens Deputy Leader Senator Christine Milne told Reuters.

Others said the decision to delay the carbon scheme was not a sign Australia was shying away from cutting emissions.

"Given that what we are negotiating internationally now is not scheduled to enter into force until 2013, we are not so concerned with the one-year delay in the Australian trading scheme," said Kim Carstensen, the head of WWF International's Global Climate Initiative.

"We see the new Australian announcements as a clear signal to the world -- and also to Australia's citizens and industries -- of the direction and the level of ambition we can expect, and that is the most important thing."

(Editing by Michael Urquhart)

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US supports reducing climate-warming gases

John Heilprin, Associated Press Yahoo News 4 May 09;

UNITED NATIONS – The Obama administration called hydrofluorocarbons widely used in refrigerators and air conditioners "a very significant" threat to climate change Monday, and expressed a preference for drastically reducing HFCs that are promoted under the U.N.'s ozone treaty rather than phasing them out entirely.

But a senior State Department official stopped short of endorsing a formal proposal last week by the two small island nations of Micronesia and Mauritius to alter the ozone treaty known as the Montreal Protocol by cutting HFCs by 90 percent by 2030.

The treaty promotes the use of HFCs, a class of powerful greenhouse gases, to replace ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, that have now been virtually eliminated. But while HFCs do not harm the ozone layer, they are especially potent greenhouse gases — up to 10,000 times more so than carbon dioxide.

Micronesia and Mauritius wanted to include an HFCs phase-out in the ozone treaty discussions planned for November, calling it a dire matter of survival for their island inhabitants as sea levels rise.

The deadline for making such a proposal was this week.

0fficials at the State Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Defense Department had all backed a reduction of HFCs, but the idea ran into some resistance in the White House during a year when the administration is considering all its negotiating chips for the successor to the Kyoto climate treaty that expires in 2012.

The United States ran out of time "to complete the analysis needed to understand the potential impacts of such an approach or to consider how amending the Montreal Protocol to address HFCs would affect negotiations ... with respect to the post-2012 period," Daniel Reifsnyder, a deputy assistant secretary for environment and sustainable development, wrote in a letter to U.N. Ozone Secretariat Marco Gonzalez.

"We plan to continue actively studying and analyzing this issue," he wrote.

Proponents of the idea were disappointed.

"We cannot hesitate as a third of our future global warming emissions hang in the balance. We need action — and U.S. leadership — this year," said Alexander von Bismarck, executive director of the Environmental Investigation Agency, a nonprofit watchdog group in Washington that first pitched the idea two years ago.

Only about 2 percent of the globe's climate-warming gases are currently HFCs, but those are expected to grow to up to about a third of all greenhouse gases about two to four decades from now because of their promotion for a host of household goods that once used CFCs.

Some manufacturers, however, have already begun to replace HFCs with so-called natural refrigerants such as hydrocarbons, ammonia or carbon dioxide. Companies like Delaware-based DuPont Fluorochemicals, one of only five U.S. manufacturers of HFCs, say they support a global "phase-down" of HFCs to about one-fifth of their current use.

The U.S. market for HFCs is estimated at $1 billion, about a third to one-half what it is globally.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry said Monday that "HFCs are significantly more powerful greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide, and the damage is only going to grow if we don't act in the short term."

He said in reaction to the administration's letter that President Barack Obama now "clearly recognizes the impact of HFCs, and I'm confident he'll work with Congress to find a way to address this growing challenge in the best and quickest way possible."

Last week, Kerry had joined with another leading Democrat, Senate Environment Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, in urging Obama to express strong support for using the ozone treaty to phase down HFCs by 85 percent by 2030.

In contrast to the proposed phase-down, Reifsnyder noted that a preliminary EPA analysis is based on "stepwise reductions" which would reduce HFCs by 85 by 2039. Legislation before the House already calls for U.S. reductions in HFCs.

US Says Wants To Cut Potent HFC Greenhouse Gases
Jeff Mason and Arshad Mohammed, PlanetArk 5 May 09;

WASHINGTON - The United States intends to work toward reducing emissions of potent greenhouse gases found in refrigerators and air conditioning systems but has not yet decided which international venue to use to advance the issue, US officials said on Monday.

In a letter to a UN agency, the US State Department said hydrofluorocarbons, known as HFCs, "pose a very significant further threat to the climate system because of their high global warming potentials."

The letter, by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Reifsnyder, indicated that the United States wanted to reduce the gases but had not decided whether to do so under the Montreal Protocol, which regulates hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which are blamed for depleting the ozone layer, or through separate UN talks on climate change.

"The United States has been extremely interested in how best to address the projected future growth of HFCs and how to promote the development of technically and economically feasible alternatives," the letter said.

"While uses now of HFCs are relatively small, they are projected to increase dramatically in future years as (countries) transition out of HCFCs and as the market for air conditioning and refrigeration in developing countries grows."

Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer decided in 2007 to speed up plans to phase out ozone-depleting HCFCs, but the most likely alternative to these gases are climate-warming HFCs.

"Thus, we risk solving one global environmental problem while possibly exacerbating another unless alternatives can be found," the letter said.

A senior administration official said the letter was meant to signal a US desire to move forward on the issue despite not having decided on the best venue.

"The purpose for doing this is to signal that we're really serious about reducing HFCs," the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

Nations are meeting in Copenhagen in December to hammer out a climate treaty to take over for the Kyoto Protocol, which curbs greenhouse gas emissions. A Copenhagen agreement could also cover HFCs.

Reifsnyder wrote that Washington had not yet decided whether the Montreal treaty should be amended to gradually reduce HFCs but emphasized a US interest in addressing their expected growth promoting alternatives.

"We are conscious that alternatives exist today for some uses of HFCs, but not all. For this reason, seeking to phase down the consumption and production of HFCs would be preferable to phasing out such consumption and production," he said.

(Editing by Will Dunham)

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Sun Oddly Quiet -- Hints at Next "Little Ice Age"?

Anne Minard, National Geographic News 4 May 09

A prolonged lull in solar activity has astrophysicists glued to their telescopes waiting to see what the sun will do next—and how Earth's climate might respond.

The sun is the least active it's been in decades and the dimmest in a hundred years. The lull is causing some scientists to recall the Little Ice Age, an unusual cold spell in Europe and North America, which lasted from about 1300 to 1850.

The coldest period of the Little Ice Age, between 1645 and 1715, has been linked to a deep dip in solar storms known as the Maunder Minimum.

During that time, access to Greenland was largely cut off by ice, and canals in Holland routinely froze solid. Glaciers in the Alps engulfed whole villages, and sea ice increased so much that no open water flowed around Iceland in the year 1695.

But researchers are on guard against their concerns about a new cold snap being misinterpreted.

"[Global warming] skeptics tend to leap forward," said Mike Lockwood, a solar terrestrial physicist at the University of Southampton in the U.K. (Get the facts about global warming.)

He and other researchers are therefore engaged in what they call "preemptive denial" of a solar minimum leading to global cooling.

Even if the current solar lull is the beginning of a prolonged quiet, the scientists say, the star's effects on climate will pale in contrast with the influence of human-made greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2).

"I think you have to bear in mind that the CO2 is a good 50 to 60 percent higher than normal, whereas the decline in solar output is a few hundredths of one percent down," Lockwood said. "I think that helps keep it in perspective."

(Related: "Don't Blame Sun for Global Warming, Study Says.")

Local Cooling

For hundreds of years scientists have used the number of observable sunspots to trace the sun's roughly 11-year cycles of activity.

Sunspots, which can be visible without a telescope, are dark regions that indicate intense magnetic activity on the sun's surface. Such solar storms send bursts of charged particles hurtling toward Earth that can spark auroras, disrupt satellites, and even knock out electrical grids.

In the current cycle, 2008 was supposed to have been the low point, and this year the sunspot numbers should have begun to climb.

But of the first 90 days of 2009, 78 have been sunspot free. Researchers also say the sun is the dimmest it's been in a hundred years.

The Maunder Minimum corresponded to a profound lull in sunspots—astronomers at the time recorded just 50 in a 30-year period.

If the sun again sinks into a similar depression, at least one preliminary model has suggested that cool spots could crop up in regions of Europe, the United States, and Siberia.

During the previous event, though, many parts of the world were not affected at all, said Jeffrey Hall, an astronomer and associate director at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

"Even a grand minimum like that was not having a global effect," he said.

Wild Cards and Uncertainties

Changes in the sun's activity can affect Earth in other ways, too.

For example, ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun is not bottoming out the same way it did during the past few visual minima.

"The visible light doesn't vary that much, but UV varies 20 percent, [and] x-rays can vary by a factor of ten," Hall said. "What we don't understand so well is the impact of that differing spectral irradiance."

Solar UV light, for example, affects mostly the upper layers of Earth's atmosphere, where the effects are not as noticeable to humans. But some researchers suspect those effects could trickle down into the lower layers, where weather happens.

In general, recent research has been building a case that the sun has a slightly bigger influence on Earth's climate than most theories have predicted.

Atmospheric wild cards, such as UV radiation, could be part of the explanation, said the University of Southampton's Lockwood.

In the meantime, he and other experts caution against relying on future solar lulls to help mitigate global warming.

"There are many uncertainties," said Jose Abreu, a doctoral candidate at the Swiss government's research institute Eawag.

"We don't know the sensitivity of the climate to changes in solar intensity. In my opinion, I wouldn't play with things I don't know."

Sun 'at its quietest for 100 years'
Press Association 21 Apr 09;

With fewer sunspots and solar flares, the sun is at its quietest for almost a century.

Scientists believe the conditions provide a new opportunity to study the sun's confusing cycle of activity.

Space telescopes can be used during the extended "solar minimum" to study the sun in more detail than ever before.

More than 1,000 astronomers and space scientists have gathered at the University of Hertfordshire for the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science, where they are discussing the issue.

The sun normally undergoes an 11-year cycle. At its peak the sun shoots out flares, gases and materials, and dozens of sunspots can be seen. It then goes through a period of calm. Scientists have little idea why these cycles happen, how they affect the earth and when the current low will end.

Sunspots - areas of intense magnetic fields that form on the sun's surface - are the easiest way of measuring solar activity. The number of sunspots in recent months has been the lowest since 1913. There has also been a 50-year low in solar wind pressure and a 55-year low in radio emissions.

Dr Jim Wild, who studies links between the earth and sun at Lancaster University, said: "The sun has these periods where its activity goes from being very active to being very quiet and we've known about these cycles for hundreds of year but this time the solar minimum is lasting longer than it usually does and it's a bit deeper.

"It's part of the usual trend but at the same time it's a bit different. It's probably the quietest it has been for about a hundred years.

"Nobody really understands what controls these cycles and the variation between the cycles. Because it is very quiet this is the first chance we have had to use state of the art diagnosis to study what is going on. We can study the sun as never before."

Speaking from the conference, he added: "Nobody has their head in their hands thinking we're all doomed."

Related article
Solar activity 'not behind climate change', 'No Sun link' to climate change, Richard Black, BBC News 3 Apr 08;

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Best of our wild blogs: 4 May 09

Three Responses to the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint
on AsiaIsGreen

Seagrass Watch workshop: Level 2 classroom session
on the teamseagrass blog

Piling works next to Berlayar Creek until Sep 09
on the wild shores of singapore blog

Rich Biodiversity@Punggol Wasteland (Part 1)
on the Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature blog

Anax guttatus (Hairy Emperor)
a dragonfly on the Creatures Big & Small blog

Huntsmen of Buloh
on talfryn.net

Pseudoscorpion
on the annotated budak blog and eunuch

Black Kites of North Vietnam
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Grey Heron Nest Building @ Ubin
on the Manta Blog

Greater Bird of Paradise sighted
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Another escape: Yellow-fronted Canary
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Monday Morgue: Trumpeter perch
on the Lazy Lizard's Tales blog

World Migratory Bird Day 2009
on the wild shores of singapore blog

Read more!

PUB bags global water project award

Straits Times 4 Apr 09;

THE PUB's Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) has been operational for just four months, but it has already garnered praise internationally.

The project was named Water Project of the Year at the annual Global Water Awards, which honour top achievers in the field of water management and treatment.

From Straits Times PDF

The DTSS, a $3.65 billion sewage superhighway that channels waste water to a Changi treatment plant from across the island, won for its contribution to water technology and environmental protection.

The 48-km tunnel, which runs 20 to 55 metres below ground, is expected to meet Singapore's used-water needs for the next century.

Waste water is channelled through the tunnel to the Changi Water Reclamation Plant. There, it is treated and either discharged into the sea, or channelled to the Changi Newater factory to be further purified.

Global Water Intelligence, the prestigious trade monthly which organised the awards, said the DTSS was a 'visionary project'.

The DTSS beat three other nominees for Water Project of the Year: the As Samra Waste Water Treatment Plant in Jordan, the Geneva Water Treatment Facility in Illinois, and the Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant in San Diego, the latter two in the United States.

National water agency PUB previously clinched two other titles at the Global Water Awards.

Last year, its recycled-water product Newater was named Environmental Contribution of the Year, while in 2006, it received the Water Agency of the Year award.

GRACE CHUA

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Clean diesel cars going nowhere

In the first three months of the year, the diesel car population only increased by a mere four
Joyce Hooi, Business Times 4 May 09;

CLEAN diesel cars are still non-starters in Singapore, and car companies are finding out the hard way.

Three car makers - Chevrolet, Alfa Romeo and Volkswagen - have introduced diesel variants to the local market to capitalise on the cut in a special tax on Euro IV cars that kicked in last July.

Volkswagen, which led the charge by introducing the Touareg R50, Touareg 3.0 TDI and Polo Bluemotion last July, has seen a muted response after almost nine months.

'Since the launch of sales of TDIs, our number of diesel passenger car sales is small at about 10 units,' says Olaf Duebel, managing director of Volkswagen Group Singapore.

Alfa Romeo has managed to move just one Alfa 159 1.9 JTDM turbo-diesel car since its launch last October.

And while General Motors says it is too early to comment on sales of the Chevrolet Captiva Diesel that was launched in February, a report from the Motor Traders Association for March shows not a single unit has been sold so far. The association accounts for most local car dealers except parallel importers.

The numbers are bleak. There were five diesel car models in the local market, but only 21 such vehicles in the local car population at end-March.

While the 2008 cut in the special tax on Euro IV diesel cars could have accounted for 13 of the 21 diesel cars added to the vehicle population that year, its effect pales in comparison to that of the Green Vehicle Rebate Scheme on hybrid cars.

In the first three months of the year, the diesel car population only increased by a mere four, while the number of hybrids swelled by 148.

The tax cut - a nod to Euro IV cars' improved carbon dioxide and particulate matter emission levels - made clean diesel cars cheaper options, but not cheap enough to appeal to drivers. The road tax payable on a 1,600cc petrol car is $744 annually, whereas a 1,600cc Euro IV diesel car will cost drivers an extra $2,000 in special taxes, at a rate of $1.25 per cc.

Car industry insiders have long questioned the rationale of the special tax on Euro IV diesel cars, given that a diesel car like the Polo Bluemotion is one of the lowest emitters of carbon dioxide, while the Alfa Romeo 159 1.9 turbo-diesel car is more fuel-efficient than its petrol equivalent.

'The current tax structure is more favourable towards what we term 'concept-oriented' cars - that is, hybrid and compressed natural gas (CNG) cars,' says Reinhold Carl, managing director of Audi Singapore. 'A more comprehensive approach should be 'results-oriented', based on consumption and emission levels, which will place diesel on par with hybrid and CNG vehicles.'

The ministry of finance (MOF), which makes vehicle tax policy, believes it is merely narrowing the gap between the higher cost of petrol and lower diesel prices.

'The special tax on private diesel cars was introduced in lieu of a volumetric excise duty, analogous to the tax per litre of petrol that petrol cars are subject to,' says an MOF spokesman.

The average car owner drives about 20,000km a year, but needs to clock up 25,000km to break even on a diesel car with special tax, according to David Tay, general manager of authorised Alfa Romeo dealer Euro Automobile.

Mr Tay reckons very few drivers manage to rack up 25,000km a year, placing the diesel car on the losing end of a cost-benefit analysis.

Kittichai Jarusrojpoka, managing director of General Motors ODC Singapore, says: 'We feel more people would consider buying diesel-powered cars if not for the special tax, especially since diesel is priced 18 per cent lower than petrol.'

The poor response to diesel cars has made other carmakers pause before rolling out diesel variants.

Authorised Honda dealer Kah Motor, which expressed interest in launching diesel variants of the Honda Accord and CR-V early last year, will no longer do so.

'We explored the introduction of diesel models with Honda Motor extensively in Singapore last year and concluded that due to the still rather high annual taxes, ownership of a diesel-powered passenger car still will not make sense. And that was concluded with diesel and petrol prices at their peak,' says Vincent Ng, product manager for Kah Motor.

'Now, with diesel prices and petrol at current levels, the marketability of diesel passenger cars has become even more uncertain.'

Audi, however, remains unfazed. Special tax or not, it will introduce the A5 3.0 TDI diesel car in Singapore this year.

'Our key objective with the A5 3.0 TDI was never to be a volume mover,' says Audi Singapore's Mr Carl. 'We wanted to open up the possibilities of diesel engines within our range of cars and use the opportunity to educate customers that diesel is the most viable alternative to bridge the gap between performance and eco- friendliness.'

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Best of our wild blogs: 3 May 09

Seagrass Watch workshop: Level 1 field session
on the teamseagrass blog and wild shores of singapore blog

Colourful fiddler crabs of Chek Jawa
on the wonderful creation blog

Orange-breasted Trogon takes a moth
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

The Singapore Index on Cities' Biodiversity
on the wild shores of singapore blog

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Green initiatives in Malaysian schools and campuses

Richard Lim, The Star 3 May 09

Shifting priorities and greater awareness among the nation’s future custodians have resulted in a green revolution in schools and campuses.

STRANGER things have happened but it is safe to say that few predicted the wave of “new environmentalism.”

Once misconstrued to be limited to tree huggers or those who go native ala Bruno Manser (who was an environmental activist and champion of the native Penan in Sarawak in the 1990s) eco-awareness has become inclusive following its fuse with retail.

Bling is now passé while green and sustainable are luxe. People craze over organic food and the arrival of hybrid cars in Malaysia should be well-received – given the government’s generous tax rebate.

But while ethical branding may be novel, jeans from Levi’s Eco range which incorporate recycled cotton, biodegradable coconut-shell buttons and a green (not red) tab may be out of reach for most.

One man’s coral

“Although we can’t purchase everything, we, the common people are the ones who can really save the environment,” says Universiti Malaya (UM) marine biologist and lecturer Affendi Yang Amri, 39.

“Many green products are good but overpriced. And frankly, how many can afford them? I’m quite a green person as I work closely with the environment but I’m not rich.”

A specialist in coral reef studies, Affendi teaches coral reef ecology and the science of swimming and diving to his students. An avid researcher, he is often at the local reef hotspots like Pulau Tioman and Pulau Layang-layang.

Affendi constantly elucidates the importance of conserving nature to his students. However, this isn’t easy as not all of them ticked marine biology as their first choice.

“Some students are tough customers but experience has shown me that many fall in love with nature by accident,” he opines.

“I normally show new students photos and slides of underwater life and my diving experiences. Of course, I show the good pictures first!

“I explain more about nature after they’re interested and virtually all my students are surprised that Malaysia’s waters are frequented by pygmy whales, sei whales and dolphins.”

Many of Affendi’s students join him in his research and some even undertake conservation efforts of their own. One of them is currently researching on the damage done to coral reefs – snorkelers and fishing being the main culprits.

“This profession offers a different kind of reward,” says Affendi. “Being able to see nature’s beauty up close is gratifying and the future generation must recognise this, if nature is to be preserved.

Affendi’s thoughts are shared by concerned parents and the SK Bukit Damansara’s parent teacher association (PTA) has been advocating environmental education since 1999.

Christened the Save Our Endangered Animals Programme in 2000, the effort sees environmental education conducted during school hours. As the programme is supported by the school administration, virtually every student is involved in one way or other.

“The core vision of this programme is to save endangered species and green the earth,” explains SKBD PTA president Seth Yahya.

“We adopt a different endangered animal in Malaysia annually and use drama and art competitions to emphasise it to students.

“They are Malaysia’s future custodians and they must understand that their future actions will have great bearing on the planet.”

SKBD’s theatre productions have been held at KLPAC for the past four years and last year’s play highlighted the plight of the Borneo Sun Bear. Themed Goldilocks and the Bears, the production showcased synchronised movement, signing, acting, script writing and chorus work.

The students wrote the script themselves and even appeared on television to promote the play. Rehearsals lasted up to four hours during school holidays and the students didn’t disappoint on stage.

Year Six student Johaan Abraham, 12, was part of the acting troupe, playing a “cool bear.”

“There are lots of environmental related activities and this makes things fun to learn,” enthuses Johaan. “We even go on field trips and getting close to nature allows us to experience something more.

“Championing environmental issues is hard work but we do it out of pleasure at SKBD. We get to share ideas and be part of something big.”

Solar power to the people

SMK (P) Sri Aman is another green school.

Now, having a green office or school block is one thing, but what if your entire school is geared towards the environment?

At Sri Aman, rain water is harvested and used for lavatory and botanical purposes. With assistance from the National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (Nahrim), rain water is collected from the rooftops and filtered.

Also, students collect leftover greens and other organic waste from the canteen and mash them into fertiliser. Named Kompos, this endeavour ensures that nothing goes to waste.

Despite these initiatives, the crown jewel of Sri Aman’s green projects has to be its solar panel system.

“The system generates electricity from the sun’s rays and we sell the electricity back to Tenaga Nasional Bhd,” explains vice-principal Yeap Kooi Ngoh.

“The electricity generated is enough to power two or three air-conditioning units. This isn’t much but we’re setting an example by using alternative energy. And it’ll reduce costs in the long run.

“Embarking on a green route was the collective decision of the school administration and we want to equip our students with a strong sense of morality and responsibility.”

Funded by the United Nations Development Programme - Global Environment Facility and the Government, the system was open to all eligible schools and Sri Aman won the privilege to host it based on its track record with environmental companies.

Like the other projects, students do their part in monitoring the system and tabs are kept on how much electricity is generated each month.

Secret garden

A lush and peaceful environment is said to have a positive relationship with learning outcomes and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has been taking this seriously.

Its University in a Garden concept was coined in 2001 and the numbers of trees on campus has skyrocketed.

The Durian Valley eco-hub – named for obvious reasons – in the main campus has been converted into a small forest and with help from the forestry department, indigenous Penangite tress like the penaga laut are being planted.

“The Durian Valley is memorable as students used to steal durians and rambutans until they were chased away,” recalls Prof Lee Lik Meng of USM’s School of Housing, Building and Planning.

“Every tree is precious now but that wasn’t always the case. Angsana trees used to make way for car parks but we’re more conscious of what we’re doing now.”

There is radio frequency identification for more than 1,000 trees of USM’s campus now detailing the age of the trees, species, and other relevant information. Plans are afoot to construct an eco trail where visitors can get close and learn more about national trees.

USM is also embracing the concept of a green office. Minutes of meetings are no longer printed but instead, circulated via email.

Water is not dispensed through plastic bottles and waste is frequently recycled by contactors.

Bicycles are becoming a common sight as well.

“Cycling reduces the level of carbon emissions,” adds Prof Lee. “It would be good if the campus could mirror the city of Barcelona, Spain, where many cycle.”

Also, USM students are active in environmental efforts.

The White Coffin campaign against the use of polystyrene containers took the campus by storm last year and received international recognition from Hong Kong and Japan.

Meanwhile, student research topics focus on fuel energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable lifestyles and other green topics.

However, Prof Lee isn’t satisfied just yet.

“More needs to be done,” he muses. “The four Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle must be practised by every student.

“If that is practised, everyone can save the environment be it in the field, or from the comfort of their desks.”
The new eco-warriors

COOKING oil has many uses but Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Mechanical Engineering student Vigrem Raha, 24, found one of the more innovative ones – powering a motorcycle.

A member of the team that designed Malaysia’s first bio-diesel motorcycle, Vigrem fell in love with the environment by chance.

“I wasn’t environmentally-aware of many things before this,” he says. “However, my stint as a research assistant at USM’s engineering lab changed that.

“I helped my lecturers do interesting projects and they made me realise why environmental conservation is important.”

Unwilling to limit himself to bikes, Vigrem is also interested in renewable energy. In fact, he helped construct a wind turbine at USM’s engineering school.

“I love science and I believe that technical achievements can have more significant results than individual efforts.

“The Kyoto protocol plans to reduce emission levels and unless we see a drastic fall in the number of vehicles on the road, the only way we can achieve this target is by producing more efficient engines.”

While the love of science may fuel Vigrem’s fire, others have a more personal take on the environment.

Having grown up by the Port Dickson seaside, Universiti Malaya’s Marine Biology Masters student Lau Chai Ming, 24, misses his hometown’s heyday as a holiday hotspot. Today, he fights for paradise lost.

“My mother used to tell me how blue and clean Port Dickson’s waters used to be,” he laments. “It got worse as I was growing up and the town has little to boast about now.

“You could say that my environmental awareness is a reaction to this.”

An avid swimmer and snorkeler, Lau decided to get more hands-on – or flipper-on for that matter – and signed up for the Marine Conservation Project (MCP) that does beach clean-ups, underwater surveys, and erects barriers to stop boats from coming into close proximity of coral reefs.

He has since become involved with Reef Check, a marine underwater survey organisation that collects data on coral reefs.

“We also look at fish, invertebrates and subtrates (corals and sand),” explains Lau.

“We may be doing a lot of environmental work but it allows us to get close to nature’s beauty and for me, it’s worth it.

“My involvement with MCP also allows me to share my experiences with school children and that is fulfilling.”

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Fires detected along Sarawak-Brunei border

Stephen Then, The Star 2 May 09;

KUALA BARAM:Wildfires are ravaging huge plots of land near the Sarawak-Brunei boundary in the Kuala Baram district, some 40km north of Miri.

Thick, choking smog from these fires has made breathing quite a misery for the 30,000 residents living in numerous housing estates leading from the city to the border, especially at night and in the early morning hours.

A check by The Star found some big fires adjacent to the 1.2km-long transboundary bridge linking Sarawak and Brunei.

Vast stretches of land next to the Sarawak-Brunei highway have also been burned. Smoke could be seen billowing from deep forested land in the district a few kilometres away.

Many residents have complained that they have been breathing in smoke and ashes during the night and in early morning hours.

At the Miri Divisional Fire and Rescue Department, firemen were busy dealing with calls from concerned residents.

''Banyak panggilan. Sini, sana pun ada (Many calls, here and there also got),'' quipped the station master on Saturday.

It is learnt that about three dozen fires have been reported so far as at 2pm yesterday.

A department spokesman said the causes of the fires were still being investigated, but that these were most likely caused by open-burning activities.

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam said that he would convene an urgent meeting soon with the relevant authorities to deal with the issue.

It was only four days ago that the ASEAN sub-committee on transboundary haze met in Bandar seri Begawan in Brunei and warned about the possibility of haze from now until September due to the anticipated onslaught of the dry spell.

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