Geo-engineering wins scant enthusiasm at U.N. climate talks

Alister Doyle PlanetArk 3 Dec 12;

Cheap, short-cut ideas to cool the planet such as shading sunlight are failing to win support from U.N. delegates looking to improve on the slow progress made by existing technologies.

Many scientists say the proposed solutions, known as geo-engineering, are little understood and might have side effects more damaging than global warming, which is projected to cause more floods, heatwaves, droughts and rising sea levels.

"Let's first use what we know," said Christiana Figueres, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, dismissing suggestions that it was time to try geo-engineering to halt a rise in greenhouse gas emissions.

"There are so many proven technologies we know exist that are tried and true that have not been used to their maximum potential," she told Reuters. "To begin with, the simplest is energy efficiency."

Geo-engineering options include adding sun-reflecting chemicals to the upper atmosphere to mimic the effect of big volcanic eruptions that mask the sun, or fertilizing the oceans to promote the growth of algae that soak up carbon from the air.

Among other ideas, a giant mirror could be placed in space to block some sunlight or sea spray could be injected into the air to create clouds whose white tops would reflect sunlight.

"Let's face it, geo-engineering has a lot of unknowns," Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the U.N.'s panel of climate scientists, told Reuters on the sidelines of U.N.-led climate change talks among 200 nations in Doha from November 26-Dec 7.

"How can you go into an area where you don't know anything?" he said. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is examining geo-engineering in depth for the first time as part of a major report due in 2013 and 2014.

Still, one study by U.S. scientists in August indicated that planes or airships could carry a million tonnes a year of sun-dimming sulfate materials high into the atmosphere for an affordable price tag of below $5 billion.

CHEAPER

That would be far cheaper than policies to cut world greenhouse gas emissions, estimated to cost between $200 billion and $2 trillion a year by 2030, they wrote in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

"If you are looking at solutions you could look at solar energy," said Mira Mehrishi, head of India's delegation in Doha. "It's a little premature to start looking at geo-engineering."

"There's a lot of skepticism" about geo-engineering, said Artur Runge-Metzger of the European Commission. "Research is necessary to see if it could be viable in one way or other."

U.N. negotiations on slowing global warming have been running since a U.N. Climate Convention was agreed in 1992.

One problem is that adding sulfates - a form of pollution - to the air would not slow an acidification of the oceans since concentrations of greenhouse gases led by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would keep building up.

Some carbon dioxide, absorbed into the oceans, reacts to form carbonic acid. That erodes the ability of creatures from clams or mussels to lobsters and crabs to build their protective shells. In turn, that could disrupt marine food chains.

"You might temporarily delay the warming but you are certainly not going to help the oceans at all," said Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, a vice-chair of the IPCC, of using sulfates. "Ocean acidification is a real emerging issue."

A mask of pollution might help some crops by reducing heat stress but it might have other side-effects, for instance, by disrupting Monsoon patterns. That could bring disputes between countries that benefited and others that suffered.

And Van Ypersele said that, if geo-engineering went wrong and needed to be shut down after a few years, there would be a big, damaging jump in temperatures.

(Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

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Best of our wild blogs: 2 Dec 12

Surprises among seaweed bloom at Terumbu Semakau
from wonderful creation

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Best of our wild blogs: 1 Dec 12

Seagrassy with nudi at Tanah Merah
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Favourite Nectaring Plants #2
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RWS to help save dolphins in Thai lake

But some activists wonder if conservation project is a PR move
Ng Kai Ling Straits Times 1 Dec 12;

IT HAS been accused of exploiting dolphins for profit. Now, Resorts World Sentosa - which has had to manage the fallout from the recent death of one of its dolphins - is moving to save them.

The company is spending $500,000 to take on its first conservation project, to help save a group of dolphins in Thailand.

The aim of the three-year initiative is to prevent the Irrawaddy dolphins in Songkhla Lake, located in the south of the country, from being wiped out.

The project, which will begin next year, is a collaboration between RWS' Marine Life Park, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok and Thailand's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Dr Nantarika Chansue, a veterinarian and the director of the Veterinary Medical Aquatic Animal Research Centre at Chulalongkorn University, said it is not known how many dolphins are left in the lake, but the population is fast depleting.

She said about 20 were counted at the lake "many years ago". She pointed out that the dolphins live in polluted and shallow waters, and often die after getting caught in fishing nets.

"These lovely animals have the right to live with us in the same environment," said Dr Nantarika, who was in Singapore to sign a memorandum of understanding with Marine Life Park.

She noted that the newly opened park has the expertise and equipment needed for the project.

It is estimated that there are only about 6,150 Irrawaddy dolphins left in the world, and they are considered vulnerable to extinction.

They can be found in the Indo-Pacific region, in areas such as Indonesia's Mahakam River, the Ayeyarwady River in Myanmar and off the coast of Bangladesh.

Dr Alfonso Lopez, the chief veterinarian at Marine Life Park, said the first step is to determine how many dolphins there are in the lake and ascertain their health.

If fewer than 10 remain, "we will relocate them to another lake or establish a protected area in Songkhla Lake", he added.

He said the aim is to put together a long-term plan that will include constant monitoring of the dolphins and educating the local population about their plight.

On Marine Life Park's own bottlenose dolphins, Dr Lopez said they are still under quarantine and adapting well to their new enclosures. Eventually, the public will be allowed to get up close and feed them in the dolphin pools.

Just last week, one of the 25 dolphins imported from the Philippines died in transit. Animal rights groups there had gone to court to try to stop their export but were unsuccessful.

Asked if the Thai conservation project would be seen by some as an attempt to placate those who oppose keeping dolphins in captivity, Mr Biswajit Guha, the park's director of education and conservation, said it focuses on conservation, research and education.

He said: "There will always be cynics, but there will always be optimists like us."

Dr Nantarika, a self-confessed animal activist, said: "I've learnt there is no way of saving them without touching them and seeing what's inside them. This can happen only with them in captivity."

Yesterday, opponents of RWS' move to keep dolphins in captivity said the Thai project was a commendable effort.

However, they said the company's actions - saving some dolphins in the wild while keeping others in captivity - seemed contradictory.

"I don't know if this is a public relations gimmick because it is not congruent with what they have been doing," said Ms Corinne Fong, the executive director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Ms Jennifer Lee, the founder of Project: Fin, which campaigns against shark's fin consumption, said: "No amount of conservation efforts can make up for their taking dolphins from the wild."

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Dispersant Makes Oil 52 Times More Toxic

Douglas Main LiveScience.com Yahoo News 1 Dec 12;

For microscopic animals living in the Gulf, even worse than the toxic oil released during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster may be the very oil dispersants used to clean it up, a new study finds.

More than 2 million gallons (7.5 million liters) of oil dispersants called Corexit 9527A and 9500A were dumped into the Gulf of Mexico in an effort to prevent oil from reaching shore and to help it degrade more quickly.

However, when oil and Corexit are combined, the mixture becomes up to 52 times more toxic than oil alone, according to a study published online this week in the journal Environmental Pollution.

"There is a synergistic interaction between crude oil and the dispersant that makes it more toxic," said Terry Snell, a study co-author and biologist at Georgia Tech. Using dispersants breaks up the oil into small droplets and makes it less visible, but, "on the other hand, makes it more toxic to the planktonic food chain," Snell told LiveScience.

Toxic mixture

That mixture of dispersant and oil in the Gulf would've wreaked havoc on rotifers, which form the base of the marine food web, and their eggs in seafloor sediments, Snell said.

In the study, Snell and colleagues tested ratios of oil and dispersant found in the Gulf in 2010, using actual oil from the well that leaked in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the dispersant. The mixture was similarly toxic at the various ratios tested, the study found. His group exposed several varieties of rotifers to concentrations of the oil-dispersant mixture likely seen over a large area of the Gulf.

"The levels in the Gulf were toxic, and seriously toxic," Snell said. "That probably put a big dent in the planktonic food web for some extended period of time, but nobody really made the measurements to figure out the impact." [Deepwater Horizon: Images of the Impact]

The dispersant makes the oil more deadly by decreasing the size of the droplets, making it more "bio-available" to small organisms, said Ian MacDonald, a researcher at Florida State University. "The effect is specifically a toxic synergy — the sum is worse than the parts," said MacDonald, who was not involved in the research.

A cautionary tale

This is one of the first studies to look at the impact of the oil-dispersant mixture on plankton. A decline in populations of plankton could impact larger animals all the way up to whales, he said. In general, plankton can rebound quickly, although the toxicity to larvae in sediments is concerning, since it reduces the size of the next generation. This ocean-bottom oil slurry could have also impacted other species that spend part of their life cycles here like algae and crustaceans.

"This is an important study that adds badly needed data to help us better understand the effects of oil spills and oil spill remediation strategies, such as the use of dispersants," said Stephen Klaine, an environmental toxicologist at Clemson University who wasn't involved in the research. "Species' differences in the sensitivity to any toxic compounds, including the ones in this discussion, can be huge."

The results contrast with those released by the Environmental Protection Agency in August 2010. That study found that a mixture of oil and Corexit isn't more toxic than oil alone to both a species of shrimp and species of fish. However, several studies have found the mixture is more toxic than oil to the embryos of several fish species. The EPA could not immediately be reached for comment.

"To date, EPA has done nothing but congratulate itself on how Corexit was used and avow they would do it the same way again," MacDonald said.

However, Snell said the dispersant should not be used. It would be better to let the oil disperse on its own to minimize ecological damage, he said.

"This is a cautionary tale that we need to do the science before the emergency happens so we can make decisions that are fully informed," Snell said. "In this case, the Corexit is simply there to make the oil disperse and go out of sight. But out of sight doesn't mean it's safe in regard to the food web."

"It's hard to sit by and not do something," Snell said."But in this case, doing something actually made it more toxic."

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Oil refiners face profit squeeze

Linette Lim Channel NewsAsia 30 Nov 12;

SINGAPORE: Oil refining companies are expected to see a profit squeeze.

Overcapacity in the sector and slower demand from developed economies are weighing down their margins.

Analysts said this means dimmer business prospects for refineries and other downstream oil and gas players.

OCBC Research, for instance, has an underweight call on the sector.

Global oil refining margins are under pressure, with more refining capacity being created.

This after oil refining majors expanded their capacity with new investments following the oil boom in recent years.

At the same time, oil demand growth, particularly in the developed economies, has slowed.

This is due to flagging economic growth rates, saturated car ownership rates, as well as the use of fuel-efficient technology like electric vehicles.

As a result, the world's net refining capacity is forecast to grow by 8.7 million barrels per day by 2016.

However, demand is expected to grow by seven million barrels per day, said the International Energy Agency.

Ravi Krishnaswamy, vice-president of Energy & Power Systems Practice at Frost & Sullivan (Asia-Pacific), said: "We see a massive build-up in the Eastern hemisphere, so looking at China and India, they've been rapidly expanding. India was about 193 million tonnes per annum last year. They're expected to go up to about 300 million tonnes in the next six to seven years."

Almost all of the oil refining capacity growth is from developing Asia, and analysts said this trend is likely to continue.

"It is mainly funded by national oil companies as part of a greater government initiative. Although global refining margins are relatively low compared to the past, they are less sensitive to near term market price movements, so we expect the refining capacity to continue to increase in the near future," said Low Pei Han, an analyst at OCBC Investment Research.

This is expected to push refining margins on brent crude oil marginally down next year to around US$6 per barrel.

Singapore's Economic Development Board has recently said that it has no plans to attract any more green-field refinery investments, according to an analyst report by OCBC Research.

Analysts said this means Singapore-based downstream oil and gas players such as engineering, procurement and construction companies will be under greater pressure to look overseas for business opportunities.

They added that the SGX-listed companies that could be impacted include PEC, Rotary Engineering and Ezra.

- CNA/fa

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Australia's Lynas fires up Malaysian plant

AFP Yahoo News 29 Nov 12;

Australian miner Lynas Corp said Friday it had begun processing rare earths at a controversial new plant in Malaysia after being delayed for more than a year due to public opposition over health fears.

Lynas earlier this month cleared a final hurdle when a court gave the go-ahead for the company to fire up the $800 million plant in the eastern state of Pahang despite residents' and activists' fears over radioactive waste.

"This is a significant milestone for Lynas," the Sydney-listed company's chairman Nicholas Curtis said in a statement on the plant's start-up.

He said the long-delayed start of operations would now "provide real data that will assure people that the LAMP (Lynas Advanced Materials Plant) is entirely safe for our local communities and the environment."

The refinery is set to become one of few sites outside China to process rare earths -- metals used in high-tech equipment ranging from missiles to mobile phones that have become increasingly important to the world economy.

Lynas and the Malaysian government have touted the facility as an important high-tech foreign investment project that will benefit the local economy and provide jobs.

But it has been dogged by criticism from environmentalists and residents, opposition that has galvanized a nascent "green" movement in Malaysia and seen anti-Lynas protests by thousands of people.

Legal moves to block the plant have repeatedly postponed its start-up.

Following Lynas's court victory, opponents this month staged a 13-day, 300-kilometre (186-mile) march from Kuantan to the capital Kuala Lumpur to rally opposition.

Media reports said the march had swelled to several thousand by the time it reached the capital.

Lynas, however, insists the plant is safe and that any radioactive waste would be low-level and not harmful.

A photo posted Friday on Lynas Malaysia's official Facebook page showed an electronic screen at the plant's entrance displaying information on air and water quality.

China currently supplies about 95 percent of the world's rare earths. Lynas hopes the Malaysian plant, which will process material from its Mount Weld mine in Western Australia, will help break Chinese dominance of the market.

Lynas has said that by early 2013 the plant will be able to supply 22,000 tons of rare earth concentrates per year.

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UN climate boss: No support for tough climate deal

Karl Ritter Associated Press Yahoo News 1 Dec 12;

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The United Nations climate chief is urging people not to look solely to their governments to make tough decisions to slow global warming, and instead to consider their own role in solving the problem.

Approaching the half-way point of two-week climate talks in Doha, Christiana Figueres, the head of the U.N.'s climate change secretariat, said Friday that she didn't see "much public interest, support, for governments to take on more ambitious and more courageous decisions."

"Each one of us needs to assume responsibility. It's not just about domestic governments," she said.

Her comments came as negotiators from nearly 200 countries were struggling to prepare draft agreements on how to move forward on greenhouse emissions cuts and climate aid for poor countries.

Some delegates worried that gains made at last year's climate talks in Durban, South Africa, were at risk of unraveling, as rich and poor nations bickered over how to pull the world away from a path of potentially dangerous warming.

"There is a mutual mistrust that is very clear," said Brazil's chief negotiator Andre Aranha Correa do Lago. "We need to get back to the spirit of Durban."

The slow-moving U.N. process has failed to deliver a global pact to rein emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases.

Such emissions, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, have grown 20 percent since 2000, according to a recent U.N. report, which showed the gap is growing between what governments are doing and what science indicates must be done to contain warming.

Research presented on the sidelines of the conference Friday indicated that some countries, including the U.S., are unlikely to meet their current, voluntary, emissions pledges unless they step up their climate efforts.

The Obama administration has already taken some steps to rein in emissions, such as sharply increasing fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks and investing in green energy.

But the study from Climate Analytics, Ecofys and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said U.S. policies won't be enough to meet its stated goal of reducing emissions by 17 percent by 2020, compared to 2005 levels.

Others said the U.S. will come pretty close to that goal with new standards affecting emissions from coal-fired power plants.

"I think we can get within spitting distance of the 17 percent," said Jake Schmidt, of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

In Doha, delegates are expected to extend the expiring Kyoto Protocol, an agreement limiting greenhouse emissions of some industrialized countries. The U.S. never ratified that agreement because it didn't include fast-growing developing countries including India and China, the world's top carbon emitter.

Delegates are also supposed to agree on a work plan for a wider pact that would include all countries. It's supposed to be adopted in 2015 and take effect five years later.

Figueres predicted that the conference would end with countries agreeing on a package of compromise decisions, "fully recognizing that whatever comes out of Doha is not at the level of ambition that we need."

Climate activists urged governments, especially from developed countries, to increase their commitments to fight climate change, which scientists say already is melting ice in the Arctic, raising sea levels and shifting weather patterns with impacts on floods and droughts.

"No developed country has come here and raised its emission-target as the science requires," said Mohamed Adow of Christian Aid.

Artur Runge-Metzger, the chief negotiator for the European Union, defended the EU's record on climate action, but admitted the pace of the talks was too slow.

"I'm often frustrated at the slow process," he said. "Still, I think it's worth investing (in these talks), because we invest for future generations."

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Best of our wild blogs: 30 Nov 12

Blog Log, 25 Nov 2012: Creatures on Sponges
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60 cases of smuggled animals in past 5 years

Some of those confiscated by AVA are quarantined, tested for diseases before being put up for adoption
Goh Shi Ting Straits Times 30 Nov 12;

PUPPIES and songbirds count among the 60 cases of smuggled animals that the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has handled in the past five years.

Typically, animals that are confiscated are placed under quarantine and tested for diseases before they are put up for adoption. Exotic animals or birds are re-homed by Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

Smuggled animals that are unhealthy or at risk of having an infectious disease are humanely euthanised, said the AVA in response to queries from The Straits Times.

Last Tuesday, a 27-year-old driver allegedly tried to smuggle 21 puppies in his car boot across the Woodlands Checkpoint, and was stopped by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority inspectors. The case is currently under investigation.

Besides puppies, the oriental white-eye songbirds, or mata puteh in Malay, are commonly smuggled into Singapore due to their popularity among bird-keepers.

In March, a Malaysian man was jailed for two weeks and fined $4,000 for illegally bringing in 24 oriental white-eye hatchlings from Batam, Indonesia. Seven of the 24 hatchlings, kept in small boxes inside a pouch concealed in his trousers, were found dead. The remaining birds were sent to Jurong Bird Park after being tested negative for avian influenza.

The small green birds usually fetch about $150 each, while the better singing birds can cost up to a thousand dollars.

Bird-watcher Alfred Chia, 52, said that while these songbirds are not indigenous to Singapore, they are commonly found in neighbouring countries like Thailand and Malaysia.

The AVA currently does not allow the import of birds from avian influenza-affected countries, such as Indonesia.

In the case of dogs and cats, the main concern is the risk of rabies, which is a fatal viral disease that can be transmitted to man by the bite of an animal carrying the virus. "Singapore enjoys a rabies-free status but we cannot be complacent as the disease is endemic in the region," said the AVA.

AVA said that the 21 puppies found last week - 14 pomeranians and seven pugs - are now under observation at the Sembawang Animal Quarantine Station. They will be vaccinated and quarantined for up to 180 days. Those interested in adopting the animals are required to pay $750 for the full vaccination, and an internal and external parasite treatment. The dogs will also be sterilised, microchipped and licensed.

The AVA will invite people interested in adopting to visit the quarantine station for an interview when the puppies are ready for adoption.

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Best of our wild blogs: 29 Nov 12

In celebration of the conservation of Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve - registration opens for the 2012 Anniversary Walk on Sun 2nd December 2012! from Habitatnews

Bug bites
from The annotated budak

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Mandai could be nature tourism hub

Ng Kai Ling Straits Times 29 Nov 12;

THE Government is looking at adding hotels and more restaurants to the Mandai area to turn it into a complete tourist destination.

Mr S. Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, said at the opening of the giant panda exhibit yesterday that the area's rich biodiversity makes it an ideal location for other nature-related developments.

The plan is to leverage Singapore's award-winning attractions, such as the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari as well as the upcoming River Safari, and develop a "green lung" for tourists and Singaporeans alike.

Mr Iswaran, who is also the Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade and Industry, said the River Safari's opening next year will be an important step in Mandai's development.

Yesterday's opening of the 1,500 sq m panda enclosure also marked another milestone in the strong bilateral ties between Singapore and China, he added.

The Giant Panda Forest is the first attraction to be launched at the River Safari, and it opens to the public today. Visitors can buy zoo admission tickets ($20 for adults, $13 for children) and pay an extra $5 (adult) or $3 (child) to see the pandas.

The rest of the 12ha river-themed park will open next year, tentatively in February.

Last year, Singapore welcomed a record 13.2 million visitors - 14 per cent more than the 11.6 million who came in 2010. In the first half of this year, tourist arrivals grew by 11 per cent compared with the figure in the same period last year.

With a strong suite of nature-themed attractions already in Mandai, Mr Iswaran said the area has potential for developments such as accommodation, dining and other leisure facilities.

"We want developments that are sensitive and complementary to what we already have... we don't want something that jars that," he added.

The tourism industry and observers welcomed the idea.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic's senior tourism lecturer Michael Chiam said that to stand out, the hotels should not be just rooms in a forest. They should blend into the greenery and give people the experience of living in a jungle.

Mr Robert Khoo, chief executive of the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore, agrees and said the hotels should be like the five-star lodges in Kenya and South Africa.

Hotelier and restaurateur Loh Lik Peng said there is definitely potential in developing the area.

"Any time there is a new attraction, there would be business opportunities," he said.

River Safari helping Mandai become 'nature cluster': Iswaran
Area also has potential for accommodation, dining and other leisure facilities
by Vimita Mohandas Today Online 29 Nov 12;

SINGAPORE - The River Safari, where panda couple Kai Kai and Jia Jia will make their public debut today, marks an important step for the development of Mandai as a "nature cluster", as Singapore continues to rejuvenate its tourism offerings, Second Minister for Home Affairs, and Trade and Industry S Iswaran said yesterday.

Speaking at the grand opening of the Giant Panda Forest, the first of the River Safari attractions to open to the public, Mr Iswaran said visitor arrivals to Singapore grew a "robust" 11 per cent year-on-year in the first half of this year.

"The River Safari joins Singapore's stable of award-winning attractions that have impressed many visitors, many of whom do not expect such a rich and diverse array of nature-based attractions in a small, highly urbanised city like Singapore," he said.

Mr Iswaran noted that Mandai's rich biodiversity makes it an ideal location for a nature cluster, with potential for accommodation, dining and other leisure facilities.

"As the developments in this area continue, I am confident that the Mandai Nature Cluster will continue to build on its own unique identity as a top nature-based destination, with quality attractions and lifestyle activities," he said.

Those present yesterday included China's Ambassador to Singapore, Mr Wei Wei, and representatives from the State Forestry Administration of China, China Wildlife Conservation Association, presenting sponsor and conservation donor CapitaLand, and airline sponsor Singapore Airlines.

Members of the public will be able to meet these gentle giants from today, with a Giant Panda Preview add-on ticket when they visit the Singapore Zoo. Visitors will get to see many creature comforts around the enclosure, including a man-made waterfall, dipping pools and bamboo gardens that simulate the pandas' natural habitat.

Next month, they will get to learn about the importance of conservation through a special exhibition at the Singapore Zoo featuring the life of giant pandas in China.

The grand opening of the River Safari is slated for next year.

Related links
Earlier media articles about plans to develop mandai

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