'The Age of Stupid': a wakeup call on climate

Jerome Cartillier Yahoo News 19 Sep 09;

PARIS (AFP) – Could we, the human race, really miss an ever-narrowing chance to save the planet from the ravages of global warming? "The Age of Stupid," which will be screened in hundreds of venues around the world next week, contemplates this grim scenario with the open aim of galvanising a collective effort to prevent it.

Former UN chief Kofi Annan is expected to attend a special "green carpet" showing in New York Monday, on the eve of the world's first United Nation's climate summit.

The film is a serious documentary dressed up as a futuristic climate thriller, with a few bits of animation thrown in to help explain the underlying science.

The story is told in the voice of an ageing archivist -- played by A-list British actor Pete Postlethwaite -- looking back from the year 2055 on a world devastated by climate catastrophe.

Ensconced in a sea-bound tower harbouring a complete digital record of human history, the sadder and wiser archivist pulls up image files that tell the story of real, flesh-and-blood people profiled by the filmmaker, Franny Armstrong.

"We could have saved ourselves, but we didn't. It?s amazing. What state of mind were we in, to face extinction and simply shrug it off?", Postlethwaite's character says with a flash of anger.

Gazing back to our time, he details the lives of six people whose stories intersect with global warming in different ways: a dirt-poor, aspiring medical student from Nigeria's oil rich Niger Delta; a young business scion starting up India's third "low cost" airline; a pair of child refugees from the war in Iraq.

We meet 37-year-old Piers Guy, struggling vainly against the opposition of his neighbours in the English countryside of Cornwall to a windfarm that could power several thousand households.

And then there is 82-year old Fernand Parau, a French mountain guide who has watched Alpine glaciers retreat dozens of metres over his long career.

The movie's title comes from a retired oil company scientist in New Orleans, thinking out loud as to how future generations might look back our era if we fail to reign in global warming.

"The Age of Stupid" (www.ageofstupid.com) will be broadcast on Monday in more than 400 US theaters.

And on Tuesday, the film -- translated by volunteers into 32 languages -- will be seen in over 60 countries in locations ranging from the futuristic Geode in Paris to an open-air screen in Vanatu, a South Pacific island nation at risk of being wiped off the map by rising sea levels.

Organisers say more than 200,000 people across the globe will watch the film, which premiered in Britain earlier this year.

The movie's modest 450,000-pound (500,000-euro, 735,000-dollar) budget was financed entirely through "crowd funding," explained Armstrong.

"It is a simple concept: basically, 228 people invested between 500 and 35,000 pounds, and they all own a percentage of the profit," she told AFP in a phone interview.

Armstrong's aims are clear: to help turn up the volume of public pressure ahead of a make-or-break UN conference in Copenhagen in December charged with delivering a planet-saving climate treaty.

She points to other grassroots initiatives that have led to major changes: the US civil rights movement, anti-Vietnam War protests, investment boycotts that helped unravel South Africa's apartheid regime.

Science is clear on what needs to be done, she says: keep global temperatures from rising more than two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial times, and make sure greenhouse gas emissions peak no later than 2015.

"Every generation that came before us did not know about the problem, and for every generation that follows, it will be too late for them to do anything," she said. "So it comes down to our generation."

"We have the potential to do it, the only question that remains is whether or not we are going to give it a try," she added.

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The people's planet: On the road to Copenhagen

The Independent 21 Sep 09;

Eco-campaigners offer their own solutions to climate change ahead of the UN summit in New York this week – a meeting that holds the key to striking a new 'Kyoto' treaty in Denmark in December. Jonathan Owen and Jenny Armstrong report

Franny Armstrong, Producer of 'The Age of Stupid'

Cut our emissions by 10 per cent in 2010

"To maximise our chances of preventing runaway climate change, we must quickly and massively cut global emissions. By signing up to the 10:10 campaign, you will commit yourself, your school, your hospital, your church, your business, your whatever, to cut 10 per cent of your emissions next year. As well as being achievable for the vast majority of the population, 10 per cent in one year is the kind of cut the science tells us we need."

Professor John Beddington, Government's Chief Scientific Adviser

Cut emissions to keep temperature rise to 2c above pre-industrial levels

"Global warming is happening and presents unprecedented risks to the planet. The science is clear that to avoid the worst effects. and to keep the risks of catastrophic climate change to an acceptable level, we must keep global temperature rise to C above pre-industrial levels. We must act urgently to make deep cuts in emissions. It's up to the politicians to deliver the deal that the evidence so clearly shows we need."

Sian Berry, Green candidate for London Mayor, 2008

Invest in railways, buses and home insulation as part of a green new deal

"We need to show that a fair agreement won't mean sacrificing jobs by building a genuine Green New Deal: strategic investment in the low-carbon infrastructure we'll need to reach our targets. This doesn't just mean hi-tech kit. The most impressive savings can be made much closer to home. Measures like new local rail lines, running more buses and – most effective and best value – cutting waste by insulating homes and replacing old boilers with more efficient models."

Dr Zhengrong Shi, Solar-cell scientist and businessman

Persuade China and the United States to lead the world

"The most important step toward an effective solution to climate change is for China and the US to commit to specific and meaningful reductions in carbon emissions. The mechanism for doing this is far less important than setting targets and applying severe penalties for not meeting them. With the US and China in the lead, the rest of the world will quickly follow; without them, we will continue to pontificate while the world's climate continues to deteriorate."

Zac Goldsmith, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Richmond, Surrey

Act on the solutions we have, such as micro-generation of energy

"We need tough targets for emissions reductions, mechanisms for helping poorer countries adapt, and a formula for putting real value on forests so they are worth more standing than destroyed. We don't need to pin our hopes on technologies that don't yet exist. Almost everything that needs doing is already being done somewhere."

Daryl Hannah, Actress and dedicated eco-campaigner

Abandon nuclear power in favour of renewable, clean energy

"We need to focus on truly renewable, regenerative, clean energy – that is not nuclear power, folks! Since more energy hits the Earth from the Sun in one hour than all other forms of energy man uses in an entire year, we should be putting our financial and mental resources toward developing community-based solar and solar-thermal projects. We could also employ micro-hydro and vertical-wind turbines. Our highest goal should be energy and resource conservation."

Professor Sir Brian Hoskins, Head of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change

We need a zero-carbon electricity supply by 2025

"Decarbonising the electricity supply is the number one [priority] throughout the world. We've got to move by 2025 or so to an almost zero-carbon electricity supply, probably first in the developed world, but then in the developing world. We have to be incredibly miserly with the energy we use and we have to think of producing energy with as near zero-carbon emissions to the atmosphere as we can."

Professor Sir John Houghton, Founder, the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research

Foot the annual $150bn-plus bill for helping developing countries tackle climate change

"Rich countries must commit to reducing their emissions by at least 25 to 40 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020. They must develop low-carbon economies at home and provide much needed finance for poor countries to adapt to climate change and to help them develop in a sustainable, low-carbon way. Developing countries need at least $150bn a year for adaptation and emissions cuts. It is essential that this money is found."

Rhian Kelly, Head of Climate Change, CBI

Make a 50 per cent global cut in emissions by 2050 to stimulate low-carbon markets

"Provide business certainty by setting long-term emissions reduction targets for 2050 of a 50 per cent global reduction. There should also be medium-term targets for 2020. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills recently said that if you get an ambitious deal at Copenhagen it will create global markets for low-carbon goods and environment services of £4.5trn by 2015. We need to build a global price of carbon. We need to establish a global carbon market."

Fazlun Khalid, Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences

Reduce personal energy use by 10 per cent

"While those ahead in the race are able to create more money to stay ahead, those behind engage in an almost impossible game of catch-up. The victim of this game is planet Earth and climate change is the result. We are all as much part of the solution as we are of the problem. If each of us can reduce our energy consumption by 10 per cent we would make a significant contribution to reducing the negative effects of climate change."

Sir David King, Former chief scientific adviser to the British Government

Avoid rushing to do a deal on carbon trading

"What we need is a robust process that doesn't have unintended consequences. My fear is that a developed world carbon trading scheme has this big consequence of carbon leakage. I would much rather we didn't reach an agreement at Copenhagen in December because I'm afraid that any agreement that's on the cards is totally inadequate,. I would be much happier to see an agreement reached by December next year.

Christine Loh, International adviser to the G8+5 Climate Change Dialogue

Follow the scientific evidence when coming up with policies to tackle climate change

"Humans are bargaining with each other, but ignoring the planet. What humans can do to reduce emissions is one thing, but if planetary boundaries are breached we are all imperiled. The planet needs to be represented – this is the job of science, and it is against the latest scientific evidence that the world needs to look at proposals, such as G8's to aim to cut emissions in half from 1990 levels by 2050."

James Lovelock, Inventor of the Gaia theory

Spend half our effort against climate change to prepare for the worst

"The Earth is in a pretty poor state, and likely to go on changing whatever we do and if that's true the most important job for governments to do is to prepare adaptation. Our own government should be making sure that protection against disastrous flooding, say, of London, is in place in time. The sensible thing to do is prepare for the worst, to spend half your effort doing that, just in case, as an insurance."

Wangari Maathai, Nobel prize-winning Kenyan sustainable development activist

Help developing countries go to low-carbon economies

"It should be a serious commitment that is translated into action at a national level. That means allocating resources to effect the agreements. In many countries they don't have the technology or the capital to make that low carbon economy happen, so they will need help from developed countries that are partly responsible for the problem. I hope this will be seen not so much as charity but as a justice issue."

Dr Stuart Parkinson, Executive director, Scientists for Global Responsibility

Slash the $1.5trn a year on military budgets – spend it on fighting climate change

"Energy use is the biggest source of carbon emissions, and we need a revolution in the sector to cut emissions enough to prevent dangerous climate change. With the world's governments spending a massive $1.5trn a year on military activities, a good way of releasing the money and skills would be by slashing these budgets. Given that climate change, if unchecked, will undermine global security, this makes sense from both an environmental and a security perspective."

Jonathon Porritt, Former chair of Sustainable Development Commission

Create a climate-change fund for developing countries

"Agree a new fund to help developing countries, to be designed and managed by the poor world as well as the rich world a significant percentage needs to be reserved for a new deal on deforestation. If countries like Brazil and Indonesia are able to confirm their willingness to do a deal this would represent a massive breakthrough. All OECD countries must acknowledge responsibility for today's climate crisis, and confirm their commitment to dramatic reductions in emissions by 2020."

Professor Stephen Schneider, Nobel prizewinning climatologist at Stanford University

Don't rely on 'cap and trade' – invest in green technology and energy efficiency too

"Cap and trade is only part of a comprehensive climate protection strategy. Other elements include performance standards – energy efficiency – investment incentives for green technology, and adaptation assistance for those having difficulty in coping with climate impacts. With the whole world watching at Copenhagen it will be hard for individual countries to try to block international progress in protecting the planetary commons unnoticed."

Dr Vandana Shiva, Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology

Go organic globally and abandon factory farming

"Most methane and CO2 production comes from an industrialised, globalised agriculture system. The single biggest step that could be taken to reduce emissions – while improving our food systems, protecting farmers' livelihoods, and creating climate resilience – is to go organic on a global scale. That would mean the huge subsidies the government spends on chemical fertilisers wouldn't have to be spent, instead they could support the farmers to make the transition."

Julia Stephenson, Green activist and columnist

Make it cheaper for people to 'do the right thing'

"I would like the Copenhagen Summit to set out financial incentives to encourage us to live a thriftier – ie greener – lifestyle. The carrot works better than the stick, so governments should emphasise that going green means saving money, and implement a raft of incentives to help, like pay as you throw make rail travel cheaper. At the moment it is left to individuals to do the right thing. Currently, doing the right thing is expensive, and often inconvenient."

Ianukula Kaiabi Suia, President of ATIX, an indigenous organisation in Mato Grosso, Brazil

Include indigenous people in the Copenhagen negotiations and go back to nature

"When rulers of countries talk of international agreements to end man's devastating effect on nature they should look at us and see what hasn't been destroyed, and appreciate that in spite of all the enormous scientific progress the knowledge of traditional peoples represents the best way for man to co-exist with nature. The indigenous peoples want to be included when drafting agreements, because it is from the forests and the waters of their protected territories that the world sees hope."

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The Arctic - By Ban Ki-moon

UNEP 20 Sep 09;

First published in the New York Times on September 17, 2009

Two weeks ago, I visited the Arctic. I saw the remains of a glacier that just a few years ago was a majestic mass of ice. It had collapsed. Not slowly melted - collapsed. I traveled nine hours by ship from the world's northernmost settlement to reach the polar ice rim. In just a few years, the same ship may be able to sail unimpeded all the way to the North Pole. The Arctic could be virtually ice-free by 2030.

Scientists told me their sobering findings. The Arctic is our canary in the coal mine for climate impacts that will affect us all.

I was alarmed by the rapid pace of change there. Worse still, changes in the Arctic are now accelerating global warming. Thawing permafrost is releasing methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Melting ice in Greenland threatens to raise sea levels.

Meanwhile, global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.

I am therefore all the more convinced we must act - now.

To that end, on Sept. 22 I am convening a special summit on climate change at the United Nations for some 100 world leaders - history's largest-ever such gathering of heads of state and government. Their collective challenge: transform the climate crisis into an opportunity for safer, cleaner, sustainable green growth for all.

The key is Copenhagen, where governments will gather to negotiate a new global climate agreement in December.

I will have a simple message to convey to leaders: The world needs you to actively push for a fair, effective and ambitious deal in Copenhagen. Fail to act, and we will count the cost for generations to come.

Climate change is the preeminent geopolitical issue of our time. It rewrites the global equation for development, peace and prosperity. It threatens markets, economies and development gains. It can deplete food and water supplies, provoke conflict and migration, destabilize fragile societies and even topple governments.

Hyperbole? Not according to the world's best scientists. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says global greenhouse gas emissions need to peak within 10 years if we are to avoid unleashing powerful, natural forces that are now slipping out of our control.

Ten years is within the political lifetime of many attending the summit. The climate crisis is occurring on their watch.

There is an alternative: sustainable growth based on green technologies and policies that favor low emissions over current carbon-intensive models. Many national stimulus packages devised in the wake of the global economic downturn feature a strong green component that creates jobs and positions countries to excel in the clean energy economy of the 21st century.

Change is in the air. The key lies in a global climate deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global temperature rise to a scientifically safe level. A deal to catalyze clean energy growth. Most urgently, an agreement must protect and assist those who are most vulnerable from inevitable climate impacts.

What is needed is political will at the highest levels - presidents and prime ministers - that translates into rapid progress in the negotiating room. It requires more trust among nations, more imagination, ambition and cooperation.

I expect leaders to roll up their sleeves and speak with - not past - each other. I expect them to intensify efforts to resolve the key political issues that have so far slowed global negotiations to a glacial pace. Ironically, that expression - until recently - connoted slowness. But the glaciers I saw a few weeks ago in the Arctic are melting faster than human progress to preserve them.

We must place the planet's long-term interests ahead of short-term political expediency. National leaders need to be global leaders who take the long view. Today's threats transcend borders. So, too, must our thinking.

Copenhagen need not resolve all the details. But a successful global climate deal must involve all countries, consistent with their capabilities, working toward a common, long-term goal. Here are my benchmarks for success.

First, every country must do its utmost to reduce emissions from all major sources. Industrialized countries have to strengthen their mitigation targets, which are currently nowhere close to what the IPCC says is needed. Developing countries, too, must slow the rise in their emissions and accelerate green growth as part of their strategies to reduce poverty.

Second, a successful deal must help the most vulnerable to adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change. This is an ethical imperative as well as a smart investment in a more stable, secure world.

Third, developing countries need funding and technology so they can move more quickly toward low-emissions growth. A deal must also unlock private investment, including through carbon markets.

Fourth, resources must be equitably managed and deployed in a way that all countries have a voice.

This year at Copenhagen, we have a powerful opportunity to get on the right side of history. It's an opportunity not only to avert disaster, but to launch a fundamental transformation of the global economy.

Strong new political winds now fill our sails. Millions of citizens are mobilized. Savvy businesses are charting a cleaner energy course. We must seize this moment to act boldly on climate change.

Ban Ki-moon is secretary general of the United Nations.

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Australian eruption 'overdue'

Geological Society of Australia, ScienceAlert 21 Sep 09;

A significant volcano eruption in Australia is ‘well overdue’ and emergency authorities must better prepare themselves and the wider community to respond to it, the recipient of the prestigious Geological Society of Australia (Victoria Division) Selwyn Medal for 2009 has warned.

Internationally-respected Melbourne geologist and Geological Society of Australia member, Associate Professor Bernie Joyce, will receive the Selwyn Medal this coming Thursday at the Geological Society of Australia’s (Victoria Division) annual Selwyn Symposium 2009.

“We can’t say with 100 per cent certainty that a significant volcano will strike tomorrow, next week, next year, or even 100 years down the track—but these geo-hazards are real and they must be given much more focus by emergency management authorities” Associate Professor Joyce said.

“There are around 400 volcanoes stretching from the Western District of Victoria into the Western Uplands around Ballarat and to the north of Melbourne around Kyneton and Kilmore, in some parts of the Eastern Uplands such as to the north of Benambra, and across to the South Australian border near Mt Gambier. A volcanic eruption in the Western Uplands could potentially see lava flows and ash falls impacting on Melbourne.

“There is also similar volcano risk present in various provinces in Far North Queensland, stretching from south-west of Townsville to near Cairns and up to Cooktown in the Far North. There are more than 380 volcanoes in total across this part of Queensland.

“A future eruption in any of these regions would be unlikely to come from an existing volcano (as the volcanoes there are generally considered to be 'once only’ erupters). Rather, future eruptions would occur at new sites nearby. The geological record shows that new volcanoes in these areas have erupted perhaps every 2000 years in the past 40,000 years—and given there has not been a major eruption there for the past 5000 years, a significant eruption seems well overdue.

“While any future volcanoes may discharge only small amounts of lava and ash, the real possibility remains that there could be a significant eruption — and it makes sense that the population centres potentially affected should be well-prepared for that worst-case scenario. To this end, eruption response plans should be developed and publicised by the emergency management authorities.

“It is telling that in New Zealand, which has volcano types similar to those in Australia, there is much more focus on the need to educate the public about volcano risk. For example, the Auckland Regional Council has a webpage devoted to volcano risk for that region alone, which has a history of earlier volcanoes very similar to those of Australia.

“The risk from a volcano would not just be from the initial eruption. For example, its red-hot lava and explosive ash would be a major fire hazard on the dry grassland plains of Western Victoria, and lava flows could continue for up to 20 years and for distances of more than 60 kilometres down river systems, cutting off essential water supplies and destroying infrastructure like towns, farming land, roads, railways and bridges. Ash falls could also continue for many years and an initial eruption could, in some circumstances, be followed by further volcanoes erupting near the first eruption site, affecting a wider area for a longer period.

“Eruptions can also produce a mix of toxic gases, including carbon dioxide that could collect in depressions in the surrounding land and asphyxiate those who came across it or were caught in it. An education process is needed to inform the community about how to avoid these situations if they arise.

“The geological record shows us that up to 200,000 years ago there was not a high level of volcanic activity on the Australian continent, yet during the past 40,000 years there has been a cycle of increased activity—this may be pointing to future activity.

“So it is much more likely to be a matter of when, rather than if, a significant volcano occurs in Australia, and emergency authorities should be better preparing themselves and the wider community for that eventuality.”

The Selwyn Medal is named in honour of Sir Alfred Selwyn, an eminent Victorian pioneering geologist and founder of the Geological Survey of Victoria.

In a career spanning 45 years, Associate Professor Joyce has produced significant research papers and assessments regarding volcanic risk and hazard in south-eastern Australia. He is currently studying the landforms of Western Victoria to see what they can reveal about future volcanic risk.

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Best of our wild blogs: 20 Sep 09

International Coastal Cleanup Singapore 2009
results, photos and more from Otterman speaks

International Coastal Clean Up 2008 - Chek Jawa - Pulau Ubin from sgbeachbum

Waterspout
from BlueWaterVolunteers

Semakau Inter-Tidal Walk on 19 Sep 2009
from Where Discovery Begins and urban forest blog

Chek Jawa Boardwalk 26 Sep (Sat)
from Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs

Where Have The Butterflies Gone To?
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature

My Favorite Subject
from Life's Indulgences

Yellow-fronted Canary appears in Canada
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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262kg of trash removed from Changi Beach Park

S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia 19 Sep 09;

SINGAPORE: More than 260 kilogrammes of trash were removed from Changi Beach Park on Saturday morning.

Over 100 volunteers picked their way through the 300-metre shoreline on Changi beach in the annual Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup exercise.

Among the 262kg rubbish were styrofoam boxes, plastic bags and cigarette butts.

Last year, more than 200kg of trash comprising beverage bottles and cans, plastic bags and barrels were removed from the Lim Chu Kang Beach.

Data collected from the coastal cleanup will be sent to Ocean Conservancy for analysis.

Research results from the Washington DC-based institute have been influential in governments' formulation of environmental policies including those in Singapore.

One such initiative is the "Bring Your Own Plastic Bag" programme, which is said to be the result of the awareness generated by the coastal cleanup efforts.

- CNA/ir

More info
Results, data, photos and accounts of the various cleanup sites on the News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore blog

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Kelantan is largest birds' nests producer

New Straits Times 16 Sep 09;

KOTA BARU: Unlike most other states, breeding swiftlets for birds' nests is licensed by the state authorities in Kelantan.

The state has become one of the largest producers of birds' nests in the country.

The centre of the industry lies here and in Kuala Krai and Tumpat. And a purpose-built township for rearing swiftlets is planned in Jalan Pantai Cahaya Bulan soon.

The annual licensing fee for a swiftlet building is RM1,000 for the first floor, and RM500 each for subsequent storeys.


Unlike most breeders, Ooi Siong Hwa has chosen not to breed swiftlets in town. He has built a breeding structure in the middle of a padi field in Tumpat.

He says that though the initial investment was high -- RM300,000 -- he expects excellent returns.

A kilogramme of high quality birds' nests fetches about RM7,000. Most are exported to Hong Kong and China.

Birds' nests have been used in Chinese cuisine for over 400 years, and are believed to have medicinal value.

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Russia's Putin brings leopards back to Caucasus

Gleb Bryanski, Reuters 19 Sep 09;

SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin released two leopards into the wild Saturday in a bid to revive the fortunes of the rare cats in the Caucasus and soothe ecological worries over 2014 Sochi Games.

Caucasian or Persian leopards disappeared from the Caucasus in the 1920s due to excessive hunting. Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sent two male leopards caught in Turkmenistan by plane to Sochi. Female leopards are to follow.

"We are standing here and admiring your animals. Glorious animals, very beautiful," Putin, surrounded by International Olympic Committee members, told Berdymukhamedov by telephone as he stood by the cage in the Sochi national park.

Russia won the right to host 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi and major construction works are about to begin.

Critics say huge construction projects may harm the environment. They question the need for spending billions of dollars on the games during a financial crisis and say they do not believe all the infrastructure would be ready by 2014.

"I think Russia is on its way to organizing an exceptional Olympic Games," French Alpine skiing legend and IOC member Jean-Claude Killy told reporters.

Russia's most popular politician, Putin, enjoys a tough guy image, being photographed riding bare-chested on horse back, fishing in Siberia or saving tigers in Russia's Far East.

Saturday, Putin stared in silence at one of the leopards, which initially refused to abandon his traveling cage, visibly stressed after its long journey.

"Good boy," Putin said as the cat snarled at him and jumped out while guards and reporters pulled back. "We have found common language, they understand me," said Putin.

The leopards will gradually move to a larger fenced area of the park before they are released into the wild. Scientists plan to bring female leopards at a later stage and hope some 30-50 cats will be living around Sochi in six years.

(Reporting by Gleb Bryanski, writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov)

Flying Turkmen leopards to bring species back to Caucasus
WWF 23 Sep 09;

Sochi, Russia: Two leopards from Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan are recovering after a long flight and car ride to their new homes in a Russian national park, as part of efforts to reintroduce the species into the Caucasus region.

The leopards were moved into spacious pens in Sochi National Park in southwestern Russia as part of a species reintroduction programme implemented by WWF and the Russian government.

They travelled more than 1,000 kilometers by plane and then by car, and are in good health despite the long trip and being put under anesthesia.

Upon arrival, the leopards were met by WWF, park staff and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Saturday and then released into large pens inside a special center created for them in the park.

The big cats (Panthera pardus saxicolor) will take part in the Programme for Persian Leopard Reintroduction, developed by experts from WWF and the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, and approved by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology.

“There are very few leopards in the whole of Caucasus, only a few dozen,” said Igor Chestin, WWF-Russia CEO. “They exist with the help of some inflow from Iran, which has several hundreds remaining. We want to create a new, Northern-based nucleus of the population, so that together with the Southern nucleus in Iran it can guarantee sustainability for the leopard population both in the Russian Caucasus and neighboring countries.”

The Leopards are already actively moving around. They drink a lot of water, which is normal after anesthesia, and one of them on Sunday ate a slab of meat given to him by veterinarians. Both leopards are males.

“They will have time to adapt to the new conditions and start to feel ownership of the territory by the time females arrive ”, said Umar Semyonov, deputy director of the Sochi national park. “And it will be easier for females to adapt with support from males.”

The leopards from Turkmenistan will live in the Centre for breeding and rehabilitation in the Sochi national park. Only their descendants will be released into the wild in the Caucasus strict nature reserve.

“Areas for future release were carefully chosen to resemble as much as possible leopards’ habitat in Turkmenistan, both in terms of relief and prey,” said Professor Anatoly Kudaktin, programme scientific supervisor. “Conditions in the Caucasus will be even more comfortable in some ways than in Turkmenistan, and ungulate density is higher here.”

These types of leopards are endangered because most of their habitats were lost in the last century due to transformation and migration routes between remaining isolated populations are cut off due to infrastructure development, which has led to small fragmented populations that cannot easily breed.

Financially, the Programme is supported by WWF-Russia, “Rosa Khutor” Company, VympelCom Group, and Russian government.

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'Eco-xenophobia' on the rise in the UK warns conservationist

The campaign to eliminate alien species like grey squirrels and rhodendrons from Britain is a form of "eco-xenophobia", according to a leading conservationist, who claims native plants and animals are doing just as much damage.

Louise Gray, The Telegraph 19 Sep 09;

An increasing amount of conservation resources in Britain is focused on getting rid of "alien species" like grey squirrels or even parakeets.

However Ian Rotherham, Director of the Environmental Change Research Unit at Sheffield Hallam University, said these species sometimes attract undue attention simply because they are seen as foreign invaders.

On the other hand, native species that also causing problems are often ignored.

The eradication of Japanese knotweed has received millions of pounds worth of funding from the Government while the buddleia or "butterfly bush" and native clematis, also known as old man's beard, can also be damaging but receive little funding. Similarly bracken, hawthorn or blackthorn destroy heaths and moors where many endangered animals live but escape the attention of most conservation groups.

Much loved animals like the badger is spreading disease among cattle and even red squirrels damage trees. But it is the "alien" grey squirrels and muntjac deer, that are loved by people in cities, that are facing the cull.

Dr Rotherham said the Government and conservationists need to focus on "problem" species rather than alien species in future in order to improve the landscape.

In addition the contribution made to the economy by non-native species should not be overlooked, he said. For example rhododendron, alongside other "exotic" species like Corsican pine are a major part of historic landscaped gardens as well as providing shelter for breeding nightingales and otters.

He even feared the policy of getting rid of "alien invaders" was in danger of being abused by racist groups.

"I’ve coined the term ‘Eco-xenophobia’ to stress the idea that we are making judgements not through objectively supported science but through mistaken ideas of what is native, what is alien, and hence what is good or bad," he said. "Many of these ideas and concepts are very recent and disguise real and serious issues of problem species and of sustainable land management and custodianship. What’s worse perhaps, is that they resonate with ideas growing with the BNP in the UK, and with other right wing groups across Europe."

A spokesman for the Department for the Environment said: "Whilst the introduction of species over thousands of years has shaped British wildlife and the countryside, where they become invasive they can have a serious impact on native wildlife and cost the British economy at least £2billion a year.

“The non-native species strategy announced last year is designed to identify and deal with problem species in order to protect British wildlife for the future.”

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U.S. Great Lakes toxic cleanups lagging badly

John Flesher, Associated Press Yahoo News 15 Sep 09;

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – Cleanup of the most polluted sites in the Great Lakes is moving so slowly it will take 77 more years to finish the job at the existing pace, according to a federal report.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency still does not know the full extent of the problem even though the highly contaminated spots were identified two decades ago, said the report by the agency's inspector general.

"Without improved management, coordination and accountability, EPA will not succeed in achieving the results intended" for the recovery program, said the report, issued Monday.

Toxic sediment cleanup is among the goals of a $20 billion Great Lakes restoration plan developed by government agencies and nonprofit groups in 2005.

President Barack Obama has pledged $5 billion toward carrying out the plan and requested $475 million in his 2010 budget. Roughly one-fourth of that amount would be devoted to the cleanups.

The plan estimates the total cleanup price at $2.25 billion in federal money, with state and local governments kicking in an additional $1.2 billion.

The inspector general's report analyzes the government's handling of Great Lakes "areas of concern" — rivers, harbors and other locations where bottomlands are laced with toxic chemicals such as mercury, PCBs and heavy metal wastes.

Forty-three of the areas were identified in the late 1980s, including 26 within U.S. territory; 12 entirely within Canada; and five that straddle the border. Only two Canadian sites and one in the U.S. — the Oswego River in New York — have been fixed and dropped from the list.

The areas range from less than 1 square mile to hundreds of square miles. Because of their location near river mouths and harbors that flow into the Great Lakes, they are considered a leading source of pollution systemwide.

Between them, they have 68 sites believed to contain more than 76 million cubic yards of contaminated sediments, according to state officials. But the report says accurate estimates have not been developed for more than 30 percent of the cleanup sites.

The EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office works with states and local communities in developing restoration plans.

The report says the program has had some successes, particularly since Congress enacted the Great Lakes Legacy Act in 2002 to provide a stable funding source. But it says the EPA has yet to establish a suitable framework for managing the cleanups, which often involve numerous offices responsible for carrying out laws.

"In the absence of coordinated planning, costs can escalate, resources are wasted, and risks to human health and the environment increase due to delays in site cleanups," it says.

Calls seeking comment were left with EPA officials.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., a longtime supporter of the cleanup initiative, said the EPA's performance had improved since the legacy act was approved.

"Before that, they only had funding for planning for sediment cleanup," Levin said Tuesday.

The report also shows the importance of accountability as Congress ramps up federal spending on the lakes, said Joel Brammeier, acting president of the Chicago-based Alliance for the Great Lakes.

"We've got to have mechanisms in place so that when we go back for more money, we'll be able to tell Congress what a great job we did spending the money they've already given us," Brammeier said.

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Biofuel Production Could Undercut Efforts To Shrink Gulf 'Dead Zone'

ScienceDaily 16 Sep 09;

Scientists in Pennsylvania report that boosting production of crops used to make biofuels could make a difficult task to shrink a vast, oxygen-depleted "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico more difficult. The zone, which reached the size of Massachusetts in 2008, forms in summer and threatens marine life and jobs in the region.

Their study is scheduled for the Oct. 1 issue of ACS' semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Christine Costello and W. Michael Griffin and colleagues explain that the zone forms when fertilizers wash off farm fields throughout the Mississippi River basin and into the Gulf of Mexico. The fertilizers cause the growth of algae, which eventually depletes oxygen in the water and kills marine life. Government officials hope to reduce fertilizer runoff and shrink the zone to the size of Delaware by 2015. But that goal could be more difficult to reach due to federally-mandated efforts to increase annual biofuel production to 36 billion gallons by 2022, the study says.

The scientists studied the potential effects of increased biofuel production on the "dead zone," with a life-cycle analysis of nitrate fertilizer use on biofuel crops such as corn, soy, switch grass and stover (corn stems and leaves). They conclude that meeting the biofuel production goals will likely increase the depletion of oxygen compared to current levels in the Gulf due to more nutrient runoff.

Journal reference:

1. Costello et al. Impact of Biofuel Crop Production on the Formation of Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Environmental Science & Technology, 2009; 090813095901020 DOI: 10.1021/es9011433

Adapted from materials provided by American Chemical Society, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Geothermal power quakes find defenders

Shanta Barley, New Scientist 16 Sep 09;

Geothermal energy is in the dock in Germany, but some scientists are pleading for leniency.

A government panel is investigating claims by the geological survey for the state of Rhineland-Palatinate that a geothermal plant triggered a magnitude-2.7 earthquake on 15 August in the town of Landau in the state. If the panel finds against the company that built the plant, Geo X of Landau, it could be shut down.

Geothermal plants work by pumping water into hot rocks several kilometres down, forcing small cracks in the rock to expand. Steam escapes through the cracks to the surface, where it drives a turbine, producing clean energy. But critics say the process increases the risk of earthquakes.

"Any process that injects pressurised water at depth into rocks will cause them to fracture and possibly trigger earthquakes," says Brian Baptie, an earthquake specialist at the British Geological Society.
Whose fault is it?

Engineers rather than technology must take some of the blame, says Roy Baria, a geophysicist on the panel reviewing the Landau quake, who also works for geothermal energy company EGS Energy, based in Penzance, UK . Past quakes triggered by plants in Basel, Switzerland, were avoidable, he says. "The engineers failed to adhere to best-practice guidelines."

Even the worst geothermal earthquakes have failed to topple a building or kill a human, says Ernest Majer, a seismologist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, pointing out that geothermal power isn't the only industry that triggers earthquakes.

"Any industry which injects high-pressure fluid into rock, and that includes the oil, nuclear and carbon sequestration projects, has the potential to cause tremors," he says.

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