Sustainable fishing: Casting a net far into the future

Phil MacMullen, BBC Green Room 26 Oct 09;

Debates surrounding sustainable fishing are often framed in terms of how initiatives do or do not benefit the seafood industry, or fishermen themselves. In this week's Green Room, Phil MacMullen argues that these distinctions are far less important than the goal of sustaining the ocean ecosystem and the bounties it provides.

Food security is now recognised as a key global issue and fish should be playing an important part in providing that security.

This challenge has now been acknowledged at all levels, from the UN to consumers.

Global seafood consumption doubled between 1970 and 2000. The global population grew but increasing affluence and awareness of the health benefits of seafood also resulted in an increase in per capita consumption.

Capture fisheries have produced around 85 million tonnes annually since the mid-1980s with the gap between wild supply and overall demand filled by aquaculture.

With farmed fish feed containing less and less fishmeal, we're currently enjoying a period of stability in global seafood markets.

But it's plain that more people mean more pressure on the planet. Our seas and oceans need a better legal framework for managing the marine environment.

This must work for our long-term benefit by balancing the need for conservation against our need for food and other services.

Marine Bills

In the UK, that framework will be provided by Marine Bills currently going through our parliaments.

These will introduce "marine spatial planning" in order to accommodate the demands of a wide variety of commercial activities along with the need to protect special habitats and the wider marine environment.

The UK seafood industry supports this approach because it depends on a healthy marine environment.

But making marine planning work fairly and effectively is going to be very challenging: we all have to agree what we need to achieve through an inclusive process and we must base our decisions on the best possible information.

A broad seafood industry perspective is that fishermen must be recognised as an essential part of building a sustainable future for the marine environment.

Fishing and conservation are natural bedfellows. There's no reason why fishing shouldn't continue indefinitely and play its part in providing food for the future.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a key part of the Marine Bills. Designation will result in management arrangements that should protect the conservation status of each MPA.

But two contrasting approaches to this are apparent; one seems to view MPAs as a panacea to all the problems we face providing that a given proportion of our sea areas is designated for protection.

The other recognises that, whilst the principle is sound, each site must be identified on the basis of good evidence - including its ecological and human characteristics - and managed in order to achieve clear and measurable objectives.

The panacea proponents frequently claim that an MPA will automatically benefit commercial fisheries. A more measured approach will tell us that there may be fisheries benefits but these must be considered a bonus.

This confusion arises because most experience of MPAs comes from tropical or semi-tropical areas, often based on complex, reef-type habitats.

Most commercially exploited species in these habitats tend to be territorial, so restricting fishing will result in an increase in their populations.

In UK waters, however, most commercial finfish species range fairly widely so relatively small-scale MPAs will have little or no impact upon their status. On the other hand, many commercially important populations of shellfish in UK waters, such as lobsters and scallops, could benefit from carefully planned MPAs.

Spatial measures work well in fisheries management but are not the same as the conservation MPA approach.

Industry role

Global studies have demonstrated that successful MPA designation and management require the involvement of fishermen.

They can help to identify seabed features, collect environmental data and monitor sites. Involvement builds trust and can help to ensure appropriate, rather than aspirational, designation.

The industry also innovates in fisheries management. In recent years, the UK fishing industry has become more modern, efficient, forward-looking and environmentally conscious.

Measures to manage fishing effort and protect spawning areas have been introduced voluntarily by fishermen.

The Trevose Box was agreed between Cornish and continental fishermen and closes an area of 3600 square miles off North Cornwall each year to protect spawning flatfish.

In Scotland, the Conservation Credits Scheme allows fishermen to top up their days at sea allowance in return for conservation measures.

In Shetland, local fishermen have an agreement to limit sandeel catches to ensure adequate food for seabirds. These schemes are fully endorsed by groups like WWF and RSPB.

Fishermen have been an easy target for much that is wrong with the marine environment today but that's not fair. The industry has changed and we all need to look further ahead to some much more fundamental problems.

All that we have all been working for will come to nothing if we cannot address the problem of ocean acidification that is resulting from increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

Put simply, if we don't resolve this one we will lose most of the services that our oceans provide, including providing us with 50% of our life-giving oxygen.

We must work together to create a sustainable marine environment for future generations, and we must conserve our oceans - one of mankind's greatest natural resources really is under threat.

Phil MacMullen is head of environmental responsibility at Seafish, an industry-funded body that aims to "support the seafood industry for a sustainable, profitable future".

The Green Room is a series of opinion articles on environmental topics running weekly on the BBC News website.

Read more!

Comets Didn't Wipe out Sabertooths, Early Americans?
Richard A. Lovett, National Geographic News 23 Oct 09;

A comet impact didn't set off a 1,300-year cold snap that wiped out most life in North America about 12,900 years ago, scientists say.

Though no one disputes the occurrence of the frigid period, known as the Younger Dryas, more and more researchers have been unable to confirm a 2007 finding that says a collision triggered the change.

The earlier study says the drop in temperature, plus fires from the purported impact, wiped out sabertooths, mastodons, and other giant animals, and may have caused the decline of an early civilization known as the Clovis culture.

The 2007 research was based on a combination of archaeological artifacts and extraterrestrial magnetic grains in soil samples found in a thin layer of sediment throughout North America.

The original team, led by Richard Firestone, a nuclear chemist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, also found what he said are traces of charcoal and microscopic bits of carbon from intense fires ignited by the collision.

However new research, presented at a meeting of the Geological Society of America this week in Portland, Oregon, has taken aim at all of these findings.

Wetlands and Mini-Meteorites

Nicholas Pinter, a geologist at Southern Illinois University, argued that black mats described as charcoal in the 2007 research weren't actually charcoal.

Instead they were from ancient, dark soil formed in a long-ago wetland, Pinter said.

"It's a misunderstanding of what these layers represent."

Likewise, the small amounts of carbon "are not uniquely associated with high-intensity fire," he said.

As for the magnetic grains, they may well have come from outer space, he said.

But the grains are likely from the 30,000 tons of tiny meteorites that fall to Earth each year.

He found such grains in equal or greater concentrations at many other layers dating to other time periods.

Evolution of Style

Vance Holliday, an archaeologist at the University of Arizona, added that there is no sign that the demise of the Clovis culture was caused by a comet crash.

Around the time of the cold snap, the style of spearpoints changed—which Firestone and colleagues argued was evidence that the Clovis peoples had declined due to the comet impact.

But Holliday said it reflects a normal evolution in preference. He compared spearpoint designs to the appearance—and disappearance—of tail fins on classic automobiles.

"We really don't know what style means in the archaeological record," he said. Tastes "come and go. We don't know why."

But "an extraterrestrial impact is an unnecessary solution for an archaeological problem that doesn't exist."

Sticking to His Guns

Firestone, the original proponent of the comet theory, is sticking to his guns.

Though no one can prove the Clovis disappeared, the total number of spearpoints plummeted after the impact, he said by email.

Likewise, other research has shown a gap of more than a hundred years between the Clovis and the ensuing Folsom culture, Firestone pointed out.

As for the other evidence, the comet-impact layer is very thin, he told Australia's Cosmos Magazine, and is easy to miss if samples are diluted with soils from adjacent layers.

University of Southern Illinois' Pinter is also wrong about the charcoal and carbon fragments, he added. These substances are not widespread as soil would be, and are found only in a narrow band of sediment.

In addition, the magnetic grains are not the same composition as what's found in typical tiny meteorites, he added.

Read more!

$2bn threat to Australia from rising oceans

Adam Morton and Peter Ker, The Age 27 Oct 09;

In Victoria, the most consistent threat is at Western Port, with nearly one-fifth of the region south-east of Melbourne likely to be inundated, damaging the environment and infrastructure.

About 18,000 Western Port properties valued at nearly $2 billion are considered vulnerable to flood.

Nationwide, more than 700,000 coastal properties with a combined worth of about $150 billion are potentially at risk, the report finds.

In parts of northern Australia, it warns, coastal communities will also become more vulnerable to insect-borne disease, and the celebrated Kakadu National Park's freshwater wetlands faces being flooded with saltwater.

The report by the Standing Committee on Climate Change, Water, Environment and the Arts, calls on Canberra to boost its role in preparing coastal communities for the threats, working with states and local governments. Its recommendations include:

* Increasing biosecurity to protect Australians from dengue fever and chikungunya virus.

*Asking the Productivity Commission to look at the impact of climate change on the insurance industry, including recommending a clear definition of when an insurance claim would be payable after an event triggered by climate change.

*Considering bans on occupation or rebuilding on properties deemed at risk.

*Classifying more coastal wetlands as sites of international significance under the Ramsar convention.

*Expanding research into the impact of climate change on Australian lives, ecosystems and property.

The report calls for the Australian Emergency Management Committee to be charged with improving access and evacuation routes for coastal communities. It compares the potential risks they face to those experienced by people fleeing this year's Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria.

''Evacuation routes were a significant contributing factor to the extent of the tragedy,'' the report says. ''A reliable evacuation route is vital in a disaster management strategy.

''It is therefore imperative that evacuation routes and methods be examined when developing community emergency responses.''

On insect-borne disease, the report says immediate action is needed to get better early warning of threats. ''The significant outbreak, in early 2009, of dengue fever in Cairns, Queensland, with over 1000 cases marks a cause for concern,'' it says.

The emergency committee would also be asked to devise improved early warning systems for coastal areas hit by storm surges, erosion and floods.

The climate change committee cites the advice of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that sea levels are likely to rise about 80 centimetres by 2100.

But the increased potential for storm surges under climate change means properties even further above current sea levels are expected to be at risk.

Climate scientists warn that even a 50-centimetre sea-level rise is expected to increase the number of extreme tidal events by a factor of 300.

The area at risk of storm surges is expected to grow by up to 15 per cent by 2030 and up to 63 per cent by 2070, when what would now be called a ''1-in-100 year storm'' is tipped to hit Victoria at least once in four years.

Western Port is considered particularly environmentally sensitive, with its tidal nature creating valuable mangrove and mudflat ecosystems. It has several marine national parks and is internationally recognised under Ramsar as a wetland of significance for migratory birds.

Greg Hunt, an environmental consultant who works with six local councils around Western Port on climate change issues, said coastal villages in the City of Casey, such as Tooradin, were among the most susceptible to rising sea levels.

He said consideration should also be given to industries supported by the bay, including fishing and agriculture.

''It's not a sexy bay like Port Phillip Bay, with sandy beaches, but it's a very productive area and climate change has the potential to alter that productivity,'' he said.

''If we get inundation of coastal lands by salt water, then that changes and we can no longer grow pastures or at least the same pastures.

''We produce a lot of food from that area, so if their data is correct then our food production is going to have impacts.''

Bittern resident Brian Cuming, who has long campaigned to protect Western Port from what he sees as inappropriate development, said the projections further challenged those wishing to develop the region.

''There will be many sociological concerns about planning, but this reinforces and adds to our concerns about the lack of wisdom in planning an expanded port,'' he said.

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong is expected to deliver the first major assessment of the vulnerability of Australia's coast to sea level rise next month.MORE than 80,000 coastal buildings in Victoria are at risk and large parts of Western Port are likely to be swamped as climate change triggers rising seas, floods and erosion, a report to Federal Parliament has warned.

An 18-month investigation by a House of Representatives committee, backed by members of both major parties, warns the Government that the ''time to act is now'' to prepare thousands of kilometres of Australian coastline for the threat of sea-level rise and extreme weather.

Proposals include improving evacuation routes for coastal communities and introducing early warning systems for coastal areas.

Climate change a threat to coastal development
ABC News 26 Oct 09;

A parliamentary committee on the effect of climate change on Australia's coastline has flagged a plan to ban the occupation of areas threatened by rising sea levels.

The Joint Standing Committee on climate change has called for 2012 to be the Year of the Coast to raise awareness of the dangers posed by rising sea levels as part of a nationally coordinated plan.

The report recommends all governments work together to create a national coastal-zone agreement which would include upgrading the building code to reflect the changing environment.

The climate change committee's chairwoman, Jenny George, says the agreement should replace the current system which she says is complex and highly fragmented.

Ms George says the Productivity Commission should conduct an inquiry into the consequences for the insurance industry, given the concentration of population along Australia's coastline.

"We make several recommendations dealing with insurance and legal matters and how our planning schemes can better respond to projected climate change impacts," she said.

"The vexed issue of insurance cover in vulnerable coastal areas is a matter we recommend be referred to the Productivity Commission for further investigation and consultation with the industry."

The committee recommends that consequences could include a law preventing occupation and development on land threatened by the sea.

Ms George says the law needs to be clarified about who is responsible for protecting property from climate change.

"Uncertainties about legal liability and associated matters was one of the issues most frequently raised in evidence to the committee, particularly by local government authorities," she said.

"In that regard the committee has recommended that the Australian Law Reform Commission undertake an early inquiry into the liability facing public authorities and property owners in respect of climate change."

The committee's deputy chairman, Mal Washer, says there are already significant problems.

"Really, when you go around our coast and we went around and we had a look, there's little in reality left of our coast," he said.

"It's all got groynes or sand bags or pumping sand - its a disaster, its washed away," he said.

The committee also found there needs to be better preparation for major coastal disasters, including improved evacuation routes and early warning systems.

The report called for urgent action to protect Australians from the threat of diseases like dengue fever.

The committee also says there should be a major study into the how vulnerable the Torres Strait Islands are to climate change.

It says the work should be done by the Federal Government in conjunction with Queensland, the CSIRO and Indigenous communities in the Torres Strait.

Development ban flagged for eroding coastline
Naomi Woodley ABC News 27 Oct 09;

A Federal Parliamentary report has raised the possibility of banning human occupation in areas of Australia's coastline threatened by rising sea levels.

The Lower House environment committee has spent 18 months examining the effect the changing climate will have on coastal Australia.

The committee is calling for a new national approach to managing climate change, rising sea levels and coastal erosion in many Australian communities.

The committee's chair, Labor MP Jennie George, wants an all-government ministerial council.

"This would replace what is often described as complex and highly fragmented arrangements currently applying across jurisdictions, sectors and agencies," she said.

The committee wants the Productivity Commission to investigate the implications of climate change for the insurance industry - it is suggested that the Commission look into ways in which the Government could ban occupation or development of land, facing sea hazards.

With 80 per cent of Australia's population based in coastal areas, it is a recommendation that could have significant implications, but it has pleased Alan Stokes from the National Seachange Taskforce.

"There are areas around the Australian coast that are vulnerable to such an extent to the impact of climate change, that there can be no guarantee that people can live there in the future in a sense of security and there is a need to get government agreement on this," he said.

Mr Stokes says the committee's recommendations should be treated as a blueprint for the future of Australia's coastline.

"Unless they're adopted, what we're really looking at is the prospect of losing those attributes in the coast and in coastal communities that people find so attractive at the moment," he said.

Moral issue

While the committee's report may add practical considerations to the current emissions trading debate - politicians will today be urged to also remember the moral implications of the changing climate.

The Chair of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, Thea Ormerod, says religious leaders from a range of faiths will be calling for higher emissions targets and more assistance for developing countries, when they meet Government and Opposition MPs in Canberra today.

"I think sometimes people even in the churches tend to see it as a political issue, an economic issue or an environmental issue, but I think there's a growing interest in this as a spiritual and moral issue of our time," she said.

Rising sea levels threatening homes
AAP, The Age 27 Oct 09;

Federal MP Tony Abbott is unconcerned that beachfront areas of his northern Sydney electorate may be inundated by rising sea levels caused by climate change.

Sea levels had risen along the NSW coast by more than 20 centimetres during the past century, the Liberal frontbencher said.

"Has anyone noticed it? No, they haven't," he told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.

Mr Abbott, whose electorate of Warringah takes in Manly, Harbord, Dee Why Curl Curl and Balmoral, on Sydney's north shore, was responding to a parliamentary inquiry report which canvassed the option of forcing people living near the coast to move from their homes as climate-induced sea levels rose.

Australia had the resources to cope with the issue in "the normal way", he said.

"Ask the Dutch, they've been coping with this kind of thing for centuries and they seem to manage."

Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said a rise in sea levels would cause a big re-alignment of coastal housing and other buildings.

"(Climate Change Minister) Penny Wong herself has said that up to 700,000 properties are threatened this century by rising sea levels on the eastern Australian seaboard," he told reporters.

The government and opposition should be looking at how they would prevent people settling in areas threatened by rising sea levels in coming decades.

Senator Brown had some advice for people already living in areas likely to be under threat.

"Assess your future and become active with the Rudd government and the opposition who simply don't get the need for action on climate change."

Greens climate change spokeswoman Christine Milne said the inquiry's finding revealed a "complete disconnect" between science and the climate change policies of Labor and the coalition.

"This is not just for people on the coast, people who live on estuaries are extremely vulnerable as well," she said, urging householders to check their insurance policies to ensure they were covered for storm damage and flooding.

Senior Liberal senator Eric Abetz admitted he had not read the report, but hoped it was based on sound information.

Sea levels were unlikely to rise overnight, he said.

"So, we've still got some time."

Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce said sea levels had been rising for about 10,000 years.

"And if you wait around they'll cover the flood plains of the major capital cities," he told reporters, adding that a "massive new tax" from an emissions trading scheme (ETS) would not stop the sea rising.

He accused the government of "grossly exaggerating" the effects of climate change to get its package of ETS bills approved by parliament.

Nationals MP Darren Chester rejected suggestions the inquiry's findings were a "wake-up call".

"People are certainly aware of the forecast," he said.

Labor backbenchers Jim Turnour, Graham Perrett and Mark Dreyfus said the report highlighted the need for a vote on the government's carbon pollution reduction scheme before December's UN climate summit in Copenhagen.

Read more!

Statisticians reject global cooling

Seth Borenstein, Associated Press Yahoo News 27 Oct 09;

WASHINGTON – Have you heard that the world is now cooling instead of warming? You may have seen some news reports on the Internet or heard about it from a provocative new book. Only one problem: It's not true, according to an analysis of the numbers done by several independent statisticians for The Associated Press.

The case that the Earth might be cooling partly stems from recent weather. Last year was cooler than previous years. It's been a while since the super-hot years of 1998 and 2005. So is this a longer climate trend or just weather's normal ups and downs?

In a blind test, the AP gave temperature data to four independent statisticians and asked them to look for trends, without telling them what the numbers represented. The experts found no true temperature declines over time.

"If you look at the data and sort of cherry-pick a micro-trend within a bigger trend, that technique is particularly suspect," said John Grego, a professor of statistics at the University of South Carolina.

Yet the idea that things are cooling has been repeated in opinion columns, a BBC news story posted on the Drudge Report and in a new book by the authors of the best-seller "Freakonomics." Last week, a poll by the Pew Research Center found that only 57 percent of Americans now believe there is strong scientific evidence for global warming, down from 77 percent in 2006.

Global warming skeptics base their claims on an unusually hot year in 1998. Since then, they say, temperatures have dropped — thus, a cooling trend. But it's not that simple.

Since 1998, temperatures have dipped, soared, fallen again and are now rising once more. Records kept by the British meteorological office and satellite data used by climate skeptics still show 1998 as the hottest year. However, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA show 2005 has topped 1998. Published peer-reviewed scientific research generally cites temperatures measured by ground sensors, which are from NOAA, NASA and the British, more than the satellite data.

The recent Internet chatter about cooling led NOAA's climate data center to re-examine its temperature data. It found no cooling trend.

"The last 10 years are the warmest 10-year period of the modern record," said NOAA climate monitoring chief Deke Arndt. "Even if you analyze the trend during that 10 years, the trend is actually positive, which means warming."

The AP sent expert statisticians NOAA's year-to-year ground temperature changes over 130 years and the 30 years of satellite-measured temperatures preferred by skeptics and gathered by scientists at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Statisticians who analyzed the data found a distinct decades-long upward trend in the numbers, but could not find a significant drop in the past 10 years in either data set. The ups and downs during the last decade repeat random variability in data as far back as 1880.

Saying there's a downward trend since 1998 is not scientifically legitimate, said David Peterson, a retired Duke University statistics professor and one of those analyzing the numbers.

Identifying a downward trend is a case of "people coming at the data with preconceived notions," said Peterson, author of the book "Why Did They Do That? An Introduction to Forensic Decision Analysis."

One prominent skeptic said that to find the cooling trend, the 30 years of satellite temperatures must be used. The satellite data tends to be cooler than the ground data. And key is making sure 1998 is part of the trend, he added.

It's what happens within the past 10 years or so, not the overall average, that counts, contends Don Easterbrook, a Western Washington University geology professor and global warming skeptic.

"I don't argue with you that the 10-year average for the past 10 years is higher than the previous 10 years," said Easterbrook, who has self-published some of his research. "We started the cooling trend after 1998. You're going to get a different line depending on which year you choose.

"Should not the actual temperature be higher now than it was in 1998?" Easterbrook asked. "We can play the numbers games."

That's the problem, some of the statisticians said.

Grego produced three charts to show how choosing a starting date can alter perceptions. Using the skeptics' satellite data beginning in 1998, there is a "mild downward trend," he said. But doing that is "deceptive."

The trend disappears if the analysis starts in 1997. And it trends upward if you begin in 1999, he said.

Apart from the conflicting data analyses is the eyebrow-raising new book title from Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, "Super Freakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance."

A line in the book says: "Then there's this little-discussed fact about global warming: While the drumbeat of doom has grown louder over the past several years, the average global temperature during that time has in fact decreased."

That led to a sharp rebuke from the Union of Concerned Scientists, which said the book mischaracterizes climate science with "distorted statistics."

Levitt, a University of Chicago economist, said he does not believe there is a cooling trend. He said the line was just an attempt to note the irony of a cool couple of years at a time of intense discussion of global warming. Levitt said he did not do any statistical analysis of temperatures, but "eyeballed" the numbers and noticed 2005 was hotter than the last couple of years. Levitt said the "cooling" reference in the book title refers more to ideas about trying to cool the Earth artificially.

Statisticians say that in sizing up climate change, it's important to look at moving averages of about 10 years. They compare the average of 1999-2008 to the average of 2000-2009. In all data sets, 10-year moving averages have been higher in the last five years than in any previous years.

"To talk about global cooling at the end of the hottest decade the planet has experienced in many thousands of years is ridiculous," said Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution at Stanford.

Ben Santer, a climate scientist at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Lab, called it "a concerted strategy to obfuscate and generate confusion in the minds of the public and policymakers" ahead of international climate talks in December in Copenhagen.

President Barack Obama weighed in on the topic Friday at MIT. He said some opponents "make cynical claims that contradict the overwhelming scientific evidence when it comes to climate change — claims whose only purpose is to defeat or delay the change that we know is necessary."

Earlier this year, climate scientists in two peer-reviewed publications statistically analyzed recent years' temperatures against claims of cooling and found them not valid.

Not all skeptical scientists make the flat-out cooling argument.

"It pretty much depends on when you start," wrote John Christy, the Alabama atmospheric scientist who collects the satellite data that skeptics use. He said in an e-mail that looking back 31 years, temperatures have gone up nearly three-quarters of a degree Fahrenheit (four-tenths of a degree Celsius). The last dozen years have been flat, and temperatures over the last eight years have declined a bit, he wrote.

Oceans, which take longer to heat up and longer to cool, greatly influence short-term weather, causing temperatures to rise and fall temporarily on top of the overall steady warming trend, scientists say. The biggest example of that is El Nino.

El Nino, a temporary warming of part of the Pacific Ocean, usually spikes global temperatures, scientists say. The two recent warm years, both 1998 and 2005, were El Nino years. The flip side of El Nino is La Nina, which lowers temperatures. A La Nina bloomed last year and temperatures slipped a bit, but 2008 was still the ninth hottest in 130 years of NOAA records.

Of the 10 hottest years recorded by NOAA, eight have occurred since 2000, and after this year it will be nine because this year is on track to be the sixth-warmest on record.

The current El Nino is forecast to get stronger, probably pushing global temperatures even higher next year, scientists say. NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt predicts 2010 may break a record, so a cooling trend "will be never talked about again."

Read more!

U.S. households could cut emissions sharply: study

David Morgan, Reuters 26 Oct 09;

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States could cut climate-changing carbon emissions significantly over the next decade by getting American households to take actions that require no new laws or regulations and no loss of well-being, a report said on Monday.

A research team led by Michigan State University estimated that 7.4 percent of current U.S. emissions -- slightly more than the total emissions of France -- could be eliminated in 10 years if U.S. households became energy-efficient by adopting available forms of technology, including more fuel-efficient cars and home heating systems.

The result could help buy time for the environment while the United States and other countries consider longer-term solutions to reduce carbon emissions such as the cap-and-trade strategy now being debated in the U.S. Congress.

The researchers identified 33 specific energy-saving actions ranging from weather-stripping of homes and using slow-flow shower heads to reducing laundry temperatures and driving at highway speeds of 55 mph and under.

The actions would appreciably reduce energy consumption and either cost little or offer attractive returns on investment without requiring changes in lifestyle.

But the study said comprehensive marketing efforts that combine mass media promotions, community-based information campaigns and informal social pressures with financial incentives would be required to induce enough American households to make the necessary changes.

PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN

It pointed to the Obama administration's "cash-for-clunkers" program as an example of a promotional campaign that can change behavior through marketing, financial incentives and consumer convenience. The rebate program resulted in the purchase of nearly 700,000 more fuel efficient cars and trucks.

"Our estimates ... provide a reasonable initial guide to what can be achieved by active promotion," the research team led by Thomas Dietz of Michigan State University wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Direct energy use by U.S. households, including nonbusiness travel, is a leading source of greenhouse gases and accounted for 690 millions tons (626 million metric tonnes) of carbon in 2005. That equals 38 percent of U.S. carbon emissions and 8 percent of global emissions -- more than the total emissions of any single country except China.

Dietz, who was joined by colleagues at the University of Michigan, Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and the U.S. National Research Council, said more energy-efficient habits could cut U.S. household emissions by 20 percent in 10 years.

That would be more than all U.S. emissions from the petroleum refining, iron and steel, and aluminum industries, which are among the largest industrial emitters.

The study said similar savings rates could be achieved in Canada and Australia, where carbon profiles are roughly equivalent to those of U.S. households.

The study sought to gauge the responsiveness of American households by looking at studies of behavioral changes that followed interventions on environmental and health topics.

Researchers also used state, city and community programs implemented in response to the energy crises of the 1970s as a basis for their national estimates.

(Editing by Julie Steenhuysen and Mohammad Zargham)

Simple U.S. lifestyle tweaks key in climate change fight: study
Yahoo News 26 Oct 09;

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States could cut greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of France's total annual emissions by getting Americans to make simple lifestyle changes, like regularly maintaining their cars or insulating their attics, a study showed Monday.

If US households took 17 easy-to-implement actions -- like switching to a fuel-efficient vehicle, drying laundry on a clothesline instead of in a dryer, or turning down the thermostat -- carbon emissions could be cut by 123 metric tons a year by the 10th year, the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found.

"This amounts to... 7.4 percent of total national emissions -- an amount slightly larger than the total national emissions of France," showed the study led by Thomas Dietz of Michigan State University's department of sociology and environmental science and policy.

"It is greater than reducing to zero all emissions in the United States from the petroleum-refining, iron and steel, and aluminum industries, each of which is among the largest emitters in the industrial sector," the study said.

But the lifestyle changes come with a much smaller price tag and no great change to the way Americans live.

At present, US direct household energy use accounts for 38 percent of the country's carbon emissions, or 626 million metric tons of carbon -- a whopping eight percent of global emissions "and larger than the emissions of any entire country except China."

To quickly bring down those numbers, the researchers suggested greater focus on consumer behavioral changes and less on efforts to develop new technologies and put in place so-called cap and trade regimes.

The researchers grouped 17 actions Americans could take to reduce carbon emissions into five groups: weatherization, switching to more efficient equipment, maintaining equipment, adjusting appliance setting -- such as the temperature on water heaters -- and modifying daily personal use.

The action with the greatest potential to reduce US carbon emissions was the switch to a fuel-efficient vehicle. That alone would, according to the study's model, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by just over five percent by year 10, or by more than 31 million metric tons.

Weatherizing homes by improving attic insulation, sealing or replacing drafty windows and doors, could cut carbon emissions by 21 million metric tons.

Installing energy-efficient appliances to replace those that have reached the end of their useful life would save nearly 12 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

Even seemingly minor steps like not speeding away from a stop sign when driving, regularly maintaining one's car, or turning down the heating at home in the winter to 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius), could save between four and eight million metric tons in carbon emissions by year 10.

The lifestyle tweaks and positive results don't have to be limited to the United States, either.

Similar percentage reductions are possible in Canada and Australia, which have carbon profiles comparable to that of the United States, while Europe and Japan could save around half of the US level in percentage terms by getting their citizens to make the same changes, the study said.

Climate Change Begins at Home: Small Steps to Cut Greenhouse Emissions Can Lead to Big Results
A new study shows how household improvements, such as better insulation, could cut U.S. carbon emissions by more than 7 percent
David Biello Scientific American 26 Oct 09;

American homes and their energy consumption account for nearly 40 percent of U.S. emissions, 626 million metric tons of carbon in 2005 alone. But 33 simple actions—ranging from improving the insulation to carpooling—could cut those annual carbon emissions by 123 million metric tons. That savings would more than entirely offset emissions from petroleum refineries, iron and steel works, and aluminum smelters combined.

"We did a careful analysis of the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from changes in energy use by households. We did this by considering not only the hypothetical reduction that would occur if everyone undertook each action but by looking at what is behaviorally realistic," explains ecologist and sociologist Thomas Dietz of Michigan State University, one of the authors of the study laying out the possibilities in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "A substantial amount of energy use in U.S. households is wasted, and there have been successful programs to eliminate that waste."

Based on this analysis of potential emissions-cutting measures—as well as the success of programs to inspire them—weatherizing homes as well as properly maintaining heating and cooling systems could save more than 37 million metric tons of carbon. Boosting average fuel efficiency in 50 percent of cars from 20.8 miles per gallon to 30.7 mpg—and there are at least 26 vehicles available today that would do that, ranging from compact cars to sport utility vehicles—would save roughly 30 million metric tons. Carpooling, energy-efficient appliances and equipment, and even changing the temperature on washing machines and water heaters also add to the effect. And if 25 percent of drivers went back to driving 55 miles per hour on the highway, nearly eight million metric tons of carbon could be avoided each year by reducing fuel consumption 21 percent.

"People are busy, and when you gasp at your energy bill or at the gas pump you don't know what part of that bill is paying for something you want—like heating, cooling and transportation—and what part of it is just wasted," Dietz says. "We need to make it easier for people to make the links and, for some things, like weatherization, help with the up-front costs."

Similar efforts on a regional scale, such as the Hood River Conservation Project, convinced some 85 percent of possible participants to better weatherproof their homes through a mixture of financial incentives, mass media campaigns and other interventions. And the recent national "cash for clunkers" program for trading in old cars for newer, more efficient vehicles was highly popular "because the money was available up front and not as a tax rebate months later," Dietz says. "The paperwork was done by the dealerships not the car buyers, and it was well publicized by the dealers and, we think, by word of mouth," he adds.

Similar efforts to promote solar power in New Jersey, for example, have largely failed because they involve significant paperwork, delays in collecting financial incentives, and incomplete or hidden information. Similarly, programs to weatherize homes as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the federal stimulus package, may fail because they are not widely known and feature an incentive in the form of a tax credit that could take up to a year to collect. "We have neglected behavioral sciences research on energy since 1980," Dietz notes. "Consumer preferences aren't a given, [or] else there wouldn't be a multibillion dollar advertising industry."

Perhaps the simplest change to make is eliminating so-called "standby" electricity, or the energy needed to run devices, such as televisions, even when they are turned off. The emissions associated with that wasted power amount to an average of more than 94 kilograms of carbon per year for every one of the 111 million households with electricity in the U.S.—more than 10 million metric tons of carbon nationwide every year. A simple power strip that can be flicked off would eliminate all of that.

Read more!

U.N. lowers expectations for Copenhagen climate deal

Louis Charbonneau, Reuters 26 Oct 09;

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations on Monday lowered expectations for clinching a legally binding agreement at a U.N. climate change summit in Copenhagen in December, saying it might take longer to secure a final deal.

For months Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other top officials at the United Nations have been urging industrialized and developing nations to overcome their differences so they can "seal the deal" and get a binding agreement in Copenhagen.

But recently U.N. officials and diplomats have said privately that it is unlikely a legally binding deal on reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be clinched at the Copenhagen summit. They have suggested that the most that could be expected was a nonbinding political declaration.

Ban's climate adviser Janos Pasztor made clear that the secretary-general was planning for "post-Copenhagen" talks.

He said Ban believes we must "continue to aim for an ambitious politically binding agreement in Copenhagen that would chart the way for future post-Copenhagen negotiations that lead to a legally binding global agreement."

"Climate change is not going to be resolved in Copenhagen in the next few weeks," Pasztor said. "We always knew that. It's a long-term problem that will be with us for many years, if not decades, to come. So Copenhagen has to be a milestone."

Ban told a gathering of business leaders in Seattle that he still wanted a strong result in Copenhagen. "We will do our best and try to have a substantive agreement," he said.

"After Copenhagen we may not expect ... to agree on all elements," he said. "But we should have a broad agreement."

U.S. ROLE CRUCIAL IN GLOBAL CLIMATE TALKS

Pasztor expressed concern about a new poll showing that the U.S. public was not convinced that the threat posed by global warming was so dire, despite mounting scientific evidence that carbon emissions are harming the climate and the planet.

Ban has repeatedly voiced his concerns about the United States, which had resisted mandatory carbon emissions limits under former President George W. Bush.

Bush's successor, Barack Obama, has reversed U.S. policy on climate change, voicing support for mandatory emission limits and a carbon emission limit trading scheme.

But draft U.S. legislation on climate change is still not ready for approval, and diplomats and U.N. officials say that adoption of the new U.S. legislation will be crucial for securing a global agreement on fighting global warming.

Ban said in Seattle that he was "very encouraged by the strong commitment of the Obama administration."

"The (U.S.) domestic legislation may not be specific enough but it can have a huge impact," he added.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen warned international parliamentarians in Copenhagen on Saturday that climate talks have been "painfully slow," saying that they may fail to reach an ambitious agreement in time.

Rasmussen said crucial questions remained unresolved, including the commitment of industrialized nations to mid-term targets to reduce emissions and developing countries' commitments to national steps to curb emissions growth.

(Additional reporting by Laura Myers in Seattle; Editing by Philip Barbara)

Ban lays out criteria for successful Copenhagen gathering on climate change
UNEP 26 Oct 09;

New York, 26 October 2009 - As just over one month remains before nations converge in Copenhagen to 'seal the deal' on a new climate change agreement, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has laid out his four benchmarks for success at the negotiations in the Danish capital.

Firstly, he wrote in an opinion piece in the New York Times published yesterday, every country - developed and developing - must do all it can to slash emissions from all sources, including deforestation and shipping.

"A successful deal must strengthen the world's ability to cope with an already changing climate," Mr. Ban added, stressing that "support for adaptation is not only an ethical imperative; it is a smart investment in a more stable, secure world."

Thirdly, any deal must be backed by funding to allow poorer countries to transition to a low-carbon economy.

Lastly, the Secretary-General wrote, nations must agree on an equitable global governance structure. "All countries must have a voice in how resources are deployed and managed. That is how trust will be built."

Despite the gridlock at the last round of climate change negotiations held in Bangkok, Thailand, earlier this month, "the elements of a deal are on the table," he underscored.

All that is needed to put them in place is political will, Mr. Ban said. "We need to step back from narrow national interest and engage in frank and constructive discussion in a spirit of global common cause."

The leadership of the United States in this endeavour, he said, is vital, noting that he is encouraged by last week's bipartisan initiative in the US Senate.

"We cannot afford another period where the United States stands on the sidelines," Mr. Ban emphasized, adding that an "indecisive or insufficiently engaged" US will result in unnecessary and unaffordable delays in tackling global warming.

With the last round of negotiations before the start of the Copenhagen conference kicking off next week in Barcelona, Spain, "we are now at a rather critical juncture," Janos Pasztor, Director of the Secretary-General's Climate Change Support Team, told reporters today in New York.

There is a flurry of activity in the world's capitals, with this uptick in activity expected to continue during the final stretch before the December summit, he said. "This is a good development as it is only governments who can make the deal and bring us success in Copenhagen."

When leaders assemble in Denmark, they have the ability to "deliver an agreement on a range of fast-track implementation measures for which credible resources are needed and which governments need to make available," Mr. Pasztor stated.

The Secretary-General, he said, is serving as a "neutral broker" among all 192 UN Member States, pressing for an ambitious multilateral deal to ensure that global temperature increases remain within safe levels.

Read more!

Combating Climate Change and Realizing Low Carbon Growth in Developing Economies

UNEP 26 Oct 09;

UNEP and Finance Groups Spotlight Transformative Policies to Beat Down the Barriers

Cape Town, 26 October 2009 - Ways of triggering multi-billion dollar, low carbon technology investments in developing economies are outlined in a new report today.

Experts indicate that investments of around US$500 billion a year will be needed to assist developing countries adapt to climate change while powering low carbon growth.

Much of the money will come from the private sector but will only flow if creative public policies that reflect the differing circumstances of developing economies are swiftly adopted, says the report issued by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and a global partnership of investors and insurance companies.

The report, Catalysing Low Carbon Growth in Developing Economies: public finance mechanisms to scale up private sector investment in climate solutions, was prepared by Vivid Economics based on case studies. The report makes several broad recommendations to overcome current hurdles.

1. Country risk cover - Insurance against country risk - i.e. risk of expropriation, breach of contract, war and civil disturbance - should be expanded and explicitly provided to support low carbon funds.

2. Low-carbon policy risk cover - Insurance should be provided where countries renege on policy frameworks / incentive schemes that are underpinning low-carbon investments, e.g. emissions trading, renewable energy support mechanisms.

3. Funds to hedge currency risk - Public finance could provide currency funds which offer cost-effective hedges for local currencies which would otherwise not be available in the commercial foreign exchange markets.

4. Improving deal flow - In order to provide a series of easily executable, commercially attractive projects, vehicles specializing in early-stage low carbon projects could be developed, and technical assistance could be provided to increase demand.

5. Public sector taking subordinated equity positions in funds - the public sector could invest directly in low carbon funds via "first loss equity", thereby improving the overall risk-return profile of such vehicles.

The findings were presented today in Cape Town at the 2009 Global Roundtable of the UNEP Finance Initiative which brings together investors, financial institutions, policymakers and civil society from around the world.

Background

The total investment required to avoid dangerous climate change is more than US$1 trillion per annum, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The World Bank suggests that around half of this will have to be deployed in the developing world.

The public and private sectors have complementary roles to play in meeting this challenge. Demands on public finances are acute, particularly following the recent financial crisis. Private sector investment is therefore critical.

A recent study commissioned by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) says the private sector will have to supply close to 90 percent of the funds needed to meet the climate challenge. However, at present, the private sector is unable to undertake the level of investment needed in developing countries because the returns on low carbon investments are not commensurate with the risks.

Today's report considers how public sector funds can be deployed most effectively to leverage private sector investment in developing countries. This requires an effective distribution of roles between public and private sectors.

It says that through appropriate public finance mechanisms (PFMs), the public sector can assist in managing those risks that the private sector is not able to control and alter the risk reward balance for private investors.

PFMs can also fund the technical assistance required to generate demand for low-carbon projects at a scale likely to be attractive for large private sector investors. Furthermore, PFMs can leverage significant private capital, with previous research suggesting that US$1 of public money spent through well-designed mechanisms can leverage between US$3 and US$15 of private sector investment

One of the report's recommendations is for the establishment of a forum for on-going dialogue between the public and private sectors, to improve the design of the proposals outlined and implement the mechanisms proposed.

Quotes from Partners and Experts

Achim Steiner, United Nations Under Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said "Combating climate change represents an important opportunity to move economies onto a low carbon, resource efficient, Green Economy path. If this is to succeed, developing countries should and must be part of that transformation. Today's report underlines a range of public policy options that reflect the varying circumstances currently prevailing in developing economies and show how existing barriers to a Green Economy can be leap-frogged. In doing so it opens the door to a new partnership between North and South."

Lord Stern, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Special Adviser to the Group Chairman of HSBC, said: "Now is the time for investors and policy makers to work together, not just to limit the severe risks from climate change, but also to seize the opportunities available from low-carbon economic growth. This is a critical moment, with barely 40 days until the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December, when governments from around the world will attempt to agree on a strong and effective international agreement. This report offers valuable examples of how public and private finance can be mobilized effectively to drive the transition to a future era of dynamic low-carbon growth."

Rob Lake, Head of Sustainability at APG Asset Management, a member of IIGCC and P8, said: "Investors are starting to speak with one voice on climate change. We are calling on policymakers to maximise the impact of public funds by using them to enable the private sector to mobilise the capital needed to tackle climate change and finance the transition to a low-carbon economy. We need real partnership if we are to meet this enormous challenge."

Nick Robins, Head of the Climate Change Centre with HSBC, and Co-Chair of the UNEP FI Climate Change Working Group, said: "Investors and policymakers increasingly agree on the need to deploy public finance at the margin to mobilise institutional capital for low carbon growth. This report provides real world insights on how public finance mechanisms can work on the ground. It offers a range of approaches for addressing the risks of low carbon investment in developing countries - thereby unlocking the flow of funds that can deliver both healthy returns and progress towards global climate goals."

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 26 Oct 09

Nature Bloggers 2.0 - Level Up!
from The Leafmonkey Workshop

Soft Launch, Clean and Green Singapore
from Fish, Respect And Protect

Singapore nightlife revealed
from Pulau Hantu and more Singapore Nightlife

Tackling trash on Semakau's northern shore
from wild shores of singapore

Life History of the No Brand Grass Yellow
from Butterflies of Singapore

Long-Tailed Parakeets Take 2
from Life's Indulgences

Barn Swallow: Fledgling behaviour
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Changi Beach Midweek
from Begin from home

Reclamation at Jurong Island near natural sites, continues until Feb 10 from wild shores of singapore

Monday Morgue: 26th October 2009
from The Lazy Lizard's Tales

Read more!

Biodiversity can mitigate climate change

Lyn Resurreccion, Business Mirror 25 Oct 09;

SINGAPORE—Climate change is one of the significant causes of biodiversity loss. But, at the same time, biodiversity has an important role in mitigating and adapting to climate change, a diplomat said at the recent Asean Conference on Biodiversity 2009 in Singapore late last week.

Ambassador Holger Standertskjöld, head of the delegation of the European Commission to Singapore, said climate change is one of the biggest environmental, social and economic threats facing the Earth today. It impacts on biodiversity and is one of the causes of biodiversity loss and exacerbates other pressures.

However, “biodiversity and ecosystem services play a fundamental role to mitigate climate change and to adapt to its effects.”

“Coral reefs and mangroves provide natural shoreline protection from storm and flooding. Marine and terrestrial ecosystems currently absorb half of anthropogenic carbon-dioxide emissions. This means climate change will accelerate further if biodiversity and ecosystems are not effectively protected,” Standertskjöld said.

Biodiversity, he said, is important for all human beings because at least 40 percent of the world’s economy and 80 percent of the needs of the poor come from biological resources.

“Biodiversity benefits people through more than just its contribution to material welfare and livelihoods,” he said, noting that it contributes to security, resilience against climate change, social relations, health, and freedom of choices and actions.

“We are stewards of a wonderful natural legacy that we need to pass on intact to future generations. But, sadly, biodiversity loss continues at alarming rates, with serious potential consequences for sustainable livelihoods and sustainable economic growth,” Standertskjöld said.

Southeast Asia is one of biodiversity hot spots

Southeast Asia is one of the Earth’s most important biodiversity hot spots, he said. In the region, 1 percent of its forest cover is lost annually—four times higher than the world average. While in the Philippines alone, more than 150 species are endangered.

Rodrigo Fuentes, executive director of the Asean Center for Biodiversity (ACB), which led the holding of the conference, said in a speech in the same event that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) “impressive and dramatic progress” in the last 50 years came with a “stiff price” in terms of the loss of biodiversity resources.

“We are losing our biodiversity resources and dramatically altering our ecosystems at unprecedented rates,” Fuentes said.

Out of the 64,800 known species in the region, he said 1,313 are endangered, 80 percent of coral reefs are at risk, and deforestation rates are at least twice higher than in higher tropical areas.

“We have narrowed the genetic range of our endemic foods through agricultural intensification, and concentrated the production systems to varieties and species of food that have short rotation,” Fuentes said at the conference, with the theme “Biodiveristy in focus: 2010 and beyond.”

Harvard professor Dr. Aaron Benstein, the conference keynote speaker, said the world’s rich biodiversity has been the source of drugs, but its continued loss has already began to seriously affect human health, such as the occurrence of new infectious diseases.

Standertskjöld said causes of biological diversity loss include extensive deforestation and habitat loss; widespread conversion of land for agriculture; population growth; introduction of invasive species and trafficking in animals.

Deforestation contributes to global warming

He said tropical deforestation is one of the big sources of the greenhouse-gas emissions that are causing global warming, which must be addressed by the global climate agreement in Copenhagen in December.

Standertskjöld said the EC proposes that the future global climate agreement should aim to reduce the total forested area lost in the tropics by at least half of current levels by 2020, and then to halt global forest-cover loss completely by 2030 at the latest.

To provide incentives to developing countries in their efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation, he said the EC has suggested the creation of an international financing mechanism, the Global Forest Carbon Mechanism, which could become the pilot for “Global Ecosystem Carbon Mechanism[s].”

“Ecosystem-based approaches for adaptation and mitigation have the potential for multiple benefits. They can contribute to biodiversity conservation, combating climate change and poverty reduction,” he said.

Access to genetic resources

Standertskjöld said one of the top objectives of the Convention of Biodiversity is the sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way.

He said benefit-sharing is linked to access to genetic resources, the transfer of relevant technologies, information exchange and scientific cooperation. The issue of access and benefit-sharing has been the subject of the European Commission Communication on how to implement the Bonn Guidelines.

A network for access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing has also been established in Europe, to raise awareness of the users’ obligations under the Convention of Biodiversity, he said.

Economics of biodiversity

Standertskjöld said the European Commission, together with Germany and several other partners, have jointly initiated a global study, named “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity.”

The study is evaluating the costs of the loss of biodiversity and the associated decline in ecosystem services worldwide, and comparing them with the costs of effective conservation and sustainable use. The final results will be presented at the Conference of Parties of the Convention of Biodiversity in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan.

Asean initiatives to conserve biodiversity

Standertskjöld acknowledged that Southeast Asian and other governments in the world have increasingly recognized biodiversity conservation as extremely important for human development.

He noted that the governments in the Asean have taken measures to preserve their biodiversity resources, one of which is the creation of the ACB.

The EC, in acknowledging the importance of the ACB, signed a financing agreement with the Asean in April 2005 granting a contribution of €6 million to support the creation of the ACB, Standertskjöld said.

He recognized that the creation of ACB has enhanced policy collaboration on biodiversity in the Asean region to strengthen the institutional capacity on regional and global biodiversity issues and boosted public awareness of biodiversity values and conservation needs.

Standertskjöld said the EU has been involved in efforts to protect the natural heritage in Southeast Asia in the past 20 years through programs and projects, such as promotion of community-based forest management; strengthening protected areas policies and legislation; biodiversity research; agricultural diversification; and marine conservation, among others.

EU initiatives

In the last 25 years the EU countries have built up a vast network of over 26,000 protected areas covering all the EU member-states and a total area of around 850,000 square kilometer, representing more than 20 percent of total EU territory, he said. The sites, known as the Natura 2000 Network—the largest coherent network of protected areas in the world—shows the importance that EU citizens attach to biodiversity, he said.

As a global leader on environmental issues, and being committed to contribute to a significant reduction in the worldwide rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, he said, the EU, in 2006, through its communication on “Halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010—and beyond” reaffirmed the need to enhance funding earmarked for biodiversity and to strengthen measures to mainstream biodiversity in development assistance.

An EU Biodiversity Action Plan accompanied this communication, he said.

Standertskjöld said the EU acknowledged that “we are unlikely to meet our target to halt biodiversity loss in the EU by 2010,” even as targeted measures under EU nature legislation have proven capable of reversing the declining trends of species and habitats of EU conservation concern.

“But even if the biodiversity targets are missed, this must not mean that we should give up or slow our efforts. Quite the opposite: by stepping up our efforts we can replicate the successes we have already achieved on a larger scale,” he said. “Political leaders have to make ‘unprecedented efforts’ to significantly reduce current rates of global biodiversity loss by 2010, and bring us as close to the 2010 target as possible.”

He said the EU continues to place international biodiversity high on its agenda and aims to develop between now and the spring of 2010 its own key strategic principles regarding the objectives to attain beyond 2010.

“This will be the one of the EU’s contributions to the international debate which should aim at agreeing upon the future Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity and a vision for biodiversity beyond 2010,” Standertskjöld said.

Read more!

PM: Cooperate on trade, climate change to boost East Asia Summit

Straits Times 26 Oct 09;

CHA-AM: As the 16 member nations of the fledging East Asia Summit (EAS) continue to try to work more closely, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday had some suggestions.

In a speech he delivered during the fourth EAS held in Cha-am, he laid out some ideas on how the grouping's members could strengthen cooperation.

These include setting up a trade finance mechanism, improving cooperation on fighting climate change, and deepening understanding and appreciation of shared heritage among EAS members.

EAS members include the 10 Asean states, plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Lee started by urging officials of the 16 member-states to start work soon on an appropriate trade finance mechanism. This was necessary, he noted, even though trade finance - a key concern during the global economic crisis earlier this year - has become less urgent now.

'It's still worthwhile to set up a system,' said Mr Lee, noting that officials had held a workshop on the issue in Bangkok earlier this month.

Next, he noted the rising prominence of the Group of 20 (G-20) as a global economic forum, and called on EAS members to support Asean's continued participation in future G-20 discussions.

For this reason, he said, he welcomed a proposal by Australia for EAS finance ministers to meet ahead of G-20 meetings.

Mr Lee then went on to urge governments to band together to support the upswing in world trade and investment.

One way is to create a region-wide Free Trade Area through the Comprehensive Economic Partnership of East Asia, something that is now being considered by EAS members.

'Moving on this quickly will signal our resolve to push for deeper economic integration and trade liberalisation,' observed Mr Lee.

The Singapore leader also singled out the ongoing Nalanda University project as an example of how EAS cooperation could strengthen the understanding and appreciation of shared heritage in the region.

The project, which aims to rebuild the ancient Buddhist university of Nalanda in north-east India, is led by a 10-member Nalanda Mentor Group and is supported by the EAS.

PM Lee said he hopes Nalanda University, scheduled to open in two years' time, will grow into 'a 21st century centre of learning linking South and East Asia'.

He said: 'These are good examples of how deepening EAS cooperation can benefit the entire region'.

Another example of regional cooperation was in disaster management.

Yesterday, EAS leaders issued the Cha-am Hua Hin Statement on EAS Disaster Management, pledging a commitment to cooperate in responding to natural disasters.

KOR KIAN BENG

Asean

# New high-level task force being set up to develop a master plan and infrastructure development fund to improve transport and electronic links.

# Asean Plus Three to implement the US$120billion (S$167billion) Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation by year-end. This is a currency swap arrangement that countries can use to defend their currencies when needed.

# Asean and six dialogue partners - China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand - are studying two economic pacts that could create a free-trade area for a region with 3.1 billion people and combined GDP of US$14.1 trillion.

Dialogue partners have pledged or are contributing to various funds. They include:

# China: US$10 billion for the China-Asean Fund on Investment Cooperation and US$15 billion in commercial credit; US$200 million for the credit guarantee and investment mechanism under the Asian Bonds Market Initiative.

# Japan: US$13 million for the Japan-Asean Integration for cooperation in disaster management and emergency cooperation.

# South Korea: US$100 million from the East Asia Climate Partnership initiative for projects fighting climate change.

# India: US$50 million to the Asean-India Cooperation Fund and Asean Development Fund.

Read more!

Gun Club roped in to keep birds out of Changi airport

Changi says move to forestall bird strikes a measure of last resort
Kimberly Spykerman, Straits Times 26 Oct 09;

GIVEN that flocks of birds can be sucked into and disable aeroplane engines, Changi Airport is determined to keep them out.

With aviation safety in mind, the Changi Airport Group (CAG) has gone as far as to call in members of the Singapore Gun Club to shoot down birds, particularly the larger ones.

As with airports elsewhere, this has put Changi on a collision course with animal activists and zoologists, who argue against the taking of life and for maintaining the diversity of species and the balance of nature, which may be upset with larger predatory birds being taken down.

But with planes making the news from time to time after being forced to land, or even crashing, when migratory birds get caught in their engines, the CAG has had to take preventive measures.

Its spokesman stressed that shooting was a last resort and would be done only on a need-to basis; other bird-control measures used in airports elsewhere are also in place.

The CAG has obtained clearance from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) to trap or shoot birds which pose a threat to air safety.

Gun club members are called in once a month, and weekly between October and March, the migratory season. What started out as an occasional call for help has become a regular assignment.

Club spokesman Patrick Chen, 60, said the group usually looks out for the white-bellied sea eagle, one of the largest birds of prey in South-east Asia and common here.

These coastal birds, which prey on fish and sea snakes, can grow to 0.6m in length from beak to tail tip. Thousands survive in the wild, but their numbers have been declining; they are listed here as birds that could become endangered.

Although they are off the AVA's list of six 'pest birds' like crows and pigeons - fair game for killing - the agency makes exceptions in cases where birds put lives, property and crops at risk.

The gun club said its members take down no more than three eagles on each field trip, and sometimes none at all, because these birds fly fast and as high as 100m above ground.

Smaller birds like hawks and mynahs are left alone because they are less threatening to passenger safety.

Mr Chen said the gun club does not see its task as sport: 'It's not something that is fun or something we enjoy doing. But when it comes to human lives, somebody has got to make a call, and somebody has got to do it.'

The exact number of birds shot down at the airport is unavailable, said CAG.

Animal activists have raised concerns about the ecological impact of these cullings, and do not see the move as a long-term solution to the problem.

Mr Louis Ng, who heads Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) said: 'You can't keep shooting them...If there are areas to roost and food to eat, even if you kill one, another will take its place.'

Retired botany lecturer Wee Yeow Chin, who now heads a group studying bird ecology, pointed out that getting rid of these birds of prey would swell the numbers of smaller pest birds.

Pilot Jaffar Hassan, 36, said he is not too concerned about bird strikes here because air traffic controllers warn pilots of the predicted migratory tracks of birds, and even delay take-offs.

He said that while a bird getting sucked into an engine could well cause engine failure, most planes have more than one engine, making it 'very, very unlikely' that all engines would be crippled and the plane would be in trouble.

He has encountered only one bird strike in his 20 years of flying.

Airport officials said the less drastic measures to keep the birds away, also used at military airports, are not always effective.

For example, rat poison is sprayed on the grounds to keep rats - a food source for birds of prey - in check; stagnant water is drained so mosquitoes, another food source, do not breed.

Holes in the ground are filled so birds cannot pick at earthworms. The grass is always shorn and fruit trees are a no-no.

Sounds of birds in distress, barking dogs and ear-splitting screams are also broadcast to scare birds away.

CAG also works with organisations near the airfield to ensure that they too put similar measures in place.

All such moves are reviewed periodically, given the adaptable nature of birds.

How airports handle birds
Straits Times 26 Oct 09;

SHOOTING birds is one way of protecting planes, but airports around the world are using more innovative methods of keeping birds away which do not require the spilling of blood.

At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, reports of birds striking planes were a common affair and the airport enlisted wildlife experts to solve the problem. One solution implemented: releasing a grape-scented mist from a series of hazing machines. The grape extract in the chemical cocktail, methyl anthranilate, irritates a bird's nasal passages, much in the same way ammonia salts affect humans. But the methyl anthranilate does not affect humans.

Officials at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport were even researching a new variety of grasswhich would taste unappealing to birds.

Other airports in the United States, as well as some in Europe, have tried using radar to help detect flocks of birds flying through aircraft arrival and departure paths. The information relayed to air traffic controllers then allows them to make sure pilots avoid ploughing into the creatures.

Falcons, both living and remote-controlled, robotic ones, are also used at times to harass and scare away birds roosting too close to airports.

A popular method at many airfields involves generating loud noises similar to shotguns, pyrotechnic launchers, flares, firecrackers, bird distress calls and predator calls, which scare birds away. Some techniques, such as pyrotechnics, even follow up a loud bang with a flash of light.

According to experts, most bird activities occur at dusk or in darkness. Some airfields thus direct a red or green laser light at flocks of birds, which has the same effect as poking them with a stick.

KIMBERLY SPYKERMAN

Read more!

Shell discount deal an irony

Samuel Ee, Business Times 26 Oct 09;

IT IS difficult to decide who is more frustrating - the value-for-money Singapore motorist or the congestion-causing oil chain that panders to him.

Last Saturday saw traffic snarls on Singapore roads leading to Shell petrol stations. All because the company decided to promote its new Shell FuelSave 95 and 98 petrol by offering them at a mere $1 per litre. Normally, these two grades retail respectively at $1.767 and $1.900 per litre before a 5 per cent station discount.

But for eight hours on Saturday, they were going for as much as a 45 per cent discount, with certain credit card holders saving even more.

So it was little wonder that long queues of cars began snaking from all but three of Shell's 65 stations islandwide from 10am onwards. For instance, Shell's Braddell Road outlet created a tailback all the way to the CTE intersection, with some bargain-seeking drivers joining the queue under the flyover.

As such, those drivers more used to weekend Orchard Road jams found the congestion redistributed across Singapore instead. Some may have been clueless about the big discount, or had already filled up before Saturday, or just wanted to mind their own business. But nonetheless, they were caught up in Shell's massive promotion too.

The question is, why couldn't Singapore's second largest network - after ExxonMobil - have done it in a better way?

For example, it may be low-tech but coupons cut out from the newspaper would have been more efficient than having a convoy of cars converging on a single day between certain hours. As it is, Shell had taken out print ads, so it would not have cost more. And to prevent any abuse, Shell can easily restrict each coupon to one car by recording the registration number. Or something like that. The point is, there must a better way than this unnatural clustering of cars.

What is interesting is that this is not the first time a Shell discount has caused traffic jams. On National Day, a smaller, 44-cent per litre pump discount for one hour had the same effect. From that lesson, Shell said that it decided to extend last weekend's promotion to eight hours to give motorists more time.

Alas, it looked like it merely prolonged the traffic chaos. True, the company hired Cisco officers to direct traffic and consulted the Traffic Police and Land Transport Authority, among others. But bargain-mad motorists certainly have a way of negating such efforts.

Not exactly fuel efficient

And more ironic than this is that the aim of the promotion is to allow consumers to try out Shell FuelSave's efficiency formula, which is touted to enhance fuel economy by 2 per cent. And because it really does work, Shell is understandably excited about sharing it with everyone else.

However, waiting in a queue of at least 30 cars with the engine and aircon running is by no means being fuel efficient. Do we have to burn more fossil fuels just to experience better fuel economy? Then, there are the other cars and buses that have to expend more time and energy due to the snafu when they could have otherwise cruise smoothly by.

Shell's own resources were sub-optimised too. On Friday night, its stations were largely deserted because presumably, people had got wind of the following day's discount. But even though there were no customers, the forecourts were still floodlit and the convenience stores staffed and their aircon compressors still running.

Overall, the cost to Shell was huge, in terms of generating awareness and managing the promotion, as well as the losses incurred from the huge discounts (for example, petrol duty of as much as 44 cents per litre still has to be paid to the government).

Yet, there is no doubt that the Shell FuelSave promotion was a clever way to get publicity for a new product and gain market share. But it could have been cleverer if Shell had done it with more efficiency and less wastage.

You save money, but it's the environment that pays
Letter from Lionel De Souza, Today Online 27 Oct 09;

SHELL'S FuelSave offer saw Singaporeans' kiasu spirit come to the fore. I noted that most vehicles in the queue had their engines in idle and air-conditioners on, hence releasing air pollutants. This is definitely detrimental to people suffering from asthma and other respiratory ailments.

Besides, energy companies like Shell claim to be doing their best to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted into the air by vehicles. Yet I am sure the thousands of cars lined up across the island did efforts to halt climate change no good at all.

Did Shell consider how their promotion would have had dire effects on the environment, and also on human health, just so it could promote its products?

Read more!