"HEAT AND HOPE: TIME RUNNING OUT FOR STEEP EMISSION CUTS"

Jan. 13-'08
by Larry Powell

http://www.worldwatch.org/

A large, well-respected research organization believes the world will actually have to end carbon dioxide emissions altogether by 2050 if we want to avoid "catastrophic" climate change and a planet which is "hostile to human development and well-being."
*The Worldwatch Institute makes the sombre predictions in its 2009 "State-of-the-World" report entitled, "Into a Warming World."
Despite all of this, the 47 scientists who wrote the report believe there is still plenty of opportunity for "efficiency improvements" in such fields as renewable energy, farming and forestry; improvements that will "slow and manage" climate change.
While disaster can still be averted, "There's not much time left."
Only with massive public support, political will to shift toward renewable energy, new ways of living and "a human scale that matches the atmosphere's limits," they go on, can such an outcome be avoided.
The Institute fears that past emissions which have not yet affected the earth's average temperature, may raise it an alarming one degree celsius in future, no matter what we do!
It is estimated that nations of the world will need to spend up to $2.5 trillion a year to make the sharp reductions needed and adapt to changes in food production, population and the global economy.

Go Organic!

The Institute strongly recommends the use of organic farming methods on a large scale as a way to reduce emissions. It points out that soil stores massive amounts of carbon, preventing it from escaping into the air as greenhouse gas. Yet the millions of tons of synthetic fertilizers used, worldwide, in intensive, conventional farming, is releasing billions of tons of air emissions yearly. The report suggests a sharp increase in the use of composting, livestock manure and cover crops which "fix" nitrogen, to allow the soil to absorb or "sequester" much more carbon than it now does.
It refers to a 23-year experiment conducted by the Rodale Institute in the 'States. It found organic cropping systems increased soil carbon by up to 28 percent and nitrogen by up to 15 percent over conventional methods.
If the 65 million acres of soybean and corn now grown in the US were switched to organic farms, Rodale claims, 1/4 billion tons of carbon dioxide could be sequestered.
The report cites examples of positive changes taking place. For example, 95 million hectares of cropland are under "no-till" management worldwide. The practice, which is growing rapidly, reduces the release of carbon dioxide from the soil by greatly reducing surface disturbance of the soil.
In Parana Brazil, for example, farmers have combined no-till with organic methods. This has increased yields of wheat and soybean by one third and reduced soil erosion by 90 percent!
In the Philippines, poor farmers working with "landcare groups," have managed to reduce soil erosion, increase fertility and protect watersheds while at the same time, boosting food production and income. They've done this by leaving strips of natural vegetation on their terraced, sloped fields.
On the policy front, the Worldwatch President, Christopher Flavin, sounds another note of optimism.
Flavin says, with a new U.S. administration, perhaps the current world gridlock in climate policy can finally be broken at another key meeting on global warming coming up in Copenhagen in December.
"We can't afford to let the Copenhagen conference fail," he concluded.
All of this optimism aside, this report paints one of the gloomiest global warming scenarios yet.
Most countries which have embraced the Kyoto Accord have set more modest greenhouse gas reduction targets. Few, if any have called for reductions down to zero for the long term.
L.P.
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*The Worldwatch Institute is an independent research organization recognized by opinion leaders around the world for its accessible, fact-based analysis of critical global issues. Its mission is to generate and promote insights and ideas that empower decision makers to build an ecologically sustainable society that meets human needs.
Worldwatch has catalyzed effective environmental decision making since 1974. The Institute's interdisciplinary research is based on the best available science and focuses on the challenges that climate change, resource degradation, and population growth pose for meeting human needs in the 21st century.

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Please also read.........."Too late? Why scientists say we should expect the worst."

At a high-level academic conference on global warming at Exeter University this summer, climate scientist Kevin Anderson stood before his expert audience and contemplated a strange feeling. He wanted to be wrong. Many of those in the room who knew what he was about to say felt the same. His conclusions had already caused a stir in scientific and political circles. Even committed green campaigners said the implications left them terrified.

11 MILLION LITRES A DAY: THE TAR SANDS' LEAKING LEGACY

For the first time, this report, from Environmental Defense, uses industry information to arrive at a conservative estimate of what the overall leakage from the tar sands tailings ponds is today and also what it would likely be if proposed projects go ahead. The results are staggering....

DROUGHT AND DEFORESTATION ACCOMPLICES OF GLOBAL WARMING

Check it out here!

SUN, WIND & WATER BEAT BIOFUELS, NUCLEAR AND COAL FOR CLEAN ENERGY

Check it out!




(Credit: LM Glasfiber)

HUMAN DEBRIS CAUSES MASSIVE HARM TO MARINE LIFE - GREENPEACE

The hurt we continue to inflict on the natural world has sunk to new depths, as our filth fills up the seven seas. Read more here.

Plight of the Humble Bee. Canadian regulators refuse to protect a priceless pollinator from a known toxin.

by Larry Powell

A honeybee forages on a flower. A PinP photo.  

The crop chemical, clothianidin, approved almost five years ago by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, has since been found to be "highly toxic to the honeybee, apis mellifera." Despite knowing this for at least four years, the PMRA, a division of Health Canada, has kept the product's temporary license in place. So it continues to be used. 

Clothianidin is a member of the chemical family, neonicitanoids, used, among other things, to treat canola seed to ward off flea beetles. Another "family member," imadacloprid, has been used in Canada for more than 25 years. 

Bees are dying from toxic chemicals and the feds won't save them.

In 2004, the PMRA and its American counterpart, the Environmental Protection Agency, jointly reviewed data on clothianidin. In addition to their conclusion of high toxicity, they found that other studies, which  found the product had "no significant impact," had been "deficient in design." 

Despite all of this, a PMRA regulatory officer, Iulia Popa, insists in email exchanges with this writer, beginning last September, there had been "rigorous pre-market evaluation processes. The current scientific consensus is that residues of neonicitanoids do not pose a serious threat to honey bees or other pollinators." 

Addressing this apparent contradiction, Ms. Popa explains, the PMRA also considered the amount of chemical the bees are subjected to. If used in spray form, concentrations might be a problem. But, "as a seed treatment (the registered use in Canada), concentrations are not likely to cause acute mortality or other short-term effects." 

But the 2004 report sounds another cautionary note. "Questions remain about the possibility of long-term effects on honey bee colonies. A chronic, multigenerational field study has been requested to clarify this risk." 

In recent years, honeybees have been vanishing in huge numbers, around the world. 

Authorities have dubbed this phenomenon, "Colony Collapse Disorder." They paint CCD as an extremely complex problem, because it may be caused by mites, parasites, viruses, malnutrition, stress, pesticides, lack of biodiversity, or a combination of some or all of these. 

Scientists and researchers far and wide have gone into overdrive, trying to solve the “mystery.” But, of all the many studies into this, those that do not implicate pesticides are rare. Last spring, Germany's Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food, suspended use of neonicitanoids, until further notice. The move followed a huge die-off of honeybees in Germany where clothianidin had been sprayed. Up to two-thirds of the colonies in one region were lost. Tests showed the chemical present in the bodies of many dead bees. 

France, Italy and Slovenia have now imposed suspensions similar to Germany's. 

In North America, however, it's a starkly different story. 

South of the border, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency authorized the use of neonicitanoids about four years ago. This fall, a major U.S. environmental group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, took the EPA to court to force it to publicly release studies, which may shed more light on their effects on honeybees. 

But some of those studies are already on the Agency's website. They are similar to the ones referred to earlier, but go into more detail. One reads, "Clothianidin is highly toxic to honey bees on an acute contact basis. It has the potential for toxic chronic exposure to honey bees, as well as other non-target pollinators, through the translocation of clothianidin residues in nectar and pollen. “In honey bees, the effects of this toxic chronic exposure may include lethal &/or sub-lethal effects in the larvae and reproductive effects in the queen." 

Despite all of this, the EPA insists there's still not enough evidence to ban these products. In a news release this summer, entitled "EPA Acts to Protect Bees," it claims the incident in Germany doesn't fit the profile of Colony Collapse Disorder. For example, in typical cases of CCD, bees just disappear. In the German case, the bodies were found. The EPA also notes that the formulation in question did not contain a polymer coating, which keeps the chemical stuck to the seed. 

The Agency promises, if more information comes to light, to "examine our practices with respect to label requirements for seed treatment pesticides," 

Scientific consensus? 

Meanwhile, the internet is full of articles by credible scientists, implicating these products in the deaths of honeybees. For example, in the spring of last year, an article called "Requiem for the Honeybee" appeared online with the subtitle, "Neonicotinoid insecticides are harmful to the honeybee!" It goes on to say, flatly, widespread applications of the neonicotinoids are "highly toxic to insects including bees at very low concentrations." 

The author, Prof. Joe Cummins, is a geneticist at the University of Western Ontario and an adviser to the international, non-profit, "Institute of Science in Society." 

Unlike the EPA, which believes the chemicals have not played a role in CCD, Cummins writes,"A team of scientist led by the National Institute of Beekeeping in Bologna, Italy, found that pollen obtained from seeds dressed with imidacloprid contains significant levels of the insesticide, and suggested that the polluted pollen was one of the main causes of honeybee colony collapse." 

Not only does the PMRA continue to license the chemicals in question, it approved a similar product "Movento" (another Bayer product) just this summer. It is suspected of having the same effects! For example, the headline in the October 9th edition of the Manitoba farm paper, Co-operator reads, reads, "New systemic insecticide (Movento) worries beekeepers." Earlier this year, the Co-operator reported that commercial honey producers in Canada lost over a third of their colonies last winter! 

Beekeepers in Atlantic Canada, where the neonicitinoids are used on potato crops, are among the hardest hit by these losses in Canada, so far. 

Honeybees – a History. 

Honeybees appeared on earth more than 100 million years ago. 

For centuries, beekeepers have known their value as makers of honey, the world's first sweetener that never spoils. It has even been found in Egyptian tombs. 

Honeybees are the world's best pollinators of food crops, ranging from apples to blueberries to cucumbers. 

Without them, these plants would simply not produce. It is believed that fully one third of the human diet comes from plants pollinated by insects, mostly honey bees. 

As the bees fly from flower to flower, gathering nectar, pollen sticks to their legs and is then deposited on other plants. The fertilization cycle is thus completed. 

While figures for Canada are not immediately available, the US Department of Agriculture estimates the products bees produce there are worth $15 billion dollars a year. 

Recently, the annual Earthwatch debate in the UK actually voted the bee the most valuable species on the planet. In the words of one debater there, Dr. George McGavin of Oxford University, “Bees are irreplaceable. Their loss will be catastrophic.” 

Lake of the Prairies – The New Lake Winnipeg?

New Report Expresses Water Quality Concerns - by Larry Powell

"Clean, potable drinking water is critical for human life and, therefore, a necessity for prosperous, sustainable communities." - Shell River State of the Watershed Report - 2008

A study of western Manitoba’s Shell River watershed points to the buildup of nutrients as the most serious water quality problem in the region.
The 2008 "State of the Watershed" report by the Lake of the Prairies Conservation District is a report card on the health of our surface and ground water.
Its verdict? It could be better!

Autumn in the Shell Valley - photos by L.P.

The Shell River rises in the Duck Mountains and meanders southward for almost 80 kilometers before emptying into the Lake of the Prairies at Asessippi Park.
The watershed stretches well into Saskatchewan. In Manitoba, it covers almost 3,000 km2, and includes parts of the Duck and Riding Mountain Parks, and the communities of Roblin, Inglis and San Clara.
The study by technical experts, says farming and other activities are adding excess sediments and nutrients to waterways in the region.
These nutrients cause harmful, sometimes toxic algae to grow, robbing those waterways of oxygen and killing fish in both summer and winter.
Mucky green messes caused by algal blooms are often seen in the Shellmouth Reservoir in late summer and early fall.
The report calls the buildup of these nutrients, especially phosphorous, the most critical water quality issue in the region.
But there are others.
People are channeling or trenching waterways to improve drainage.
This increases both the speed and volume of water in them.
Erosion of the banks and even more rapid movement of nutrients and sediment are the result.
The report’s authors express concern that human activity is damaging or destroying “riparian areas.” These are natural buffers like trees along the shorelines that protect waterways and provide wildlife habitat.
Governments have long encouraged farmers to preserve such riparian cover and keep livestock back from the edges. (Manitoba even offers tax breaks to farmers who do this.)

A common sight. (r. & below) Trees bulldozed around waterways - Livestock with easy access. Banks slumping. Cattle manure washing in, reducing water quality, not only for humans, but for the cattle themselves.

Photo (r.) courtesy the Upper Assiniboine River Conservation District.

Photo by l.p.
Despite programs such as the Riparian Tax Credit, the report estimates that at least 30 kilometers of riparian areas in the watershed are at risk of erosion. Streams flowing through cropland are of special concern.

Test Results Are Revealing

Tests for pesticides and bacteria show these to be mostly within provincial drinking water quality guidelines.
Silt and suspended solids were occasionally higher than the guidelines.
Levels of dissolved salts and minerals, like calcium and sodium, often exceeded objectives for irrigation. The report suggests both industrial and municipal discharges can adversely affect such levels.
Iron and manganese, which can give water an unpleasant taste and colour, were found to be consistently above recommended levels in both the Shell and Assiniboine Rivers.
But the most troublesome finding has to do with nitrogen and phosphorous, mostly the latter.
Phosphorous is a common nutrient in sewage and livestock waste. Once it gets into waterways, it promotes the growth of algae.
Tests show phosphorous levels in the Shell River watershed consistently violate Manitoba’s guidelines for drinking water quality.
Ironically, people are destroying natural features of the landscape that could improve the nutrient problem. The report finds that people are draining wetlands “without regard to negative ecological consequences.”
A study by Ducks Unlimited, quoted in the report, suggests up to 70% of wetlands in the watershed have been either lost or degraded since 1968.
Wetlands act as nutrient “sinks.” They filter out up to 90% of sediment, nutrients and bacteria from receiving waters.
They also allow water to percolate through soils, recharge groundwater supplies and buffer the impact of both floods and droughts, by capturing water and releasing it slowly.
Yet drainage and infilling continue to damage these wetlands.

Groundwater Also Vulnerable

But surface waters aren’t the only concern in the report.
Bacteria that indicate the possibility of contamination from the surface are commonly found in private water wells.
The serious kind, E.coli, was found in 6% of water samples taken. E.coli can be found in human and animal feces.
The study warns that water from almost all of the public drinking water sources within the watershed, while safe to drink, are at “high or moderate” risk of pollution.
Places falling into this category include Inglis, Asessippi Park and East Blue Lake in Duck Mountain Park.
The appearance of some public groundwater sources is also being affected.
For example, the public water supplies of Ricker's Campground on Lake of the Prairies, as well as the Towns of Roblin and Inglis, exceed the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Aesthetics for factors such as manganese, hardness, and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS).

Wildlife

The report goes on to say, several species of birds, fish and plants face an uncertain future in this area. That’s because their habitat is being lost more quickly than it is being restored.

Spragues’ Pipit (l.)is one of the species in the Shell River Watershed at risk. (Photo courtesy GoogleImages.)

Recommendations

The report calls for several steps to be taken to improve the situation. Among them;

• No more net loss of sloughs, wetlands or potholes.
• Neglected, abandoned or unused wells should be sealed because they can act as a direct pathway for contaminants from the surface.
• New drainage projects should be done using Best Management Practices, with careful regard for the environment,.
• Solve the lack of long-term planning by creating a watershed-wide Surface Water Management Plan.

The Conservation District will hold public meetings on the report in Roblin and Inglis next week.