Kucinich Campaigns in Oklahoma Wednesday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2004
What: Presidential Hopeful Dennis Kucinich makes various campaign stops in Oklahoma
Details:
Edmond, Oklahoma, 3:45 p.m. – 4:05 p.m. CT, National Health Policy Forum, University of Central Oklahoma, Nigh University Center, East 2nd at Garland Godfrey Drive
Edmond, Oklahoma, 4:10 - 4:30 p.m. CT, Meet with supporters and media, University Central Oklahoma, Nigh University Center, East 2nd at Garland Godfrey Drive
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 6:30 - 6:45 p.m. CT (Event 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. CT), Oklahoma Democrat Rally
Get Out The Vote Rally, State Fairgrounds Arena, May Avenue, south of NW 10th to Gate 3, 333 Gordon Cooper Drive
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 7:00 pm - 12:00 midnight CT, Mardi Gras Concert Fundraiser sponsored by the Political Science Students of the University of Central Oklahoma, 4475 NW 50th Street, Congressman Kucinich will speak at 8:30 p.m. and talk with supporters in the Mardi Gras Lounge area at 9:30.
Kucinich has made healthcare his theme in Oklahoma: "Right now, 17 percent of Oklahomans have no health insurance, and approximately another 17 percent are underinsured. In Oklahoma, 32 percent of new mothers do not receive prenatal care beginning in the first trimester. Oklahoma has an infant mortality rate of 7.9 per hundred thousand people. The death rate from heart disease in Oklahoma is currently 324.2 per hundred thousand people, and from cancer 214 per hundred thousand people." Kucinich concluded "All of these problems are worse in Oklahoma than nationally, and all of them can be addressed with the single-payer universal health care system I have proposed."
"I am the only Democratic candidate for President who has a detailed plan to replace the current system with national coverage, eliminating the HMOs and private insurers. Under this system, rural hospitals will be kept open." Kucinich added "With Enhanced Medicare for All, patients and doctors will be in control. Health care will be privately provided but publicly paid for. You'll choose your own doctors but not take home a bill, not have to worry about a co-payment, and not lose your coverage when you lose your job."
For more information: http://www.kucinich.us
For Congressman Kucinich's Schedule: http://www.kucinich.us/schedule.htm.
Local Contacts: Bob Nichols, 405-749-5888, bobnichols@okforkucinich.us, Beth Skye, 405-249-5998, skye@okforkucinich.us
National Contacts: David Swanson 301-772-0210, cell 202-329-7847, fax 301-772-7293, swanson@kucinich.us
Susan Mainzer 213-840-0077, susan.mainzer@kucinich.us
Contact us:
Kucinich for President
11808 Lorain Avenue - Cleveland, OH 44111
216-889-2004 / 866-413-3664 (toll-free)
A personal quest to promote the use of wind energy and hydrogen technology in the Great Lakes area of the United States. The Great Lakes area is in a unique position to become an energy exporting region through these and other renewable energy technologies. *Update 2014: Just do it everywhere - Dan*
Thursday, January 29, 2004
Kucinich Campaign Progressing
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2004
"We've just taken the first two steps in a long distance race. I've been campaigning and building support throughout the country. The worsening of the situation in Iraq is focusing attention on my campaign for peace and domestic prosperity. And people are coming to recognize that a primary is not the time to compromise, and that it is they, the people, who vote. Pollsters don't vote, and televisions don't vote. People vote. See you in Oklahoma in the morning."
By one key measure, Kucinich boasts a larger base of supporters than almost any other candidate. The chart below displays the amount of money each candidate has raised from small donors (those giving $200 or less). This is a critical figure, essentially an index of the number of loyalists each contender has amassed. Of the eight candidates for whom data was available, Kucinich came in second in small contributions -- behind Dr. Howard Dean, but ahead of all other "top-tier" candidates, such as Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Richard Gephardt.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2004
"We've just taken the first two steps in a long distance race. I've been campaigning and building support throughout the country. The worsening of the situation in Iraq is focusing attention on my campaign for peace and domestic prosperity. And people are coming to recognize that a primary is not the time to compromise, and that it is they, the people, who vote. Pollsters don't vote, and televisions don't vote. People vote. See you in Oklahoma in the morning."
By one key measure, Kucinich boasts a larger base of supporters than almost any other candidate. The chart below displays the amount of money each candidate has raised from small donors (those giving $200 or less). This is a critical figure, essentially an index of the number of loyalists each contender has amassed. Of the eight candidates for whom data was available, Kucinich came in second in small contributions -- behind Dr. Howard Dean, but ahead of all other "top-tier" candidates, such as Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Richard Gephardt.
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1/28/2004
CONTACT: Warren Porter (608) 262-1719, wporter@mhub.zoology.wisc.edu
INTEGRATED ANIMAL MODEL ANSWERS QUESTIONS ABOUT ENVIRONMENT
MADISON - Birds were dying on an island off the coast of Florida, and people didn't know why. A group of conservationists wondered if the culprit might be a pesticide sprayed into the air to wipe out mosquitoes. The explanation quickly came from an unlikely source in Wisconsin.
For several years, Warren Porter, a professor of zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been working with faculty and staff across campus to develop a computer model that could predict how animals, living on a real landscape anywhere on Earth, would respond to specific changes in the environment. The model could answer questions, such as how warmer temperatures would alter the activity patterns of squirrels in southern California or how removing the forest canopy in Yellowstone National Park would affect the elk that took cover under it during winter.
"If we fail to answer questions like these, we will continue to lose species - and their genomes, the biological libraries that have accumulated information for billions of years - from this planet," says Porter.
But many of the models that had been designed to address ecological concerns, he adds, were inadequate: They didn't take into account the complexity of factors involved in the interaction between animals and their environment. To achieve a more sufficient model, Porter needed to integrate animal morphology, physiology and behavior with features of the climate, topography and vegetation of a particular area.
"Models are always an approximation to reality," he explains. "You design them to ask specific questions. As the questions become more complex, the models become more complex. As computers have gained more power, we have been able to continue to add complexity and to solve very difficult problems."
At the heart of Porter's integrated model is an understanding of energy transfer between animals and their surroundings. For instance, the animal's physical properties - body size, fur thickness, body temperature and breathing rate - help determine how much energy it needs to survive. The animal's behavioral patterns, such as how often it reproduces or how active it is, also are important factors.
To apply this information in a real context, scientists must also determine how much energy is available based on environmental factors, including rainfall, temperature, vegetation, topography, sun exposure and time of day or year. The model, which incorporates remote satellite sensing and large-scale global climate models, can determine this.
Because Porter's model integrates all this information on animal physiology and behavior and climate conditions in a predictive model, the scientist says, "it can help us understand what the critical processes are that affect life processes on earth and how specific changes in environmental conditions may modify or even terminate those life processes."
The model, he adds, also could help scientists solve unanswered questions about what's already happened. For example, the model could answer how the distribution of mosquitoes that potentially carry diseases harmful to humans and other species might change when the ground is wetter than usual, or how much more water livestock will need when the outside temperature is two degrees warmer.
With its specificity and complexity, the model could determine parameters crucial for determining a species' potential for growth and reproduction, exposure to pesticides or pathogens, migration times and patterns, and possible sites ideal for conservation, says Porter. Based on the model, Porter says scientists could make recommendations on the most effective habitats for free-ranging animals, which could maximize productivity while minimizing environmental stresses.
Patented by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, Porter's system for examining the effects of environment on animals already is answering important questions. For instance, Porter and his colleagues have used it to understand key factors that led early hominids to walk upright, instead of on all fours.
It also has helped the conservationists who contacted the Wisconsin zoologist about three years ago, shortly after the large number of birds started dying off the coast of Florida. Porter was able to use the integrated model to determine how much air the birds would have been breathing. Getting enough oxygen is critical for metabolic processes, which supply energy to the body.
Given the known levels of pesticides in the air before the birds died, Porter calculated daily pesticide inhalation. It was toxic over a short period of time, he says. The Wisconsin scientist forwarded this information to the American Bird Conservancy. A week later, he says, they presented his findings at an Environmental Protective Agency meeting in Florida.
"The next day," Porter recalls, "the EPA announced that they were moving to ban spraying of that pesticide on the island."
Porter notes that the integrated model, and the results it already has produced, would not have been possible without the unique, interdisciplinary nature of the UW-Madison campus. In the course of his career as a professor at the university, Porter has taken 33 courses in 14 academic departments - an activity, he says, that has enabled him to gain the expertise and collaborations needed to develop such a complex model.
###
- Emily Carlson (608) 262-9772, emilycarlson@wisc.edu
****************************************************
For questions or comments about UW-Madison's email
news release system, please send an email to:
releases@news.wisc.edu
For more UW-Madison news, please visit:
http://www.news.wisc.edu/
University Communications
University of Wisconsin-Madison
27 Bascom Hall
500 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Phone: (608) 262-3571
Fax: (608) 262-2331
1/28/2004
CONTACT: Warren Porter (608) 262-1719, wporter@mhub.zoology.wisc.edu
INTEGRATED ANIMAL MODEL ANSWERS QUESTIONS ABOUT ENVIRONMENT
MADISON - Birds were dying on an island off the coast of Florida, and people didn't know why. A group of conservationists wondered if the culprit might be a pesticide sprayed into the air to wipe out mosquitoes. The explanation quickly came from an unlikely source in Wisconsin.
For several years, Warren Porter, a professor of zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been working with faculty and staff across campus to develop a computer model that could predict how animals, living on a real landscape anywhere on Earth, would respond to specific changes in the environment. The model could answer questions, such as how warmer temperatures would alter the activity patterns of squirrels in southern California or how removing the forest canopy in Yellowstone National Park would affect the elk that took cover under it during winter.
"If we fail to answer questions like these, we will continue to lose species - and their genomes, the biological libraries that have accumulated information for billions of years - from this planet," says Porter.
But many of the models that had been designed to address ecological concerns, he adds, were inadequate: They didn't take into account the complexity of factors involved in the interaction between animals and their environment. To achieve a more sufficient model, Porter needed to integrate animal morphology, physiology and behavior with features of the climate, topography and vegetation of a particular area.
"Models are always an approximation to reality," he explains. "You design them to ask specific questions. As the questions become more complex, the models become more complex. As computers have gained more power, we have been able to continue to add complexity and to solve very difficult problems."
At the heart of Porter's integrated model is an understanding of energy transfer between animals and their surroundings. For instance, the animal's physical properties - body size, fur thickness, body temperature and breathing rate - help determine how much energy it needs to survive. The animal's behavioral patterns, such as how often it reproduces or how active it is, also are important factors.
To apply this information in a real context, scientists must also determine how much energy is available based on environmental factors, including rainfall, temperature, vegetation, topography, sun exposure and time of day or year. The model, which incorporates remote satellite sensing and large-scale global climate models, can determine this.
Because Porter's model integrates all this information on animal physiology and behavior and climate conditions in a predictive model, the scientist says, "it can help us understand what the critical processes are that affect life processes on earth and how specific changes in environmental conditions may modify or even terminate those life processes."
The model, he adds, also could help scientists solve unanswered questions about what's already happened. For example, the model could answer how the distribution of mosquitoes that potentially carry diseases harmful to humans and other species might change when the ground is wetter than usual, or how much more water livestock will need when the outside temperature is two degrees warmer.
With its specificity and complexity, the model could determine parameters crucial for determining a species' potential for growth and reproduction, exposure to pesticides or pathogens, migration times and patterns, and possible sites ideal for conservation, says Porter. Based on the model, Porter says scientists could make recommendations on the most effective habitats for free-ranging animals, which could maximize productivity while minimizing environmental stresses.
Patented by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, Porter's system for examining the effects of environment on animals already is answering important questions. For instance, Porter and his colleagues have used it to understand key factors that led early hominids to walk upright, instead of on all fours.
It also has helped the conservationists who contacted the Wisconsin zoologist about three years ago, shortly after the large number of birds started dying off the coast of Florida. Porter was able to use the integrated model to determine how much air the birds would have been breathing. Getting enough oxygen is critical for metabolic processes, which supply energy to the body.
Given the known levels of pesticides in the air before the birds died, Porter calculated daily pesticide inhalation. It was toxic over a short period of time, he says. The Wisconsin scientist forwarded this information to the American Bird Conservancy. A week later, he says, they presented his findings at an Environmental Protective Agency meeting in Florida.
"The next day," Porter recalls, "the EPA announced that they were moving to ban spraying of that pesticide on the island."
Porter notes that the integrated model, and the results it already has produced, would not have been possible without the unique, interdisciplinary nature of the UW-Madison campus. In the course of his career as a professor at the university, Porter has taken 33 courses in 14 academic departments - an activity, he says, that has enabled him to gain the expertise and collaborations needed to develop such a complex model.
###
- Emily Carlson (608) 262-9772, emilycarlson@wisc.edu
****************************************************
For questions or comments about UW-Madison's email
news release system, please send an email to:
releases@news.wisc.edu
For more UW-Madison news, please visit:
http://www.news.wisc.edu/
University Communications
University of Wisconsin-Madison
27 Bascom Hall
500 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Phone: (608) 262-3571
Fax: (608) 262-2331
Eco-Economy Update 2004-2 Please share with a friend!
For Immediate Release
Copyright Earth Policy Institute 2004
January 28, 2004
TROUBLING NEW FLOWS OF ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update33.htm
Lester R. Brown
In mid-October 2003, Italian authorities discovered a boat carrying
refugees from Africa bound for Italy. Adrift for more than two weeks and
without fuel, food, and water, many of the passengers had died. At first
the dead were tossed overboard. But after a point, the remaining survivors
lacked the strength to hoist the bodies over the side. The dead and the
living were sharing the boat in what a rescuer described as "a scene from
Dante's Inferno."
The refugees were believed to be Somalis who had embarked from Libya. We
do not know whether they were political, economic, or environmental
refugees. Failed states like Somalia produce all three. We do know that
Somalia is an ecological basket case, with overpopulation, overgrazing,
and desertification destroying its pastoral economy.
Although the modern world has extensive experience with people migrating
for political and economic reasons, we are now seeing a swelling flow of
refugees driven from their homes by environmental pressures. Modern
experience with this phenomenon in the United States began when nearly 3
million "Okies" from the southern Great Plains left during the Dust Bowl
of the 1930s, many of them migrating to California.
Today, bodies washing ashore in Italy, France, and Spain are a daily
occurrence, the result of desperate acts by desperate people in Africa.
And each day hundreds of Mexicans risk their lives trying to cross the
U.S. border. Some 400 to 600 Mexicans leave rural areas every day,
abandoning plots of land too small or too eroded to make a living. They
either head for Mexican cities or try to cross illegally into the United
States. Many perish in the punishing heat of the Arizona desert.
Another flow of environmental refugees comes from Haiti, a widely
recognized ecological disaster. In a rural economy where the land is
denuded of vegetation and the soil is washing into the sea, the people are
not far behind. Attempting to make the trip to Florida in small craft not
designed for the high seas, many drown.
The U.S. Dust Bowl refugees were early examples of environmental
migration, but their numbers will pale compared with what lies ahead if we
continue with business as usual. Among the new refugees are people being
forced to move because of aquifer depletion and wells running dry. Thus
far the evacuations have been of villages, but eventually whole cities
might have to be relocated, such as Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, or
Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's Baluchistan province.
The World Bank expects Sana'a, where the water table is falling by 6
meters a year, to exhaust its remaining water supply by 2010. At that
point, its leaders will either have to bring water in from a distant point
or abandon the city.
Quetta, originally designed for 50,000 people, now has 1 million
inhabitants, all of whom depend on 2,000 wells pumping water deep from
underground, depleting what is believed to be a fossil or nonreplenishable
aquifer. Like Sana'a, Quetta may have enough water for the rest of this
decade, but then its future is in doubt. In the words of one study
assessing the water prospect, Quetta will soon be "a dead city."
With most of the nearly 3 billion people to be added to the world's
population by 2050 living in countries where water tables are already
falling and where population growth swells the ranks of those sinking into
hydrological poverty, water refugees are likely to become commonplace.
They will be most common in arid and semiarid regions where populations
are outgrowing the water supply. Villages in northwestern India have been
abandoned because overpumping had depleted the local aquifers and
villagers could no longer reach water. Millions of villagers in northern
and western China and in parts of Mexico may have to move because of a
lack of water.
Spreading deserts are also displacing people. In China, where the Gobi
Desert is growing by 10,400 square kilometers (4,000 square miles) a year,
the refugee stream is swelling. Chinese scientists report that there are
now desert refugees in three provinces--Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, and
Gansu. An Asian Development Bank preliminary assessment of desertification
in Gansu province has identified 4,000 villages that face abandonment.
A photograph in Desert Witness, a book on desertification by Chinese
photographer Lu Tongjing, shows what looks like a perfectly normal village
in the western reaches of Inner Mongolia--except for one thing. There are
no people. Its 4,000 residents were forced to leave because the aquifer
was depleted, leaving them with no water.
In Iran, villages abandoned because of spreading deserts and a lack of
water already number in the thousands. In the eastern provinces of
Baluchistan and Sistan alone, some 124 villages have been buried by
drifting sand. In the vicinity of Damavand, a small town within an hour's
drive of Tehran, 88 villages have been abandoned.
In Nigeria, 3,500 square kilometers (1,350 square miles) of land are
converted to desert each year, making desertification the country's
leading environmental problem. As the desert takes over, farmers and
herdsmen are forced to move, squeezed into the shrinking area of habitable
land or forced into cities.
Another source of refugees, potentially a huge one, is rising seas. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its early 2001 study,
reported that sea level could rise by nearly 1 meter during this century.
But research completed since then indicates that ice is melting much
faster than reported earlier, suggesting that the possible rise may be
much higher.
Even a 1-meter rise in sea level would inundate half of Bangladesh's
riceland, forcing the relocation of easily 40 million people. In a densely
populated country with 144 million people, internal relocation would not
be easy. But where else can they go? How many countries would accept even
1 million of these 40 million? Other Asian countries with rice-growing
river floodplains, including China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the
Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and Viet Nam, could boost the mass
exodus from rising seas to the hundreds of millions.
The refugee flows from falling water tables and expanding deserts are just
beginning. How large these flows and those from rising seas will become
remains to be seen. But the numbers could be huge.
The rising flow of environmental refugees is yet another indicator that
our modern civilization is out of sync with the earth's natural support
systems. Among other things, it tells us that we need a worldwide effort
to fill the family planning gap and to create the social conditions that
will accelerate the shift to smaller families, a global full-court press
to raise water productivity, and an energy strategy that will cut carbon
dioxide emissions and stabilize the earth's climate.
# # #
See also Chapter 6 in Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a
Civilization in Trouble available online for free downloading.
Additional data and information sources www.earth-policy.org
or contact jlarsen@earth-policy.org
For reprint permissions contact rjkauffman@earth-policy.org
If you enjoy receiving our e-news, please recommend it to a friend or
colleague.
To receive Eco-Economy Updates by email, go to
http://www.earth-policy.org/Subscribe/index.htm.
For Immediate Release
Copyright Earth Policy Institute 2004
January 28, 2004
TROUBLING NEW FLOWS OF ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update33.htm
Lester R. Brown
In mid-October 2003, Italian authorities discovered a boat carrying
refugees from Africa bound for Italy. Adrift for more than two weeks and
without fuel, food, and water, many of the passengers had died. At first
the dead were tossed overboard. But after a point, the remaining survivors
lacked the strength to hoist the bodies over the side. The dead and the
living were sharing the boat in what a rescuer described as "a scene from
Dante's Inferno."
The refugees were believed to be Somalis who had embarked from Libya. We
do not know whether they were political, economic, or environmental
refugees. Failed states like Somalia produce all three. We do know that
Somalia is an ecological basket case, with overpopulation, overgrazing,
and desertification destroying its pastoral economy.
Although the modern world has extensive experience with people migrating
for political and economic reasons, we are now seeing a swelling flow of
refugees driven from their homes by environmental pressures. Modern
experience with this phenomenon in the United States began when nearly 3
million "Okies" from the southern Great Plains left during the Dust Bowl
of the 1930s, many of them migrating to California.
Today, bodies washing ashore in Italy, France, and Spain are a daily
occurrence, the result of desperate acts by desperate people in Africa.
And each day hundreds of Mexicans risk their lives trying to cross the
U.S. border. Some 400 to 600 Mexicans leave rural areas every day,
abandoning plots of land too small or too eroded to make a living. They
either head for Mexican cities or try to cross illegally into the United
States. Many perish in the punishing heat of the Arizona desert.
Another flow of environmental refugees comes from Haiti, a widely
recognized ecological disaster. In a rural economy where the land is
denuded of vegetation and the soil is washing into the sea, the people are
not far behind. Attempting to make the trip to Florida in small craft not
designed for the high seas, many drown.
The U.S. Dust Bowl refugees were early examples of environmental
migration, but their numbers will pale compared with what lies ahead if we
continue with business as usual. Among the new refugees are people being
forced to move because of aquifer depletion and wells running dry. Thus
far the evacuations have been of villages, but eventually whole cities
might have to be relocated, such as Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, or
Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's Baluchistan province.
The World Bank expects Sana'a, where the water table is falling by 6
meters a year, to exhaust its remaining water supply by 2010. At that
point, its leaders will either have to bring water in from a distant point
or abandon the city.
Quetta, originally designed for 50,000 people, now has 1 million
inhabitants, all of whom depend on 2,000 wells pumping water deep from
underground, depleting what is believed to be a fossil or nonreplenishable
aquifer. Like Sana'a, Quetta may have enough water for the rest of this
decade, but then its future is in doubt. In the words of one study
assessing the water prospect, Quetta will soon be "a dead city."
With most of the nearly 3 billion people to be added to the world's
population by 2050 living in countries where water tables are already
falling and where population growth swells the ranks of those sinking into
hydrological poverty, water refugees are likely to become commonplace.
They will be most common in arid and semiarid regions where populations
are outgrowing the water supply. Villages in northwestern India have been
abandoned because overpumping had depleted the local aquifers and
villagers could no longer reach water. Millions of villagers in northern
and western China and in parts of Mexico may have to move because of a
lack of water.
Spreading deserts are also displacing people. In China, where the Gobi
Desert is growing by 10,400 square kilometers (4,000 square miles) a year,
the refugee stream is swelling. Chinese scientists report that there are
now desert refugees in three provinces--Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, and
Gansu. An Asian Development Bank preliminary assessment of desertification
in Gansu province has identified 4,000 villages that face abandonment.
A photograph in Desert Witness, a book on desertification by Chinese
photographer Lu Tongjing, shows what looks like a perfectly normal village
in the western reaches of Inner Mongolia--except for one thing. There are
no people. Its 4,000 residents were forced to leave because the aquifer
was depleted, leaving them with no water.
In Iran, villages abandoned because of spreading deserts and a lack of
water already number in the thousands. In the eastern provinces of
Baluchistan and Sistan alone, some 124 villages have been buried by
drifting sand. In the vicinity of Damavand, a small town within an hour's
drive of Tehran, 88 villages have been abandoned.
In Nigeria, 3,500 square kilometers (1,350 square miles) of land are
converted to desert each year, making desertification the country's
leading environmental problem. As the desert takes over, farmers and
herdsmen are forced to move, squeezed into the shrinking area of habitable
land or forced into cities.
Another source of refugees, potentially a huge one, is rising seas. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its early 2001 study,
reported that sea level could rise by nearly 1 meter during this century.
But research completed since then indicates that ice is melting much
faster than reported earlier, suggesting that the possible rise may be
much higher.
Even a 1-meter rise in sea level would inundate half of Bangladesh's
riceland, forcing the relocation of easily 40 million people. In a densely
populated country with 144 million people, internal relocation would not
be easy. But where else can they go? How many countries would accept even
1 million of these 40 million? Other Asian countries with rice-growing
river floodplains, including China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the
Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and Viet Nam, could boost the mass
exodus from rising seas to the hundreds of millions.
The refugee flows from falling water tables and expanding deserts are just
beginning. How large these flows and those from rising seas will become
remains to be seen. But the numbers could be huge.
The rising flow of environmental refugees is yet another indicator that
our modern civilization is out of sync with the earth's natural support
systems. Among other things, it tells us that we need a worldwide effort
to fill the family planning gap and to create the social conditions that
will accelerate the shift to smaller families, a global full-court press
to raise water productivity, and an energy strategy that will cut carbon
dioxide emissions and stabilize the earth's climate.
# # #
See also Chapter 6 in Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a
Civilization in Trouble available online for free downloading.
Additional data and information sources www.earth-policy.org
or contact jlarsen@earth-policy.org
For reprint permissions contact rjkauffman@earth-policy.org
If you enjoy receiving our e-news, please recommend it to a friend or
colleague.
To receive Eco-Economy Updates by email, go to
http://www.earth-policy.org/Subscribe/index.htm.
ENN Environmental News Network
E-mail Edition 01/28/2004
Monkeys illuminate language advance and other stories
The talent that gave humans alone mastery over language may have been identified. In a new study, psychologists Marc Hauser of Harvard University and W. Tecumseh Fitch of the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, compared the ability of monkeys and humans to recognize grammar rules.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12467.asp
Loss of human-eating animals is an ecological warning
They have been stalking and eating us for millions of years, and the evidence is embedded in South Africa's Sterkfontein Caves.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12515.asp
Bush administration to ease pesticide reviews for endangered species
Officials admit they pretty much ignore an Endangered Species Act requirement that they consult with one another before licensing new pesticides. Now they want regulations to say they don't always have to do what they're already not doing.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12524.asp
Flower power could help clear landmines
A Danish biotech company has developed a genetically modified flower that could help detect landmines and it hopes to have a prototype ready for use within a few years.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12516.asp
Mexico agrees to send Rio Grande water to Texas, angering farmers at home
Mexico's transfer of water from the Rio Grande to the United States has enraged farmers south of the border, escalating a long-simmering war over flows of the river in the arid region.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12526.asp
Deforestation of monarch butterfly habitat continues despite crackdown
A recent crackdown on illegal logging has not slowed deforestation threatening the winter refuge for monarch butterflies, according to a scientist who has been studying the insects for 50 years.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12477.asp
Wildlife police brace for impact of E.U. expansion
Police battling to end the vast illegal trade in endangered species fear the eastward expansion of the European Union this year could make their task even harder.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12514.asp
Chemicals crackdown will save thousands of lives, says E.U.
Thousands of lives could be saved in the European Union each year with better handling of dangerous chemicals, the European Commission said Tuesday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12518.asp
British medical lab plans are scrapped over protests
Plans to build a major new medical laboratory in England were scrapped Tuesday in the face of protests by animal rights groups.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12521.asp
Today's Press Releases (Become an Affiliate)
Direct from non-profit environmental and educational organizations.
American Rivers:
One eve of White House official's visit to NW, mixed reaction from salmon advocates
WWF-US Communications:
Number of Endangered Mountain Gorillas Tops 700, New Census Finds
Earth Policy Institute:
Glaciers and Sea Ice Endangered by Rising Temperatures
WWF-US Communications:
Carter Roberts To Join World Wildlife Fund
E-mail Edition 01/28/2004
Monkeys illuminate language advance and other stories
The talent that gave humans alone mastery over language may have been identified. In a new study, psychologists Marc Hauser of Harvard University and W. Tecumseh Fitch of the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, compared the ability of monkeys and humans to recognize grammar rules.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12467.asp
Loss of human-eating animals is an ecological warning
They have been stalking and eating us for millions of years, and the evidence is embedded in South Africa's Sterkfontein Caves.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12515.asp
Bush administration to ease pesticide reviews for endangered species
Officials admit they pretty much ignore an Endangered Species Act requirement that they consult with one another before licensing new pesticides. Now they want regulations to say they don't always have to do what they're already not doing.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12524.asp
Flower power could help clear landmines
A Danish biotech company has developed a genetically modified flower that could help detect landmines and it hopes to have a prototype ready for use within a few years.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12516.asp
Mexico agrees to send Rio Grande water to Texas, angering farmers at home
Mexico's transfer of water from the Rio Grande to the United States has enraged farmers south of the border, escalating a long-simmering war over flows of the river in the arid region.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12526.asp
Deforestation of monarch butterfly habitat continues despite crackdown
A recent crackdown on illegal logging has not slowed deforestation threatening the winter refuge for monarch butterflies, according to a scientist who has been studying the insects for 50 years.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12477.asp
Wildlife police brace for impact of E.U. expansion
Police battling to end the vast illegal trade in endangered species fear the eastward expansion of the European Union this year could make their task even harder.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12514.asp
Chemicals crackdown will save thousands of lives, says E.U.
Thousands of lives could be saved in the European Union each year with better handling of dangerous chemicals, the European Commission said Tuesday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12518.asp
British medical lab plans are scrapped over protests
Plans to build a major new medical laboratory in England were scrapped Tuesday in the face of protests by animal rights groups.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-28/s_12521.asp
Today's Press Releases (Become an Affiliate)
Direct from non-profit environmental and educational organizations.
American Rivers:
One eve of White House official's visit to NW, mixed reaction from salmon advocates
WWF-US Communications:
Number of Endangered Mountain Gorillas Tops 700, New Census Finds
Earth Policy Institute:
Glaciers and Sea Ice Endangered by Rising Temperatures
WWF-US Communications:
Carter Roberts To Join World Wildlife Fund
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Support GLIN Daily News: http://www.glin.net/news/sponsor/
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Great Lakes Daily News: 28 January 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Great Lakes panel identifies 7 themes in pollution report
----------------------------------------
Seven air pollution themes affecting the Great Lakes region were identified
yesterday for the United States and Canada by the International Joint
Commission. Source: The Toledo Blade (1/28)
Battle begins to unblock river
----------------------------------------
No longer content to watch ice accumulate and water levels rise, authorities
took the first steps yesterday afternoon to ease flooding along the shores
of Montreal's Rivière des Prairies. Source: The Montreal Gazette (1/28)
Natives lay claim to local waters
----------------------------------------
The Chippewas of Nawash and Saugeen First Nation have filed an extensive
claim with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, asserting ownership over
parts of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. Source: Shoreline Beacon (1/28)
Bill boosts steel-hauling limit
----------------------------------------
The Indiana State Senate is considering a bill to designate certain
northeast Indiana roads as extra-heavy-duty highways, which would
significantly increase weight limits for trucks. Source: The Ft. Wayne
Journal Gazette (1/28)
COMMENTARY: Great Lakes need restoration
----------------------------------------
According to U.S. Reps. Hoekstra and Emanuel, we must secure funding to
support federal legislation aimed at protecting and restoring the Great
Lakes. Source: The Detroit News (1/27)
EDITORIAL: Speed decision on new Detroit River crossing
----------------------------------------
By 2030, the economies of Michigan and Ontario will lose $28 billion a year
because they can't handle congested traffic across the Detroit River.
Source: The Detroit News (1/27)
Changes in radium testing sought in Wisconsin
----------------------------------------
Legislation to change methods of testing radium in community water supplies
and increase treatment alternatives could save water utilities millions of
dollars as they implement strategies to comply with a Wisconsin order to
reduce radium levels. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (1/27)
Search under way for Buffalo's outer harbor proposals
----------------------------------------
State, county and local officials have launched a search for proposals to
develop Buffalo's dormant outer harbor area, 120 acres along the Lake Erie
shoreline. Source: Buffalo Business First (1/26)
Court upholds Toronto ban on pesticides
----------------------------------------
Last month, the Ontario Superior Court upheld the validity of a Toronto
bylaw which makes most pesticide use illegal starting April 1, on all
private and public property. Source: The Toronto Star (1/24)
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html
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Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
www.glin.net/forms/dailynews_form.html or send an e-mail message to
majordomo@great-lakes.net with the command 'subscribe dailynews' (minus
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Support GLIN Daily News: http://www.glin.net/news/sponsor/
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Great Lakes Daily News: 28 January 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Great Lakes panel identifies 7 themes in pollution report
----------------------------------------
Seven air pollution themes affecting the Great Lakes region were identified
yesterday for the United States and Canada by the International Joint
Commission. Source: The Toledo Blade (1/28)
Battle begins to unblock river
----------------------------------------
No longer content to watch ice accumulate and water levels rise, authorities
took the first steps yesterday afternoon to ease flooding along the shores
of Montreal's Rivière des Prairies. Source: The Montreal Gazette (1/28)
Natives lay claim to local waters
----------------------------------------
The Chippewas of Nawash and Saugeen First Nation have filed an extensive
claim with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, asserting ownership over
parts of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. Source: Shoreline Beacon (1/28)
Bill boosts steel-hauling limit
----------------------------------------
The Indiana State Senate is considering a bill to designate certain
northeast Indiana roads as extra-heavy-duty highways, which would
significantly increase weight limits for trucks. Source: The Ft. Wayne
Journal Gazette (1/28)
COMMENTARY: Great Lakes need restoration
----------------------------------------
According to U.S. Reps. Hoekstra and Emanuel, we must secure funding to
support federal legislation aimed at protecting and restoring the Great
Lakes. Source: The Detroit News (1/27)
EDITORIAL: Speed decision on new Detroit River crossing
----------------------------------------
By 2030, the economies of Michigan and Ontario will lose $28 billion a year
because they can't handle congested traffic across the Detroit River.
Source: The Detroit News (1/27)
Changes in radium testing sought in Wisconsin
----------------------------------------
Legislation to change methods of testing radium in community water supplies
and increase treatment alternatives could save water utilities millions of
dollars as they implement strategies to comply with a Wisconsin order to
reduce radium levels. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (1/27)
Search under way for Buffalo's outer harbor proposals
----------------------------------------
State, county and local officials have launched a search for proposals to
develop Buffalo's dormant outer harbor area, 120 acres along the Lake Erie
shoreline. Source: Buffalo Business First (1/26)
Court upholds Toronto ban on pesticides
----------------------------------------
Last month, the Ontario Superior Court upheld the validity of a Toronto
bylaw which makes most pesticide use illegal starting April 1, on all
private and public property. Source: The Toronto Star (1/24)
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
www.glin.net/forms/dailynews_form.html or send an e-mail message to
majordomo@great-lakes.net with the command 'subscribe dailynews' (minus
the quotes) in the body of the message.
TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Send a message to majordomo@great-lakes.net with the
command 'unsubscribe dailynews' in the body of the message.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 09:00:12 -0800 (PST)
From: AFV@afv.com (Alternate Fuel Vehicles)
Subject: Don't Bet On Fuel Cells, Manufacturer Says
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/23568/story.htm
SWITZERLAND: January 26, 2004 (Reuters) DAVOS, Switzerland -
The producer of fuel cells that can recharge mobile phones and portable music players told industrialists and policymakers last week not to count on the power packs to solve the energy crisis. "Don't hold your breath on fuel cells. Every 10 years they say commercial deployment is only 10 years away. We're still not seeing any real fuel cells that can run, say, a car," said Robert Lifton, chief executive of Medis Technologies. He was participating in several discussions on energy at the World Economic Forum, an annual huddle of government officials, corporate executives and special interest groups.
Medis itself will not provide the solution either, because its Power Pack fuel cell will only power small portable devices, and cannot be used for bigger items such as computers or cars. "Our product doesn't scale," Lifton said, adding that the company's first working prototypes would be introduced in May. The company plans to put a $29.99 price tag on its fuel cell for portable consumer electronics, such as handsets, MP3 players and digital cameras. Each cartridge of fuel, which will power a cell phone for some 12 hours, will be priced at $1.50.
Its fuel cell should be among the very first commercial applications of an electrochemical process that was first discovered in the nineteenth century. A fuel cell converts the chemical energy of a fuel and oxidant to electrical energy.
RESEARCH PROGRAM
In the United States, fuel cells, and the hydrogen that is used in many models as a fuel, is seen as a solution to keep engines running, even when the world runs out of fossil fuels later this century. President Bush supported a $1.3 billion research program to develop such fuel cells.
Many Japanese companies are also working on fuel cells, with Toshiba claiming a prototype that powers a laptop. NEC has boasted about a record level of milliwatts it can generate per square centimeter of reaction surface. Franco-Italian chip maker STMicroelectronics is using chip-making technology to increase energy generation. Fuel cells are better for the environment than ordinary batteries, which contain heavy metals. Fuel cells only produce electricity, water, and in some cases heat. But Lifton said hydrogen fuel cells still had to overcome essential problems, such as excess heat and water generation. Governments should focus on energy preservation, and not hope that fuel cell technology will catch up with energy needs. He and others also pointed out that fuel cells could only be a solution to the upcoming energy crisis if the fuel, such as hydrogen, is generated with renewable energy sources. Hydrogen can either be generated by wind or solar energy, or by using fossil fuels such as gas. Companies like Shell Renewables, a unit of Royal Dutch, are talking to governments to emphasize that fuel cell technology should be combined with renewable energy.
Solar cells and wind mills generate only a fraction of the world's energy needs at the moment, less than one percent. Long-term scenario planning by Shell forecasts that in 30 to 40 years renewable energy will generate over one-third of all global energy requirements.
Story by Lucas van Grinsven
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
======================================
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 2
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 10:00:36 -0800 (PST)
From: AFV@afv.com (Alternate Fuel Vehicles)
Subject: World's Biggest Solar Power Station About To Open
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1028244.htm
Last Update: Tuesday, January 20, 2004. 12:00pm (AEDT)
World's biggest solar power station to open in Germany.
The world's biggest solar power station will be connected to the German electricity grid at the end of July near the eastern city of Leipzig, the firms involved in the project said.
Made up of 33,500 solar panels, the station at Espenhain will be able to generate about five megawatts, enough electricity for 1,800 homes, the Shell Solar and GEOSOL companies said.
They say the solar power station will save some 3,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Germany is the world's second largest producer of solar energy behind Japan, according to the Environment Ministry. -- AFP
======================================
???`????,??,?`????`????,??,?
AFV News and Discussion
???`????,??,?`????`????,??,?
======================================
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 10:01:00 -0800 (PST)
From: AFV@afv.com (Alternate Fuel Vehicles)
Subject: UW Scientists Want To Mine The Moon For Energy
USA: MADISON, WI (AP) ? Two University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists
believe moon rocks contain all the energy the United States needs for the next millennium. The moon's surface is full of the energy source, helium-3, said Gerald Kulcinski, a nuclear engineering professor and director of the Fusion Technology Institute at UW. "If we could land the space shuttle on the moon, fill the cargo with canisters of helium-3 mined from the surface and bring the shuttle back to Earth, that cargo would supply the entire electrical power needs of the United States for an entire year," he said. President Bush's plan to create a permanent lunar base brings Kulcinski and others at the institute hope for their idea. Kulcinski said he does not know of any other institution that is working on helium-3 fusion. John Santarius, a professor at the Fusion Technology Institute, said helium-3 provides one million times more energy per pound than a ton of coal. Fusion of helium-3 does not produce greenhouse emissions, and mining it would do little environmental harm, Kulcinski said. "The moon doesn't have air or water <-[NASA is 99% certain the moon -does- have water: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980306.html ]. So, there won't be any of that kind of pollution," he said.
Helium-3 is found in the top few feet of lunar soil. To access it, miners would shovel up the surface, bake it and isolate the gas, Santarius said.
Since 1985, Kulcinski, Santarius and others at UW have thought about the possibility of harnessing the energy of helium-3 through fusion, which combines atoms to create energy. Fission, which is the process used in nuclear reactors, splits atoms.
"We came at it from an energy standpoint," Kulcinski said. "We were looking for a long-term economical and safe form of energy." The researchers are still working on building a helium-3 reactor that would produce more energy than it takes in. The team estimates the moon probably holds more than 1 million metric tons of helium-3 on its surface, more than enough energy to provite the nation with more than 1,000 years of electricity. "This is going to be hot," said George Miley, a professor of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. But Robert Bless, a retired UW astronomy professor, believes the nation should invest in fuel technologies on Earth. "We should be getting the people in Detroit to start designing vehicles that use less gas," he said. "We should be focusing our efforts here."
======================================
???`????,??,?`????`????,??,?
AFV News and Discussion
???`????,??,?`????`????,??,?
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Message: 14
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 09:59:19 -0800 (PST)
From: AFV@afv.com (Alternate Fuel Vehicles)
Subject: Toyota Overtakes Ford
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/23586/story.htm
JAPAN:
January 27, 2004 (Reuters) TOKYO/DETROIT - It's official: Japan's Toyota Motor Corp has unseated Ford Motor Co as the world's second-biggest auto maker. The long-anticipated switch came as the U.S. "Big Three" lost customers to Japan's top auto makers in their own backyard last year, and as Toyota drove aggressively into the red-hot Asian car market, a weak spot for U.S. makers.
Toyota is steadily marching toward its goal of grabbing 15 percent of the global car market some time in the next decade, from about 11 percent now. That share could put Toyota ahead of General Motors, which said it had 14.7 percent in 2003.
Toyota said yesterday its group - which includes truck maker Hino Motors and minicar maker Daihatsu Motor - sold 6.78 million vehicles last year, up 10 percent from 2002 as it boosted its presence in every major car market. That was 60,000 more than the 6.72 million vehicles sold by the family of Ford cars, which groups together the Blue Oval brand, Mercury, and luxury marques Lincoln, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin. While the new ranking marks a symbolic shift in the global auto industry's balance of power, analysts have long argued that rating auto makers by their sales volume is just that: symbolic. "The significance is similar to the change from the year 1999 to 2000," said Christopher Richter, auto analyst at HSBC Securities in Tokyo. "It's an event that people will reflect on, but there are more important differences," he said, naming the vast gap in market value as one of them.
SIZE ISN'T EVERYTHING
Indeed, at over $120 billion, Toyota's market capitalization - a measure of how much investors believe a company is worth - is more than four times that of Ford, and bigger than the combined stock values of Ford, GM and DaimlerChrysler
By profitability, too, Toyota is way ahead of the pack. Its bottom-line profit came to around $7 billion last business year - by far the highest in the industry - and is expected to jump another 27 percent for the year to March 31, according to a survey of 21 brokerages by Reuters Research.
Meanwhile, Ford earned a net $495 million in 2003, returning to the black for the first time in three years. Analysts expect a fivefold increase in earnings this year. Ford has also been burdened by financial ills.
While its automotive business has $26 billion in cash, it also has billions in pension and health-care obligations, and its rating from Standard & Poor's stands one grade above "junk." Executives have committed to rolling out new products fast, but models already in the pipeline and due out over the next couple of years will cost more than the vehicles they replace, forcing Ford to scour its business for cost cuts.
In contrast, Toyota has a cash pile of $20 billion, enabling it to spend freely on the development of next-generation environmental and other technology which could give it an edge when and if governments introduce stricter regulations. It can always raise more money: S&P last week raised the outlook on Toyota's top-notch 'AAA' rating to stable.
LOSING SLEEP?
The new ranking will be seen as a loss of face by Ford, an American icon that has held the number-two spot behind crosstown rival GM for over 70 years - longer than Toyota has been in business. The milestone coincided with its centennial, no less.
Ford executives have publicly shrugged off the event, saying it had deliberately chosen to maximize profits instead of sales. "I'm not going to lose sleep over it," Chief Operating Officer Nick Scheele said when asked earlier this month about the possibility of being overtaken by the Japanese juggernaut. But he added: "I would wish we had the same opportunity in their home market that they have in ours. We were the market leader in Japan until we were kicked out in the early '30s... "Let's be honest about it. We can't sell in the Japanese market. They sell two million units in the Japanese market. Let's take that out and then see where we are."
Japanese records on car ownership from those days are scrappy, but the country had fewer than 150,000 cars, trucks and buses in the early part of that decade. Ford assembled 15,000 vehicles in Japan in 1935, before the military regime ousted U.S. companies out of the country. The Blue Oval brand sold a third of that last year. Japan's car makers have come a long way since then. Toyota President Fujio Cho has called Detroit's "Big Three" a "presence beyond the clouds in the sky," saying the auto maker had no intention of overtaking anybody in Detroit. But with Toyota's track record, GM executives will surely be keeping one eye on the rear-view mirror.
Story by Chang-Ran Kim and Justin Hyde
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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________________________________________________________________________
Message: 15
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 09:59:44 -0800 (PST)
From: AFV@afv.com (Alternate Fuel Vehicles)
Subject: Solar Power Industry Slowed By Pricey Silicon
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/23585/story.htm
GERMANY: January 27, 2004 (Reuters)
BURGHAUSEN, Germany - The solar industry is exploring new ways to produce silicon needed for photovoltaic cells as high oil prices spark a renewed search for alternative energy sources. The cells, used in solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity, are made of semiconducting materials - the same basic materials used to make microprocessor chips for computers. Direct applications range from powering small devices like pocket calculators and watches to lighting and heating homes, and some 60 percent of solar power produced is used to provide power to national electric grids.
Found in quartz and sand, silicon is the second-most abundant element on Earth after oxygen. But processing the material is complex and expensive. Soaring oil prices and competition for silicon from computer chipmakers have prompted a race to develop new ways of producing solar-grade silicon material more cheaply. As chipmakers enjoy a recovery in their industry, the price of high-purity silicon - as cheap as $6 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) during the semi-conductor slump - has leaped tenfold. But the purity of silicon needed for solar is not as high as that needed for microchips, and it is this market that companies such as Germany's Wacker Chemie want to exploit.
Wacker, 51 percent owned by the Wacker family and 49 percent by French-German drugmaker Aventis, believes it is ahead of the game with a process it has developed for solar-grade silicon at its main plant in Burghausen on the German-Austrian border. "Of course some competitors may say it's not worth our while, but we have given a real commitment that we will invest specifically for pv (photovoltaic cells)," Ewald Schindlbeck, polysilicons director at Wacker Chemie, told Reuters.
Among other companies in the race are Joint Solar Silicon, a joint venture between Degussa and Deutsche Solar, and U.S. company Hemlock - a joint venture between Japan's Shin-Etsu and Mitsubishi and Dow Corning of the United States. Norwegian metals company Elkem, the world's biggest producer of impure silicon, also says it has found a new refining method and has said it plans to make an announcement in January.
TOUGH COMPETITION
Power can be produced from traditional fossil fuels about four or five times more cheaply than solar. Just a fraction of 1 percent of the world's electricity consumption is currently generated with solar power, which is heavily subsidized to allow it to compete. As the cost of silicon accounts for some 40 percent of the price of a solar installation, Michel Viaut, general secretary of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association lobby group, says an affordable supply is the only way of giving the solar industry a chance to compete. Wacker thinks it has the answer. It says its new method can produce purified silicon of a high enough grade for the solar industry one-third more cheaply than the traditional, so-called "Siemens" process - and be ready to go into commercial production in 2006. The traditional process involves reacting a hazardous liquid form of silicon, trichlorosilane, with hydrochloric acid at temperatures of more than 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit to create ingots of pure silicon around silicon rods. It is a stop-start process that has to be halted to allow cooling and harvesting of the ingots, which are then crushed and cleaned.
NEW METHOD
Wacker's method uses milled silicon seed particles on a so-called "fludized bed" instead of silicon rods, giving a larger surface area for the reactions to occur and producing a continuous flow of silicon granules with no need for further cleaning. The company says once it ramps up production from its current pilot projects it will be able to give long-term supply guarantees to the solar industry at around $32 a kilogram. Wacker believes solar-cell makers would tolerate this price for the quality it says it can provide, and the EPIA's Viaut cautiously agrees that the price is in a realistic range.
He would certainly welcome any help for an industry still in its formative years.
"It's a very sensitive and still a very young sector," Viaut said. "Any little thing can make a huge difference to us."
(Additional reporting by Lucas van Grinsven in Amsterdam) Story by Georgina Prodhan
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
======================================
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 09:00:12 -0800 (PST)
From: AFV@afv.com (Alternate Fuel Vehicles)
Subject: Don't Bet On Fuel Cells, Manufacturer Says
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/23568/story.htm
SWITZERLAND: January 26, 2004 (Reuters) DAVOS, Switzerland -
The producer of fuel cells that can recharge mobile phones and portable music players told industrialists and policymakers last week not to count on the power packs to solve the energy crisis. "Don't hold your breath on fuel cells. Every 10 years they say commercial deployment is only 10 years away. We're still not seeing any real fuel cells that can run, say, a car," said Robert Lifton, chief executive of Medis Technologies. He was participating in several discussions on energy at the World Economic Forum, an annual huddle of government officials, corporate executives and special interest groups.
Medis itself will not provide the solution either, because its Power Pack fuel cell will only power small portable devices, and cannot be used for bigger items such as computers or cars. "Our product doesn't scale," Lifton said, adding that the company's first working prototypes would be introduced in May. The company plans to put a $29.99 price tag on its fuel cell for portable consumer electronics, such as handsets, MP3 players and digital cameras. Each cartridge of fuel, which will power a cell phone for some 12 hours, will be priced at $1.50.
Its fuel cell should be among the very first commercial applications of an electrochemical process that was first discovered in the nineteenth century. A fuel cell converts the chemical energy of a fuel and oxidant to electrical energy.
RESEARCH PROGRAM
In the United States, fuel cells, and the hydrogen that is used in many models as a fuel, is seen as a solution to keep engines running, even when the world runs out of fossil fuels later this century. President Bush supported a $1.3 billion research program to develop such fuel cells.
Many Japanese companies are also working on fuel cells, with Toshiba claiming a prototype that powers a laptop. NEC has boasted about a record level of milliwatts it can generate per square centimeter of reaction surface. Franco-Italian chip maker STMicroelectronics is using chip-making technology to increase energy generation. Fuel cells are better for the environment than ordinary batteries, which contain heavy metals. Fuel cells only produce electricity, water, and in some cases heat. But Lifton said hydrogen fuel cells still had to overcome essential problems, such as excess heat and water generation. Governments should focus on energy preservation, and not hope that fuel cell technology will catch up with energy needs. He and others also pointed out that fuel cells could only be a solution to the upcoming energy crisis if the fuel, such as hydrogen, is generated with renewable energy sources. Hydrogen can either be generated by wind or solar energy, or by using fossil fuels such as gas. Companies like Shell Renewables, a unit of Royal Dutch, are talking to governments to emphasize that fuel cell technology should be combined with renewable energy.
Solar cells and wind mills generate only a fraction of the world's energy needs at the moment, less than one percent. Long-term scenario planning by Shell forecasts that in 30 to 40 years renewable energy will generate over one-third of all global energy requirements.
Story by Lucas van Grinsven
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
======================================
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 2
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 10:00:36 -0800 (PST)
From: AFV@afv.com (Alternate Fuel Vehicles)
Subject: World's Biggest Solar Power Station About To Open
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1028244.htm
Last Update: Tuesday, January 20, 2004. 12:00pm (AEDT)
World's biggest solar power station to open in Germany.
The world's biggest solar power station will be connected to the German electricity grid at the end of July near the eastern city of Leipzig, the firms involved in the project said.
Made up of 33,500 solar panels, the station at Espenhain will be able to generate about five megawatts, enough electricity for 1,800 homes, the Shell Solar and GEOSOL companies said.
They say the solar power station will save some 3,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Germany is the world's second largest producer of solar energy behind Japan, according to the Environment Ministry. -- AFP
======================================
???`????,??,?`????`????,??,?
AFV News and Discussion
???`????,??,?`????`????,??,?
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 10:01:00 -0800 (PST)
From: AFV@afv.com (Alternate Fuel Vehicles)
Subject: UW Scientists Want To Mine The Moon For Energy
USA: MADISON, WI (AP) ? Two University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists
believe moon rocks contain all the energy the United States needs for the next millennium. The moon's surface is full of the energy source, helium-3, said Gerald Kulcinski, a nuclear engineering professor and director of the Fusion Technology Institute at UW. "If we could land the space shuttle on the moon, fill the cargo with canisters of helium-3 mined from the surface and bring the shuttle back to Earth, that cargo would supply the entire electrical power needs of the United States for an entire year," he said. President Bush's plan to create a permanent lunar base brings Kulcinski and others at the institute hope for their idea. Kulcinski said he does not know of any other institution that is working on helium-3 fusion. John Santarius, a professor at the Fusion Technology Institute, said helium-3 provides one million times more energy per pound than a ton of coal. Fusion of helium-3 does not produce greenhouse emissions, and mining it would do little environmental harm, Kulcinski said. "The moon doesn't have air or water <-[NASA is 99% certain the moon -does- have water: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980306.html ]. So, there won't be any of that kind of pollution," he said.
Helium-3 is found in the top few feet of lunar soil. To access it, miners would shovel up the surface, bake it and isolate the gas, Santarius said.
Since 1985, Kulcinski, Santarius and others at UW have thought about the possibility of harnessing the energy of helium-3 through fusion, which combines atoms to create energy. Fission, which is the process used in nuclear reactors, splits atoms.
"We came at it from an energy standpoint," Kulcinski said. "We were looking for a long-term economical and safe form of energy." The researchers are still working on building a helium-3 reactor that would produce more energy than it takes in. The team estimates the moon probably holds more than 1 million metric tons of helium-3 on its surface, more than enough energy to provite the nation with more than 1,000 years of electricity. "This is going to be hot," said George Miley, a professor of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. But Robert Bless, a retired UW astronomy professor, believes the nation should invest in fuel technologies on Earth. "We should be getting the people in Detroit to start designing vehicles that use less gas," he said. "We should be focusing our efforts here."
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AFV News and Discussion
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Message: 14
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 09:59:19 -0800 (PST)
From: AFV@afv.com (Alternate Fuel Vehicles)
Subject: Toyota Overtakes Ford
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/23586/story.htm
JAPAN:
January 27, 2004 (Reuters) TOKYO/DETROIT - It's official: Japan's Toyota Motor Corp has unseated Ford Motor Co as the world's second-biggest auto maker. The long-anticipated switch came as the U.S. "Big Three" lost customers to Japan's top auto makers in their own backyard last year, and as Toyota drove aggressively into the red-hot Asian car market, a weak spot for U.S. makers.
Toyota is steadily marching toward its goal of grabbing 15 percent of the global car market some time in the next decade, from about 11 percent now. That share could put Toyota ahead of General Motors, which said it had 14.7 percent in 2003.
Toyota said yesterday its group - which includes truck maker Hino Motors and minicar maker Daihatsu Motor - sold 6.78 million vehicles last year, up 10 percent from 2002 as it boosted its presence in every major car market. That was 60,000 more than the 6.72 million vehicles sold by the family of Ford cars, which groups together the Blue Oval brand, Mercury, and luxury marques Lincoln, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin. While the new ranking marks a symbolic shift in the global auto industry's balance of power, analysts have long argued that rating auto makers by their sales volume is just that: symbolic. "The significance is similar to the change from the year 1999 to 2000," said Christopher Richter, auto analyst at HSBC Securities in Tokyo. "It's an event that people will reflect on, but there are more important differences," he said, naming the vast gap in market value as one of them.
SIZE ISN'T EVERYTHING
Indeed, at over $120 billion, Toyota's market capitalization - a measure of how much investors believe a company is worth - is more than four times that of Ford, and bigger than the combined stock values of Ford, GM and DaimlerChrysler
By profitability, too, Toyota is way ahead of the pack. Its bottom-line profit came to around $7 billion last business year - by far the highest in the industry - and is expected to jump another 27 percent for the year to March 31, according to a survey of 21 brokerages by Reuters Research.
Meanwhile, Ford earned a net $495 million in 2003, returning to the black for the first time in three years. Analysts expect a fivefold increase in earnings this year. Ford has also been burdened by financial ills.
While its automotive business has $26 billion in cash, it also has billions in pension and health-care obligations, and its rating from Standard & Poor's stands one grade above "junk." Executives have committed to rolling out new products fast, but models already in the pipeline and due out over the next couple of years will cost more than the vehicles they replace, forcing Ford to scour its business for cost cuts.
In contrast, Toyota has a cash pile of $20 billion, enabling it to spend freely on the development of next-generation environmental and other technology which could give it an edge when and if governments introduce stricter regulations. It can always raise more money: S&P last week raised the outlook on Toyota's top-notch 'AAA' rating to stable.
LOSING SLEEP?
The new ranking will be seen as a loss of face by Ford, an American icon that has held the number-two spot behind crosstown rival GM for over 70 years - longer than Toyota has been in business. The milestone coincided with its centennial, no less.
Ford executives have publicly shrugged off the event, saying it had deliberately chosen to maximize profits instead of sales. "I'm not going to lose sleep over it," Chief Operating Officer Nick Scheele said when asked earlier this month about the possibility of being overtaken by the Japanese juggernaut. But he added: "I would wish we had the same opportunity in their home market that they have in ours. We were the market leader in Japan until we were kicked out in the early '30s... "Let's be honest about it. We can't sell in the Japanese market. They sell two million units in the Japanese market. Let's take that out and then see where we are."
Japanese records on car ownership from those days are scrappy, but the country had fewer than 150,000 cars, trucks and buses in the early part of that decade. Ford assembled 15,000 vehicles in Japan in 1935, before the military regime ousted U.S. companies out of the country. The Blue Oval brand sold a third of that last year. Japan's car makers have come a long way since then. Toyota President Fujio Cho has called Detroit's "Big Three" a "presence beyond the clouds in the sky," saying the auto maker had no intention of overtaking anybody in Detroit. But with Toyota's track record, GM executives will surely be keeping one eye on the rear-view mirror.
Story by Chang-Ran Kim and Justin Hyde
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 15
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 09:59:44 -0800 (PST)
From: AFV@afv.com (Alternate Fuel Vehicles)
Subject: Solar Power Industry Slowed By Pricey Silicon
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/23585/story.htm
GERMANY: January 27, 2004 (Reuters)
BURGHAUSEN, Germany - The solar industry is exploring new ways to produce silicon needed for photovoltaic cells as high oil prices spark a renewed search for alternative energy sources. The cells, used in solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity, are made of semiconducting materials - the same basic materials used to make microprocessor chips for computers. Direct applications range from powering small devices like pocket calculators and watches to lighting and heating homes, and some 60 percent of solar power produced is used to provide power to national electric grids.
Found in quartz and sand, silicon is the second-most abundant element on Earth after oxygen. But processing the material is complex and expensive. Soaring oil prices and competition for silicon from computer chipmakers have prompted a race to develop new ways of producing solar-grade silicon material more cheaply. As chipmakers enjoy a recovery in their industry, the price of high-purity silicon - as cheap as $6 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) during the semi-conductor slump - has leaped tenfold. But the purity of silicon needed for solar is not as high as that needed for microchips, and it is this market that companies such as Germany's Wacker Chemie want to exploit.
Wacker, 51 percent owned by the Wacker family and 49 percent by French-German drugmaker Aventis, believes it is ahead of the game with a process it has developed for solar-grade silicon at its main plant in Burghausen on the German-Austrian border. "Of course some competitors may say it's not worth our while, but we have given a real commitment that we will invest specifically for pv (photovoltaic cells)," Ewald Schindlbeck, polysilicons director at Wacker Chemie, told Reuters.
Among other companies in the race are Joint Solar Silicon, a joint venture between Degussa and Deutsche Solar, and U.S. company Hemlock - a joint venture between Japan's Shin-Etsu and Mitsubishi and Dow Corning of the United States. Norwegian metals company Elkem, the world's biggest producer of impure silicon, also says it has found a new refining method and has said it plans to make an announcement in January.
TOUGH COMPETITION
Power can be produced from traditional fossil fuels about four or five times more cheaply than solar. Just a fraction of 1 percent of the world's electricity consumption is currently generated with solar power, which is heavily subsidized to allow it to compete. As the cost of silicon accounts for some 40 percent of the price of a solar installation, Michel Viaut, general secretary of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association lobby group, says an affordable supply is the only way of giving the solar industry a chance to compete. Wacker thinks it has the answer. It says its new method can produce purified silicon of a high enough grade for the solar industry one-third more cheaply than the traditional, so-called "Siemens" process - and be ready to go into commercial production in 2006. The traditional process involves reacting a hazardous liquid form of silicon, trichlorosilane, with hydrochloric acid at temperatures of more than 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit to create ingots of pure silicon around silicon rods. It is a stop-start process that has to be halted to allow cooling and harvesting of the ingots, which are then crushed and cleaned.
NEW METHOD
Wacker's method uses milled silicon seed particles on a so-called "fludized bed" instead of silicon rods, giving a larger surface area for the reactions to occur and producing a continuous flow of silicon granules with no need for further cleaning. The company says once it ramps up production from its current pilot projects it will be able to give long-term supply guarantees to the solar industry at around $32 a kilogram. Wacker believes solar-cell makers would tolerate this price for the quality it says it can provide, and the EPIA's Viaut cautiously agrees that the price is in a realistic range.
He would certainly welcome any help for an industry still in its formative years.
"It's a very sensitive and still a very young sector," Viaut said. "Any little thing can make a huge difference to us."
(Additional reporting by Lucas van Grinsven in Amsterdam) Story by Georgina Prodhan
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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Great Lakes Daily News: 27 January 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Sen. Clinton opposes St. Lawrence expansion
----------------------------------------
U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton has called on President Bush to not fund a study
that could lead to expanding the St Lawrence Seaway. Source: Maritime Global
Net (1/27)
Wanted: Cheap home for dredged mud
----------------------------------------
The mud that clogs shipping lanes in Michigan harbors grows cleaner each
year, but Gov. Jennifer Granholm won't let the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
dispose of that mud in the Great Lakes. Source: Booth Newspapers (1/27)
Vanishing shore
----------------------------------------
More than 100 million tons of soil erodes annually from Indiana's landscape,
and much of that enters local waterways as sediment. Source: Merrillville
Post-Tribune (1/27)
Tourist-driven businesses finally find a winter to like
----------------------------------------
After three years of mild winters, residents and business owners in Door
County, Wis., are hoping the current chilly, snowy trend continues. Source:
Green Bay Press-Gazette (1/27)
Technology helps rescue 14 stranded on ice in lake
----------------------------------------
Fourteen fishermen were stranded on the Lake Erie ice, but a Coast Guard
helicopter pilot knew exactly where to find them, thanks to night-vision
goggles and the fishermen's GPS receivers. Source: The Plain Dealer (1/27)
Michigan quarter makes debut
----------------------------------------
Michigan's unmistakable geographic hand print, surrounded by the Great
Lakes, will grace the back of 450 million quarters to be pressed at the U.S.
Mint. Source: The Detroit News (1/27)
Power struggle predicted
----------------------------------------
Ontario's plan to shut down coal-fired power stations in Atikokan and
Thunder Bay by 2007 will mean energy shortages, community leaders predict.
Source: The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal (1/26)
DNR targeting game farm where 6 chronic wasting cases reported
----------------------------------------
Ever since chronic wasting disease was found in western Dane County in
February 2002, Wisconsin officials have used a two-pronged attack to contain
the disease. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (1/26)
A not so small problem
----------------------------------------
A tiny creature on the bottom of the Great Lakes is disappearing, and so are
some of the fish that eat it. Source: Earthwatch Radio (1/23)
EPA grants Clean Air Act authority to Fond du Lac Band
----------------------------------------
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has been recognized as the
first tribe in the Great Lakes region to be granted authority to administer
parts of the Clean Air Act. Source: Capitol Reports (1/22)
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html
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Great Lakes Daily News: 27 January 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Sen. Clinton opposes St. Lawrence expansion
----------------------------------------
U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton has called on President Bush to not fund a study
that could lead to expanding the St Lawrence Seaway. Source: Maritime Global
Net (1/27)
Wanted: Cheap home for dredged mud
----------------------------------------
The mud that clogs shipping lanes in Michigan harbors grows cleaner each
year, but Gov. Jennifer Granholm won't let the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
dispose of that mud in the Great Lakes. Source: Booth Newspapers (1/27)
Vanishing shore
----------------------------------------
More than 100 million tons of soil erodes annually from Indiana's landscape,
and much of that enters local waterways as sediment. Source: Merrillville
Post-Tribune (1/27)
Tourist-driven businesses finally find a winter to like
----------------------------------------
After three years of mild winters, residents and business owners in Door
County, Wis., are hoping the current chilly, snowy trend continues. Source:
Green Bay Press-Gazette (1/27)
Technology helps rescue 14 stranded on ice in lake
----------------------------------------
Fourteen fishermen were stranded on the Lake Erie ice, but a Coast Guard
helicopter pilot knew exactly where to find them, thanks to night-vision
goggles and the fishermen's GPS receivers. Source: The Plain Dealer (1/27)
Michigan quarter makes debut
----------------------------------------
Michigan's unmistakable geographic hand print, surrounded by the Great
Lakes, will grace the back of 450 million quarters to be pressed at the U.S.
Mint. Source: The Detroit News (1/27)
Power struggle predicted
----------------------------------------
Ontario's plan to shut down coal-fired power stations in Atikokan and
Thunder Bay by 2007 will mean energy shortages, community leaders predict.
Source: The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal (1/26)
DNR targeting game farm where 6 chronic wasting cases reported
----------------------------------------
Ever since chronic wasting disease was found in western Dane County in
February 2002, Wisconsin officials have used a two-pronged attack to contain
the disease. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (1/26)
A not so small problem
----------------------------------------
A tiny creature on the bottom of the Great Lakes is disappearing, and so are
some of the fish that eat it. Source: Earthwatch Radio (1/23)
EPA grants Clean Air Act authority to Fond du Lac Band
----------------------------------------
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has been recognized as the
first tribe in the Great Lakes region to be granted authority to administer
parts of the Clean Air Act. Source: Capitol Reports (1/22)
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html
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Great Lakes Newsroom: 27 January 2004
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Lakes Radio Consortium.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Leading Great Lakes citizens' group call on Administration to drop proposed
federal sewage policy
http://www.lakemichigan.org/news/press.asp
Source: Lake Michigan Federation (2004-01-27)
IJC releases summary of critical air quality issues between Canada and the
United States
http://www.ijc.org/rel/news/040127_e.htm
Source: International Joint Commission (2004-01-27)
Great Lakes Day in Washington - March 3 - Register now!
http://www.glc.org/greatlakesday/
Source: Great Lakes Commission (2004-01-27)
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Great Lakes Newsroom: 27 January 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Leading Great Lakes citizens' group call on Administration to drop proposed
federal sewage policy
http://www.lakemichigan.org/news/press.asp
Source: Lake Michigan Federation (2004-01-27)
IJC releases summary of critical air quality issues between Canada and the
United States
http://www.ijc.org/rel/news/040127_e.htm
Source: International Joint Commission (2004-01-27)
Great Lakes Day in Washington - March 3 - Register now!
http://www.glc.org/greatlakesday/
Source: Great Lakes Commission (2004-01-27)
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Access the Great Lakes Press Room archive and sponsorship opportunities
at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/pressroom/
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Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
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News for 01/27/04 from ENN:
Agriculture Department looks at revamping biotech rules
Worried about the inadvertent spread of new bioengineered plants that produce drugs and chemicals, the Agriculture Department is studying whether to adopt a risk-based system to protect the environment and food supply.
FULL STORY
FDA launches new mad cow rules to protect U.S. food, feed
The Bush administration issued a package of new safeguards Monday to protect the human food and animal feed supply from mad cow disease, but consumer groups said the protections did not go far enough.
FULL STORY
Farmed salmon industry to face lawsuit over contaminants in fish
The farmed salmon industry faces legal action in California for failing to warn consumers that the fish contain what environmental groups say are potentially dangerous levels of cancer-causing chemicals.
FULL STORY
Sulu Sea marine zone eyes military protection
If efforts to protect a patch of Sulu Sea off northeast Borneo go as private managers plan, they may need some serious military muscle to guard the site's underwater assets from human predators.
FULL STORY
Fury over a gentle giant
For years, Florida has been beset by a bitter, frequently convoluted conflict over the manatee, a gentle creature that inhabits many of its bays, canals, and rivers. The dispute concerns new regulations intended to ensure the species' survival, which further limit development and boaters' access to certain waters, as boat collisions are the leading cause of manatee death.
FULL STORY
Thailand's chicken slaughter is labeled inhumane
Bird-flu-stricken Thailand's emergency cull of millions of chickens by stuffing them in sacks and burying them alive is coming under criticism from animal rights activists as inhumane.
FULL STORY
Nicaragua is poaching far fewer sea turtles, says U.S. group
The poaching of endangered hawksbill sea turtles and their eggs has dropped nearly 80 percent in four years in Nicaragua, thanks to a program that includes support from local communities, a U.S.-based environmental group said Monday.
FULL STORY
E.U. farm animals could be treated with alternative medicines
A European Union ban on antibiotics in animal feeds could make farmers switch to natural solutions such as plant extracts to keep animals healthy and promote growth, British researchers said Monday.
FULL STORY
Press Releases (Become an Affiliate)
Posted by non-profit environmental organizations and educational institutions
One eve of White House official's visit to NW, mixed reaction from salmon advocates
American Rivers
FULL RELEASE
Glaciers and Sea Ice Endangered by Rising Temperatures
Earth Policy Institute
FULL RELEASE
Citigroup And RAN Reach Agreement
Rainforest Action Network
FULL RELEASE
43-Acre Sparta Fields Protected (NJ)
The Trust for Public Land
FULL RELEASE
TPL Purchases Cypress Gardens (FL)
The Trust for Public Land
FULL RELEASE
Leonardo DiCaprio, Laurie David Open NRDC Environmental Action Center
Natural Resources Defense Council
FULL RELEASE
Bush Administration Plan to Give Western Arctic to Oil Industry Will Industrialize Largest Remaining Wilderness Area in Nation
Natural Resources Defense Council
FULL RELEASE
Monterey Bay Aquarium issues national seafood guide, will put 2 million in public's hands by Earth Day
Monterey Bay Aquarium
FULL RELEASE
The Seed Awards - Supporting Entrepreneurs in Environment and Development
United Nations Environment Programme
FULL RELEASE
Land Added to Morro Bay Dunes Greenbelt (CA)
The Trust for Public Land
FULL RELEASE
Bush Runs Away from His Environmental Record in State of the Union Speech
Natural Resources Defense Council
FULL RELEASE
Southern Sea Lion colony in Patagonia at all time high
World Land Trust
FULL RELEASE
Prominent Speakers to Address North American Forest Certification Conference
Sustainable Forestry and Certification Watch
FULL RELEASE
Mill River Project Gains New Momentum (CT)
The Trust for Public Land
FULL RELEASE
Cutting Edge Newspaper Offers Article on Nature-Connected Learning and Psychology
Project NatureConnect, Institute of Global Education
FULL RELEASE
Annapolis to Washington: Catch Us If You Can on Efficiency Standards
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
FULL RELEASE
Late Friday News #131
Mangrove Action Project
FULL RELEASE
Highly Endangered Mountain Gorilla Population Grows by 17 Percent
African Wildlife Foundation
FULL RELEASE
EPA Sued For Illegally Taking Direction from Chemical Industry Group
Earthjustice
FULL RELEASE
Wilderness for Tumacacori Highlands Would be First for Arizona in More than a Decade
Arizona Wilderness Coalition
FULL RELEASE
Agriculture Department looks at revamping biotech rules
Worried about the inadvertent spread of new bioengineered plants that produce drugs and chemicals, the Agriculture Department is studying whether to adopt a risk-based system to protect the environment and food supply.
FULL STORY
FDA launches new mad cow rules to protect U.S. food, feed
The Bush administration issued a package of new safeguards Monday to protect the human food and animal feed supply from mad cow disease, but consumer groups said the protections did not go far enough.
FULL STORY
Farmed salmon industry to face lawsuit over contaminants in fish
The farmed salmon industry faces legal action in California for failing to warn consumers that the fish contain what environmental groups say are potentially dangerous levels of cancer-causing chemicals.
FULL STORY
Sulu Sea marine zone eyes military protection
If efforts to protect a patch of Sulu Sea off northeast Borneo go as private managers plan, they may need some serious military muscle to guard the site's underwater assets from human predators.
FULL STORY
Fury over a gentle giant
For years, Florida has been beset by a bitter, frequently convoluted conflict over the manatee, a gentle creature that inhabits many of its bays, canals, and rivers. The dispute concerns new regulations intended to ensure the species' survival, which further limit development and boaters' access to certain waters, as boat collisions are the leading cause of manatee death.
FULL STORY
Thailand's chicken slaughter is labeled inhumane
Bird-flu-stricken Thailand's emergency cull of millions of chickens by stuffing them in sacks and burying them alive is coming under criticism from animal rights activists as inhumane.
FULL STORY
Nicaragua is poaching far fewer sea turtles, says U.S. group
The poaching of endangered hawksbill sea turtles and their eggs has dropped nearly 80 percent in four years in Nicaragua, thanks to a program that includes support from local communities, a U.S.-based environmental group said Monday.
FULL STORY
E.U. farm animals could be treated with alternative medicines
A European Union ban on antibiotics in animal feeds could make farmers switch to natural solutions such as plant extracts to keep animals healthy and promote growth, British researchers said Monday.
FULL STORY
Press Releases (Become an Affiliate)
Posted by non-profit environmental organizations and educational institutions
One eve of White House official's visit to NW, mixed reaction from salmon advocates
American Rivers
FULL RELEASE
Glaciers and Sea Ice Endangered by Rising Temperatures
Earth Policy Institute
FULL RELEASE
Citigroup And RAN Reach Agreement
Rainforest Action Network
FULL RELEASE
43-Acre Sparta Fields Protected (NJ)
The Trust for Public Land
FULL RELEASE
TPL Purchases Cypress Gardens (FL)
The Trust for Public Land
FULL RELEASE
Leonardo DiCaprio, Laurie David Open NRDC Environmental Action Center
Natural Resources Defense Council
FULL RELEASE
Bush Administration Plan to Give Western Arctic to Oil Industry Will Industrialize Largest Remaining Wilderness Area in Nation
Natural Resources Defense Council
FULL RELEASE
Monterey Bay Aquarium issues national seafood guide, will put 2 million in public's hands by Earth Day
Monterey Bay Aquarium
FULL RELEASE
The Seed Awards - Supporting Entrepreneurs in Environment and Development
United Nations Environment Programme
FULL RELEASE
Land Added to Morro Bay Dunes Greenbelt (CA)
The Trust for Public Land
FULL RELEASE
Bush Runs Away from His Environmental Record in State of the Union Speech
Natural Resources Defense Council
FULL RELEASE
Southern Sea Lion colony in Patagonia at all time high
World Land Trust
FULL RELEASE
Prominent Speakers to Address North American Forest Certification Conference
Sustainable Forestry and Certification Watch
FULL RELEASE
Mill River Project Gains New Momentum (CT)
The Trust for Public Land
FULL RELEASE
Cutting Edge Newspaper Offers Article on Nature-Connected Learning and Psychology
Project NatureConnect, Institute of Global Education
FULL RELEASE
Annapolis to Washington: Catch Us If You Can on Efficiency Standards
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
FULL RELEASE
Late Friday News #131
Mangrove Action Project
FULL RELEASE
Highly Endangered Mountain Gorilla Population Grows by 17 Percent
African Wildlife Foundation
FULL RELEASE
EPA Sued For Illegally Taking Direction from Chemical Industry Group
Earthjustice
FULL RELEASE
Wilderness for Tumacacori Highlands Would be First for Arizona in More than a Decade
Arizona Wilderness Coalition
FULL RELEASE
Monday, January 26, 2004
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Support GLIN Daily News: http://www.glin.net/news/sponsor/
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Great Lakes Daily News: 26 January 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
President's address neglects environment
----------------------------------------
President George W. Bush's recent State of the Union address was noted for
not saying much about the environment. Source: Great Lakes Radio Consortium
(1/26)
Michigan falls behind on water protection law
----------------------------------------
Soon, every Great Lakes state could have a water protection law on its
books--only Michigan still hasn't passed such legislation to comply with a
1985 regional agreement. Source: Great Lakes Radio Consortium (1/26)
Ice coverage is greater on Great Lakes
----------------------------------------
For the second year in a row, the Great Lakes are seeing more ice coverage.
Source: Great Lakes Radio Consortium (1/26)
Water should figure in plans, report says
----------------------------------------
According to the Ohio Lake Erie Commission, communities need to look at
development plans based on watershed rather than political boundaries.
Source: The Akron Beacon Journal (1/26)
Montreal's midwinter flooding unprecedented
----------------------------------------
Flooding caused by three swollen rivers in the Montreal area drove a handful
of people from their homes yesterday and caused anxiety for hundreds of
others. Source: The Montreal Gazette (1/26)
Last ship clears Soo Locks
----------------------------------------
The last commercial vessel of the 2003 shipping season cleared the Soo Locks
Friday afternoon with passage of the steamer Saginaw. Source: The Sault
Ste. Marie Evening News (1/25)
Donation boosts Door County nature preserve
----------------------------------------
A recent donation of shoreline property is significant because it will allow
The Ridges Sanctuary to better explain how the waters of Lake Michigan
formed the area's unique sand dunes known as "ridge and swale" topography.
Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette (1/25)
New luxury ship to cruise Great Lakes
----------------------------------------
Great Lakes cruise passengers who don't mind spending top dollar will have
another choice in ships this season as the new 337-foot, German-built luxury
vessel Orion joins the fleet. Source: The Plain Dealer (1/25)
Lakefront owners battle receding bluffs
----------------------------------------
Though low lake levels in recent years have slowed erosion, Lake Michigan
bluffs receded as much as 10 feet a year in southeastern Wisconsin between
1963 and 1995 - with the erosion sometimes reaching 100 feet during major
storms. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (1/24)
Feds approve search for oil, gas beneath Huron National Forest
----------------------------------------
Small booms will echo through the Huron National Forest in February, as a
company searches for natural gas and other mineral resources underground.
Source: The Bay City Times (1/23)
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
www.glin.net/forms/dailynews_form.html or send an e-mail message to
majordomo@great-lakes.net with the command 'subscribe dailynews' (minus
the quotes) in the body of the message.
TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Send a message to majordomo@great-lakes.net with the
command 'unsubscribe dailynews' in the body of the message.
TO SUBMIT A NEWS STORY: www.glin.net/forms/news_form.html
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Support GLIN Daily News: http://www.glin.net/news/sponsor/
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Great Lakes Daily News: 26 January 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
President's address neglects environment
----------------------------------------
President George W. Bush's recent State of the Union address was noted for
not saying much about the environment. Source: Great Lakes Radio Consortium
(1/26)
Michigan falls behind on water protection law
----------------------------------------
Soon, every Great Lakes state could have a water protection law on its
books--only Michigan still hasn't passed such legislation to comply with a
1985 regional agreement. Source: Great Lakes Radio Consortium (1/26)
Ice coverage is greater on Great Lakes
----------------------------------------
For the second year in a row, the Great Lakes are seeing more ice coverage.
Source: Great Lakes Radio Consortium (1/26)
Water should figure in plans, report says
----------------------------------------
According to the Ohio Lake Erie Commission, communities need to look at
development plans based on watershed rather than political boundaries.
Source: The Akron Beacon Journal (1/26)
Montreal's midwinter flooding unprecedented
----------------------------------------
Flooding caused by three swollen rivers in the Montreal area drove a handful
of people from their homes yesterday and caused anxiety for hundreds of
others. Source: The Montreal Gazette (1/26)
Last ship clears Soo Locks
----------------------------------------
The last commercial vessel of the 2003 shipping season cleared the Soo Locks
Friday afternoon with passage of the steamer Saginaw. Source: The Sault
Ste. Marie Evening News (1/25)
Donation boosts Door County nature preserve
----------------------------------------
A recent donation of shoreline property is significant because it will allow
The Ridges Sanctuary to better explain how the waters of Lake Michigan
formed the area's unique sand dunes known as "ridge and swale" topography.
Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette (1/25)
New luxury ship to cruise Great Lakes
----------------------------------------
Great Lakes cruise passengers who don't mind spending top dollar will have
another choice in ships this season as the new 337-foot, German-built luxury
vessel Orion joins the fleet. Source: The Plain Dealer (1/25)
Lakefront owners battle receding bluffs
----------------------------------------
Though low lake levels in recent years have slowed erosion, Lake Michigan
bluffs receded as much as 10 feet a year in southeastern Wisconsin between
1963 and 1995 - with the erosion sometimes reaching 100 feet during major
storms. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (1/24)
Feds approve search for oil, gas beneath Huron National Forest
----------------------------------------
Small booms will echo through the Huron National Forest in February, as a
company searches for natural gas and other mineral resources underground.
Source: The Bay City Times (1/23)
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
www.glin.net/forms/dailynews_form.html or send an e-mail message to
majordomo@great-lakes.net with the command 'subscribe dailynews' (minus
the quotes) in the body of the message.
TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Send a message to majordomo@great-lakes.net with the
command 'unsubscribe dailynews' in the body of the message.
TO SUBMIT A NEWS STORY: www.glin.net/forms/news_form.html
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Sunday, January 25, 2004
Shores Of Naked Sand:
I leaned upon the rail and peered into the night,
Cygnus the swan twinkled back down on me,
There in the deep darkness amongst the stars in their thousands,
It was the eye of the Bird the Hunter followed that chilled my bones,
Amongst all the Heavens you can no longer see ashore.
The Albatross glided slowly into the night.
I looked to the bow in the morning,
Sure to find leaping dolphins and cheer them on,
Yet seeing only blue water breaking,
My eyes wandered off to the distant cloudless sky,
Chastised like a disappointed child I walked away.
The Albatross was a distant speck out of sight.
We saw a fishing vessel every other day,
Our grim-faced Captain gritted his teeth and turned his face aside,
I often wondered at that moment what iceberg struck his heart,
Yet at dinner that night he held a plastic smile,
Roast pig was at the table yet the only fish was an ice sculpture cornered.
An olive branch floated past but no bird circled above.
We passed the island at calm sunset,
Not stopping for a moment and I had to ask why,
The Mate just said a plague was there,
And I saw not a canoe under swaying palms,
Nothing darted through the bare blue sky.
True North was gone mystic for I'd never see a guiding bird.
It happened in the night everything flew across the stateroom,
We were going down yet not a shark was circling,
Perhaps some comfort in bare waves breaking upon one lonely uncharted rock,
My eyes fell below the blue and I sank like a stone,
Noting the palm trees underwater just before the stone.
I dreamed of the Albatross as my body glided down to bare sand.
Going into the light I realized,
I still have never tasted fish, Old Man.
The Albatross stared at me cold without a tear in his great red eye.
AquarianM
By: Daniel A. Stafford
(C) 01/25/2004
Author's Comments:
Wandering albatrosses are huge, solitary, near-mythical birds who mate for life. With wingspans of up to four meters (12 feet), they're the largest flying creatures on Earth and can spend months far beyond land, seeming to revel in the fierce winds of the Roaring Forties. They are Southern Hemisphere, circumpolar birds, as are most of the other 23 albatross species. They also were a prominent feature in a most famous poem, Old Man Of The sea. To see the inspiration for this piece, go here: http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12292.asp
I leaned upon the rail and peered into the night,
Cygnus the swan twinkled back down on me,
There in the deep darkness amongst the stars in their thousands,
It was the eye of the Bird the Hunter followed that chilled my bones,
Amongst all the Heavens you can no longer see ashore.
The Albatross glided slowly into the night.
I looked to the bow in the morning,
Sure to find leaping dolphins and cheer them on,
Yet seeing only blue water breaking,
My eyes wandered off to the distant cloudless sky,
Chastised like a disappointed child I walked away.
The Albatross was a distant speck out of sight.
We saw a fishing vessel every other day,
Our grim-faced Captain gritted his teeth and turned his face aside,
I often wondered at that moment what iceberg struck his heart,
Yet at dinner that night he held a plastic smile,
Roast pig was at the table yet the only fish was an ice sculpture cornered.
An olive branch floated past but no bird circled above.
We passed the island at calm sunset,
Not stopping for a moment and I had to ask why,
The Mate just said a plague was there,
And I saw not a canoe under swaying palms,
Nothing darted through the bare blue sky.
True North was gone mystic for I'd never see a guiding bird.
It happened in the night everything flew across the stateroom,
We were going down yet not a shark was circling,
Perhaps some comfort in bare waves breaking upon one lonely uncharted rock,
My eyes fell below the blue and I sank like a stone,
Noting the palm trees underwater just before the stone.
I dreamed of the Albatross as my body glided down to bare sand.
Going into the light I realized,
I still have never tasted fish, Old Man.
The Albatross stared at me cold without a tear in his great red eye.
AquarianM
By: Daniel A. Stafford
(C) 01/25/2004
Author's Comments:
Wandering albatrosses are huge, solitary, near-mythical birds who mate for life. With wingspans of up to four meters (12 feet), they're the largest flying creatures on Earth and can spend months far beyond land, seeming to revel in the fierce winds of the Roaring Forties. They are Southern Hemisphere, circumpolar birds, as are most of the other 23 albatross species. They also were a prominent feature in a most famous poem, Old Man Of The sea. To see the inspiration for this piece, go here: http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12292.asp
Dear Editors,
This is coming to you a little earlier than usual, as the E staff is off to the slopes of Killington, Vermont for a few days. Back Tuesday.
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Doug Moss
Publisher & Executive Editor
*****************************************
***Week of 1/25/04 EARTH TALK installment***:
EARTH TALK
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: Can the mercury contained in some seafood harm a developing fetus?
Midge Wilson, Utica, NY
Methyl mercury--emitted by smokestacks and released to the environment from common household products like old thermometers--is a persistent heavy metal that ends up in rivers, lakes and oceans and accumulates in the tissues of fish and animals, including people. “Just one seventieth of a teaspoon of atmospheric mercury can contaminate a 20-acre lake for a year,” says Michael Bender, executive director of the Vermont-based Mercury Policy Project.
According to a 2001 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, one in 10 American women of childbearing age is at risk for having a baby born with neurological problems due to mercury exposure-- this means at least 375,000 babies a year are at risk.
Most states, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, have issued advisories about eating fish that may have high levels of mercury in their tissues. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that women can safely eat 12 ounces per week of cooked fish. A typical serving size of fish is from three to six ounces. However, the FDA advises pregnant and nursing women, and women of childbearing age who may become pregnant, to not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel or tilefish, which contain high levels of methyl mercury.
In December 2003, the FDA released test results showing that the Albacore “white” canned tuna has three times the mercury levels as the “light” tuna. “FDA's tests confirm earlier findings that white tuna has far more mercury than light,” says Bender. “Yet inexplicitly, the FDA still refuses to warn women and kids to limit canned tuna consumption--like 12 states have already done--even after their food advisory committee recommended this over a year ago.”
CONTACTS: Mercury Policy Project, 1420 North Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 223-9000, www.mercurypolicy.org; U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville MD 20857-0001, (888) 463-6332, www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2001/ANS01065.html; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water Science and Technology (4301T), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460, www.epa.gov/ost/fish/, ost.comments@epa.gov.
GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit your question at www.emagazine.com; or e-mail us at earthtalk@emagazine.com.
*************************************************************************************
EARTH TALK
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: What flooring materials reduce indoor air quality problems?
Allen R. Linoski, Royal Oak, MI
The National Audubon Society building in New York City was one of the nation’s first “green” office buildings, and is sustainable right down to flooring material, making it a U.S. Green Building Council favorite. The subflooring is made from 50 percent recycled newsprint, tiles in the elevator foyers are made from 60 percent post-industrial recycled light bulbs, and the carpeting is all natural, undyed, 100 percent wool. The carpet underlayer consists of jute, a plant fiber, and carpets were tacked down, avoiding the use of toxic glue except on the stairs.
The Canadian Wood Council recommends natural wood flooring as your most environmentally sustainable option, and argues that synthetic sheet flooring, such as cushion flooring, is made from non-renewable petroleum resources and cannot be recycled. When purchasing wood flooring look for the Forest Stewardship Council seal, which certifies that the wood was sustainably harvested, and avoid veneers or particle board, which are often held together with formaldehyde, a possible carcinogen.
Other green floorings to consider include ceramic tiles, which are made by firing clay, a plentiful resource, or linoleum, which is made with linseed oil, cork, and wood dust--all renewable resources.
A type of flooring known as vinyl cushion tufted textile (VCTT) is commonly used in commercial buildings, especially schools. It has a soft carpet top and fused vinyl underside. First developed in the 1960s, VCCT and other more environmentally friendly materials for flooring are gaining in popularity as more people are paying attention to indoor air quality. A 2001 report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concludes, “Poor indoor air quality can reduce a person’s ability to perform specific mental tasks requiring concentration, calculation or memory.”
According to the EPA, traditional tile and carpet materials tend to host potentially toxic molds in the cracks or on the undersides. But the seams of VCTT backing are fused to form a mold-blocking barrier. Potentially harmful chemicals in the air are trapped by the VCTT surface until they are removed during cleaning. Installation involves a dry, peel-and-stick adhesive, which limits harmful fumes.
CONTACTS: U.S. Green Building Council, 1015 18th Street, NW, Suite 805, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 828-7422, www.usgbs.org, info@usgbc.org; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Indoor Environments Division, (202) 564-9370, www.epa.gov/iaq.
GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit your question at www.emagazine.com; or e-mail us at earthtalk@emagazine.com.
EarthTalk
Questions and Answers About Our Environment
A Weekly Column
******************************************************
c/o E/The Environmental Magazine
***A nonprofit publication***
28 Knight Street, Norwalk, CT 06851
PHONE: (203) 854-5559/(X106) - FAX: (203) 866-0602
E-mail: earthtalkcolumn@emagazine.com
******************************************************
Mail: P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881 U.S.A.
This is coming to you a little earlier than usual, as the E staff is off to the slopes of Killington, Vermont for a few days. Back Tuesday.
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Doug Moss
Publisher & Executive Editor
*****************************************
***Week of 1/25/04 EARTH TALK installment***:
EARTH TALK
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: Can the mercury contained in some seafood harm a developing fetus?
Midge Wilson, Utica, NY
Methyl mercury--emitted by smokestacks and released to the environment from common household products like old thermometers--is a persistent heavy metal that ends up in rivers, lakes and oceans and accumulates in the tissues of fish and animals, including people. “Just one seventieth of a teaspoon of atmospheric mercury can contaminate a 20-acre lake for a year,” says Michael Bender, executive director of the Vermont-based Mercury Policy Project.
According to a 2001 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, one in 10 American women of childbearing age is at risk for having a baby born with neurological problems due to mercury exposure-- this means at least 375,000 babies a year are at risk.
Most states, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, have issued advisories about eating fish that may have high levels of mercury in their tissues. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that women can safely eat 12 ounces per week of cooked fish. A typical serving size of fish is from three to six ounces. However, the FDA advises pregnant and nursing women, and women of childbearing age who may become pregnant, to not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel or tilefish, which contain high levels of methyl mercury.
In December 2003, the FDA released test results showing that the Albacore “white” canned tuna has three times the mercury levels as the “light” tuna. “FDA's tests confirm earlier findings that white tuna has far more mercury than light,” says Bender. “Yet inexplicitly, the FDA still refuses to warn women and kids to limit canned tuna consumption--like 12 states have already done--even after their food advisory committee recommended this over a year ago.”
CONTACTS: Mercury Policy Project, 1420 North Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 223-9000, www.mercurypolicy.org; U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville MD 20857-0001, (888) 463-6332, www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2001/ANS01065.html; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water Science and Technology (4301T), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460, www.epa.gov/ost/fish/, ost.comments@epa.gov.
GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit your question at www.emagazine.com; or e-mail us at earthtalk@emagazine.com.
*************************************************************************************
EARTH TALK
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: What flooring materials reduce indoor air quality problems?
Allen R. Linoski, Royal Oak, MI
The National Audubon Society building in New York City was one of the nation’s first “green” office buildings, and is sustainable right down to flooring material, making it a U.S. Green Building Council favorite. The subflooring is made from 50 percent recycled newsprint, tiles in the elevator foyers are made from 60 percent post-industrial recycled light bulbs, and the carpeting is all natural, undyed, 100 percent wool. The carpet underlayer consists of jute, a plant fiber, and carpets were tacked down, avoiding the use of toxic glue except on the stairs.
The Canadian Wood Council recommends natural wood flooring as your most environmentally sustainable option, and argues that synthetic sheet flooring, such as cushion flooring, is made from non-renewable petroleum resources and cannot be recycled. When purchasing wood flooring look for the Forest Stewardship Council seal, which certifies that the wood was sustainably harvested, and avoid veneers or particle board, which are often held together with formaldehyde, a possible carcinogen.
Other green floorings to consider include ceramic tiles, which are made by firing clay, a plentiful resource, or linoleum, which is made with linseed oil, cork, and wood dust--all renewable resources.
A type of flooring known as vinyl cushion tufted textile (VCTT) is commonly used in commercial buildings, especially schools. It has a soft carpet top and fused vinyl underside. First developed in the 1960s, VCCT and other more environmentally friendly materials for flooring are gaining in popularity as more people are paying attention to indoor air quality. A 2001 report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concludes, “Poor indoor air quality can reduce a person’s ability to perform specific mental tasks requiring concentration, calculation or memory.”
According to the EPA, traditional tile and carpet materials tend to host potentially toxic molds in the cracks or on the undersides. But the seams of VCTT backing are fused to form a mold-blocking barrier. Potentially harmful chemicals in the air are trapped by the VCTT surface until they are removed during cleaning. Installation involves a dry, peel-and-stick adhesive, which limits harmful fumes.
CONTACTS: U.S. Green Building Council, 1015 18th Street, NW, Suite 805, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 828-7422, www.usgbs.org, info@usgbc.org; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Indoor Environments Division, (202) 564-9370, www.epa.gov/iaq.
GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit your question at www.emagazine.com; or e-mail us at earthtalk@emagazine.com.
EarthTalk
Questions and Answers About Our Environment
A Weekly Column
******************************************************
c/o E/The Environmental Magazine
***A nonprofit publication***
28 Knight Street, Norwalk, CT 06851
PHONE: (203) 854-5559/(X106) - FAX: (203) 866-0602
E-mail: earthtalkcolumn@emagazine.com
******************************************************
Mail: P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881 U.S.A.
Friday, January 23, 2004
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Support GLIN Daily News: http://www.glin.net/news/sponsor/
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Great Lakes Daily News: 23 January 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Bacteria solution explained
----------------------------------------
Two companies pushing a bacteria solution to the polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCB) contaminated Fox River have asked regulators for a local test of the
cutting-edge cleanup technology. Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette (1/23)
COMMENTARY: Keep Great Lakes clean, safe
----------------------------------------
According to Gov. Granholm, the question before us is how to lay a
foundation of water protection, preservation and restoration that future
generations can build upon. Source: Detroit Free Press (1/23)
Ohio's waters more polluted
----------------------------------------
More Ohio waterways are imperiled by pollution than two years ago, and only
one river in the state meets federal clean water standards for swimming,
fishing, boating and other recreational uses. Source: The Cincinnati
Enquirer (1/23)
Hydro-Québec faces power shortfall
----------------------------------------
Both the Québec government and the utility Hydro-Québec have said the
province's dwindling power supply has created an urgent need for more
electricity, prompting controversial plans for a natural-gas
power-generating station near Montreal. Source: The Globe and Mail (1/23)
Great Lake Aquarium gets out from under $6.5 million of debt
----------------------------------------
Duluth city officials are wiping $6.5 million off the books of the Great
Lakes Aquarium, a move they say will make the tourist attraction a better
candidate for private donations. Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune (1/23)
Groups sue over taconite plant mercury rules
----------------------------------------
Environmental groups have filed suit against the federal Environmental
Protection Agency, saying new air pollution regulations don't address the
problem of mercury pollution from taconite plants. Source: Duluth News Trib
une (1/23)
More Lake Michigan ferries to join veteran Badger
----------------------------------------
The new Lake Michigan ferries are young, fast, fancy and -- unlike the
Badger -- planning to hit ports in major metropolitan areas. Source:
Detroit Free Press (1/23)
Natives file new claim to huge water, land area
----------------------------------------
The Saugeen Ojibway Nation has filed a new claim to a vast expanse of water
and the bed of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay and a section of shoreline.
Source: The London Free Press (1/22)
Wind farm firm sets sights on breezy Benton County
----------------------------------------
A California-based energy company owned by a French firm is looking at
building Indiana's first wind farm near Fowler in Benton County. Source:
Lafayette Journal and Courier (1/22)
Tourism effort brings an additional $29 million to region
----------------------------------------
Efforts to sell the West Michigan region as a tourist destination apparently
have worked, a new report says. Source: Muskegon Chronicle (1/22)
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
www.glin.net/forms/dailynews_form.html or send an e-mail message to
majordomo@great-lakes.net with the command 'subscribe dailynews' (minus
the quotes) in the body of the message.
TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Send a message to majordomo@great-lakes.net with the
command 'unsubscribe dailynews' in the body of the message.
TO SUBMIT A NEWS STORY: www.glin.net/forms/news_form.html
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Support GLIN Daily News: http://www.glin.net/news/sponsor/
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Great Lakes Daily News: 23 January 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Bacteria solution explained
----------------------------------------
Two companies pushing a bacteria solution to the polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCB) contaminated Fox River have asked regulators for a local test of the
cutting-edge cleanup technology. Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette (1/23)
COMMENTARY: Keep Great Lakes clean, safe
----------------------------------------
According to Gov. Granholm, the question before us is how to lay a
foundation of water protection, preservation and restoration that future
generations can build upon. Source: Detroit Free Press (1/23)
Ohio's waters more polluted
----------------------------------------
More Ohio waterways are imperiled by pollution than two years ago, and only
one river in the state meets federal clean water standards for swimming,
fishing, boating and other recreational uses. Source: The Cincinnati
Enquirer (1/23)
Hydro-Québec faces power shortfall
----------------------------------------
Both the Québec government and the utility Hydro-Québec have said the
province's dwindling power supply has created an urgent need for more
electricity, prompting controversial plans for a natural-gas
power-generating station near Montreal. Source: The Globe and Mail (1/23)
Great Lake Aquarium gets out from under $6.5 million of debt
----------------------------------------
Duluth city officials are wiping $6.5 million off the books of the Great
Lakes Aquarium, a move they say will make the tourist attraction a better
candidate for private donations. Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune (1/23)
Groups sue over taconite plant mercury rules
----------------------------------------
Environmental groups have filed suit against the federal Environmental
Protection Agency, saying new air pollution regulations don't address the
problem of mercury pollution from taconite plants. Source: Duluth News Trib
une (1/23)
More Lake Michigan ferries to join veteran Badger
----------------------------------------
The new Lake Michigan ferries are young, fast, fancy and -- unlike the
Badger -- planning to hit ports in major metropolitan areas. Source:
Detroit Free Press (1/23)
Natives file new claim to huge water, land area
----------------------------------------
The Saugeen Ojibway Nation has filed a new claim to a vast expanse of water
and the bed of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay and a section of shoreline.
Source: The London Free Press (1/22)
Wind farm firm sets sights on breezy Benton County
----------------------------------------
A California-based energy company owned by a French firm is looking at
building Indiana's first wind farm near Fowler in Benton County. Source:
Lafayette Journal and Courier (1/22)
Tourism effort brings an additional $29 million to region
----------------------------------------
Efforts to sell the West Michigan region as a tourist destination apparently
have worked, a new report says. Source: Muskegon Chronicle (1/22)
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html
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ENN Environmental News Network
E-mail Edition 01/23/2004
Our one big mistake
This is a story about pirates, savagery, a pope, and a prince. The facts are deeply disturbing, the conclusion is unacceptable, and the hero is one of the most graceful creatures on Earth.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12292.asp
Citigroup adopts corporate policy to protect environment
Citigroup intends to become more environmentally friendly. The nation's largest financial institution announced Thursday that it is adopting a corporate policy to carefully evaluate requests for project financing that could adversely affect the environment.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12380.asp
Interior finishes plan to open nearly 9 million acres in Alaska to drilling
Interior Secretary Gale Norton signed off on a plan Thursday for opening most of an 8.8-million-acre swath of Alaska's North Slope to oil and gas development. Some of the drilling could occur in areas important for migratory birds, whales, and wildlife.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12378.asp
California judge to rule in Myanmar pipeline case
Lawyers for villagers who claim Unocal Corp. turned a blind eye to human rights abuses while building a natural gas pipeline in Myanmar urged a judge this week to find the oil giant liable for damages or risk creating "havoc on the global economy."
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12376.asp
Everglades activists turn their eyes to Iraq marsh restoration
A marsh in Iraq that was twice the size of the original Florida Everglades was almost completely drained under Saddam Hussein's regime, and Everglades experts began sharing their restoration knowledge this week to help save the Middle East wetland.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12377.asp
Pollution may act as antifreeze in high clouds
Those wispy cirrus clouds that float high in the sky may be thinning out due to nitric acid pollution, a change that scientists say could affect climate.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12379.asp
Oil tanker company admits effort to hide illegal dumping
A tanker ship operator pleaded guilty this week to charges related to an effort to conceal illegal dumping at sea and agreed to pay a $4.2 million fine. OMI Corp. also faces three years of probation under a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. to a charge of preparing false documents.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12385.asp
Water-saving standards for washing machines are delayed again in California
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's freeze on government regulations has delayed rules mandating water-efficient washing machines that would save the water-short state billions of gallons annually.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12382.asp
Norton wants to triple natural gas drilling permits in Wyoming fields
Interior Secretary Gale Norton said this week that her agency wants to triple the number of drilling permits approved in Wyoming's natural gas fields to help meet the nation's growing energy needs.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12383.asp
Today's Press Releases (Become an Affiliate)
Direct from non-profit environmental and educational organizations.
The Trust for Public Land:
Land Added to Morro Bay Dunes Greenbelt (CA)
United Nations Environment Programme:
The Seed Awards - Supporting Entrepreneurs in Environment and Development
Monterey Bay Aquarium:
Monterey Bay Aquarium issues national seafood guide, will put 2 million in public's hands by Earth Day
Natural Resources Defense Council:
Bush Runs Away from His Environmental Record in State of the Union Speech
Natural Resources Defense Council:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Laurie David Open NRDC Environmental Action Center
Natural Resources Defense Council:
Bush Administration Plan to Give Western Arctic to Oil Industry Will Industrialize Largest Remaining Wilderness Area in Nation
The Trust for Public Land:
TPL Purchases Cypress Gardens (FL)
Rainforest Action Network:
Citigroup And RAN Reach Agreement
The Trust for Public Land:
43-Acre Sparta Fields Protected (NJ)
E-mail Edition 01/23/2004
Our one big mistake
This is a story about pirates, savagery, a pope, and a prince. The facts are deeply disturbing, the conclusion is unacceptable, and the hero is one of the most graceful creatures on Earth.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12292.asp
Citigroup adopts corporate policy to protect environment
Citigroup intends to become more environmentally friendly. The nation's largest financial institution announced Thursday that it is adopting a corporate policy to carefully evaluate requests for project financing that could adversely affect the environment.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12380.asp
Interior finishes plan to open nearly 9 million acres in Alaska to drilling
Interior Secretary Gale Norton signed off on a plan Thursday for opening most of an 8.8-million-acre swath of Alaska's North Slope to oil and gas development. Some of the drilling could occur in areas important for migratory birds, whales, and wildlife.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12378.asp
California judge to rule in Myanmar pipeline case
Lawyers for villagers who claim Unocal Corp. turned a blind eye to human rights abuses while building a natural gas pipeline in Myanmar urged a judge this week to find the oil giant liable for damages or risk creating "havoc on the global economy."
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12376.asp
Everglades activists turn their eyes to Iraq marsh restoration
A marsh in Iraq that was twice the size of the original Florida Everglades was almost completely drained under Saddam Hussein's regime, and Everglades experts began sharing their restoration knowledge this week to help save the Middle East wetland.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12377.asp
Pollution may act as antifreeze in high clouds
Those wispy cirrus clouds that float high in the sky may be thinning out due to nitric acid pollution, a change that scientists say could affect climate.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12379.asp
Oil tanker company admits effort to hide illegal dumping
A tanker ship operator pleaded guilty this week to charges related to an effort to conceal illegal dumping at sea and agreed to pay a $4.2 million fine. OMI Corp. also faces three years of probation under a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. to a charge of preparing false documents.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12385.asp
Water-saving standards for washing machines are delayed again in California
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's freeze on government regulations has delayed rules mandating water-efficient washing machines that would save the water-short state billions of gallons annually.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12382.asp
Norton wants to triple natural gas drilling permits in Wyoming fields
Interior Secretary Gale Norton said this week that her agency wants to triple the number of drilling permits approved in Wyoming's natural gas fields to help meet the nation's growing energy needs.
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12383.asp
Today's Press Releases (Become an Affiliate)
Direct from non-profit environmental and educational organizations.
The Trust for Public Land:
Land Added to Morro Bay Dunes Greenbelt (CA)
United Nations Environment Programme:
The Seed Awards - Supporting Entrepreneurs in Environment and Development
Monterey Bay Aquarium:
Monterey Bay Aquarium issues national seafood guide, will put 2 million in public's hands by Earth Day
Natural Resources Defense Council:
Bush Runs Away from His Environmental Record in State of the Union Speech
Natural Resources Defense Council:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Laurie David Open NRDC Environmental Action Center
Natural Resources Defense Council:
Bush Administration Plan to Give Western Arctic to Oil Industry Will Industrialize Largest Remaining Wilderness Area in Nation
The Trust for Public Land:
TPL Purchases Cypress Gardens (FL)
Rainforest Action Network:
Citigroup And RAN Reach Agreement
The Trust for Public Land:
43-Acre Sparta Fields Protected (NJ)
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 15:24:51 -0800 (PST)
From: Green Bean greenb3an@yahoo.com
Subject: Doubling renewable energy targets could create 5000 jobs
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/20/1074360766947.html
Doubling energy targets could create 5000 jobs, say
green groups
By Stephanie Peatling, Environment Reporter
January 21, 2004
Australia is missing out on thousands of new jobs and
a cleaner environment by failing to set an ambitious
renewable energy target, industry groups say.
The Federal Government last week recommended no change
to the current target - which states that 2 per cent
of energy by 2010 must come from environmentally
friendly sources such as wind and solar.
But the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and
the Australian Wind Energy Association said the
renewables sector could produce enough energy to
easily cope with at least a doubling of the target.
The executive director of the council, Ric Brazzale,
said a higher target would attract investment to the
emerging industry. "You can't on one hand call for
investment in the short term and with the other weaken
the measure that creates investor confidence," he
said.
Last week's review questioned the ability of the
renewable energy sector to meet an increased target.
But it also pointed out that investment would stall
unless further targets were set beyond 2010, and urged
the Federal Government to adopt a 5 per cent target.
Setting such a target would generate up to 5000 new
jobs, mostly from new wind developments in regional
areas, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 16
million tonnes each year, the groups said.
The Opposition said it would increase the target to 5
per cent by 2010.
"Australia . . . with its abundance of untapped
renewable energy resources, highest per capita
emissions of greenhouse gases and susceptibility to
climate change must do more to encourage the
development of the renewable energy industry," the
Opposition environment spokesman, Kelvin Thomson,
said.
=====
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
From: Green Bean greenb3an@yahoo.com
Subject: Doubling renewable energy targets could create 5000 jobs
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/20/1074360766947.html
Doubling energy targets could create 5000 jobs, say
green groups
By Stephanie Peatling, Environment Reporter
January 21, 2004
Australia is missing out on thousands of new jobs and
a cleaner environment by failing to set an ambitious
renewable energy target, industry groups say.
The Federal Government last week recommended no change
to the current target - which states that 2 per cent
of energy by 2010 must come from environmentally
friendly sources such as wind and solar.
But the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and
the Australian Wind Energy Association said the
renewables sector could produce enough energy to
easily cope with at least a doubling of the target.
The executive director of the council, Ric Brazzale,
said a higher target would attract investment to the
emerging industry. "You can't on one hand call for
investment in the short term and with the other weaken
the measure that creates investor confidence," he
said.
Last week's review questioned the ability of the
renewable energy sector to meet an increased target.
But it also pointed out that investment would stall
unless further targets were set beyond 2010, and urged
the Federal Government to adopt a 5 per cent target.
Setting such a target would generate up to 5000 new
jobs, mostly from new wind developments in regional
areas, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 16
million tonnes each year, the groups said.
The Opposition said it would increase the target to 5
per cent by 2010.
"Australia . . . with its abundance of untapped
renewable energy resources, highest per capita
emissions of greenhouse gases and susceptibility to
climate change must do more to encourage the
development of the renewable energy industry," the
Opposition environment spokesman, Kelvin Thomson,
said.
=====
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
Eco-Economy Update 2004-1 Please share with a friend!
For Immediate Release
Copyright Earth Policy Institute 2004
January 22, 2004
GLACIERS AND SEA ICE ENDANGERED BY RISING TEMPERATURES
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update32.htm
Janet Larsen
By 2020, the snows of Kilimanjaro may exist only in old photographs. The
glaciers in Montana's Glacier National Park could disappear by 2030. And by
mid-century, the Arctic Sea may be completely ice-free during summertime. As
the earth's temperature has risen in recent decades, the earth's ice cover
has begun to melt. And that melting is accelerating.
In both 2002 and 2003, the Northern Hemisphere registered record-low sea ice
cover. New satellite data show the Arctic region warming more during the
1990s than during the 1980s, with Arctic Sea ice now melting by up to 15
percent per decade. The long-sought Northwest Passage, a dream of early
explorers, could become our nightmare. The loss of Arctic Sea ice could
alter ocean circulation patterns and trigger changes in global climate
patterns.
On the opposite end of the globe, Southern Ocean sea ice floating near
Antarctica has shrunk by some 20 percent since 1950. This unprecedented
melting of sea ice corroborates records showing that the regional air
temperature has increased by 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 degrees Fahrenheit)
since 1950.
Antarctic ice shelves that existed for thousands of years are crumbling. One
of the world's largest icebergs, named B-15, that measured near 10,000
square kilometers (4,000 square miles) or half the size of New Jersey,
calved off the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. In May 2002, the shelf lost
another section measuring 31 kilometers (19 miles) wide and 200 kilometers
(124 miles) long.
Elsewhere on Antarctica, the Larsen Ice Shelf has largely disintegrated
within the last decade, shrinking to 40 percent of its previously stable
size. Following the break-off of the Larsen A section in 1995 and the
collapse of Larsen B in early 2002, melting of the nearby land-based
glaciers that the ice shelves once supported has more than doubled.
Unlike the melting of sea ice or the floating ice shelves along coasts, the
melting of ice on land raises sea level. Recent studies showing the
worldwide acceleration of glacier melting indicate that the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's estimate for sea level rise this
century--ranging from 0.1 meters to 0.9 meters--will need to be revised
upwards. (See http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update32_data.htm for
selected examples of ice melt from around the world.)
On Greenland, an ice-covered island three times the size of Texas,
once-stable glaciers are now melting at a quickening rate. The Jakobshavn
Glacier on the island's southwest coast, which is one of the major drainage
outlets from the interior ice sheet, is now thinning four times faster than
during most of the twentieth century. Each year Greenland loses some 51
cubic kilometers of ice, enough to annually raise sea level 0.13
millimeters. Were Greenland's entire ice sheet to melt, global sea level
could rise by a startling 7 meters (23 feet), inundating most of the world's
coastal cities.
The Himalayas contain the world's third largest ice mass after Antarctica
and Greenland. Most Himalayan glaciers have been thinning and retreating
over the past 30 years, with losses accelerating to alarming levels in the
past decade. On Mount Everest, the glacier that ended at the historic base
camp of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first humans to reach the
summit, has retreated 5 kilometers (3 miles) since their 1953 ascent.
Glaciers in Bhutan are retreating at an average rate of 30-40 meters a year.
A similar situation is found in Nepal.
As the glaciers melt they are rapidly filling glacial lakes, creating a
flood risk. An international team of scientists has warned that with current
melt rates, at least 44 glacial lakes in the Himalayas could burst their
banks in as little as five years.
Glaciers themselves store vast quantities of water. More than half of the
world's population relies on water that originates in mountains, coming from
rainfall runoff or ice melt. In some areas glaciers help sustain a constant
water supply; in others, meltwater from glaciers is a primary water source
during the dry season. In the short term, accelerated melting means that
more water feeds rivers. Yet as glaciers disappear, dry season river flow
declines.
The Himalayan glaciers feed the seven major rivers of Asia--the Ganges,
Indus, Brahmaputra, Salween, Mekong, Yangtze, and Huang He (Yellow)--and
thus contribute to the year-round water supply of a vast population. In
India alone, some 500 million people, including those in New Delhi and
Calcutta, depend on glacier meltwater that feeds into the Ganges River
system. Glaciers in Central Asia's Tien Shan Mountains have shrunk by nearly
30 percent between 1955 and 1990. In arid western China, shrinking glaciers
account for at least 10 percent of freshwater supplies.
The largest aggregation of tropical glaciers is in the northern Andes. The
retreat of the Qori Kalis Glacier on the west side of the Quelccaya Ice Cap
that stretches across Peru has accelerated to 155 meters a year between 1998
and 2000-three times faster than during the previous three-year period. The
entire ice cap could vanish over the next two decades.
The Antizana Glacier, which provides Quito, Ecuador, with almost half its
water, has retreated more than 90 meters over the last eight years. The
Chacaltaya Glacier near La Paz, Bolivia, melted to 7 percent of its 1940s
volume by 1998. It could disappear entirely by the end of this decade,
depriving the 1.5 million people in La Paz and the nearby city of Alto of an
important source of water and power.
Africa's glaciers are also disappearing. Across the continent, mountain
glaciers have shrunk to one third their size over the twentieth century. On
Kenya's Kilimanjaro, ice cover has shrunk by more than 33 percent since
1989. By 2020 it could be completely gone.
In Western Europe, glacial area has shrunk by up to 40 percent and glacial
volume by more than half since 1850. If temperatures continue to rise at
recent rates, major sections of glaciers covering the Alps and the French
and Spanish Pyrenees could be gone in the next few decades. During the
record-high temperature summer of 2003, some Swiss glaciers retreated by an
unprecedented 150 meters. The United Nations Environment Programme is
warning that for this region long associated with ice and snow, warming
temperatures signify the demise of a popular ski industry, not to mention a
cultural identity.
Boundaries around Banff, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian
Rockies cannot stop the melting of the glaciers there. Glacier National Park
in Montana has lost over two thirds of its glaciers since 1850. If
temperatures continue to rise, it may lose the remainder by 2030.
In just the past 30 years, the average temperature in Alaska climbed more
than 3 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit)-easily four times the global
increase. Glaciers in all of Alaska's 11 glaciated mountain ranges are
shrinking. Since the mid-1990s, Alaskan glaciers have been thinning by 1.8
meters a year, more than three times as fast as during the preceding 40
years.
The global average temperature has climbed by 0.6 degrees Celsius (1 degree
Fahrenheit) in the past 25 years. Over this time period, melting of sea ice
and mountain glaciers has increased dramatically. During this century,
global temperature may rise between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees Celsius, and melting
will accelerate further. Just how much will depend in part on the energy
policy choices made today.
# # #
Additional data and information sources at www.earth-policy.org or contact
jlarsen@earth-policy.org
For reprint permission contact rjkauffman@earth-policy.org
If you enjoy receiving our e-news, please recommend it to a friend or
colleague.
To receive Eco-Economy Updates by email, go to
http://www.earth-policy.org/Subscribe/index.htm.
re-published with permission of the Earth Policy Institute
For Immediate Release
Copyright Earth Policy Institute 2004
January 22, 2004
GLACIERS AND SEA ICE ENDANGERED BY RISING TEMPERATURES
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update32.htm
Janet Larsen
By 2020, the snows of Kilimanjaro may exist only in old photographs. The
glaciers in Montana's Glacier National Park could disappear by 2030. And by
mid-century, the Arctic Sea may be completely ice-free during summertime. As
the earth's temperature has risen in recent decades, the earth's ice cover
has begun to melt. And that melting is accelerating.
In both 2002 and 2003, the Northern Hemisphere registered record-low sea ice
cover. New satellite data show the Arctic region warming more during the
1990s than during the 1980s, with Arctic Sea ice now melting by up to 15
percent per decade. The long-sought Northwest Passage, a dream of early
explorers, could become our nightmare. The loss of Arctic Sea ice could
alter ocean circulation patterns and trigger changes in global climate
patterns.
On the opposite end of the globe, Southern Ocean sea ice floating near
Antarctica has shrunk by some 20 percent since 1950. This unprecedented
melting of sea ice corroborates records showing that the regional air
temperature has increased by 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 degrees Fahrenheit)
since 1950.
Antarctic ice shelves that existed for thousands of years are crumbling. One
of the world's largest icebergs, named B-15, that measured near 10,000
square kilometers (4,000 square miles) or half the size of New Jersey,
calved off the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. In May 2002, the shelf lost
another section measuring 31 kilometers (19 miles) wide and 200 kilometers
(124 miles) long.
Elsewhere on Antarctica, the Larsen Ice Shelf has largely disintegrated
within the last decade, shrinking to 40 percent of its previously stable
size. Following the break-off of the Larsen A section in 1995 and the
collapse of Larsen B in early 2002, melting of the nearby land-based
glaciers that the ice shelves once supported has more than doubled.
Unlike the melting of sea ice or the floating ice shelves along coasts, the
melting of ice on land raises sea level. Recent studies showing the
worldwide acceleration of glacier melting indicate that the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's estimate for sea level rise this
century--ranging from 0.1 meters to 0.9 meters--will need to be revised
upwards. (See http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update32_data.htm for
selected examples of ice melt from around the world.)
On Greenland, an ice-covered island three times the size of Texas,
once-stable glaciers are now melting at a quickening rate. The Jakobshavn
Glacier on the island's southwest coast, which is one of the major drainage
outlets from the interior ice sheet, is now thinning four times faster than
during most of the twentieth century. Each year Greenland loses some 51
cubic kilometers of ice, enough to annually raise sea level 0.13
millimeters. Were Greenland's entire ice sheet to melt, global sea level
could rise by a startling 7 meters (23 feet), inundating most of the world's
coastal cities.
The Himalayas contain the world's third largest ice mass after Antarctica
and Greenland. Most Himalayan glaciers have been thinning and retreating
over the past 30 years, with losses accelerating to alarming levels in the
past decade. On Mount Everest, the glacier that ended at the historic base
camp of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first humans to reach the
summit, has retreated 5 kilometers (3 miles) since their 1953 ascent.
Glaciers in Bhutan are retreating at an average rate of 30-40 meters a year.
A similar situation is found in Nepal.
As the glaciers melt they are rapidly filling glacial lakes, creating a
flood risk. An international team of scientists has warned that with current
melt rates, at least 44 glacial lakes in the Himalayas could burst their
banks in as little as five years.
Glaciers themselves store vast quantities of water. More than half of the
world's population relies on water that originates in mountains, coming from
rainfall runoff or ice melt. In some areas glaciers help sustain a constant
water supply; in others, meltwater from glaciers is a primary water source
during the dry season. In the short term, accelerated melting means that
more water feeds rivers. Yet as glaciers disappear, dry season river flow
declines.
The Himalayan glaciers feed the seven major rivers of Asia--the Ganges,
Indus, Brahmaputra, Salween, Mekong, Yangtze, and Huang He (Yellow)--and
thus contribute to the year-round water supply of a vast population. In
India alone, some 500 million people, including those in New Delhi and
Calcutta, depend on glacier meltwater that feeds into the Ganges River
system. Glaciers in Central Asia's Tien Shan Mountains have shrunk by nearly
30 percent between 1955 and 1990. In arid western China, shrinking glaciers
account for at least 10 percent of freshwater supplies.
The largest aggregation of tropical glaciers is in the northern Andes. The
retreat of the Qori Kalis Glacier on the west side of the Quelccaya Ice Cap
that stretches across Peru has accelerated to 155 meters a year between 1998
and 2000-three times faster than during the previous three-year period. The
entire ice cap could vanish over the next two decades.
The Antizana Glacier, which provides Quito, Ecuador, with almost half its
water, has retreated more than 90 meters over the last eight years. The
Chacaltaya Glacier near La Paz, Bolivia, melted to 7 percent of its 1940s
volume by 1998. It could disappear entirely by the end of this decade,
depriving the 1.5 million people in La Paz and the nearby city of Alto of an
important source of water and power.
Africa's glaciers are also disappearing. Across the continent, mountain
glaciers have shrunk to one third their size over the twentieth century. On
Kenya's Kilimanjaro, ice cover has shrunk by more than 33 percent since
1989. By 2020 it could be completely gone.
In Western Europe, glacial area has shrunk by up to 40 percent and glacial
volume by more than half since 1850. If temperatures continue to rise at
recent rates, major sections of glaciers covering the Alps and the French
and Spanish Pyrenees could be gone in the next few decades. During the
record-high temperature summer of 2003, some Swiss glaciers retreated by an
unprecedented 150 meters. The United Nations Environment Programme is
warning that for this region long associated with ice and snow, warming
temperatures signify the demise of a popular ski industry, not to mention a
cultural identity.
Boundaries around Banff, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian
Rockies cannot stop the melting of the glaciers there. Glacier National Park
in Montana has lost over two thirds of its glaciers since 1850. If
temperatures continue to rise, it may lose the remainder by 2030.
In just the past 30 years, the average temperature in Alaska climbed more
than 3 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit)-easily four times the global
increase. Glaciers in all of Alaska's 11 glaciated mountain ranges are
shrinking. Since the mid-1990s, Alaskan glaciers have been thinning by 1.8
meters a year, more than three times as fast as during the preceding 40
years.
The global average temperature has climbed by 0.6 degrees Celsius (1 degree
Fahrenheit) in the past 25 years. Over this time period, melting of sea ice
and mountain glaciers has increased dramatically. During this century,
global temperature may rise between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees Celsius, and melting
will accelerate further. Just how much will depend in part on the energy
policy choices made today.
# # #
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