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Sustainable Living
Postings after May 9, 2002
News of the Bioshpere
Posted May 9, 2002
Study
calls cell-phoners on pollution
(CNN.com, May 8, 2002)
Within three years, Americans will discard about 130 million cellular
telephones a year, and that means 65,000 tons of trash, including toxic
metals and other health hazards, a study says. . . . By 2005, there will
be at least 200 million cell phones in use across the country and another
500 million older phones may be stockpiled in drawers, closets and elsewhere,
waiting to be thrown away . . . Cell phones, along with other "wireless
waste" from increasingly popular pagers, pocket PCs and music players,
pose special problems at landfills or when they're burned in municipal
waste incinerators because they have toxic chemicals in batteries and
other components, says the report. . . . These include persistent
toxins that accumulate in the environment, including arsenic, antimony,
beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc, says the report. These
toxins have been associated with cancer and neurological disorders, especially
in children. . . . The report says a number of states -- among them California,
Massachusetts and Minnesota -- are considering legislation that would
make manufacturers pay the cost of managing the waste from electronic
products, including cell phones.
Posted May 4, 2002
Extinctions
threaten 'ecosystem services'
(Lisa Onaga, USA Today, May 3, 2002)
Animals, plants, bugs, and other unseen creatures provide "ecosystem
services" that support human life. Now, says a Science magazine report
on new research, extinctions are threatening these vital services.
. . . Ecosystem services also include water purification and the regulation
of the exchange of crucial elements between the ground, air, and water.
. . . "I think this issue ought to be the basis of changes in the
endangered species act," Ehrlich said. "Let's suppose somehow
you could preserve just one viable population of every species. You'd
have no loss of species diversity, but we'd lose all the ecosystem services
we depend on… we'd all die off." . . . "This report for
the first time estimates and maps the magnitude of population losses in
a worldwide sample from a major taxonomic group, the mammals. It shows
the importance of population losses as harbingers of species extinction,"
said Andrew Sugden, a senior editor at Science.
Posted April 30, 2002
First
Global Guidelines Adopted on Genetic Resources
(Environment News Service, April 19, 2002)
Representatives of 166 countries agreed detailed guidelines on access
to genetic resources and benefit sharing, an international work program
on forests, and guiding principles on combating alien invasive species.
. . . In their final Declaration, the ministers resolved "to strengthen
our efforts to put in place measures to halt biodiversity loss, which
is taking place at an alarming rate, at the global, regional, sub-regional
and national levels by the year 2010." . . . The first guiding principle
invokes the precautionary approach, whereby the lack of full scientific
certainty does not justify inaction in the face of a potentially serious
or irreversible threat. . . . The guidelines adopted on genetic
resources advise governments on how to set fair and practical conditions
for users seeking genetic resources - such as plants that can be used
to produce new pharmaceuticals or fragrances. In return, these users must
offer benefits such as profits, royalties, scientific collaboration, or
training. . . . Goals range from promoting the sustainable use
of forest biodiversity to improving the understanding of ecosystem functioning
and the role of biodiversity, to enhancing the institutional enabling
environment and addressing socio-economic distortions.
Posted April 24, 2002
ExxonMobil,
Bush Administration Succeed in Ousting Top Global Warming Scientist
(t r u t h o u t | April 19, 2002)
Carrying baggage for ExxonMobil and other fossil-fuel industries, Bush
administration representatives to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) succeeded today in ousting Dr. Robert Watson from the science
panel's chairmanship. . . . "The White House teamed up with
ExxonMobil and other polluters in hopes of disrupting the IPCC's effectiveness
as the global authority on climate science," said David Doniger,
policy director at NRDC's climate center. . . . Watson, IPCC chair
since 1996, is a respected atmospheric scientist highly regarded for his
strong leadership of the complex organization. But earlier this month
-- immediately following closed-door talks with oil, utility and auto
lobbyists -- the Bush administration announced it would not renominate
him. That same week, NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council)
released a confidential memo from ExxonMobil to the White House asking
that Watson be replaced.
Posted April 23, 2002
Industry
Attacks on Dissent: From Rachel Carson to Oprah
(Laura Orlando, Dollars and Sense, April 19, 2002)
Lawsuits, and the threat of lawsuits, are not the only means industry
uses to stifle dissent. Industry routinely buys the science that suits
its needs (tobacco is a good example) . . . "If [food disparagement
laws] had been in place in the 1960s, Rachel Carson might not have found
a publisher willing to print 'Silent Spring'." . . . Today,
92 percent of the materials used for U.S. products and production processes
are nonrenewable. . . . Few people understood the dangers to life
that these new chemicals presented. Sickness and death among chemical
manufacturing workers were sometimes the first indication that the materials
they worked with were toxic. But most people believed that you had to
be an industrial worker to get sick. Rachel Carson's “Silent
Spring” was the first widely read publication to say that everybody
was being poisoned. . . . But industry's attack on Rachel Carson
was swift and vicious. The chemical companies banded together and hired
a public relations firm to malign the book and attack Carson's credibility.
The pesticide industry trade group, the National Agricultural Chemicals
Association, spent over $250,000 (equivalent to $1.4 million today) to
denigrate the book and its author. . . . A staggering list of synthetic
chemicals, they tell us, interferes with hormones in humans and wildlife.
These chemicals are common in the manufacture of pesticides, herbicides,
and petrochemicals: they are found in soaps and detergents, flame retardants,
and the dioxins produced in pulp and paper mills. In humans, the presence
of endocrine disruptors can result in, among other things, severe reproductive
tract deformities, declines in sperm count, elevated risk of cancer, and
even behavioral changes. “Our
Stolen Future” makes a powerful case for caution when using
these chemicals. . . . Today, we are up against an immensely more
organized, coordinated and powerful corporate PR machine than Carson or
the early environmentalists faced. . . . The facts about chemical
production today are sobering. The world uses five billion pounds of pesticides
every year, with almost half used in the United States. . . . U.S. industry
uses 70,000 different chemical substances, but there is little or no attempt
to assess their health or environmental impacts. Each year, over
1,000 new synthetic chemicals are introduced in the United States. But
only a small fraction of these are tested for carcinogenity or endocrine
disruption, and there is little understanding of how they interact with
each other.
Posted April 21, 2002
California
Condors Produce Historic Offspring
(Cat Lazaroff, Environment News Service, April 16, 2002)
For the first time in 18 years, a condor egg laid in the wild has
been hatched in the wild. The egg hatched last Thursday, in a
nest in the rugged back country of the Los Padres National Forest in California's
Ventura County. Both parents were reared in captivity, but have been living
in the wild since 1995. . . . "The female, R8, went into the cave
at around midday," Mee said. "The male, W0, was sitting on the
already cracked egg. She stared at her mate for a while, waiting for him
to leave, but he just stared back. Then she nudged him off the egg, pushing
her head under his tail." . . . "In attempting to incubate the
egg, she inadvertently crushed the egg shell, exposing the chick,"
continued Mee. "For several hours she was restless and appeared confused,
trying to incubate both the chick and the egg pieces. Eventually she settled
down on the new born chick. It was just incredible." . . . when biologists
approached the Ventura County nest to remove the egg, the male, which
had finally begun incubating the egg, refused to leave the nest, an action
that was viewed as a positive commitment by the male parent to care for
his offspring. Biologists decided to let the pair incubate the egg on
their own. . . . For the past two months the pair have been attentive
parents and have shared in the incubation duties, spending up to a week
on the egg at one time. . . . "Since the hatching, W0 and R8 have
been excellent parents feeding and caring for the chick in text book fashion,"
. . . By late 1984, only 15 condors remained in the wild.
Posted April 19, 2002
Global
Warming Fills Glacial Lakes to Bursting
(Environment News Service, April 19, 2002)
At least 44 glacial lakes high in the Himalayas are filling so rapidly
they could burst their banks in as little as five years . . . the lakes
could overflow, sending millions of gallons of deadly floodwaters swirling
down valleys, putting at risk tens of thousands of lives. . . . The lakes
are rapidly filling with icy water as rising temperatures in the high
mountains accelerate the melting of glaciers and snowfields that feed
them. . . . Besides the 44 lakes identified as as dangerous, more glacial
lakes, as yet unexplored, could also be filling rapidly. . . . Data collected
from 49 climate monitoring stations in Nepal reveals a clear increase
in temperature since the mid-1970s, with highest temperatures found at
higher altitudes. . . . "If the glaciers continue to retreat
at the rates being seen in places like the Himalayas, then many rivers
and freshwater systems could run dry, threatening drinking water supplies
as well as fisheries and wildlife. We now have another compelling reason
to act to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases."
Posted April 10, 2002
Renewables
the Core of "Intelligent Energy for Europe"
(Envirnoment News, April 9, 2002)
Europe is betting its energy future on renewable energy sources and energy
saving. . . . Today, 5.6 percent of Europe's energy supply is generated
by renewable sources - wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass. The
aim is to increase this to 12 percent by the year 2010. . . . "In
the field of energy, the EU must focus its efforts on specific action
with a high added value, to enable us to manage our dependence on external
energy and comply with our Kyoto commitments to combat climate change,"
says Loyola de Palacio, European Commission vice president responsible
for energy and transport. . . . She is referring to the commitments of
all European Union member countries under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce
emissions of greenhouse gases by eight percent relative to 1990 levels
in the five years between 2008 and 2012. . . . If the EU takes no action
it will be importing over 70 percent of its energy by 2030. "Such
a level of dependence involves many economic, political and environmental
risks," . . . Global wind power may rise five-fold by 2010, with
EU member country Germany a world leader. . . Germany has been taking
the lead in wind technology. . . . the commission said that 94
percent of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities comes from the
energy sector. Carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas linked to global
warming.
Posted April 9, 2002
New
Harvard Medical School Report: Oil-Focused Energy; Policy Takes Toll on
Human Health
(U.S. Newswire, 9 Apr 11:00)
"Oil: A Life Cycle Analysis of Its Health and Environmental Impacts,"
is the first report to catalog the dangers to people and ecosystems from
exploration, drilling, extraction, transport, refining and combustion.
Among these dangers are elevated rates of fatalities and injuries for
oil extraction workers and high risks of exposure to cancer-causing chemicals
for refinery workers and neighboring communities. . . . The report's
release follows the defeat by Congress in March of a measure to increase
fuel efficiency in cars, and in the midst of a heated fight over drilling
for new oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. . . . The
report also describes various harmful impacts of the oil lifecycle on
animals and ecosystems. . . . The report's authors hope their initial
findings will also encourage Congress and the White House to take a new
direction in energy policy.
Posted April 6, 2002
Groups
Launch Earth Day Campaign
(Julie Waterman, U.S. Newswire, April 3, 2002)
Sixteen national environmental groups today announced an intensive month-long
public education campaign, coinciding with the traditional observance
of Earth Day on April 22, to educate the public about recent and current
efforts by the Bush Administration to weaken environmental protections.
. . . Over the course of the month of April the groups will conduct a
series of events focusing on specific examples of efforts to weaken environmental
laws. The calendar of specific activities highlighting key issues includes:
-- April 4, Clean Air
-- April 15, Toxic Waste
-- April 16, Nuclear Waste
-- April 17, Wildlife
-- April 18, Forests
-- April 19, Public Lands
-- April 20, Clean Water
-- April 22, Earth Day (general)
Posted April 4, 2002
Oil
Company Pulls Bush's Strings - Confidential Papers Show Exxon Hand in
White House Move to Oust Top Scientist from International Global Warming
Panel
(Natural Resources Defence Council Press Release, April 3, 2002)
The Bush administration this week moved to oust a top scientific official
targeted by ExxonMobil in a confidential memo to the White House. . .
. reflects a brazen, behind-the-scenes effort by the oil company and
other energy giants to disrupt the principal international science assessment
program on global warming. . . . Without formal announcement, the
administration has decided to oppose Watson's appointment to a second
term as IPCC chair, seriously damaging his prospects when representatives
of more than 100 governments meet in Geneva April 17-20 to elect a new
IPCC head. . . . ExxonMobil began a secret campaign for Dr. Watson's removal
in the first weeks of the Bush administration, and reveals ExxonMobil's
intention to replace Watson and other key scientists with contrarians
known for disagreeing with the prevailing consensus that man-made pollution
is causing global warming. . . . "It's bad enough that ExxonMobil
controls White House energy and climate policies," said Daniel Lashof,
science director of the NRDC Climate Center. "Now they want to control
the science too."
Posted April 2, 2002
An
Oil Company Proves Bush Wrong On Climate Change
(Seth Dunn, TomPaine.com, March 26, 2002)
The Bush administration has made a mantra of the claim that mandatory
greenhouse gas reductions would be prohibitively expensive, costing millions
of jobs, cutting into gross domestic product, and harming U.S. competitiveness.
. . . The "fatal flaw" of Bush's argument is that his estimates
are based on theoretical economic models that don't fully capture how
environmental policy affects technological change. . . . Speaking at Stanford
Business School on March 11, 2002, BP chief executive John Browne announced
that his company had met its self-imposed target for reducing greenhouse
gas emissions -- nearly eight years ahead of schedule, and at no net cost
to the company. . . . Browne set another first in the energy industry
by pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from his firm's operations
by 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2010, nearly twice the average cut
called for by the Kyoto Protocol. At Stanford, he revealed that "we've
delivered on that target," well ahead of time. . . . BP hit its target
at no net economic cost. Savings from improved energy efficiency outweighed
expenditures. . . . Some might argue that the BP experience proves that
voluntary steps to deal with climate change are enough to solve the problem.
Browne disagrees. If the energy business is to be reinvented to tackle
climate change, Browne contends, "we need the help of governments"
to establish the appropriate framework of incentives to move toward climate
stabilization. . . . The Kyoto Protocol provides such a framework, requiring
industry to accelerate the decarbonization of energy. Unfortunately, the
United States, the leading greenhouse gas emitter with 24 percent of the
global total, has withdrawn support for the Protocol and failed to offer
a credible alternative.
Posted March 28, 2002
Rivers
down to barest of levels 57 waterways at historic low flows in drought
(Traci Watson and Paul Overberg, USA TODAY, March 28, 2002)
A USA TODAY analysis found that scores of the nation's rivers fell to
historic low levels during the past four months. . . . Drought has drained
more than the nation's rivers. Across America, drought has parched soil,
dried up once-reliable wells and all but emptied drinking-water reservoirs.
Rural folk and city-dwellers alike are feeling the pinch from the shortfalls
of rain and snow. Using temperature and precipitation data, federal scientists
calculate that severe or extreme drought has spread over 21% of the country.
. . . ''What's unusual is we're seeing some pretty intense multiyear droughts,''
. . . More than 1,000 wells have gone dry in small towns in Maine, where
some residents have been forced to haul drinking water from springs in
the next town. . . . Last month was the nation's second-driest February
since reliable record-keeping began in 1895.
Worst
Drought in 20 Years Hits North China Province
(Reuters, March 28, 2002)
China's northeastern province of Jilin has been struck by its worst spring
drought in 20 years, harming around 4.9 million acres of farmland, state
radio reported on Thursday.
Posted March 27, 2002
Islands
draw attention to global warming
(UPI, March 26, 2002)
Leaders of Pacific Island nations want to hold industrialized countries
responsible for global warming -- saying since they emit the majority
of greenhouse gases they should help prevent rising sea levels from swallowing
up islands. . . . scientists agree the Earth is warming and human activity
has contributed to this climate change . . . Pacific island nations are
extremely vulnerable to changes in the climate," Eileen Shea, climate
project coordinator for the East-West Center in Honolulu, a nonprofit,
private research institute that hosted the meeting, told United Press
International. "They sit in the heartbeat of the Earth's climate
system." . . . I'm sure Hawaii will lose a lot of real estate,"
from rising sea levels, Langholz told United Press International. "The
stakes are high for those (island) people." . . . The United States
is responsible for about one-quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, he noted,
adding it also produces a large percentage of goods. . . . Global warming
is not just an island issue, Pollack said. "It concerns people in
Florida. A rise of 3 feet would mean a significant loss of a part of southern
Florida." Parts of New Orleans already are under sea level, he said,
and cities such as Miami, the California shoreline and the country of
Bangladesh all could suffer. . . . Global warming could be curbed, however,
so the Earth is dealing with the lower end of the spectrum, sea levels
rising at 20 centimeters instead of 80, he added. . . . Either way, island
nation leaders feel they have no time to lose. For them, Shea said, this
is by no means an environmental issue. "This is a national security
issue," she said.
Posted March 24, 2002
Giant
"blue jet" caught on film: Blue jets connect Earth's electric
circuit
(Tom Clarke, Nature.com, 14 March 2002)
Video images captured in Puerto Rico suggest that blue flashes of light,
much like lightning, feed energy from thunderstorms up into the Earth's
ionosphere . . . Blue jets are often associated with thunderstorms, but
until now were thought to be relatively small. The Puerto Rican jet stretched
from the top of a small thunderstorm to the lower edge of the ionosphere,
filling an estimated 6,000 cubic kilometres of atmosphere. . . . In the
past decade, high-speed, light-sensitive cameras have allowed scientists
to describe a menagerie of electrical phenomena, which bear names that
would be more at home in a Tolkien novel than a physics textbook. Sprites,
blue jets and associated flashes called elves, crawlers, trolls and pixies
are all fleeting electrical discharges that accompany thunderstorms.
Posted March 21, 2002
Mexican
Power Plants Avoid U.S. Regulations, Pollute San Diego
(Cat Lazaroff, Environmental News Service, March 20, 2002)
Two planned power plants are stirring controversy along the U.S.-Mexico
border in southern California. . . . the planned power plants would be
sited in Baja California, Mexico to avoid the restrictions of U.S. environmental
laws. . . . "Approving transmission lines for power plants under
construction in Mexicali, without ensuring that these plants are built
to minimize air and water quality impacts, will cause unnecessary harm
to nearby U.S. and Mexican communities," . . . "Now we see that
what the administration meant by 'expediting' power plant construction
was actually a strategy to avoid U.S. laws that mandate environmental
review and public participation," . . . Operation of the plants would
also generate substantial air pollution that would cause further deterioration
of air quality in California's Salton Sea Air Basin, a region that is
already unable to comply with the air quality requirements of the Clean
Air Act.
Posted March 19, 2002
Globe
2002 Showed the Sustainable Side of Business
(Greg Helten, Lycos Environment News Service, March 19, 2002)
A growing number of governments and corporations are evolving to include
environmentally and socially friendly components in their policies, plans,
and products. . . . Over 10,000 business and government leaders from more
than 70 countries gathered to focus on three themes: water, energy efficiency
and urban environmental management. . . . But scientists at a side event
timed to coincide with Globe 2002 say the evolution towards sustainability
is not moving quickly enough to deal with the slow motion ecological implosion
the world is experiencing. They are calling for a basic restructuring
of global economic accounting before it's too late. . . . Amid the electric
and hydrogen powered vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, and environmental
and ethical management systems, there was a general sense of positive
accomplishment and profitability among delegates and exhibitors. . . .
"The industrial paradigm is shifting, and early movers win big."
Anderson said his company has reduced hydrocarbon use over seven years
by emulating nature, where there is no waste, in the production process,
saving $185 million. "Doing well by doing good is paying off with
customers," Anderson said, "And recycled content sells."
. . . what is stopping humans from taking concrete action is the ability
to ignore reality under the influence of powerful myths. . . . Rees thinks
the business community is still blind to the problems inherent in the
basis of the present global economic system. He says the system is based
on "the myth of unlimited economic growth with an infinite environment
to use for resources and waste disposal," where the balance sheets
do not include environmental or social costs. . . . Nothing less than
re-inventing our society will do.
Iceberg
B-22 Calves Off Thwaites Ice Tongue
March 15, 2002, Washington D.C.-- The National Ice Center (NIC) confirms
an iceberg newly calved from the Thwaites Ice Tongue . . . Iceberg B-22,
roughly 46NM long and 35NM wide, covers an area of approximately 2,120
square statute miles. . . . It is 40 miles wide and 53 miles long, covering
2,130 square miles, slightly more than the 1,982 square mile area of Delaware.
UN Population Fund's Annual World Report Links Environmental Changes, Poverty Alleviation and Reproductive Health
PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 7, 2001
Among other findings, the report notes that human activity is altering
the planet on an unprecedented scale. More people are using more resources
with more intensity than ever before. The report also points out that
global poverty cannot be alleviated without reversing the environmental
damage caused by both rising affluence and consumption patterns from a
growing population. It calls for increased attention and resources to
balancing human and environmental needs.
World population, now 6.1 billion, has doubled since 1960 and is projected to grow by half, to 9.3 billion, by 2050. Some 2 billion people already lack food security and water use has risen six-fold over the past 70 years. By 2050, 4.2 billion people will be living in countries that cannot meet peoples daily basic needs. Unclean water and poor sanitation kill over 12 million people each year; air pollution kills nearly 3 million.
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