One quarter of giant panda habitat lost in Sichuan quake

The earthquake in Sichuan, southwestern China, last May left around 69,000 people dead and 15 million people displaced. Now ecologists have assessed the earthquake's impact on biodiversity and the habitat for some of the last existing wild giant pandas.

According to the report published in "Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment", 23 percent of the pandas' habitat in the study area was destroyed, and fragmentation of the remaining habitat could hinder panda reproduction.

The Sichuan region is designated as a global hotspot for biodiversity, according to Conservation International. Home to more than 12,000 species of plants and 1,122 species of vertebrates, the area includes more than half of the habitat for the Earth's wild giant panda population, said study lead author Weihua Xu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.

"We estimate that above 60 percent of the wild giant panda population was affected to some extent by the earthquake," said Xu in the report.

In an effort to develop conservation strategies for the panda's remaining habitat, Xu and his colleagues used satellite imagery to determine the pandas' habitat loss and fragmentation in the South Minshan region, which is adjacent to the earthquake's epicenter.

Since forests are the main vegetation type used by the pandas, the authors compared forested areas in satellite images from September 2007, before the earthquake, to images after the earthquake and its aftershocks, in July 2008.

The authors then combined results based on these satellite data with criteria that make forests suitable for pandas, including elevation, slope incline and presence of bamboo. Their analyses revealed that more than 354 square kilometers, or about 23 percent, of the pandas' habitat was converted to bare land.

Of the remaining habitat, the researchers found that large habitat areas had been fragmented into smaller, disconnected patches, which Xu says can be just as harmful as habitat destruction.

"It is probable that habitat fragmentation has separated the giant panda population inhabiting this region, which could be as low as 35 individuals," said Xu.

"This kind of isolation increases their risk of extinction in the wild, due in part to a higher likelihood of inbreeding."

Xu and his colleagues proposed a plan to encourage pandas to move between patches using specially protected corridors. They also recommend areas to be protected outside of nature reserves and that post-earthquake relocation of affected towns takes panda habitat into consideration.

"It is vital to the survival of this species that measures are taken to protect panda habitat outside nature reserves," said Xu.

"Giant pandas in this region are more vulnerable than ever to human disturbance, including post-earthquake reconstruction and tourism. When coupled with these increasing human activities, natural disasters create unprecedented challenges for biodiversity conservation."

Source:
CNN, "One quarter of giant panda habitat lost in Sichuan quake", accessed July 30, 2009

Intel, PepsiCo, Whole Foods Top EPA Lists of Green Power Purchasers

Intel, PepsiCo and Whole Foods Market ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's list of top green power purchasers among the Fortune 500.

The EPA released its quarterly report this month on the companies, colleges and government agencies that purchase or generate the greatest amount of renewable energy in the country and participate in the Green Power Partnership program.

Intel, PepsiCo and Whole Foods also ranked first, second and third on the list of the 50 U.S. companies that purchase the most green power.

The annual purchases by the 50 top buyers total almost 12.3 billion kilowatt-hours and represent more than 70 percent of all the clean power commitments made by participants in the Green Power Partnership program, the EPA said.

PepsiCo, Whole Foods and Dell hold the first, second and third slots on the list of firms that get 100 percent of the power they use in the U.S. from renewable resources

Whole Foods topped the list of retailers that purchase the most renewable energy. Kohl's Department Stores ranked second and Wal-mart came in third.

The Kimberly-Clark Corporation ranked first among the country's top 20 companies, government agencies and municipalities that generate their own green power. The Los Angeles County Sanitation District and the city of San Diego hold second and third place on the list respectively.

For other lists of major green power purchasers -- such as the Top 20 retail printers (FedEx Office, formerly FedEx Kinko's, is No. 1 on that list) -- all nine categories of the EPA's rankings for the program are available here.

Source:
Reuters, "Intel, PepsiCo, Whole Foods Top EPA Lists of Green Power Purchasers", accessed July 29, 2009

Arctic tundra hotter, boosts global warming: expert

Regions of Arctic tundra around the world are heating up very rapidly, releasing more greenhouse gases than predicted and boosting the process of global warming, a leading expert said on Wednesday.

Professor Greg Henry of the University of British Columbia also said higher temperatures meant larger plants were starting to spread across the tundra, which is usually covered by small shrubs, grasses and lichen. The thicker plant cover means the region is getting darker and absorbing more heat.

He said tundra covers about 15 percent of the world's surface and makes up around 30 percent of Canadian territory.

Henry, who has been working in the Arctic since the early 1980s, said he had measured "a very substantial change" in the tundra over the last three decades, citing greater emissions and plant growth.

Since 1970, he said, temperatures in the tundra region had risen by 1 degree Celsius per decade -- equal to the highest rates of warming found anywhere on the planet.

"We're finding that the tundra is actually giving off a lot more nitrous oxide and methane than anyone had thought before," Henry told reporters on a conference call from Resolute in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut.

"We're really trying to get a handle on this because if (further tests show) that's true, this actually changes the entire greenhouse gas budget for the North, and that has global implications," he said.

Scientists blame climate change on a surge in emissions of greenhouse gases. The effects in Canada's North and Arctic regions have been particularly notable.

Henry said his research station in Nunavut had recorded record high temperatures virtually every summer since the early 1990s. The warmer temperatures mean plants are growing bigger and faster, while larger species are spreading northward.

"The tundra is getting a lot weedier all the way around the globe. This has major implications," said Henry, who also chairs an international project studying tundra.

"You're changing the color of the surface of the earth by making it darker ... so the consequence of that is increased warming again."

Some scientists also fear that as the permafrost in the Arctic melts, it will release vast amounts of carbon and methane into the atmosphere.

Source:
Reuters, "Arctic tundra hotter, boosts global warming: expert", accessed July 29, 2009

To Green the Data Center, IT Has to Feel Some Pain

If truly green data centers are ever to become a reality, IT departments will have to feel some pain if they don't reduce their energy use --- and reap the benefits if they do. Today, though, too often, IT departments don't even pay their own energy bills, as a recently released survey found. In order to green IT, that has to change.

A recently released report from Brocade about Green IT is eye-opening. The report surveyed more than 1,000 senior IT decision makers in North America, Western Europe, the Nordic region, Turkey, and Dubai. It found that in 50% of all enterprises surveyed, facilities management paid the electricity bill. In only 23% of enterprises does the IT department foot the bill. In 22% of the cases IT and facilities share the costs, and in 5% of companies, a different department pays.

It's this simple: If IT doesn't pay the electric bill, the data center won't get greened. The survey backs that up. It found that only 51% of IT departments surveyed have a system in place for measuring how much power hardware uses. That's no surprise, given that IT departments are only responsible for paying for all or part of the electric bill in 45% of companies.

If IT departments paid their own electric bills, you'd see electric monitoring systems being put into place quickly. If they had to deal with rate hikes, you'd see electric use go down. And if they were allowed to keep a sizable portion of their savings on electricity, and apply that to other IT projects, you'd see massive power savings in the data center.

We're at the point where greening IT may be more about corporate organization than actual technology. The first step it to make IT departments feel the pain when electric bills go up --- and get the benefits when electricity use goes down.

Source:
Reuters, "To Green the Data Center, IT Has to Feel Some Pain", accessed July 29, 2009

From the Inbox - eNews: Cone Snail Venom Save Lives

One of many poisonous cone snails found in oceans around the world. Snail © Norbert Wu/Minden Pictures Predatory Snail Saves Humans This isn't the plot of a science fiction movie, rather it’s very close to reality for the cone snail. The toxic venom it uses to hunt down and paralyze its prey may also hold the key to saving human lives. Investigations into the pain-killing properties of cone snail venom led to the development of Prialt, a drug 1,000 times as potent as morphine which has proven success in reducing extreme pain in cancer and AIDS patients. The potential of the venom's success in treating medical conditions like Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and strokes is enormous, but this potential may never be unleashed if we don't protect the cone snail's coral reef and mangrove habitats. CI is working to combat the destruction of the cone snail's habitats in the Coral Triangle seascape of Indonesia and the Philippines, and elsewhere, to ensure that the cone snail and its lifesaving venom is sustained for the benefit and health of future generations.

Orangutan © Anup Shah/Minden Pictures $30 Million Debt Dropped in the Name of Conservation On June 30th, the U.S. government forgave nearly $30 million of debt payments owed by Indonesia in return for an agreement by the nation to increase protection of Sumatra's rainforests. This swap, the largest ever under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, and the first ever in Indonesia, will make a world of difference in a country that annually loses an area of forest the size of Switzerland. With an additional commitment of $1 million, CI helped to fund and negotiate this groundbreaking “swap”. Every $1 saved by the Indonesian government will bring more than $1.30 worth of conservation to the ground in Sumatra. Each saved dollar protects 13 areas of Sumatran rainforest, and provides livelihoods for the Sumatran people. This also helps ensure the survival of some of the world’s most endangered species - including the Sumatran rhino and the Sumatran tiger. Check out The Wall Street Journal’s article about the "Debt for Nature" swap. The Road to Copenhagen and Beyond If global CO2 emissions continue at steady or increasing rates, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that the average temperature on Earth in 2090 may rise by as much as four degrees Celsius— an increase that could prove catastrophic for us and the planet we inhabit. In December, an international group of government leaders, policy-makers, scientists, and civil society representatives will gather in Copenhagen under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The ultimate goal of the summit is to establish a plan to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations at a low enough level to prevent human actions from making a dangerous impact on the climate. CI is leading the fight against climate change with a major initiative designed to advance the science of climate change solutions, identify incentives for reducing carbon emissions, support governments and communities in developing climate change policies, and more. Read more about how CI is working with governments, organizations, and people around the world to develop tools that will support and drive the agenda in Copenhagen. The road to Copenhagen is getting shorter, but the road to a healthy Earth doesn't stop in December. Stabilizing climate change is an ongoing struggle to which CI is committed.

Climate change clouds fate of ancient Polish woods

Europe's last ancient forest, home to its largest herd of bison, faces an uncertain future because of climate change, but residents worry that tougher conservation efforts will damage the local economy.

The 150,000-hectare (380,000-acre) Bialowieza Primeval Forest, which straddles the border between Poland and Belarus, is one of the largest unpopulated woodlands remaining in Europe. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.

On the Polish side of the border, residents oppose plans to extend the protected zone of this unique habitat, which is under threat from rising temperatures and declining rainfall.

Encouraged by international conservation agencies, Warsaw wants to enlarge the area's national park, which occupies less than a fifth of the Polish part of the forest.

It has offered up to 100 million zlotys ($33.61 million) to be shared among the nine communities that would be affected by broader regulations protecting wildlife.

However, the region is among the poorest in Poland and residents of Bialowieza district (population 2,400) are skeptical, fearing it would discourage investment, cause job losses and reduce the community's tax revenues.

"You may think we are fools not willing to take the money," Mayor Albert Litwinowicz said. "But it will only go for green investments, while we need roads."

Forests occupy more than 80 percent of the Bialowieza administrative district and provide a significant part of the its income, thanks to government cash.

Revenues come mostly from woodland and other subsidies from the central government, plus grants and other state aid, Litwinowicz said.

Income would be halved if the whole area were incorporated into the national park and most of about 50 forestry workers, responsible for maintaining the woodland as well as for cutting the timber, could be laid off, he added.

Bialowieza district would be fully incorporated into the national park under the current proposal.

"Building anything in the middle of a national park with strict conservation rules would be almost impossible and we want to develop better transport ... and other infrastructure," Litwinowicz said.

SIGNS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

There are no major industrial centers nearby. Every year 150,000 people visit Bialowieza but tourism accounts for only a 10th of the district's revenue.

However, unemployment in Bialowieza is almost non-existent, partly because a quarter of the population has left since 1990, moving to cities or, like many other people from eastern Poland, seeking better jobs in wealthier Western Europe.

Signs of climate change that could threaten the forest have become more evident.

"The average annual temperature has risen by 0.8 degrees Celsius over past 50 years. This is a lot for a primeval forest," Elzbieta Malzahn of the Forest Research Institute told Reuters. "That's enough time to call it a change to climate.

"There is less rain in the summer, winters are milder and end sooner, prompting vegetation to start earlier."

National park officials say the level of ground water has fallen by 50 cm (20 inches) in the past three decades.

"Spruce roots are very shallow and they just run out of water. We are observing falling number of spruce," said park employee Mateusz Szymura.

Bialowieza is home to 800 wild European bison, the continent's heaviest land animals weighing up to 1 ton each and standing up to two meters (more than six feet) high.

So far, the changes have not endangered the bison because mammals adapt easily to a changing environment, scientists say.

They say Bialowieza had undergone many changes over the centuries and the forest had adjusted to new conditions.

"The problem, is, however, if the changes we are now causing are too fast and too unpredictable and leave nature little chance to catch up," Malzahn said.

BORDER FENCE

Political arguments between Belarus and Poland have stifled joint efforts to safeguard the forest. Since Poland joined the European Union in 2004, the bloc's eastern border runs through the forest, marked by a fence built by Belarus years ago.

The barrier prevents bison from each side from intermingling.

However, they remain genetically similar since the species was regenerated using just a few animals -- and only two males -- that survived in a Polish zoo after they had vanished from the wild in the 1920s as a result of hunting and poaching.

To extend the protected area on the Polish side, the government needs the approval of local authorities and says the scheme would cost between 1.5 million and 3 million zlotys.

"For years local people have opposed plans to enlarge the park and we are now presenting a program that shows they can go on operating with an enlarged park," Deputy Environment Minister, Janusz Zaleski, told Reuters.

"We also hope this money would create jobs in the region and help improve it."

Mayor Litwinowicz did not seem convinced. He said he was considering holding a referendum among residents on the enlargement scheme.

"If where we live is so unique for the whole of Europe, why shouldn't the residents benefit rather than suffer?," he said. "Personally, I am against it, but the people will decide."

Source:
Reuters, "Climate change clouds fate of ancient Polish woods", accessed July 28, 2009

From the Inbox - Palin resigns, House and Senate Introduce Bills to Halt Alaska Wolf Slaughter

Wolves Are Dying: Make Congress Stop the Aerial Slaughter. With your help, we’ll run this powerful new ad to get the votes to enact the Protect America’s Wildlife Act and save wolves. Help us save wolves from aerial gunning! Donate whatever you can afford today to help run our new ad in the influential Capitol Hill publication, Roll Call, pass the PAW Act and save imperiled wildlife. We need to raise at least $40,000 by noon tomorrow to pay for our first ad buy and expand our work to stop Alaska’s war on wolves. Today, Congressman George Miller (CA) will re-introduce the Protect America’s Wildlife (PAW) Act -- federal legislation to end Alaska’s barbaric aerial wolf-killing programs and prevent the slaughter from spreading to other states. And, for the first time ever, the bill will also be introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA), joined by Senator Ben Cardin (MD). Just three days ago, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin blasted Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund’s efforts to save wolves in her resignation speech. With your help, we’ve put aerial gunning in the national spotlight and built momentum to stop it. Now we need your support to seize this moment and fight to end these awful wolf-killing programs... Please donate whatever you can today to help us place our new ad and convince Congress to pass the PAW Act. Thanks to your efforts, the PAW Act already has more than 90 original cosponsors in the House of Representatives! To educate Members of Congress and their staff, this week we’re launching a powerful new ad using a photograph from the March aerial wolf slaughter of 84 wolves near the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve -- gruesome evidence of the brutality of Alaska’s aerial wolf-killing programs. To help build support for the PAW Act and save the lives of wolves, we’ve already booked our new ad to run in Roll Call, one of Capitol Hill’s most widely read publications, tomorrow (July 30th). We only have just a few hours to raise the funds to run this ad, so please donate by noon tomorrow. We know that our ads -- and your support to help us place them -- are effective. In a Monday post on the Politico blog, writer Ben Smith said this: “Never before has an ad buy as small… as the Defenders of Wildlife’s attack on Palin’s wolf hunting rules, gotten so far under an executive’s skin.” With the support of people like you, we’re making the plight of Alaska’s wolves known far and wide. Palin’s criticism of our efforts to stop the killing was noted in major media outlets nationwide. With your help, we can run another hard-hitting ad and secure the votes we need to pass the PAW Act. Please donate what you can afford now! Our new ad features one of dozens of horrifying photographs that Alaska’s state officials don’t want Congress to see. The graphic photo depicts the terrible aftermath of majestic wolves killed by aerial gunners employed by the State of Alaska and callously slung over the struts of an airplane. This disturbing image is just some of the evidence we’re gathering on Sarah Palin’s and her Board of Game’s wolf-killing frenzy. Palin is now gone, but her hand-picked Board of Game remains and is expanding the use of airplanes, helicopters, poison and snares to murder wolf families. Two wolf pups were just gassed to death and the others left to starve earlier this summer. Your donation will help us get the word out about the unprecedented carnage to more news outlets, to the American people, to Alaska’s new governor, Sean Parnell, and to your Senators and Representative. Please make a contribution now to the Campaign to Stop the Alaska Wolf Massacre! With Palin gone, we’re even more determined to end cruel aerial gunning once and for all. This is our chance. Please stand with us. With Gratitude, Rodger Schlickeisen President Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund P.S. We only have a few hours to raise the funds we need to run our first ad. Please make a secure donation online today or call 1-800-425-4632 to make a contribution by phone.

Russia complains about Chinese border river project

Russia complained about a major Chinese river project on Monday which it says will harm the Russian environment, the latest sign of strained relations between the two countries.

In a statement, Russia's Environment Ministry expressed "serious concern on information about the continuation of construction in China of drainage canals, which may make the river Argun shallow on Russian territory."

The Argun runs into the Amur river that acts as the frontier for Russia and China along a long stretch of their vast border.

The environmental complaint came a few days after a Chinese delegation met Russian officials to discuss the June 29 closure of a vast Moscow market which employed tens of thousands of Chinese.

"In light of the development of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership, China urges the Russian side to take a historical perspective, legally resolve the situation and protect Chinese merchants' legal rights," Vice-Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said in a statement after the talks.

Moscow's Foreign Ministry later responded by saying China had agreed that the closure of Cherkizovsky market -- which Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had said was a major focus of contraband goods -- should not be allowed to sour ties.

China and Russia are members, along with Brazil and India, of the BRIC alliance of major developing economies and want closer economic and diplomatic ties. Beijing agreed this year to lend Russian oil firms $25 billion in exchange for 20 years of oil supplies at below market rates.

In the latest grievance, Moscow complained that China's work on widening the Argun River, which had been suspended by a joint agreement in 2006, had restarted, according to satellite images taken between May 17 to July 17.

"According to our data, (the construction) can lead to significant negative consequences for the river Argun, its ecosystem, the life of which is linked to the river, as well as for the economic development of the trans-Baikal region," said Rinat Gizatulin, a ministry department chief.

Environmental organization WWF in May warned that the Chinese project could have a devastating impact.

"Of course, we're happy with the ministry's response. The Chinese plans would have serious consequences for the region on the Russian side of the border," said Evgeny Shvarts, director of conservation policy with WWF in Moscow.

Source:
Reuters, "Russia complains about Chinese border river project", accessed July 27, 2009

Offshore wind could be next wave for U.S.

The Cape Cod resort area, famous for sandy beaches and centuries-old fishing villages, could in the next few years claim a new title of home to the United States' first offshore wind farm.

The United States has experienced a surge in investment in wind power over the past four years, more than tripling its ability to turn wind into electricity. But construction has been entirely on land and largely in America's rural midsection -- leaving open the costly challenge of how to transmit power to the densely populated coasts where it is most needed.

That could be changing. Developers have proposed wind farms off Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware and New Jersey to meet the electricity needs of the East Coast.

"They're building these wind farms in the Midwest fast, which is great. The problem is there's no people," said Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri (left). "Where is the energy needed? The energy is needed here on the East Coast."

The Cape Wind project in 2001 became the country's first major proposed offshore wind farm. Its developers aim to construct 130 towers, which will tower 440 feet above the surface of the Nantucket Sound.

To supporters, Cape Wind represents Massachusetts' chance to be a leader in clean energy. It would generate 420 megawatts of power, enough for 336,000 typical American homes.

Opponents, including Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy (right), who has a home on the Cape, say the towers, 5 miles from shore, would be a risk to navigation and hurt tourism.

Cape Wind's developers need one last major regulatory approval, from the U.S. Department of the Interior. Should they get it, they expect to have the project up and running in two years, which will require finding more than $1 billion.

Jim Gordon (right), Cape Wind chief executive, said he believes investors will come through.

"There's no doubt that since last summer we have kind of fallen into a significant capital financing crunch," he said. "I'm confident that the Cape Wind project is going to be financed."

ON THE BRINK

The Obama administration sees investment in alternative energy sources like wind and solar, which do not emit carbon dioxide that aggravates global warming, as a cornerstone of its economic and energy policies.

Momentum is on wind's side. Last year developers invested more than $17 billion in new U.S. wind farms, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Wind now represents more than 1 percent of the U.S. electricity supply.

Companies including U.S. conglomerate General Electric Co, Germany's Siemens AG and Denmark's Vestas have seen demand for turbines soar.

But onshore wind must deal with the cost and complexity of building transmission lines from Texas, Minnesota and other leading wind producing states to demand centers.

Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens (right) blamed the difficulty of building transmission lines and bleak credit markets for his decision this month to postpone plans for what would have been the largest U.S. wind farm.

"It really wasn't surprising that it was discovered to be a Herculean task to permit and capitalize this type of transmission infrastructure," said Paul Rich, chief development officer of Deepwater Wind, which is working on $1.5 billion of projects off Rhode Island.

Deepwater, backed by hedge fund DE Shaw and wind developer First Wind, plans its turbines 15 miles offshore, which would make them practically invisible from the coast.

Still, even offshore farms need transmission lines to bring the power ashore, which can anger local communities.

"Coastal real estate is expensive," said Kevin Book, energy analyst at ClearView Energy Partners, of Washington. "It's going to be very tough to get stakeholders on board when you're crossing coastal real estate with something unsightly."

Other developers are planning wind farms in the Gulf of Mexico off Texas and in the inland Great Lakes.

MISGIVINGS ON CAPE

The Cape Wind project has been the subject intense local controversy. Residents said they like the idea of playing a leading role in renewable energy, but some worry the 24 square mile (62 sq km) project will hurt tourism.

"Renewable energy is great, but because it is such a huge footprint, the site becomes critical and Nantucket Sound is absolutely the worst location," said Audra Parker, executive director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, a group of local businessespeople and residents who oppose the project.

Some backers the project's critics are wealthy property owners trying to protect their ocean views. Parker said that was not the case.

"People have this sense that it's a very wealthy community. In fact, it's not at all," she said. "There's a lot of two-income families here on the Cape, on the islands, people earning their income through fishing, through other means."

Even some locals whose incomes are tied to the tourist trade argue that they would prefer an offshore wind farm to a conventional fossil fuel-burning power plant.

"I wouldn't necessarily say it's the best place for it but we definitely need to start looking at alternative energy sources," said Peter Baldwin, 22, who works as a waiter in Hyannis. "I don't see how a wind farm is going to change the way we look at the Cape necessarily. I think it's better than looking at a power plant."

Source:
Reuters, "Offshore wind could be next wave for U.S.",. accessed July 27, 2009