Australia's burping cows more climate friendly than thought

Australia's huge cattle herd in the north might be burping less planet-warming methane emissions than thought, a study released on Friday shows, suggesting the cows are more climate friendly.

Cattle, sheep and other ruminant livestock produce large amounts of methane, which is about 20 times more powerful at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. One cow can produce about 1.5 tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year.

Half of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture and most of that is from sheep and cattle. Most of the cattle and sheep emissions are, contrary to popular belief, from burping.

Speaking at Lansdown Field Day near Townsville, Queensland, CSIRO research leader Dr Ed Charmley said the findings would help to refine the nation’s greenhouse gas accounting.

“Measurements from cattle in CSIRO’s custom-built respiration chambers show that Brahman cattle fed a wide range of tropical grasses emit up to 30 per cent less methane than previously determined.

“While you always have to be cautious in extending lab data to the field and across an industry, we have been able to cross-check our findings with methane detecting laser systems used in the field.

“These findings, while not changing the actual emissions, could have significant implications for calculating the emission footprint of the northern cattle industry and also for Australia’s greenhouse gas accounts.

“Methods used to determine these national greenhouse gas accounts are regularly reviewed and if the new data are confirmed via this review process, future accounts will be adjusted to reflect the lower emissions for the northern beef herd,” Dr Charmley said.

"The industry is more methane friendly than was previously thought based on the new measurements," research leader Ed Charmley (left) told Reuters by telephone during a field day near Townsville in northern Queensland state.

About half of Australia's approximately 27 million head of cattle are in the north, with the northern cattle herd accounting for about 4.5 percent of the nation's total greenhouse gas emissions.

As a by-product of digesting plants, ruminant livestock such as sheep and cattle produce methane and, of those, beef cattle produce the most – about 200 grams a day, or about 1.5 tons of CO2 equivalents per animal every year.

“CSIRO research also shows that northern cattle fed on a diet of predominantly Leucaena, a legume tree, (right) emit less methane than cattle grazing on tropical grasses,” Dr Charmley said.

“What this nutrition research is showing is that there can be win-win scenarios for the industry and the environment if we can redirect the breakdown of plant material in a way that reduces the amount of methane produced while improving the amount of energy or weight gain that animals get from their feed.

A 30 percent reduction in emissions would total about 7.4 million tons, or roughly the amount of a large coal-fired power station.

The study could help the government refine the way it calculates the nation's annual greenhouse gas accounts, with agriculture responsible for 15 percent of the nation's total greenhouse gas emissions.

Scientists say changing the diets of sheep and cattle can reduce emissions from agriculture. And such steps could also earn carbon credits in a new emissions trading program being debated in the Australian parliament.


Source:
Reuters,"Australia's burping cows more climate friendly than thought", accessed May 29, 2011
World News Australia, "Burping cows are climate friendly: study", accessed May 29, 2011
PhysOrg.com, "Research sheds new light on methane emissions from the northern beef herd", accessed May 29, 2011

Bluefin tuna overfished but not yet endangered says NOAA

The bluefin tuna, the largest of all tuna species, missed being placed on the endangered species list, but the majestic fish prized by sushi lovers will be listed as a "species of concern" by the federal agency that oversees America's fisheries.

After extensive scientific review, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Friday it has determined that bluefin tuna does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. The agency conducted the review after the Center for Biological Diversity submitted a petition seeking an endangered status for the fish, claiming the species faces possible extinction because of overfishing and habitat degradation, including effects of the BP oil spill on bluefin spawning grounds in the Gulf of Mexico.

Even though bluefin will not be listed as endangered or threatened, NOAA officials said they still have concerns about the fish, which can swim at speeds faster than 50 mph and grow to more than half a ton in size.

The U.S. government did put the Atlantic bluefin tuna on an environmental watchlist as a "species of concern" on Friday, and will keep checking for any impact on these fish from the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

At this time, the species is not threatened or endangered and so will not be listed as such under the Endangered Species Act, which would trigger immediate protections, officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a telephone briefing.

Atlantic bluefin tuna spawn in the Gulf of Mexico in the vicinity of last year's BP Deepwater Horizon spill, but so far there is no evidence that the species is being harmed. However, satellite data from the European Space Agency shows 20% of juvenile bluefin tuna killed by oil from the spawning year 2010 (right - click on image for larger image).

"While the NOAA team found that presently available information did not support listing, it also recognized the need to continue to monitor the potential long-term effects of the spill on bluefin tuna and the overall Gulf ecosystem," Eric Schwaab, of NOAA's Fisheries Service, told reporters.

The time period of the agency's peer-reviewed study did not allow for full consideration of the impact from the oil spill, Schwaab said.

NOAA will revisit this decision by early 2013, when more information about the spill's impacts will be available. There will also be an updated assessment of Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the global agency that monitors the fish's management and conservation.

Susan Lieberman of the Pew Environment Group applauded NOAA's decision to closely monitor the species, but said the agency should close the Gulf of Mexico to long-line fishing for other species to protect Atlantic bluefin tuna's spawning grounds.

"They've got it on a watchlist, they agree it's in trouble and they need to take action," Lieberman said by telephone.

Long-line fishing operations continue to ply the Gulf for yellowfin tuna (right) and swordfish, but now use so-called weak hooks to protect bluefin tuna that spawn in the area, Schwaab said.

Outside of the Gulf of Mexico, bluefin tunas are not much better off. The Atlantic bluefin tuna is a large migratory fish found in the western and eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea (left). This species is at serious risk of extinction if unsustainable fishing practices in the Mediterranean are not stopped.

Bluefin tuna populations worldwide have come under scrutiny for decades, with conservationists saying stocks are over-fished and in jeopardy. Because the fish swim such long distances, they are managed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, a multi-governmental organization based in Spain. The species is managed as two stocks — the western Atlantic and the eastern Atlantic, which includes the Mediterranean Sea.

Tuna populations have fallen 80 percent in the past 40 years, said Katherine Kilduff, staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity's oceans program.

Although NOAA fell short of listing tuna as endangered, the agency's concerns about the fish might serve as a wake-up call for ICCAT and others to institute new safeguards for the fish, she said. The fish is under threat from a lack of enforcement of existing laws, especially in the Mediterranean, from the BP oil spill and from long-line fishermen inadvertently catching and killing them, she said.

The U.S. accounts for about 5 percent of the global bluefin harvest, with more than half the catch being exported. Most of the catch goes to Japan. Atlantic bluefin tuna can fetch more than $100,000 each in markets such as Japan, though stocks have declined by more than 80 percent since the 1970s due to overfishing.

Last November, ICCAT set fishing quotas for this year at 12,900 tons, a reduction of 600 tons from the previous year, but a reduction that environmental groups said was too small to ensure recovery of the species in the Mediterranean.

Last week, Europe's fisheries chief called for close monitoring of the trade in bluefin tuna caught in Libyan waters, fearing illegal catches could push the species closer to regional extinction. WWF and Greenpeace have called for a suspension of the fishing season which opened May 14th.

Dwindling Numbers of Bluefin Tuna

Source:
Reuters,"Atlantic bluefin tuna on U.S. environmental watchlist", accessed May 28, 2011
CBS News, "Bluefin tuna kept off endangered species list", accessed May 28, 2011
WWF, "Bluefin tuna in crisis", accessed May 28, 2011
NOAA, "Fishwatch - Atlantic Bluefin Tuna", accessed May 28, 2011

Tornado Damage in the Park

Read about Tornado Damage in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Click here to see Smoky mountain video of tornado damage with trail closings

From the Inbox: Help Keep cancer causing chemicals off our crop lands

Help prevent the use of a cancer-causing pesticide on our nation's crop lands. Photo by Jerry Burke Support our efforts to ban the use of methyl iodide with a special gift today.

Dear Supporter,

It's a classic case of profits over people.

The world's largest private agro–chemical corporation—Arysta LifeScience—has been lobbying for expanded use of its highly profitable, cancer-causing pesticide methyl iodide on our nation's crop lands.

Florida and California—which grow much of our nation's produce—have already caved to industry pressure and are allowing this known carcinogen to be applied to their farm lands.

Help Earthjustice’s legal experts win a ban on this extremely toxic chemical. Make a special gift today.

Methyl iodide is so carcinogenic that it is used in labs specifically to create cancer cells. Scientists have consistently stated that the chemical is far too dangerous to be used in agriculture. Yet agro-industry lobbyists have strong-armed several states into approving it for use on crop lands.

Earthjustice's experts have filed a lawsuit challenging the approval of this hazardous pesticide in California and are pushing the Environmental Protection Agency to ban its use nationwide. But they need your support to win this fight.

Help stop the use of cancer-causing methyl iodide on fields that produce our nation's food by making an urgent donation today.

In a letter to the EPA dated May 7, three Nobel Laureates in chemistry wrote that methyl iodide is "one of the more hazardous chemicals used in research labs and in the chemical industry." It is a potent neurotoxin, a thyroid function disruptor, and can cause birth defects and late-term miscarriages.

A chemical this dangerous has no place in fields that grow our food. But just last week farming operations in California began applying the pesticide to fields that will grow produce that could end up on your table.

We can reverse this toxic practice in California and across the country—but we need your support to go up against the well-funded agro-chemical industry.

Take a stand with us as we fight for safe food production. Make an emergency donation today.

Thank you for all that you do.

Sincerely,

Trip Van Noppen
President, Earthjustice

P.S. A cancer-causing neurotoxin has no place on fields that produce our food. Donate today to help us ban the use of methyl iodide.

From the Inbox: Death Sentence for Idaho Wolf pups

Help Save Wolves Wolf families raising their pups are being targeted by state officials in Idaho. Please donate now to ensure a lasting future for America's wolves and other wildlife and support our fight against an anti-wolf extremist agenda. Share on Facebook Dear Supporter, Even as Idaho's wolf families try to raise their newborn pups, state officials are issuing death warrants for these amazing animals. They're calling on federal wildlife killers -- and now even local law enforcement -- to kill dozens of wolves living in the wilds of Idaho. Please donate now to save America's wolves and support our fight against an anti-wolf extremist agenda. It's a biological fact: Wolves feed on elk and other wildlife to survive. But Idaho officials are siding with anti-wolf extremists who want to disturb the natural balance of wilderness to artificially boost elk populations -- right in the middle of denning season. Targeting wolf families at the height of denning season is a virtual death sentence for newborn pups -- the most vulnerable members of the pack. Please donate today to help protect wolf pups and other wildlife. In just over three weeks since federal protections were lifted from wolves in the Northern Rockies, Idaho officials have already called in Wildlife Services -- the federal wildlife-killing program -- to track down wolves with radio collars and shoot them from helicopters. Now they're authorizing more killing this spring. They're even allowing local sheriffs and their deputies to take out an entire pack of wolves in the central part of the state. Please support our work to protect the lives of Idaho wolves and ensure a lasting future for these amazing animals. Your generous support will help Defenders... Fight extreme, anti-wolf rhetoric with solid scientific principles, public education and the voices of those who want wolves as part our living, natural heritage; Fight extremist legislation in Congress that threatens the future of wolves in the U.S.; Help reform Wildlife Services into a program that works to help people and wildlife coexist peacefully, rather than just killing thousands of wolves and other wild animals; Help keep wolves and livestock out of harm's way with our pioneering, non-lethal coexistence programs; and Promote other vital efforts to save wolves and other wildlife struggling to survive. For more than 35 years, Defenders has been a leader in the fight to restore wolves to their rightful place in the American landscape. We're not about to give up the fight just as these magnificent animals struggle to expand to their historic range beyond Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies. But our wildlife-saving work isn't possible without the generous support of people like you. Will you donate today for our wolves and other wildlife? For the Wild Ones, Suzanne Asha Stone Northern Rockies Representative Defenders of Wildlife P.S. Our wolves need your help. Please donate today through our secure website. Or call 1-800-385-9712 to donate by phone. Defenders Home | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Donate Now

Venice may be less at risk from seas than feared

Credit: Reuters/Manuel Silvestri

Venice may be less at risk than feared from rising sea levels because damaging storm surges are likely to get less frequent this century as a side-effect of climate change, an expert said on Thursday.

Shifts in storm patterns in the Adriatic Sea could be a local impact of global warming, and this could offset higher sea levels in a city whose St Mark's Square and other historic areas are often flooded.

"Higher sea levels will be counteracted by less severe storm surges," Alberto Troccoli, of the Pye Laboratory of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia, stated.

"There's a balancing effect" between impacts of climate change, he said of a study he led with colleagues in Italy and Britain and published in the journal Climatic Change this month.

"Tidal flooding events might not be exacerbated over the current century, with potentially beneficial consequences for the conservation of the city," they wrote of Venice, one of the cities most exposed to a rise in sea levels.

They projected that the number of storm surges northwards through the Adriatic that cause floods in Venice would decrease by about 30 percent by 2100 because storms would tend to shift further north in Europe.

Under certain wind conditions, the Adriatic acts as a funnel along which waters build up toward Venice at the northern end. Italy is building flood barriers known as MOSE, Italian for Moses, to protect the city.

The MOSE project is intended to protect the city from extreme floods. Initial construction involved the building of a stone reef across each of the three lagoon inlets - Lido, Malamocco and Chioggia - which surround the island of Venice. The reefs will reduce the volume and speed of the incoming water.

The main part of the MOSE project is the construction of large movable flaps anchored to the seabed, which will rise to block the inlets when water levels rise. These gates will open or close based on the height of the tides; when the tide is low the gates will remain closed, resting on the lagoon bed, allowing the normal flow of water in the lagoon. If the tide reaches 1.10 meters, or more to a maximum of 3 meters, the system will be activated and the gates will be lifted, avoiding floods.

The most severe combination of storms and high tides of recent decades happened during the Great Flood of 1966 (left) that pushed up water levels in Venice by 194 cms (76.38 inches) above normal.

If world sea levels rise by just 17 cms (7 inches) by 2100, matching the rise in the 20th century, the study suggested that "the frequency of extreme tides in Venice might largely remain unaltered" since the number of storm surges would decline.

The U.N. panel of climate scientists has projected that human emissions of greenhouse gases could cause sea levels to rise by as much as 59 cms by 2100.

Venice faces other problems however, such as subsidence caused by the drawing of water from aquifers beneath the city, especially from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Source:
Reuters,"Venice may be less at risk from seas than feared ", by Alister Doyle, accessed May 26, 2011
Christian Science Monitor, "Venice flood barriers", accessed May 26, 2011

Fears grow for missing osprey

A male osprey has been missing from his English nesting site for a week and conservationists fear he has been shot. He was last seen by the project members on Wednesday, May 11th.

Last year, two male ospreys disappeared in mysterious circumstances close to the reservoir in Rutland and now a third male, known only as 08(97), has also vanished, the Wildlife Trust said.

The missing bird was the first to return from the African wintering grounds to Rutland after being released there as part of the Rutland Osprey project by Anglian Water and the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust to re-establish a breeding population of ospreys in England.

He first returned in 1999, and raised chicks at a nest on the reservoir in 2007 before moving to a nest site on private land in 2009.

Project Officer Tim Mackrill said, “We have not seen 08 (left) since Wednesday 11th May. His mate is currently incubating a clutch of three eggs and so it is extremely rare for him to be away from the nest for more than a few hours.

“For us not to have seen him since 11th May is very worrying. It is extremely unusual for an apparently healthy male Osprey to vanish at this stage of the breeding season. The most likely explanation is that he has been shot, especially given that 08 hunts in the same area as the birds that disappeared last spring”, Project officer Tim Mackrill stated.

The male osprey would be doing about a quarter of the incubating of the eggs, and providing fish for his mate (right), who is now receiving fish put out for her by the wildlife team, a situation they described as "far from ideal".

Project officer Tim Mackrill said he feared the bird had been shot, or could have become tangled in nets while fishing in more sheltered lakes and ponds when catching fish was difficult at Rutland Water.

It is illegal to intentionally harm or kill ospreys, which are protected.

Leicestershire and Rutland Police said they were taking the matter extremely seriously, and called on anyone with information to come forward. Leicestershire and Rutland Police stated that: “Ospreys are protected as a Schedule One species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 meaning it is an extremely serious offense.

Meanwhile, back at Loch Lowes, Lady, the oldest known osprey, has laid a total of 3 eggs. Unfortunately, the first one which should have hatched by now does not show any signs of doing so. The wildlife staff at Loch Lowes fear that Lady is past her biological limit of being able to lay eggs that will be able to hatch and thrive, adding to the slim population of ospreys that exist currently.

However, Lady has confounded us all before and perhaps before this season is over she will, as Bullwinkle the moose from the Bullwinkle and Rocky cartoon says, pull a "rabbit out of her hat". Although of course with her it would be hatched eggs with viable offspring. We will try to keep you posted. For up-to-date videos please click here.

Source:
The Guardian,"Fears grow for missing osprey", accessed May 24, 2011

Ash to hit northern Europe but volcano dying down

Northern Europe is suffering air traffic disruption from Icelandic volcanic ash on Wednesday after 500 flights were canceled on Tuesday, but experts said the eruption was rapidly dying down.

The Grimsvotn volcano, which lies beneath the ice of the uninhabited Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland, began erupting Saturday for the first time since 2004, sending ash, smoke and steam 12 miles into the air.

It was the volcano's largest eruption in 100 years.

Grimsvotn Volcano Eruption from Russia News"

The ash from Grimsvotn — about 120 miles east of the capital, Reykjavik — turned the sky black Sunday and rained down on nearby areas, covering buildings, cars and fields in a thick layer of gray soot. Civil protection workers helped farmers get their animals into shelter and urged residents to wear masks and stay indoors. No ash fell on the capital.

The eruption was far larger than last year's eruption at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano 80 miles away, but scientists said it was unlikely to have the same global impact as that one, which left 10 million travelers stranded around the world.

"It is not likely to be anything on the scale that was produced last year when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted," University of Iceland geophysicist Pall Einarsson said. "That was an unusual volcano, an unusual ash size distribution and unusual weather pattern, which all conspired together to make life difficult in Europe."

The ash from the Grimsvotn volcano has caused far fewer problems than ash from an Icelandic volcano last year, when more than 10 million people were hit by a six-day European airspace shutdown. Airlines put their revenue loss at $1.7 billion.

But the new volcano has exposed disarray among the people who decide on aviation safety as they try to apply new rules to avoid the en-masse shutdown of airspace last year.

Budget airline Ryanair was again vocal in its criticism and airline association IATA said more coordination was needed.

In Iceland, volcano experts had good news for airlines as they said the eruption was petering out.

"The eruption is nearing its death throes. It's not over yet, but it's dying," geophysicist Bjorn Oddson told local news portal Visir.

For Wednesday, Eurocontrol, the Brussels-based agency responsible for some of the world's busiest air corridors, said forecasts showed the ash cloud may affect parts of Denmark, southern Norway and southwest Sweden.

"This would have some impact on flights," it said. Its Twitter feed said new forecasts showed "no fly zone limited to south DK (Denmark), north DE (Germany) and partly Iceland."

Germany's meteorological service warned that the ash cloud could cause temporary airport closures in Hamburg and Bremen from midnight, and later possibly Berlin.

Traffic in Scotland and northern England was the main ash victim on Monday, but Britain said it thought this would ease. UK air traffic control body NATS said ash was expected over Britain from the early hours of Wednesday.

"At the moment we think Glasgow and Edinburgh will be affected throughout this afternoon but should be returning to normal tomorrow morning," British Transport Secretary Philip Hammond told BBC TV.

Among travelers affected were U.S. President Barack Obama (left), who left Ireland for Britain late on Monday ahead of schedule.

The Barcelona soccer team flew to London early for Saturday's Champions League final against Manchester United.

NEW RULES STILL IMPERFECT

Eurocontrol said the around 500 flights canceled on Tuesday were out of the about 29,000 expected that day.

But the new procedures that lie behind the avoidance of a shutdown of airspace put the onus on airlines to make judgments on whether it is safe to fly through ash, in coordination with the forecasting authorities and civil aviation bodies.

But the system, which has not yet been accepted by all European countries, depends first on assessing the amount and type of ash in the atmosphere (right) -- and only then allowing airlines to carry out their own assessments of the potential hazards.

Showing the problems, sources disclosed that a British research plane designed to sample ash remained grounded for a second day in a wrangle over its deployment. Airlines are putting pressure on authorities to release the BAE-146 aircraft (left), co-owned by the weather office and a government research body, but have been told that it may not be available until later in the week, the officials said.

Getting close to the ash to examine the type and density of particles is key to efforts to prevent a repeat of last year's crippling six-day shutdown of European airspace, which left over 10 million people struggling to cope with canceled flights.

The rules are also not accepted by all, with Germany backing a tougher stance for the sake of safety, aviation sources said.

"The potential for a patchwork of inconsistent state decisions on airspace management still exists ...," IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani said in a statement.

Stuffed with sophisticated sensors, the BAE-146 research plane based at a university airstrip north of London is not the only means available to allow officials to gauge the risk from volcanic dust that can sandblast planes and clog their engines.

Others being deployed to avoid a new crisis include weather balloons (right), ground-based lasers and satellite imagery, backed up by reports from civil and military pilots.

Ryanair said it had safely sent two planes into what authorities had deemed high ash zones over Scotland.

"You have to ask why a combination of bureaucratic incompetence in the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and the Met Office last night shut the skies over Scotland ...," Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary told BBC television.

Technically, Britain and Ireland have ruled out closing their airspace for now but the new rules only give pilots discretion to fly through the worst-risk areas if airlines had submitted an approved safety case, which the CAA said none had.

WORST OF ERUPTION OVER

In Norway, helicopter services to North Sea oil operations faced problems. Denmark shut a small area of its airspace.

After being warned that ash could reach western France, the French aviation authority said in a statement it was "very optimistic" about the coming days, with French airspace only very marginally affected.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is due to host Obama and other G8 leaders in northern France this week.

Met Office meteorologist Halldor Bjornsson said that the signs of less activity were the fact that radar showed the ash plume was down to 5 km or less and that seismic data measuring eruptions also showed a tailing off. "It all fits in with the same picture that the worst of this eruption is over,"

He said the ash now drifting over Europe was the ash from the powerful, first stage of the eruption and that the current height of the plume meant no new ash was feeding the cloud.

Grimsvotn (left) erupted on Saturday and smoke belched as high as 20 km (12 miles) into the sky.

The eruption is the volcano's most powerful since 1873 and stronger than the volcano that caused trouble last year.

Impact of volcanic ash in Europe

Source:
Reuters,"Ash to hit northern Europe but volcano dying down", accessed May 24, 2011
MSNBC, "12-mile-high ash plume shutters Iceland airports", accessed May 22, 2011
Reuters, "Grounded British test plane highlights ash data gaps", accessed May 24, 2011