Monday, August 31, 2009

100 days to save the climate....way to Copenhagen

There are 100 days remaining until the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen, where urgent action is needed by world leaders in order to save our climate.

We now have 100 days until Copenhagen. Greenpeace China displayed 100 children carved from ice at the Temple of Earth in Beijing today, to symbolise the “disappearing future” for the 1.3 billion people in Asia at risk of water shortage as a result of climate change. This event, matched in India with another ice sculpture, marks the 100-day countdown before the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen - where we are urging governments to take strong, effective action to stop climate change.

The melting sculptures of 100 children are made from Himalayan glacier water from the source of Yangtse, Yellow and Ganges rivers. The ice sculpture in India is a huge “100” on a World Map and was unveiled in New Delhi to show “the world washed away” by glacial melts.

A climate tipping point is unfolding in the Himalayas. The rapid melting of glaciers caused by global warming is jeopardising the water supply for 1.3 billion Asians who live in the watershed of the 7 great rivers that originate in the region. If we cannot stop runaway climate change, babies born today – at this moment – will face a very different reality when they grow up, where water availability would be a serious problem.

The Himalayan glaciers are melting at a rate faster than recorded for other glaciers anywhere in the world. The IPCC suggests that glacier coverage will fall by at least 43 percent and possibly as much as 81 percent by the end of the century - depending on how effectively we act to restrain our greenhouse gas emissions.

China and India together account for one-third of the world’s population but both countries’ water resources (per capita are far below the global average. The two largest developing countries share the challenge of balancing the goals of development and environmental protection. They must pursue a low-carbon development path if we are to avert environmental and humanitarian disaster.

Link Green Peace

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Trees colonize new territories in response to higher temperatures

Reports indicate that trees around the world are colonizing new territories in response to higher temperatures, all thanks to global warming.From the US west coast to northern Siberia and south-east Asia, trees are growing at higher elevations, and at higher latitudes as the climate warms. According to a report by BBC News, of 166 sites studied, trees are advancing at more than half, while they are receding at just two sites.


The shift is revealed by the first global analysis of treelines published in the journal Ecology Letters.However, the trees aren't responding quite how scientists expected. Instead of advancing as summer temperatures rise, the trees' ability to colonize new areas appears to be more dependent on whether winter temperatures warm. Treelines tend to form wherever conditions for growth become too harsh.

For example, at high altitudes and latitudes, the climate often becomes too cold for trees to survive. At this boundary, a treeline occurs, with forest on one side and shorter, hardier plants such as shrubs and plants on the other.

However, around the world, average air temperatures have risen during the past century. This warming has been most pronounced at high altitudes and latitudes, the exact places where treelines form. So, in theory, trees should take advantage of these warmer, more hospitable climates, allowing treelines to advance higher and closer towards the poles.

In reality though, the picture has been more complicated. In some places, trees have advanced higher up mountains or further north, but in others they appear not to have moved. To better understand what is going on, Melanie Harsch of the Bio-Protection Research Centre at Lincoln University in New Zealand and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of a global dataset of 166 sites around the world at which treeline dynamics have been recorded since 1900 AD.

When they analyzed this data, the researchers found that air temperatures had increased at 111 of 166 sites, at an average rate of 0.013 degrees Celsius per year. Summer warming occurred at 117 of the sites at a mean of 0.0189 degrees Celsius per year, more often than winter warming which occurred at 77 sites at an average of 0.0199 degrees Celsius per year.

Most important, they found that treelines had advanced into previously inhospitable habitat at 87 sites. The treelines remained stable at 77 sites, while trees had retreated at just two locations. Crucially, the trees do not seem to be responding to warmer summer temperatures. "We expected growing season warming to be the dominant driver," said Harsch. "But we found that it was not, winter temperature was," she added.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Climate change hits millions in Nepal

Millions of people in Nepal face severe food shortage as changing weather patterns hit crop production in the country, an international aid agency warned.Climate changes have dramatically affected crop yields in Nepal, leaving farmers unable to properly feed themselves, and pushing them deeper into debts, Oxfam International said in a report released here.

According to the report, "Even the Himalayas Have Stopped Smiling: Climate Change, Poverty and Adaptation in Nepal", more than 3.4 million people in Nepal are estimated to require food assistance, due to a combination of natural disasters, including last year's winter drought -- one of the worst in the country's history. Calling the situation "deeply worrying", the report says the crop production is nearly half that of previous years. "Poor farmers rely on rainfall. They farm small areas of land which, at the best of times, can barely produce enough food for the family," said Oxfam's Nepal country director, Wayne Gum. Higher food prices have also reduced people's ability to purchase food, adds the report. Among recent changes in weather patterns in Nepal are an increase in temperature extremes, more intense rainfall and increased unpredictability in weather patterns, including drier winters and delays in the summer monsoons.
Link PTI

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Environmental stress might be shrinking polar bears.

A new research has indicated that environmental stress could be causing physical changes in the bears, making them shrink over the last century.

According to a report by BBC News, the conclusion was arrived at by scientists after comparing bear skulls from the early 20th Century with those from the latter half of the century.

Their study describes changes in size and shape that could be linked an increase in pollution and the reduction in sea ice.

Physical "stress" caused by pollutants in the bears' bodies, and the increased effort needed to find food, could limit the animals' growth, according to the team.

The researchers used skulls as indicators of body size. The skulls from the later period were between two and 9 percent smaller. "Because the ice is melting, the bears have to use much more energy to hunt their prey," explained Cino Pertoldi, professor of biology from Aarhus University and the Polish Academy of Science, and lead scientist in this study. "Imagine you have two twins, one is well fed during its growth and one is starving. (The starving) one will be much smaller, because it will not have enough energy to allocate to growth," he said.

The team, which included colleagues from Aarhus University's Department of Arctic Environment, also found shape differences between the skulls from the different periods. "This development was slightly more mysterious," said Dr Pertoldi.

He explained that it was not possible to determine the cause, but that the changes could be linked to the environment - more specifically to pollutants that have built up in the Arctic, and in the polar bears' bodies.

The aim of the study was to compare two groups of animals that lived during periods when sea ice extent and pollution levels were very different. The pollutants that the scientists focused on were compounds containing carbon and halogens - fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine.

Some of these compounds have already been phased out, but many still have important uses in industry. These include solvents, pesticides, refrigerants, adhesives and coatings. The changes, according to the team, could also be related to a reduction in the genetic diversity of the species.

Hunting over the last century could have depleted the gene pool, leaving polar bears to suffer the effects of inbreeding, according to Dr Pertoldi.

"We also know from previous studies that some chlorinated chemical pollutants have affected the fertility of the females," he said.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Global warming will affect Earth’s tilt’

Influx Of Water From Shrinking Ice Sheets Will Change The Axis Of Rotation From The Present 23.5°

A new study has suggested that global warming may heat up oceans to the extent that it could cause Earth’s axis to tilt in the coming century. According to a report in New Scientist, the warming effect was previously thought to be negligible, but researchers now say the shift will be large enough that it should be taken into account when interpreting how the Earth wobbles. The Earth spins on an axis that is tilted some 23.5 degrees from the vertical. But this position is far from constant — the planet’s axis is constantly shifting in response to changes in the distribution of mass around the Earth.


“The Earth is like a spinning top, and if you put more mass on one side or other, the axis of rotation is going to shift slightly,” said Felix Landerer of Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The changing climate has long been known to move Earth’s axis. The influx of fresh water from shrinking ice sheets also causes the planet to pitch over.

Landerer and colleagues estimate that the melting of Greenland’s ice is already causing Earth’s axis to tilt at an annual rate of about 2.6 centimetres — and that rate may increase significantly in the coming years. Now, they calculate that oceans warmed by the rise in greenhouse gases can also cause the Earth to tilt — a conclusion that runs counter to older models, which suggested that ocean expansion would not create a large shift in the distribution of the Earth’s mass.

The researchers modelled the changes that would occur if moderate projections made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — a doubling of carbon dioxide levels between 2000 and 2100 — were to become reality. The team found that as the oceans warm and expand, more water will be pushed up and onto the Earth’s shallower ocean shelves.

Over the next century, the subtle effect is expected to cause the northern pole of Earth’s spin axis to shift by roughly 1.5 centimetres per year in the direction of Alaska and Hawaii. The motion is strong enough that it needs to be taken into account when interpreting shifts in Earth’s axis. Tracking the motion of the poles could help place limits on the total amount of sea level rise over decades.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

China's panda could be extinct in 2-3 generations:


China's giant panda could be extinct in just two to three generations as rapid economic development is infringing on its way of life, state media said, citing an expert at conservation group WWF.

The problem is that the pandas' habitat is being split up into ever smaller patches, preventing the animals from roaming freely for mating partners and in turn endangering their gene pool, the Global Times reported.


"If the panda cannot mate with those from other habitats, it may face extinction within two to three generations," said Fan Zhiyong, Beijing-based species programme director for WWF. "We have to act now."

The risk of inbreeding is increasing, threatening to reduce the panda's resistance to diseases and lowering its ability to reproduce, the paper said. Fan said that highways pose major restrictions on the panda's free movement. "We may have to give up building some infrastructure," Fan said. "I don't know the solution to this problem."

There are about 1,590 pandas living in the wild around China, mostly in southwestern Sichuan, northern Shaanxi and northwestern Gansu provinces. A total of 180 have been bred in captivity, according to earlier reports.

Link Telegraph


Sunday, August 16, 2009

India is now a major carbon sink

India is rapidly transforming itself into a major carbon sink igniting hopes of big funds for maintaining

natural green cover, a new report has said.The report titled "India's Forest and Tree Cover" prepared by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests said that from 1995 to 2005, the carbon stocks stored in the country's forests and trees have increased from 6,245 million tonnes to 6,662 million tonnes registering an annual increment of 38 million tonnes of carbon or 138 million ton of Carbon dioxide.

The report, which was released by Union Minister of state for Forests and Environment Jairam Ramesh recently here, also said that India can get Rs 6,000 crore every year for its carbon sink assuming the value of $7 per ton of Carbon dioxide.

Noting that the forest cover accounts for 2.8% of India's total geographical area, the report said, the forest and tree cover is enough to neutralise 11.23% of the country's total green house emissions at 1994 level.


This is equivalent to offsetting 100% emissions from all energy in residential and transport sectors or 40 per cent of the total emissions from
agriculture sector.

Link TOI

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Plastic free Chilkur temple -Visa Balaji
Chilkur, the home of ‘Visa Balaji’, became ‘plastic-free’, by a pilot project initiated by the Temple Management Committee making available to thousands of devotees bags made of handloom cloth supplied by APCO.
Coinciding with the Independence Day, a new environment-friendly tradition came into existence at the Chilkur Balaji temple, known for its unique system of worship with no ‘Hundi’ collections or ‘VIP darshan’. ‘Say No to Plastic’ , the pilot scheme taken up by the Chilkur Balaji temple to allow only handloom bags and launched on Saturday, saw sale of 15,000 handloom bags out of 20,000 bags sourced by it. The scheme got all the encouragement from the State government and Apco which supplied the handloom scrap at 80 per cent subsidy for making the bags. The first day sees sale of 15,000 handloom bags
“The decision to meet the objectives of helping the traditional handloom weavers and doing our bit to protect environment by eliminating non bio-degradable plastic bags, evoked cooperation from devotees and vendors,” said temple hereditary trustee and Protection of Temples Movement convenor M.V.Soundar Rajan. Dr. Soundar Rajan said that over 100 vendors who sell ‘puja’ material on the temple premises switched over to handloom bags.
The temple attracts about 6,000 devotes on normal days and 15,000 to 20,000 devotees on week-ends and its annual consumption of handloom cloth is around two lakh metres. Apart from Apco, the cloth is also sourced from Sircilla Handloom Weavers Society directly without any subsidy and is given to the ‘Mahila Pranganam’ members to stitch the bags. If government extended the subsidy scheme to other cooperative societies, the cost of bags can be further brought down.
The biggest temple in the world , famous Balaji Temple, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, should also make Tirumala as ‘plastic-free’

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

A global rainfall atlas!

A page from the ANU Atlas of the Global Water Cycle.
Scientists have created the first comprehensive visual atlas of global rainfall, which they claim shows the projections of downpour around the world over the next century. An international team, led by the Australian National University, has created the Atlas of the Global Water Cycle based on all of the models used by India's RK Pauchuri-headed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its report. According to the scientists, the atlas contains 300 pages of global maps and tables showing current and projected measures of rainfall, evaporation and runoff.

The atlas illustrates the projections of each of the 20 computer models used by different countries to forecast future water cycles -- data drawn upon by the IPCC in its reporting on climate change. Lead scientist Dr Michael Roderick said: "We know that as the world warms there is likely to be more rainfall on a global average basis. But where is this increased rainfall going to occur, and which areas might get drier? "These are simple questions to ask, but it is surprisingly hard for an individual to get an answer, whether they're a farmer, civil engineer, teacher or citizen. "As researchers active in the field we couldn't answer the question with certainty. In fact, until now we have never seen a compilation of the individual rainfall predictions made by all the differentclimate models."


The Atlas of the Global Water Cycle was launched in Canberra last week and is available for sale in hard copy or free download from ANU at: http://epress.anu.edu.au/global_water_cycle/pdf_instructions.html

Link Country News

Flying frog among 353 new Himalayan species

Over 350 new species including the world’s smallest deer, a “flying frog” and a 100 million-year old gecko have been discovered in the Eastern Himalayas, a biological treasure trove now threatened by climate change.

Smallest Deer © Alan Rabinowitz/ WWF Nepal
A decade of research carried out by scientists in remote mountain areas endangered by rising global temperatures brought exciting discoveries such as a bright green frog (Rhacophorus suffry) which uses its red and long webbed feet to glide in the air.

One of the most significant findings was not exactly “new” in the classic sense. A 100-million year-old gecko, the oldest fossil gecko species known to science, was discovered in an amber mine in the Hukawng Valley in Himalayan regions of far northern Myanmar.

The WWF report The Eastern Himalayas – Where Worlds Collide details discoveries made by scientists from various organizations between 1998 and 2008 in a region reaching across Bhutan and north-east India to the far north of Myanmar as well as Nepal and southern parts of Tibet Autonomus Region (China).

“This enormous cultural and biological diversity underscores the fragile nature of an environment which risks being lost forever unless the impacts of climate change are reversed,” said Tariq Aziz, the leader of WWF's Living Himalayas Initiative.

“People and wildlife form a rich mosaic of life across this rugged and remarkable landscape, making it among the biologically richest areas on Earth. But the Himalayas are also among the most vulnerable to global climate change.”

In December world leaders will gather in Copenhagen to reach an agreement on a new climate deal, which will replace the existing Kyoto Protocol.

“Only an ambitious and fair deal based on an agreement between rich and poor countries can save the planet and its treasures such as the Himalayas from devastating climate change,” said Kim Carstensen, the Leader of the WWF’s Global Climate Initiative.

The Eastern Himalayas report also mentions the miniature muntjac, also called the “leaf deer” (Muntiacus putaoensis) which is the world’s oldest and smallest deer species.

Scientists initially believed the small creature found in the world’s largest mountain range was a juvenile of another species but DNA tests confirmed the light brown animal with innocent dark eyes was a distinct and new species.

The Eastern Himalayas are now known to harbour a staggering 10,000 plant species, 300 mammal species, 977 bird species, 176 reptiles, 105 amphibians and 269 types of freshwater fish. The region also has the highest density of the Bengal tiger and is the last bastion of the charismatic greater one-horned rhino.

WWF aims to conserve the habitat of endangered species such as the majestic snow leopard, Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, red pandas, takins, golden langurs, rare Gangetic dolphins and one-horned rhinos as well as thousands of plant and animal species left to discover in the Eastern Himalayas region.

Eastern Himalayas- Where Worlds Collide describes more than 350 new species discovered - including 244 plants, 16 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 14 fish, 2 birds, 2 mammals and at least 60 new invertebrates.

Historically, the rugged and largely inaccessible landscape of the Eastern Himalayas has made biological surveys in the region extremely difficult. As a result, wildlife has remained poorly surveyed and there are large areas that are still biologically unexplored.

Today further species continue to be unearthed and many more species of amphibians, reptiles and fish are currently in the process of being officially named by scientists. The Eastern Himalayas is certainly one of the last biological frontiers of Asia with many new discoveries waiting to be made.