Southeast Asia's Tropical Peatlands could Disappear by 2030

Like Southeast Asia's tropical rainforests, the region's peatlands are disappearing at alarming rates. In fact, they could vanish altogether by 2030, says a new study published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

Found mainly in peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, and Sumatra, peatlands consist of partially decayed organic material saturated by water. They form an important carbon sink, keeping large quantities of carbon out of the atmosphere while providing habitat for certain species of wildlife. However, tropical peatlands are disappearing due to increased draining, fires, and other ecosystem changes, releasing vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere

In Indonesia and Malaysia, the palm oil industry has played a large role in the destruction of peatlands. Palm oil has become an important export used in numerous products from foods to cleaning supplies. The two nations are the world's largest exporters of palm oil, with Indonesia producing 87 percent of the world's supply, according to a March 2011 Nature article.

Between 1990 and 2010, the percentage of original peatland coverage dropped by 41 percent, says Dave Mosher in Science magazine. About 2,700 square kilometers of Southeast Asian peatlands disappear each year, he adds.

Peatlands form in wet lowland areas where lack of oxygen keeps vegetable matter from completely breaking down. The organic material piles up in partially decayed layers. Because peatlands are saturated by water, they are often called peat swamps. In the tropics, they form at about .5 mm to .20 mm per year, says the ASEAN Peatlands Forest Project (APFP). Existing peatlands have taken thousands of years to form. Preserving the remaining peatlands would require dramatic measures to protect them.

With 21 million hectares of peatlands, Indonesia holds the most by a wide margin. In May 2010, Indonesia pledged to implement a two-year moratorium on clearing natural forests and peatlands at the beginning of 2011, as part of a $1 billion agreement with Norway. However, the Indonesian president has yet to sign the decree, presumably because of confusion over what type of forest should be protected. Much of the country's forests and peatlands have been affected by humans, leading to ambiguity over what is ''natural.''

Six thousand species of animals live only in Southeast Asia's peatlands, says Mosher. Orangutans, critically endangered in Sumatra and endangered in Borneo, live in peatlands as well as fast-disappearing lowland forests. Further, the world's peatlands store more carbon than the rest of the world's plants combined, according to APFP.

Food prices driven up by global warming, study shows

Global warming has already harmed the world's food production and has driven up food prices by as much as 20% over recent decades, new research has revealed.

The drop in the productivity of crop plants around the world was not caused by changes in rainfall but was because higher temperatures can cause dehydration, prevent pollination and lead to slowed photosynthesis.
Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, Washington DC, said the findings indicate a turning point: "Agriculture as it exists today evolved over 11,000 years of reasonably stable climate, but that climate system is no more." Adaptation is difficult because our knowledge of the future is not strong enough to drive new investments, he said, "so we just keep going, hoping for the best."

The scientists say their work shows how crucial it is to find ways to adapt farming to a warmer world, to ensure that rises in global population are matched by rising food production. "It is vital," said Wolfram Schlenker, at Columbia University in New York and one of the research team. "If we continue to have the same seed varieties and temperatures continue to rise, then food prices will rise further. [Addressing] that is the big question."

The new research joins a small number of studies in which the fingerprint of climate change has been separated from natural variations in weather and other factors, demonstrating that the effects of warming have already been felt in the world. Scientists have shown that the chance of the severe heatwave that killed thousands in Europe in 2003 was made twice as likely by global warming, while other work showed that the floods that caused £3.5bn of damage in England in 2000 were made two to three times more likely.
Food prices have reached new record highs this year, and have been implicated as a trigger for unrest in the Middle East and Africa. A rising appetite for meat is a critical factor, said Wolfram. "We actually have enough calories to feed the world quite comfortably, the problem is meat is really inefficient," as many kilogrammes of grain are needed to produce one kilogramme of meat, he said. "As countries get richer and have a preference for meat, which is more expensive, they price people in poorer countries out of the market."

"The research provides evidence of big shifts in wheat and maize production," commented Prof Tim Wheeler at the Walker Institute for Climate System Research, Reading University, UK, who added it had involved "heroic" statistical analysis. But he said that, while long-term climate change impacts were another pressure on food prices, short-term price spikes were linked to extreme weather events, such as the Russian heatwaves and wildfires in 2010.
The study, published in the journal Science, examined how rising temperatures affected the annual crop yields of all major producer nations between 1980 and 2008. Computer models were used to show how much grain would have been harvested in the absence of warming. Overall, yields have been rising over the last decades and the models took this into account. The scientists found that global wheat production was 33m tonnes (5.5%) lower than it would have been without warming and maize production was 23m tonnes (3.8%) lower. Specific countries fared worse than the average, with Russia losing 15% of its potential wheat crop, and Brazil, Mexico and Italy suffering above average losses. Some countries experienced lower production of rice and soybeans, although these drops were offset by gains in other countries.
The losses drove up food prices by as much as 18.9%, the team calculated, although the rise could be as low as 6.4% if the increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere strongly boosts plant growth and yields - a factor that is not well understood by scientists.

Global food prices have risen by about 200% in recent years, says Schlenker. Other causes of the rise are the increased demand for meat and the diversion of food into biofuels. Nonetheless, the researchers conclude that the negative impact on crops overall is "likely to be incurring large economic and health costs".
The US, which has the world's largest share of overall production, stood out in the analysis because it appears to have lost no production to climate change as yet. Schlenker said this was because the rise in temperature there was very small compared to other parts of the world. This was perhaps due simply to luck with the weather, or the cooling influence of aerosol particles, such as soot, that blocks warming.
"US farmers are having a good time in the sense that their yields have not been impacted much and prices have been pretty high, so for them it has been pretty profitable," he said. "But most climate models predict that eventually the US will warm."

Adapting farming to climate change could involved moving to cooler areas as existing areas warm, said Schlenker, but often soils are poorer in the new locations. He highlighted the potential of biotechnology - genetic engineering - to develop new crop varieties that are more resistant to heat, but said the potential remains unproven. "What happens over the next 20 years depends on how optimistic you are about finding those extra ways of adapting."

source 

Laut Menghangat Bikin Populasi Ikan Berkurang

Singapura - Studi baru menunjukkan, meningkatnya suhu laut secara acak di beberapa bagian dunia berdampak pada populasi ikan yang semakin berkurang jumlahnya.

Laut yang menghangat membuat pertumbuhan ikan terhambat. Parahnya, hal ini bisa meningkatkan stres bahkan risiko kematian ikan.

Hasil studi ini berdasarkan penelitan ilmuwan Australia yang berfokus pada spesies ikan Morwong di Laut Tasman, di antara Australia dan Selandia Baru.

Para ilmuwan menemukan, pertumbuhan ikan Morwong di beberapa wilayah melambat akibat naiknya suhu air laut hingga dua derajat celcius dalam kurun 60 tahun terakhir.

Penelitian yang diterbitkan dalam jurnal Nature Climate Change ini mengungkapkan, selain ikan Morwong, efek perubahan suhu juga berdampak pada jenis ikan lain dan terumbu karang.

"Sektor perikanan akan rugi besar,” papar Ron Thresher dari badan penelitian CSIRO.

Seperti dikutip Reuters, "Melalui penelitian ini, kami menemukan bukti pertumbuhan ikan melambat dan stres pada ikan mencapai ambang batas,” tutupnya

Sumber :  http://id.berita.yahoo.com/laut-menghangat-bikin-populasi-ikan-berkurang-190400519.html

Climate Change Population Increase Feather Worm

Climate change, especially the environmental temperature influence the population of caterpillars, because of increasing temperatures can accelerate the life cycle of caterpillar that, experts said pests and plant diseases, Faculty of Agriculture, Gadjah Mada University Suputa. ”The increased population of caterpillars is also due to the reduction in natural enemies, such as birds, parasitoids, and other predators,” he said in the discussion Pests Plague Worm Feather phenomenon in East Java, Yogyakarta, on Thursday.
According to him, due to high population, attacks caterpillars in Probolinggo, East Java, the more apprehensive. Caterpillars not only attack the leaves of mango in the district banks, Leces, Those are, and Tegalsiwalan, but also enter the house residents.”Leaves of mango varieties in the area Manalagi devour caterpillars. Mango trees live twigs and stems,” he said.
He said, the caterpillars prefer the leaves of mango Manalagi attack than other varieties of mango trees. Selection of the host caterpillars adults was carried out when laying an egg. ”The caterpillar hairs not including butterflies, but moths compatriots. Allegedly moth caterpillars that are laid eggs in cracks in the skin of the mango tree or under a leaf,” he said.
According to him, attack caterpillars are not a new phenomenon, because previous similar attacks have occurred. In fact, never happened before Java chilli plants which wilted plant yellowing due to pest attack. ”There are two species of caterpillar that attacks the leaves of mango in Probolinggo, namely arctornis sp and Lymantria atemeles Collenette. Caterpillar hairs that are nocturnal, the caterpillars are active at night,” he said.
He said no wonder that on the night often sounded like rain, and it was actually caterpillars eating the leaves of mango. ”If this worm attacks left unchecked, it will be many parties suffered losses. In addition to fear of economic losses as well,” he said.
Therefore, the control of caterpillar populations into steps that must be done immediately. Moreover, silkworm egg production capacity reaches 70-300 eggs per female worm. ”Integrated pest control by utilization of natural enemies, birds, parasitoids, UV light traps, pheromone traps and the use needs to be done,” he said.

Source. http://scienceray.com

Lenovo ThinkPad Captures UL's Environment Gold Rating UL Environment put the laptop to test for sustainable lifecycle design

Lenovo has announced that it has become the first company to earn a Gold rating for the laptop category in UL Environment’s new Sustainable Product Certification (SPC) for high-tech equipment. UL Environment tested the upcoming ThinkPad T420 laptop, to be introduced later this month, for the most stringent and prestigious of three levels of compliance.

“Becoming the first PC-maker with a UL Environment Gold-certified laptop reconfirms efforts we’ve made to green our products and advancing sustainability throughout our organization,” said Rob Taylor, director of environmental affairs, Lenovo. “Our upcoming products, like the ThinkPad T420, demonstrate that we can make high performance technology that’s environmentally responsible.”

In order to determine compliance with the IEEE 1680 sustainability standard, UL Environment assessed product documentation and records, physically examined product samples, independently tested the product for compliance to Energy Star 5.0 requirements, and conducted onsite audits of manufacturing facilities. UL Environment-certified environmental criteria include the elimination or reduction of certain hazardous substances that pose threats to human health and the environment. 

"UL’s trusted independent testing and certification program helps companies differentiate their products based on tested and validated environmental performance,” said Steve Wenc, president of UL Environment. “Companies like Lenovo that choose third-party certification to environmental standards are not only encouraging customer peace of mind, but they are raising the sustainability bar for their industry peers.”

As part of its Environmentally Conscious Products program, Lenovo built the laptop with the entire lifecycle in mind, starting with using low halogen and post-consumer recycled content (PCC). The company has used more than 9,500 metric tons of PCC since September 2005 to reduce use of raw materials. All ThinkPad laptops contain PCC with several upcoming ones containing more than 10 percent PCC. Additionally, ThinkCentre desktops and ThinkVision monitors incorporate more at roughly 65 percent on average.

To maximize energy efficiency during use, Think-branded products meet and exceed Energy Star 5.0 requirements. More than 50 Think-branded products, like the T420, are certified to meet other eco-labels including Nordic Swan and Electronics Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Gold rating. 

Source. Environmental Protection

Happy Earth Hour 2011

What is Earth Hour?

Earth Hour is a global grass-roots movement encouraging individuals, businesses and governments around the world to take positive actions for the environment, and celebrating their commitment to the planet by switching off their lights for one designated hour.

Earth Hour 2011 aims to show the actions that people, businesses and governments world-wide are taking to reduce their environmental impact. Thereby establishing and encouraging others to join an interconnected global community engaged in dialogue and resource sharing that generates real solutions to environmental challenges.

The highlight of Earth Hour 2011 will see the world’s most iconic landmarks go dark for one designated hour, as hundreds of millions of people transcend race, religion, culture, society, generation and geography, switching off their lights in a global celebration of their commitment to protect the one thing that unites us all – the planet.

 

When does Earth Hour take place?

Earth Hour 2011 will be held on Saturday March 26 between 8.30PM and 9.30PM in your local time zone.

What does Earth Hour ask people to do?

Earth Hour encourages individuals, businesses and governments to show leadership on environmental solutions through their actions, to use Earth Hour as a platform to showcase to the world what measures they are taking to reduce their environmental impact.

Earth Hour asks everyone to take personal accountability for their impact on the planet and make behavioural changes to facilitate a sustainable lifestyle.

Taking the first step is as easy as turning off your lights. By switching off your lights for Earth Hour you are acknowledging and celebrating your commitment to do something more for the planet that goes beyond the hour. 

Does this mean during Earth Hour I have to turn off everything in my home and use absolutely no electricity?

No. The main point of Earth Hour is to show the world that a solution to the world’s environmental challenges is possible if we work on them together – together our actions add up!

Earth Hour only asks that you turn off non-essential lighting. This does not mean you have to turn off your refrigerator, but we do encourage you to be part of this global action by switching off your lights, as well as making a commitment to go beyond the hour with a long-term behavioural change.

Safety and security lighting should remain on.

How long has Earth Hour been going for?

Earth Hour began in one city in 2007 when more than two million individuals and two thousand businesses in Sydney, Australia turned off their lights for one hour on Saturday 31 March 2007 to take a stand on climate change.

In the space of three short years Earth Hour grew to become the greatest environmental action in history with individuals, businesses and governments across 128 countries coming together for Earth Hour 2010 to show the path to a sustainable future is a collective journey. More than 1000 of the world’s man-made marvels and natural wonders, including the Pyramids in Egypt, Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, Niagara Falls, Beijing’s Forbidden City, Cape Town’s Table Mountain, Sydney Opera House, Buckingham Palace and Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, stood in darkness symbolising a landmark moment in the planet’s environmental consciousness.

source. www.earthhour.org

Is Japan's tsunami linked to climate change?

Could the earthquake that triggered Japan's devastating tsunami be linked to climate change?

The short answer is probably not, but recent research suggests that changing climate has the potential to influence earthquakes in some parts of the world

Scientists have shown that weight shifts caused by melting glaciers can trigger tectonic activity. As ice melts and waters runs off, tremendous amounts of weight are lifted off Earth's crust. As the newly freed crust settles back to its original, pre-glacier shape, it can cause seismic plates to slip and stimulate volcanic activity, according to research into prehistoric earthquakes and volcanic activity.

. Map of the Senadai Earthquake 2011

Analyzing an 800,000-year record of volcanic activity in eastern California, Allen Glazner, a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill geoscientist, found evidence that "peaks of volcanic activity occurred when ice was retreating globally," as told to the Wall Street Jorunal's Sharon Begley in 2006. "At first I thought it was crazy, but other scientists also found evidence that climate affects volcanism."

With Earth's glaciers and ice gaps melting at increasing rates due to climate change, it is conceivable that we could see further impact from "isostatic rebound" in the Earth's crust. Work by Patrick Wu, a professor of geophysics of the University of Calgary, suggests that past disappearance of ice "may still be contributing to quakes in eastern Canada."

"The pressure of the ice sheet suppresses earthquakes, so removing that load triggers them," Wu told Begley. "Present-day earthquakes may have their origin in postglacial rebound."

Bill McGuire, professor of Geophysical Hazards at University College, spelled out the scenario further in a 2006 article in New Scientist, titled "Climate change: Tearing the Earth apart?"

"It shouldn't come as a surprise that the loading and unloading of the Earth's crust by ice or water can trigger seismic and volcanic activity and even landslides. Dumping the weight of a kilometer-thick ice sheet onto a continent or removing a deep column of water from the ocean floor will inevitably affect the stresses and strains on the underlying rock," he wrote. "[While] not every volcanic eruption and earthquake in the years to come will have a climate-change link... [As] the century progresses we should not be surprised by more geological disasters as a direct and indirect result of dramatic changes to our environment."

Japan's quake

Japan lies in one of the world's most seismically active areas between four major continental and oceanic plates: the Pacific Plate, Philippine Plate, Eurasian Plate and North American Plate. The country accounts for roughly 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or bigger. It has also suffered from more than 200 tsunamis (tsunami is a Japanese word).

Nevertheless the March 11, 2011 quake had a devastating impact. The 8.9-magnitude earthquake was centered 130 kilometers (81 mi) east of Sendai, Honshu, Japan, or 373 kilometers (232 mi) from Tokyo, according to the United States Geological Survey. It generated a tsunami that caused waves of up to 10 meters to swamp coastal areas of eastern Japan. Thousands were feared dead in the immediate aftermath of the quake and tsunami.

The earthquake was the strongest on record for Japan and one of the world's five most powerful earthquakes since modern seismological record-keeping began. 

source. http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0311-japan_tsunami_climate.html?newsmenu