Showing posts with label Eco news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eco news. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Carbon offsets near record low !!!
A worsening global economic outlook has dented prices for emissions permits which depend on a robust economy belching greenhouse gases into the air, and has also impacted oil, grains, coal and natural gas.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Himalaya glaciers shrinking on global warming, some may disappear
Three Himalaya
glaciers have been shrinking over the last 40 years due to global
warming and two of them, located in humid regions and on lower altitudes
in central and east Nepal, may disappear in time to come, researchers
in Japan said.
Using global positioning system and simulation models, they found that the shrinkage of two of the glaciers -- Yala in central and AX010 in eastern Nepal -- had accelerated in the past 10 years compared with the 1970s and 1980s.
Yala's mass shrank by 0.8 (2.6 feet) and AX010 by 0.81 meters respectively per year in the 2000s, up from 0.68 and 0.72 meters per year between 1970 and 1990, said Koji Fujita at the Graduate School of Environmental Studies in Nagoya University in Japan.
"For Yala and AX, these regions showed significant warming ... that's why the rate of shrinking was accelerated," Fujita told Reuters by telephone.
"Yala and AX will disappear but we are not sure when. To know when, we have to calculate using another simulation (model) and take into account the glacial flow," Fujita said, but added that his team did not have the data to do so at the moment.
Their findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Tuesday.
The Himalayas is an enormous mountain range consisting of about 15,000 glaciers and some of the world's highest peaks, including the 8,848-meter-high Mount Everest and K2.
Apart from climate change and humidity, elevation also appears to play a critical role in the lifespan of glaciers, which are large persistent bodies of ice.
The Rikha Samba glacier in the drier region of west Nepal has also been getting smaller since the 1970s, but its rate of shrinking slowed to 0.48 meters per year in the past 10 years compared to 0.57 meters per year in the 1970s and 1980s.
This was because the 5,700-meter-high glacier was located on a higher altitude, which meant that losses in mass from melting could be compensated at least partly by collection of snowfall, Fujita said.
"In the case of Yala and AX, they are situated on lower elevation (altitudes), therefore shrinkage was accelerated. Glaciers that have no chance to get snow mass will eventually disappear," Fujita said.
Yala glacier is located about 5,400 meters above the sea level, while AX is 5,200 meters high.
Using global positioning system and simulation models, they found that the shrinkage of two of the glaciers -- Yala in central and AX010 in eastern Nepal -- had accelerated in the past 10 years compared with the 1970s and 1980s.
Yala's mass shrank by 0.8 (2.6 feet) and AX010 by 0.81 meters respectively per year in the 2000s, up from 0.68 and 0.72 meters per year between 1970 and 1990, said Koji Fujita at the Graduate School of Environmental Studies in Nagoya University in Japan.
"For Yala and AX, these regions showed significant warming ... that's why the rate of shrinking was accelerated," Fujita told Reuters by telephone.
"Yala and AX will disappear but we are not sure when. To know when, we have to calculate using another simulation (model) and take into account the glacial flow," Fujita said, but added that his team did not have the data to do so at the moment.
Their findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Tuesday.
The Himalayas is an enormous mountain range consisting of about 15,000 glaciers and some of the world's highest peaks, including the 8,848-meter-high Mount Everest and K2.
Apart from climate change and humidity, elevation also appears to play a critical role in the lifespan of glaciers, which are large persistent bodies of ice.
The Rikha Samba glacier in the drier region of west Nepal has also been getting smaller since the 1970s, but its rate of shrinking slowed to 0.48 meters per year in the past 10 years compared to 0.57 meters per year in the 1970s and 1980s.
This was because the 5,700-meter-high glacier was located on a higher altitude, which meant that losses in mass from melting could be compensated at least partly by collection of snowfall, Fujita said.
"In the case of Yala and AX, they are situated on lower elevation (altitudes), therefore shrinkage was accelerated. Glaciers that have no chance to get snow mass will eventually disappear," Fujita said.
Yala glacier is located about 5,400 meters above the sea level, while AX is 5,200 meters high.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Clean Energy Law Would Boost Jobs, Economy, Study Says
Comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation now before Congress could create 13,000 jobs in Montana by 2020 and would increase average household incomes in the state, according to research announced today by environmental groups.
The groups releasing the information include Climate Solutions and Montana Business Leaders for Clean Energy; CERES; the Clean Economy Network; and Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2).
According to the groups, “clean energy legislation would create 918,000 to 1.9 million new jobs nationally, and increase national GDP by $39 billion to $111 billion more than what would occur without the legislation.”
In Montana, passage of the legislation would increase the GDP by as much as $500 million a year, and could increase annual average household income by as much as $1,700, the study shows. (To read the study in full, go to E2’s list of individual states, and click on Montana.)
The research—a collaborative effort by the University of California, Yale University and the University of Illinois—looked at the impacts of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, which is being heard this week in the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee. The legislation calls for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and a cap-and-trade program for reducing carbon emissions.
Here are some highlights from the study, taken verbatim from the groups’ announcement:
–”Montana has significant and largely untapped potential renewable resources, particularly in wind power and biofuels.”
– “Energy efficiency provisions in the legislation will reduce the costs for transportation, heating, electricity, etc., saving households, farmers and ranchers, and businesses money—money they can spend on domestic goods and services and create jobs.”
–”Clean energy legislation will strengthen national security by reducing America’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.”
The groups releasing the information include Climate Solutions and Montana Business Leaders for Clean Energy; CERES; the Clean Economy Network; and Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2).
According to the groups, “clean energy legislation would create 918,000 to 1.9 million new jobs nationally, and increase national GDP by $39 billion to $111 billion more than what would occur without the legislation.”
In Montana, passage of the legislation would increase the GDP by as much as $500 million a year, and could increase annual average household income by as much as $1,700, the study shows. (To read the study in full, go to E2’s list of individual states, and click on Montana.)
The research—a collaborative effort by the University of California, Yale University and the University of Illinois—looked at the impacts of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, which is being heard this week in the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee. The legislation calls for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and a cap-and-trade program for reducing carbon emissions.
Here are some highlights from the study, taken verbatim from the groups’ announcement:
–”Montana has significant and largely untapped potential renewable resources, particularly in wind power and biofuels.”
– “Energy efficiency provisions in the legislation will reduce the costs for transportation, heating, electricity, etc., saving households, farmers and ranchers, and businesses money—money they can spend on domestic goods and services and create jobs.”
–”Clean energy legislation will strengthen national security by reducing America’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.”
New innovations in Saving energy
Hotel offers free meal to guests who are willing to generate electricity >
The Crown Plaza Hotel in Copenhagen , Denmark , is offering a free meal to any guest who is able to produce electricity for the hotel on an exercise bike attached to a generator. Guests will have to produce at least 10 watt hours of electricity - roughly 15 minutes of cycling for someone of average fitness. They will then be given meal vouchers worth $36 (26 euros).
Disco pub gets electricity produced by people dancing at specially modified dance floor
All the flashing strobes and pounding speakers at the dance club are massive consumers of electrical power. So Bar Surya, in London, re-outfitted its floor with springs that, when compressed by dancers, could produce electrical current that would be stored in batteries and used to offset some of the club's electrical burden. The club's owner, Andrew Charalambous, said the dance floor can now power 60 percent of the club's energy needs.
Company creates a desktop printer that doesn't use ink nor paper
Who says printers only use paper to print documents? It's time for you to meet the PrePeat Printer then. Different from conventional printers, PrePeat adopts a thermal head to print on specially-made plastic sheets. These plastic sheets are not merely water-proof, but could be easily erased, just feed the sheets through the printer again, and a different temperature will erase everything or just write over it. Also claimed by the manufacturer, such one sheet could be used up to 1,000 times so that you'll reduce your expenses on paper for sure.
University constructs a green roof as a gathering place
Green design is an enormously popular trend in modern architecture, just take a look at this amazing green roof at the School of Art , Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore . This 5-story facility sweeps a wooded corner of the campus with an organic, vegetated form that blends landscape and structure, nature and high-tech and symbolizes the creativity it houses. The roofs serve as informal gathering spaces challenging linear ideas and stirring perception. The roofs create open space, insulate the building, cool the surrounding air and harvest rainwater for landscaping irrigation. Planted grasses mix with native greenery to colonize the building and bond it to the setting.
Designer creates a sink that uses wasted water to grow a plant
Made of polished stained concrete, the Zen Garden Sink has a channel that allows the water used while washing your hands to water a plant. Created by young Montreal designer Jean-Michel Gauvreau the sink comes in single or double basin model. The sink is designed in a way you won't get your plants all soapy. There is a main drain at the bottom of the basin for soapy grime. Your little plant friend just gets whatever you choose to dole out.
Designer creates a shower that forces you to leave when you've wasted too much water
20% of our total domestic energy usage is from hot water for showering and bathing. That's over 6 times the energy usage of domestic lighting. So designer Tommaso Colia came up with his eco-friendly shower design that will force you to get out when you take too long and waste much water. The eco_drop shower features beautiful concentric circles that will rise to force you to stop showering when you take too long, and accordingly save water.
Designer creates light-switch that changes colors to teach children how to save energy
Teaching the importance of energy conservation is the goal of this design from Tim Holley. He calls it Tio, and it's a ghost-shaped light switch that gives kids a visual reminder of how much energy they've used by leaving lights on. Tio starts out green and smiling. If the light is left on for more than four hours, he turns yellow and looks shocked. And if you dare to leave that light on for more than eight hours, sweet little Tio turns into a raging red hulk, complete with frowny mouth and angry eyes. But he won't just visually remind your kids about their energy habits; information from the light switch is sent to Tio's computer program so the entire family can see how they're doing. In a brilliant piece of visual positive reinforcement, Holley's program lets kids grow a virtual tree which gets bigger and healthier the more energy they save.
Environmental company creates a staple-free stapler to avoid staple pollution
Staples are supposed to be so bad to the environment that a company decided to create a staple-free stapler. This product promises to make collation eco-friendly. Instead of using those thin metal planet-killers, the staple-free stapler "cuts out tiny strips of paper and uses the strips to stitch up to five pieces of paper together." You can even order them customized with your corporate logo so you can, you know, brag about what your company is doing to stop the staple epidemic.
Designer creates an iPhone charger powered by a hand grip
The Crown Plaza Hotel in Copenhagen , Denmark , is offering a free meal to any guest who is able to produce electricity for the hotel on an exercise bike attached to a generator. Guests will have to produce at least 10 watt hours of electricity - roughly 15 minutes of cycling for someone of average fitness. They will then be given meal vouchers worth $36 (26 euros).
Disco pub gets electricity produced by people dancing at specially modified dance floor
All the flashing strobes and pounding speakers at the dance club are massive consumers of electrical power. So Bar Surya, in London, re-outfitted its floor with springs that, when compressed by dancers, could produce electrical current that would be stored in batteries and used to offset some of the club's electrical burden. The club's owner, Andrew Charalambous, said the dance floor can now power 60 percent of the club's energy needs.
Company creates a desktop printer that doesn't use ink nor paper
Who says printers only use paper to print documents? It's time for you to meet the PrePeat Printer then. Different from conventional printers, PrePeat adopts a thermal head to print on specially-made plastic sheets. These plastic sheets are not merely water-proof, but could be easily erased, just feed the sheets through the printer again, and a different temperature will erase everything or just write over it. Also claimed by the manufacturer, such one sheet could be used up to 1,000 times so that you'll reduce your expenses on paper for sure.
University constructs a green roof as a gathering place
Green design is an enormously popular trend in modern architecture, just take a look at this amazing green roof at the School of Art , Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore . This 5-story facility sweeps a wooded corner of the campus with an organic, vegetated form that blends landscape and structure, nature and high-tech and symbolizes the creativity it houses. The roofs serve as informal gathering spaces challenging linear ideas and stirring perception. The roofs create open space, insulate the building, cool the surrounding air and harvest rainwater for landscaping irrigation. Planted grasses mix with native greenery to colonize the building and bond it to the setting.
Designer creates a sink that uses wasted water to grow a plant
Made of polished stained concrete, the Zen Garden Sink has a channel that allows the water used while washing your hands to water a plant. Created by young Montreal designer Jean-Michel Gauvreau the sink comes in single or double basin model. The sink is designed in a way you won't get your plants all soapy. There is a main drain at the bottom of the basin for soapy grime. Your little plant friend just gets whatever you choose to dole out.
Designer creates a shower that forces you to leave when you've wasted too much water
20% of our total domestic energy usage is from hot water for showering and bathing. That's over 6 times the energy usage of domestic lighting. So designer Tommaso Colia came up with his eco-friendly shower design that will force you to get out when you take too long and waste much water. The eco_drop shower features beautiful concentric circles that will rise to force you to stop showering when you take too long, and accordingly save water.
Designer creates light-switch that changes colors to teach children how to save energy
Teaching the importance of energy conservation is the goal of this design from Tim Holley. He calls it Tio, and it's a ghost-shaped light switch that gives kids a visual reminder of how much energy they've used by leaving lights on. Tio starts out green and smiling. If the light is left on for more than four hours, he turns yellow and looks shocked. And if you dare to leave that light on for more than eight hours, sweet little Tio turns into a raging red hulk, complete with frowny mouth and angry eyes. But he won't just visually remind your kids about their energy habits; information from the light switch is sent to Tio's computer program so the entire family can see how they're doing. In a brilliant piece of visual positive reinforcement, Holley's program lets kids grow a virtual tree which gets bigger and healthier the more energy they save.
Environmental company creates a staple-free stapler to avoid staple pollution
Staples are supposed to be so bad to the environment that a company decided to create a staple-free stapler. This product promises to make collation eco-friendly. Instead of using those thin metal planet-killers, the staple-free stapler "cuts out tiny strips of paper and uses the strips to stitch up to five pieces of paper together." You can even order them customized with your corporate logo so you can, you know, brag about what your company is doing to stop the staple epidemic.
Designer creates an iPhone charger powered by a hand grip
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Google invests $38.8m in two US wind farms
Google invests $38.8m in two US wind farms
Internet search giant Google Inc has invested USD 38.8 million in two wind farms in North Dakota that generate enough energy to power more than 55,000 homes.
The investment in the wind farms, developed by NextEra Energy Resources, is Google's first direct investment in a utility-scale renewable energy project.
Google has so far invested in early-stage green start-ups such as solar thermal companies BrightSource Energy and eSolar.
"Through this USD 38.8 million investment, we're aiming to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in a way that makes good business sense, too," Rick Needham, Google's green business operations manager, wrote in a blogpost on Monday.
Google has pushed ahead in addressing climate change issues as a philanthropic effort through its Google.org arm.
The often-quirky company said in late 2007 that it would invest in companies and do research of its own to produce affordable renewable energy -- at a price less than burning coal -- within a few years.
Separately, NextEra Energy, a subsidiary of Florida utility FPL Group Inc, said on Monday that it has sold about USD 190 million of Class B membership interests in Peace Garden Wind, windfarms that produce 169.5 megawatts of power in North Dakota.
NextEra Energy is the largest owner of wind farms in the United States with more than 7,500 megawatts of installed wind capacity, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
Internet search giant Google Inc has invested USD 38.8 million in two wind farms in North Dakota that generate enough energy to power more than 55,000 homes.
The investment in the wind farms, developed by NextEra Energy Resources, is Google's first direct investment in a utility-scale renewable energy project.
Google has so far invested in early-stage green start-ups such as solar thermal companies BrightSource Energy and eSolar.
"Through this USD 38.8 million investment, we're aiming to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in a way that makes good business sense, too," Rick Needham, Google's green business operations manager, wrote in a blogpost on Monday.
Google has pushed ahead in addressing climate change issues as a philanthropic effort through its Google.org arm.
The often-quirky company said in late 2007 that it would invest in companies and do research of its own to produce affordable renewable energy -- at a price less than burning coal -- within a few years.
Separately, NextEra Energy, a subsidiary of Florida utility FPL Group Inc, said on Monday that it has sold about USD 190 million of Class B membership interests in Peace Garden Wind, windfarms that produce 169.5 megawatts of power in North Dakota.
NextEra Energy is the largest owner of wind farms in the United States with more than 7,500 megawatts of installed wind capacity, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
Small Business Owners Go Green for Environment
Small Business Owners Go Green for Environment
Columbus, Ohio As consumer demand for environmentally responsible products and services continues to grow, businesses can't simply call themselves green–they must actually do their part. According to a survey by Manta, the largest website on and for small businesses, more than 90 per cent of small businesses selling green products/services or implementing green practices in the workplace genuinely care about the environment. Forty-six per cent of the 421 respondents also cited consumer demand as a major reason for "going green", the second most popular reason for doing so. These results also suggest that green initiatives have become part of everyday business.
In light of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and considering that approximately 80 percent of U.S. companies have nine employees or fewer (U.S. SBA & Census,) the Manta survey sought to discover how small businesses view environmental consciousness. The business owners surveyed all employ 100 people or fewer and have identified green initiatives on their claimed Manta profiles. Manta found that:
·79 per cent implement green practices in the workplace and also offer green products or services.
·79 per cent recycle or compost.
·76 per cent conserve energy by turning off lights or cooling and heating systems when not in use.
·31 per cent encourage taking public transportation, carpooling, walking or biking to work.
Despite high participation rates in low-cost green initiatives, small businesses want to do more for the planet and believe they need the government to support the cause.
·Only five per cent feel the government does enough to support small businesses taking on green initiatives.
·72 per cent believe the government doesn't do enough.
·43 per cent would like to receive cost incentives or tax breaks for being green.
·23 per cent would do more if there were better resources to make being green easier, such as in-building or curbside recycling and compost pickup.
"It's not surprising that small businesses have gone green," said Pamela Springer, Manta president and CEO. "Being innovative is part of their nature, and innovative practices often result in the production of environmentally friendly products and services. They have the right attitude about caring for the environment, and given that most businesses in the U.S. are small, they're bound to make a big difference in the long run. Hopefully the government will be inspired to implement the incentives many business owners need to go a step farther in protecting the planet".
With profiles of more than 64 million businesses and organizations, Manta is the Web's largest free source of information on and for small businesses. Manta aims to provide a free Web presence and networking capability for small business owners who may not have the resources to operate their own websites. With hard-to-find information such as estimated revenue, number of employees, company contacts, business descriptions and more, Manta enables business professionals to promote their companies and connect with the more than 14 million monthly visitors.
Survey Methodology
Manta surveyed its users using Zoomerang from April 13 to April 19, 2010, via email. The survey received 421 responses from small business owners whose companies were identified as having 100 employees or fewer and as employing some kind of green initiative in their workplace.
About Manta
Manta (www.manta.com) is the largest free source of information on small companies, with profiles of more than 64 million businesses and organizations. Business owners and sales professionals use Manta's vast database and custom search capabilities to quickly find companies, easily connect with prospective customers and promote their own services. Manta.com, founded in 2005, is based in Columbus, Ohio.
Columbus, Ohio As consumer demand for environmentally responsible products and services continues to grow, businesses can't simply call themselves green–they must actually do their part. According to a survey by Manta, the largest website on and for small businesses, more than 90 per cent of small businesses selling green products/services or implementing green practices in the workplace genuinely care about the environment. Forty-six per cent of the 421 respondents also cited consumer demand as a major reason for "going green", the second most popular reason for doing so. These results also suggest that green initiatives have become part of everyday business.
In light of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and considering that approximately 80 percent of U.S. companies have nine employees or fewer (U.S. SBA & Census,) the Manta survey sought to discover how small businesses view environmental consciousness. The business owners surveyed all employ 100 people or fewer and have identified green initiatives on their claimed Manta profiles. Manta found that:
·79 per cent implement green practices in the workplace and also offer green products or services.
·79 per cent recycle or compost.
·76 per cent conserve energy by turning off lights or cooling and heating systems when not in use.
·31 per cent encourage taking public transportation, carpooling, walking or biking to work.
Despite high participation rates in low-cost green initiatives, small businesses want to do more for the planet and believe they need the government to support the cause.
·Only five per cent feel the government does enough to support small businesses taking on green initiatives.
·72 per cent believe the government doesn't do enough.
·43 per cent would like to receive cost incentives or tax breaks for being green.
·23 per cent would do more if there were better resources to make being green easier, such as in-building or curbside recycling and compost pickup.
"It's not surprising that small businesses have gone green," said Pamela Springer, Manta president and CEO. "Being innovative is part of their nature, and innovative practices often result in the production of environmentally friendly products and services. They have the right attitude about caring for the environment, and given that most businesses in the U.S. are small, they're bound to make a big difference in the long run. Hopefully the government will be inspired to implement the incentives many business owners need to go a step farther in protecting the planet".
With profiles of more than 64 million businesses and organizations, Manta is the Web's largest free source of information on and for small businesses. Manta aims to provide a free Web presence and networking capability for small business owners who may not have the resources to operate their own websites. With hard-to-find information such as estimated revenue, number of employees, company contacts, business descriptions and more, Manta enables business professionals to promote their companies and connect with the more than 14 million monthly visitors.
Survey Methodology
Manta surveyed its users using Zoomerang from April 13 to April 19, 2010, via email. The survey received 421 responses from small business owners whose companies were identified as having 100 employees or fewer and as employing some kind of green initiative in their workplace.
About Manta
Manta (www.manta.com) is the largest free source of information on small companies, with profiles of more than 64 million businesses and organizations. Business owners and sales professionals use Manta's vast database and custom search capabilities to quickly find companies, easily connect with prospective customers and promote their own services. Manta.com, founded in 2005, is based in Columbus, Ohio.
Google searches for smart, green energy investments
Google searches for smart, green energy investments
LondonGoogle is looking to expand into the energy smart meters business and to invest in renewable generation projects in Europe, the head of green business operations at the internet giant.
Gulf Oil Spill
The aim of smart metering technology is to let customers view real-time electricity and gas consumption and allow them to optimize usage and therefore cut energy waste and save money by using energy during low demand periods.
Through Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the Internet firm, the company has developed a free web-based application called PowerMeter, which collects data from smart meters and displays the data on a customizable customer webpage.
"We're looking at getting more utility partners and more device partners. We're always looking for a broader reach and we're talking to utilities in all the major markets," Ben Kott told on the sidelines at a news briefing in London.
In partnership with British independent energy retailer, First Utility, Google is providing an opt-in service to the utility's 30,000 smart meter customers.
"I think in the UK, people are relatively open to this, not only focusing on cost but also efficiency. It is also a highly liberal energy market, so there are opportunities for companies like First Utility who wouldn't be able to operate in other markets," Kott said.
He said there were no plans to charge for the PowerMeter web application.
"There's no money going backwards and forwards," First Utility chief executive Mark Daeche said.
Google is also looking at investing in renewable power generation projects in Europe, following a $38.8 million U.S. wind farm investment in North Dakota in early May.
"We're newcomers in the field and we're quite aware of that. We're not yet ready for very risky investments, but it is something that could become very interesting in a few years. Now we're looking more at onshore wind and solar project," Kott said.
LondonGoogle is looking to expand into the energy smart meters business and to invest in renewable generation projects in Europe, the head of green business operations at the internet giant.
Gulf Oil Spill
The aim of smart metering technology is to let customers view real-time electricity and gas consumption and allow them to optimize usage and therefore cut energy waste and save money by using energy during low demand periods.
Through Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the Internet firm, the company has developed a free web-based application called PowerMeter, which collects data from smart meters and displays the data on a customizable customer webpage.
"We're looking at getting more utility partners and more device partners. We're always looking for a broader reach and we're talking to utilities in all the major markets," Ben Kott told on the sidelines at a news briefing in London.
In partnership with British independent energy retailer, First Utility, Google is providing an opt-in service to the utility's 30,000 smart meter customers.
"I think in the UK, people are relatively open to this, not only focusing on cost but also efficiency. It is also a highly liberal energy market, so there are opportunities for companies like First Utility who wouldn't be able to operate in other markets," Kott said.
He said there were no plans to charge for the PowerMeter web application.
"There's no money going backwards and forwards," First Utility chief executive Mark Daeche said.
Google is also looking at investing in renewable power generation projects in Europe, following a $38.8 million U.S. wind farm investment in North Dakota in early May.
"We're newcomers in the field and we're quite aware of that. We're not yet ready for very risky investments, but it is something that could become very interesting in a few years. Now we're looking more at onshore wind and solar project," Kott said.
Nokia unveils bicycle charger
Nokia unveils bicycle charger
New Delhi: Nokia unveiled its first bicycle charger targeting consumers with limited access to electricity.
The charger kit consists of a charger, dynamo and a holder to secure the phone to the bike. Priced at about 15 euros (Rs 860), the kit will be available later this year, said a company spokesman.
When the kit is installed, the dynamo - a small electrical generator - uses the movement of the wheels to charge the handset through the standard 2mm charging jack used in most Nokia mobile phones.
"Bicycles are the most widespread means of transport in many markets around the world, so this is just one more benefit to be gained from an activity people are already doing. This is a great solution to a real challenge, whether people will use it due to limited access to electricity, or to be more environmentally responsible," says Alex Lambeek, vice president at Nokia.
Designed for tropical climates the Nokia bicycle charger is humidity and dust resistant.
New Delhi: Nokia unveiled its first bicycle charger targeting consumers with limited access to electricity.
The charger kit consists of a charger, dynamo and a holder to secure the phone to the bike. Priced at about 15 euros (Rs 860), the kit will be available later this year, said a company spokesman.
When the kit is installed, the dynamo - a small electrical generator - uses the movement of the wheels to charge the handset through the standard 2mm charging jack used in most Nokia mobile phones.
"Bicycles are the most widespread means of transport in many markets around the world, so this is just one more benefit to be gained from an activity people are already doing. This is a great solution to a real challenge, whether people will use it due to limited access to electricity, or to be more environmentally responsible," says Alex Lambeek, vice president at Nokia.
Designed for tropical climates the Nokia bicycle charger is humidity and dust resistant.
Govt, UN initiative on encouraging 'green jobs'
Govt, UN initiative on encouraging 'green jobs'
New Delhi: Recognising the importance of jobs that contribute to environment protection, Government and the ILO have come together to organise the first national conference on 'green jobs' here next week to discuss emerging trends and policy options.
It will delve into issues relating to the creation of new green jobs, their adaptation in existing forms of employment and share inspiring cases from India and around the world, said an ILO official, adding the conference will be held on June 24 and 25.
According to the United Nations Environment Program, work in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development, administrative and service activities that contribute substantially to preserving or restoring environmental quality come under green jobs.
The conference will be organised by ILO in collaboration with the labour and employment ministry. ILO is already working with the government for supporting transition to a greener economy with decent jobs.
Other key elements of the conference's agenda, said the ILO official, include employment and labour market implications of environment-related measures and promotion of green jobs in the Indian policy framework.
Besides, the agenda would include promotion of jobs which help in transition to more sustainable economies and societies and sectoral discussions related to renewable energy, waste management and green buildings.
Participants from various government departments, employers' and workers' organisations, international agencies, private sector players, civil society organisations and research institutes are expected to attend the two-day conference, the official said.
New Delhi: Recognising the importance of jobs that contribute to environment protection, Government and the ILO have come together to organise the first national conference on 'green jobs' here next week to discuss emerging trends and policy options.
It will delve into issues relating to the creation of new green jobs, their adaptation in existing forms of employment and share inspiring cases from India and around the world, said an ILO official, adding the conference will be held on June 24 and 25.
According to the United Nations Environment Program, work in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development, administrative and service activities that contribute substantially to preserving or restoring environmental quality come under green jobs.
The conference will be organised by ILO in collaboration with the labour and employment ministry. ILO is already working with the government for supporting transition to a greener economy with decent jobs.
Other key elements of the conference's agenda, said the ILO official, include employment and labour market implications of environment-related measures and promotion of green jobs in the Indian policy framework.
Besides, the agenda would include promotion of jobs which help in transition to more sustainable economies and societies and sectoral discussions related to renewable energy, waste management and green buildings.
Participants from various government departments, employers' and workers' organisations, international agencies, private sector players, civil society organisations and research institutes are expected to attend the two-day conference, the official said.
Silicon Valley all aglow on green lighting
Silicon Valley all aglow on green lighting
San Francisco: Silicon Valley has seen the light, and it's LED.
The incandescent light bulb has had the global lighting market in its grip for more than 130 years, building into a more than $100 billion industry.
But green concerns about efficiency spell an end to the era, and the U.S. technology capital sees light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, as the new king.
"Lighting is going to completely change over the course of this decade," said Alan Salzman, chief executive of Silicon Valley-based venture fund VantagePoint Venture Partners.
His firm has $4.5 billion in committed capital in startups across different sectors, but lighting is an area he is very bullish on.
"The largest sector in terms of companies in our portfolio is lighting," Salzman said.
While many love the look of the light cast by incandescent bulbs, none like the high-energy bills. Nations around the world, including the United States, are phasing in efficiency standards that will eliminate the incandescents if no major energy improvements happen.
Investors are betting on other technologies taking hold.
Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs so far have been the only real alternative to conventional bulbs but they contain mercury and many don't like the quality of the light.
LED lights, on the other hand, contain no mercury, have a long life and are very energy efficient.
LEDs, made of diodes or chips, have come a long way since the first practical LED was a developed in 1962. Its sole color was red. Now developers produce light colors across the spectrum.
They consume only about 20 percent of the energy used by incandescent bulbs. With about 20 percent of the world's electricity used for lighting, switching to LEDs would generate significant energy savings and cut greenhouse gas emissions while nations debate how to price carbon dioxide pollution.
Cost challenge
There is one major hurdle for mass adoption of LEDs -- they cost too much. Experts say that for the market to take off, good quality LED lights need to available under $10. Current bulbs cost many times that.
Investors are betting heavily the cost will fall quickly as LED start-ups achieve scale and the technology advances.
"The market really started shifting in the last 12 months," said Warner Philips, co-founder of LED start-up Lemnis Lighting and great grandson of the founder of Dutch electronics giant Philips Electronics.
Lemnis introduced its first LED bulb, called Pharox that can go into a standard light socket about four years ago. The latest version can last around 25 years, based on four hours of daily operation, but it costs $25.
The price has halved in a short time. Lemnis had been selling LED bulbs around $50 only about six months ago and Philips expects the price to fall below the crucial $10 level soon.
"That will be probably be in the first half of next year," he said.
Bullish growth projections
LEDs by 2020 will account for nearly half of the $4.4 billion U.S. market for lamps in the commercial, industrial and outdoor stationary sectors, predicted Pike Research, which tracks the market.
Even at the current high price, some commercial establishments and retailers are switching.
Late last year, retail giant Wal-Mart said it would install LEDs in 650 of its stores and picked Cree Inc, one of the few public companies in this space, to supply the lights.
Other companies switching to LEDs include coffee retailer Starbucks Corp, Red Robin restaurants and Yum! Brands Inc.
Cree's shares hit an all-time high of $83.38 this April, rising almost 49 percent from the start of the year, partly due to bullish expectations on the LED market. The global economic slowdown has ratcheted back expectations, though, and sent shares down toward $65.
In the first quarter of 2010, venture capitalists invested $100 million in 14 LED lighting companies, up from $14 million in the same quarter a year ago, according to Cleantech Group.
California's Bridgelux, which makes high-power LED chips specifically for the lighting industry, is in the process of opening a Silicon Valley plant and investors are eager to join in.
Bridgelux raised $80 million earlier this year and turned away some would-be investors.
"We had a lot of people pounding on our doors," said Chief Executive Bill Watkins.
San Francisco: Silicon Valley has seen the light, and it's LED.
The incandescent light bulb has had the global lighting market in its grip for more than 130 years, building into a more than $100 billion industry.
But green concerns about efficiency spell an end to the era, and the U.S. technology capital sees light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, as the new king.
"Lighting is going to completely change over the course of this decade," said Alan Salzman, chief executive of Silicon Valley-based venture fund VantagePoint Venture Partners.
His firm has $4.5 billion in committed capital in startups across different sectors, but lighting is an area he is very bullish on.
"The largest sector in terms of companies in our portfolio is lighting," Salzman said.
While many love the look of the light cast by incandescent bulbs, none like the high-energy bills. Nations around the world, including the United States, are phasing in efficiency standards that will eliminate the incandescents if no major energy improvements happen.
Investors are betting on other technologies taking hold.
Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs so far have been the only real alternative to conventional bulbs but they contain mercury and many don't like the quality of the light.
LED lights, on the other hand, contain no mercury, have a long life and are very energy efficient.
LEDs, made of diodes or chips, have come a long way since the first practical LED was a developed in 1962. Its sole color was red. Now developers produce light colors across the spectrum.
They consume only about 20 percent of the energy used by incandescent bulbs. With about 20 percent of the world's electricity used for lighting, switching to LEDs would generate significant energy savings and cut greenhouse gas emissions while nations debate how to price carbon dioxide pollution.
Cost challenge
There is one major hurdle for mass adoption of LEDs -- they cost too much. Experts say that for the market to take off, good quality LED lights need to available under $10. Current bulbs cost many times that.
Investors are betting heavily the cost will fall quickly as LED start-ups achieve scale and the technology advances.
"The market really started shifting in the last 12 months," said Warner Philips, co-founder of LED start-up Lemnis Lighting and great grandson of the founder of Dutch electronics giant Philips Electronics.
Lemnis introduced its first LED bulb, called Pharox that can go into a standard light socket about four years ago. The latest version can last around 25 years, based on four hours of daily operation, but it costs $25.
The price has halved in a short time. Lemnis had been selling LED bulbs around $50 only about six months ago and Philips expects the price to fall below the crucial $10 level soon.
"That will be probably be in the first half of next year," he said.
Bullish growth projections
LEDs by 2020 will account for nearly half of the $4.4 billion U.S. market for lamps in the commercial, industrial and outdoor stationary sectors, predicted Pike Research, which tracks the market.
Even at the current high price, some commercial establishments and retailers are switching.
Late last year, retail giant Wal-Mart said it would install LEDs in 650 of its stores and picked Cree Inc, one of the few public companies in this space, to supply the lights.
Other companies switching to LEDs include coffee retailer Starbucks Corp, Red Robin restaurants and Yum! Brands Inc.
Cree's shares hit an all-time high of $83.38 this April, rising almost 49 percent from the start of the year, partly due to bullish expectations on the LED market. The global economic slowdown has ratcheted back expectations, though, and sent shares down toward $65.
In the first quarter of 2010, venture capitalists invested $100 million in 14 LED lighting companies, up from $14 million in the same quarter a year ago, according to Cleantech Group.
California's Bridgelux, which makes high-power LED chips specifically for the lighting industry, is in the process of opening a Silicon Valley plant and investors are eager to join in.
Bridgelux raised $80 million earlier this year and turned away some would-be investors.
"We had a lot of people pounding on our doors," said Chief Executive Bill Watkins.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Traditional Inuit Knowledge Combines With Science to Shape Weather Insights
April 2010:
Using skills passed down through generations, Inuit forecasters living in the Canadian Arctic look to the sky to tell by the way the wind scatters a cloud whether a storm is on the horizon or if it's safe to go on a hunt.
Thousands of miles away in a lab tucked in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, scientists take data measurements and use the latest computer models to predict weather. They are two practices serving the same purpose that come from disparate worlds.
But in the past 20 years, something has run amok with Inuit forecasting. Old weather signals don't seem to mean what they used to. The cloud that scatters could signal a storm that comes in an hour instead of a day.
Now researchers are combining indigenous environmental knowledge with modern science to learn new things about what's happening to the Arctic climate.
"It's interesting how the western approach is often trying to understand things without necessarily experiencing them," said Elizabeth Weatherhead, a research scientist with the University of Colorado at Boulder's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. "With the Inuit, it's much more of an experiential issue, and I think that fundamental difference brings a completely different emphasis both in defining what the important scientific questions are, and discerning how to address them."
For years, researchers had heard reports of unpredictable weather coming in from Arctic communities. But the stories didn't seem to match up with the numbers. By scientific measurement, weather around the world appeared to be growing more persistent with less variation. The disparity left scientists scratching their heads, said Weatherhead.
"I had been hearing about this problem from other environmental statisticians for a number of years," said Weatherhead, who also works closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo., and who is chief author on a new study on the subject. "But the Inuit used a different language than what we statisticians used, and none of us could really figure out what matched up with their observations."
That's where Shari Gearheard, a scientist with CU-Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center, also part of CIRES, comes in. Gearheard lives in Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada, an Inuit community on eastern Baffin Island, and for the past 10 years has been working with Inuit hunters and elders to document their knowledge of the environment and environmental change.
Weather has a special importance in Arctic environments, where a reliable forecast can mean the difference between life and death. There are members of the Inuit community who possess the skills to predict the weather, but that knowledge is dying off as both the culture and climate change, according to the scientists.
"The impacts of that are a loss of confidence in those forecasters and concerns about incorrect forecasts," said Gearheard. Forecasters don't want to send somebody out to go hunting if they're going to be unsafe and be in poor weather conditions."
Gearheard meticulously collects the stories told to her by the Inuit and makes systematic records of indigenous environmental knowledge. Through this, patterns begin to emerge, she said.
Of special importance were changes experienced by the Inuit during the spring, a time of transition for many environmental processes. During spring, the Inuit would notice that the top layer of the snow melted during the day and then would refreeze at night, forming a crust.
"In fact, in a lot of places, the season is named after a particular process by the Inuit," said Gearheard. "In cases like this where the Inuit are not seeing that process anymore, it is an indicator to them that something had changed."
Gearheard's records created a resolution of detail for Arctic weather observation that, by bringing the two studies together, gave Weatherhead the information she needed to bridge indigenous knowledge with scientific knowledge. "What was incredibly helpful was Shari's detailed description of what they were experiencing on what sort of timescales," said Weatherhead. "That really allowed us to start focusing on our statistical tests and try to find exactly what matched their observations."
Statistical analysis of day-to-day temperatures at Baker Lake, Nunavut, showed that in May and June the persistence of temperature had recently declined, matching Inuit reports of greater unpredictability at that season. "People hadn't previously looked at persistence in this way," said CIRES fellow Roger Barry, also director of the World Data Center for Glaciology at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at CU-Boulder and a study co-author along with Gearheard.
What they found was a scientific story more in line with what people were witnessing on the ground. Weather along the Arctic latitudes was behaving more unpredictably than in other parts of the world.
"That's an incredibly important parameter to care about," said Weatherhead. "The way I try to describe it to some people is if we get an inch of rain out at my house in the month of July, I don't need to turn on the sprinklers. But if we get an inch of rain on July 1, and no rain after that, my lawn is dead.
"Ecosystems have evolved under a certain type of pattern. So if that is changing, that could be just as important as a small increase in temperature or some of the other changes we're talking about," Weatherhead said.
The new study helps scientists refine and test climate models, while also providing such models with a new category of information to consider, said Weatherhead. And Gearheard's work with the Inuit is demonstrating the value of indigenous environmental knowledge to modern climate science.
"When we first started talking about this, indigenous knowledge didn't have the place it does now in research," Gearheard said. "It's growing. People are becoming more familiar with it, more respectful of it."
Weatherhead and Gearheard said they are intrigued by the insights that incorporate indigenous knowledge and climate studies, but they don't want to stop there. The new study has sparked an interest in the type of environmental knowledge other communities could provide to climate scientists, from ranchers and farmers to indigenous groups. "When you treat these perspectives as different forms of evidence or knowledge and see where that takes you, that is when exciting stuff happens," said Gearheard.
The study appears this month in the journal Global Environmental Change. The National Science Foundation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada provided funding for the study.
Story Source:
Adapted from materials provided by University of Colorado at Boulder.
Journal Reference:
1. Weatherhead et al. Changes in weather persistence: Insight from Inuit knowledge. Global Environmental Change, 2010; DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2010.02.002
Using skills passed down through generations, Inuit forecasters living in the Canadian Arctic look to the sky to tell by the way the wind scatters a cloud whether a storm is on the horizon or if it's safe to go on a hunt.
Thousands of miles away in a lab tucked in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, scientists take data measurements and use the latest computer models to predict weather. They are two practices serving the same purpose that come from disparate worlds.
But in the past 20 years, something has run amok with Inuit forecasting. Old weather signals don't seem to mean what they used to. The cloud that scatters could signal a storm that comes in an hour instead of a day.
Now researchers are combining indigenous environmental knowledge with modern science to learn new things about what's happening to the Arctic climate.
"It's interesting how the western approach is often trying to understand things without necessarily experiencing them," said Elizabeth Weatherhead, a research scientist with the University of Colorado at Boulder's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. "With the Inuit, it's much more of an experiential issue, and I think that fundamental difference brings a completely different emphasis both in defining what the important scientific questions are, and discerning how to address them."
For years, researchers had heard reports of unpredictable weather coming in from Arctic communities. But the stories didn't seem to match up with the numbers. By scientific measurement, weather around the world appeared to be growing more persistent with less variation. The disparity left scientists scratching their heads, said Weatherhead.
"I had been hearing about this problem from other environmental statisticians for a number of years," said Weatherhead, who also works closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo., and who is chief author on a new study on the subject. "But the Inuit used a different language than what we statisticians used, and none of us could really figure out what matched up with their observations."
That's where Shari Gearheard, a scientist with CU-Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center, also part of CIRES, comes in. Gearheard lives in Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada, an Inuit community on eastern Baffin Island, and for the past 10 years has been working with Inuit hunters and elders to document their knowledge of the environment and environmental change.
Weather has a special importance in Arctic environments, where a reliable forecast can mean the difference between life and death. There are members of the Inuit community who possess the skills to predict the weather, but that knowledge is dying off as both the culture and climate change, according to the scientists.
"The impacts of that are a loss of confidence in those forecasters and concerns about incorrect forecasts," said Gearheard. Forecasters don't want to send somebody out to go hunting if they're going to be unsafe and be in poor weather conditions."
Gearheard meticulously collects the stories told to her by the Inuit and makes systematic records of indigenous environmental knowledge. Through this, patterns begin to emerge, she said.
Of special importance were changes experienced by the Inuit during the spring, a time of transition for many environmental processes. During spring, the Inuit would notice that the top layer of the snow melted during the day and then would refreeze at night, forming a crust.
"In fact, in a lot of places, the season is named after a particular process by the Inuit," said Gearheard. "In cases like this where the Inuit are not seeing that process anymore, it is an indicator to them that something had changed."
Gearheard's records created a resolution of detail for Arctic weather observation that, by bringing the two studies together, gave Weatherhead the information she needed to bridge indigenous knowledge with scientific knowledge. "What was incredibly helpful was Shari's detailed description of what they were experiencing on what sort of timescales," said Weatherhead. "That really allowed us to start focusing on our statistical tests and try to find exactly what matched their observations."
Statistical analysis of day-to-day temperatures at Baker Lake, Nunavut, showed that in May and June the persistence of temperature had recently declined, matching Inuit reports of greater unpredictability at that season. "People hadn't previously looked at persistence in this way," said CIRES fellow Roger Barry, also director of the World Data Center for Glaciology at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at CU-Boulder and a study co-author along with Gearheard.
What they found was a scientific story more in line with what people were witnessing on the ground. Weather along the Arctic latitudes was behaving more unpredictably than in other parts of the world.
"That's an incredibly important parameter to care about," said Weatherhead. "The way I try to describe it to some people is if we get an inch of rain out at my house in the month of July, I don't need to turn on the sprinklers. But if we get an inch of rain on July 1, and no rain after that, my lawn is dead.
"Ecosystems have evolved under a certain type of pattern. So if that is changing, that could be just as important as a small increase in temperature or some of the other changes we're talking about," Weatherhead said.
The new study helps scientists refine and test climate models, while also providing such models with a new category of information to consider, said Weatherhead. And Gearheard's work with the Inuit is demonstrating the value of indigenous environmental knowledge to modern climate science.
"When we first started talking about this, indigenous knowledge didn't have the place it does now in research," Gearheard said. "It's growing. People are becoming more familiar with it, more respectful of it."
Weatherhead and Gearheard said they are intrigued by the insights that incorporate indigenous knowledge and climate studies, but they don't want to stop there. The new study has sparked an interest in the type of environmental knowledge other communities could provide to climate scientists, from ranchers and farmers to indigenous groups. "When you treat these perspectives as different forms of evidence or knowledge and see where that takes you, that is when exciting stuff happens," said Gearheard.
The study appears this month in the journal Global Environmental Change. The National Science Foundation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada provided funding for the study.
Story Source:
Adapted from materials provided by University of Colorado at Boulder.
Journal Reference:
1. Weatherhead et al. Changes in weather persistence: Insight from Inuit knowledge. Global Environmental Change, 2010; DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2010.02.002
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Milk and Juice Carton Recycling Made Easy
Milk and Juice Carton Recycling Made Easy
Tropicana and Waste Management recently announced they are joining forces to launch a national initiative to increase the rate of juice and milk carton recycling. The initiative kicks off the long-term goal to increase beverage carton recycling nationwide, a program being promoted through the Carton Council.
Milk and juice cartons are made largely from paper sources and fall under the material category of paperboard. Though not accepted by all municipal curbside programs, more than 85 percent of the U.S. population has access to paperboard recycling.
Though 85 percent of the U.S. population has access to paperboard recycling, not all paperboard recyclers will accept milk and juice cartons. Photo: G-can.net
Waste Management will be accepting juice and milk cartons at all its recycling processing facilities across the country in order to increase their recycling rate. Waste Management separates the cartons from the other recyclables and sends them to a secondary mill for recycling.
Recycled through a process called hydropulping, which recovers a material’s paper fibers, the cartons are recycled into paper towels, tissue and other paper products. A typical Tropicana carton is made of 85 percent paper and 15 percent polymer, making the product largely recyclable.
“We are proud to be working with Waste Management to promote the expansion of carton recycling across the country and finding new ways to recycle our products into environmentally beneficial products,” says Andre Hartshorn, senior marketing manager for Tropicana Products, Inc.
This national carton recycling program builds off a successful pilot program in Tampa, Fla., where Tropicana and Waste Management, along with the Carton Council and Dean Foods, successfully expanded carton recycling availability and educated consumers about carton recycling.
Tropicana and Waste Management recently announced they are joining forces to launch a national initiative to increase the rate of juice and milk carton recycling. The initiative kicks off the long-term goal to increase beverage carton recycling nationwide, a program being promoted through the Carton Council.
Milk and juice cartons are made largely from paper sources and fall under the material category of paperboard. Though not accepted by all municipal curbside programs, more than 85 percent of the U.S. population has access to paperboard recycling.
Though 85 percent of the U.S. population has access to paperboard recycling, not all paperboard recyclers will accept milk and juice cartons. Photo: G-can.net
Waste Management will be accepting juice and milk cartons at all its recycling processing facilities across the country in order to increase their recycling rate. Waste Management separates the cartons from the other recyclables and sends them to a secondary mill for recycling.
Recycled through a process called hydropulping, which recovers a material’s paper fibers, the cartons are recycled into paper towels, tissue and other paper products. A typical Tropicana carton is made of 85 percent paper and 15 percent polymer, making the product largely recyclable.
“We are proud to be working with Waste Management to promote the expansion of carton recycling across the country and finding new ways to recycle our products into environmentally beneficial products,” says Andre Hartshorn, senior marketing manager for Tropicana Products, Inc.
This national carton recycling program builds off a successful pilot program in Tampa, Fla., where Tropicana and Waste Management, along with the Carton Council and Dean Foods, successfully expanded carton recycling availability and educated consumers about carton recycling.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Acidifying Oceans Dramatically Stunt Growth of Already Threatened Shellfish, Research Finds
New research shows that global warming and its effects -- in particular, ocean acidification -- have descended upon shellfish reefs, particularly those formed by the Olympia oyster.
More than one-third of the world's human-caused carbon dioxide emissions have entered the oceans, according to Brian Gaylord, a biological oceanographer at the Bodega Marine Laboratory of the University of California at Davis.
"Similar to what happens in carbonated soda," says Gaylord, "increasing carbon dioxide in seawater makes it more acidic."
Even with small changes in acidity, seawater becomes corrosive to the shells of aquatic organisms.
That's not good news for most marine life, especially for oysters.
Gaylord is investigating the consequences of this increasing ocean acidity on the growth of larval and juvenile Olympia oysters native to the U.S. West Coast.
"Such early life stages can be extremely sensitive to environmental stresses like ocean acidification," says Gaylord.
"These stages operate as bottlenecks that drive overall population numbers. If larval and juvenile Olympia oysters decline as a result of an acidifying ocean, what does that mean for the species as a whole?"
Likely nothing good, he and colleagues say.
"Changes now happening in the ocean's chemistry are expected to continue far into the foreseeable future," says David Garrison, director of the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s biological oceanography program, which funds Gaylord's research. "They may have myriad effects on marine animals."
Gaylord conducted experiments on larvae and juveniles produced by adult oysters in Tomales Bay, California. Adults were collected in the bay, then held at the Bodega Marine Laboratory until they released larvae.
In the lab, the free-swimming larvae were reared into early juvenile life.
Carbon dioxide concentrations in laboratory seawater were controlled to match present-day conditions in the oceans, 380 parts per million (ppm), as well as two carbon dioxide scenarios projected to occur by the year 2100 (540 and 970 ppm).
Mid-way through the larval phase at day nine, oysters in the high carbon dioxide treatment had shells that were 16 percent smaller than those reared in control, or ambient, conditions.
These effects continued through the time the larval oysters settled onto hard substrate at day 12. Shell size was seven percent smaller for oysters in the 970 ppm treatment than in the control group.
By a week later, the effects were dramatically magnified. The bottom-dwelling juveniles in the 970 ppm treatment had grown 41 percent less than juveniles under control conditions.
The consequences persisted, even after the juveniles from all treatments had been returned to present-day conditions.
"One and a half months after being transferred back to normal seawater," says Gaylord, "juveniles that had come from the high carbon dioxide environment were still 28 percent smaller than oysters reared for the entire experiment in control conditions."
The results strongly suggest that the effects of ocean acidification on oyster larvae persist well into the juvenile phase, he says, with potential consequences for oyster populations.
"If similar impacts happen to species beyond the Olympia oyster, there could be repercussions for oysters around the world."
Globally, 85 percent of shellfish reefs have been lost, making oyster reefs one of the most severely threatened marine habitats on the planet.
"Shellfish reefs in some places are at less than 10 percent of their former abundance," says Garrison. "Oysters have gone extinct in many areas, especially in North America, Australia and Europe."
Just as coral reefs are critical to tropical marine habitats, shellfish like oysters are the ecosystem engineers of bays and estuaries, creating dwelling places for countless plants and animals that find refuge in their three-dimensional structure.
The surface area of an oyster bed across its dips and folds and crevices may be 50 times greater than that of an equally extensive flat mud bottom.
Shellfish reefs also provide important services to people by filtering water, and serving as natural coastal buffers from boat wakes, sea-level rise and storms.
Oysters have supported civilization for millennia, from the ancient Romans to railroad workers in California in the 1880s. In the 1870s, eastern oyster reefs extended for miles along the James River in Chesapeake Bay. By the 1940s, they had largely disappeared.
"It's unclear whether we will ever be able to return to that by-gone era," says Gaylord. "The constellation of environmental and other pressures on oysters--including the consequences of ocean acidification--places them at grave risk."
Gaylord and colleagues presented early results of their research at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Portland, Oregon, in February. They plan to publish a paper with updated findings later this year.
Story Source:
Adapted from materials provided by National Science Foundation.
More than one-third of the world's human-caused carbon dioxide emissions have entered the oceans, according to Brian Gaylord, a biological oceanographer at the Bodega Marine Laboratory of the University of California at Davis.
"Similar to what happens in carbonated soda," says Gaylord, "increasing carbon dioxide in seawater makes it more acidic."
Even with small changes in acidity, seawater becomes corrosive to the shells of aquatic organisms.
That's not good news for most marine life, especially for oysters.
Gaylord is investigating the consequences of this increasing ocean acidity on the growth of larval and juvenile Olympia oysters native to the U.S. West Coast.
"Such early life stages can be extremely sensitive to environmental stresses like ocean acidification," says Gaylord.
"These stages operate as bottlenecks that drive overall population numbers. If larval and juvenile Olympia oysters decline as a result of an acidifying ocean, what does that mean for the species as a whole?"
Likely nothing good, he and colleagues say.
"Changes now happening in the ocean's chemistry are expected to continue far into the foreseeable future," says David Garrison, director of the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s biological oceanography program, which funds Gaylord's research. "They may have myriad effects on marine animals."
Gaylord conducted experiments on larvae and juveniles produced by adult oysters in Tomales Bay, California. Adults were collected in the bay, then held at the Bodega Marine Laboratory until they released larvae.
In the lab, the free-swimming larvae were reared into early juvenile life.
Carbon dioxide concentrations in laboratory seawater were controlled to match present-day conditions in the oceans, 380 parts per million (ppm), as well as two carbon dioxide scenarios projected to occur by the year 2100 (540 and 970 ppm).
Mid-way through the larval phase at day nine, oysters in the high carbon dioxide treatment had shells that were 16 percent smaller than those reared in control, or ambient, conditions.
These effects continued through the time the larval oysters settled onto hard substrate at day 12. Shell size was seven percent smaller for oysters in the 970 ppm treatment than in the control group.
By a week later, the effects were dramatically magnified. The bottom-dwelling juveniles in the 970 ppm treatment had grown 41 percent less than juveniles under control conditions.
The consequences persisted, even after the juveniles from all treatments had been returned to present-day conditions.
"One and a half months after being transferred back to normal seawater," says Gaylord, "juveniles that had come from the high carbon dioxide environment were still 28 percent smaller than oysters reared for the entire experiment in control conditions."
The results strongly suggest that the effects of ocean acidification on oyster larvae persist well into the juvenile phase, he says, with potential consequences for oyster populations.
"If similar impacts happen to species beyond the Olympia oyster, there could be repercussions for oysters around the world."
Globally, 85 percent of shellfish reefs have been lost, making oyster reefs one of the most severely threatened marine habitats on the planet.
"Shellfish reefs in some places are at less than 10 percent of their former abundance," says Garrison. "Oysters have gone extinct in many areas, especially in North America, Australia and Europe."
Just as coral reefs are critical to tropical marine habitats, shellfish like oysters are the ecosystem engineers of bays and estuaries, creating dwelling places for countless plants and animals that find refuge in their three-dimensional structure.
The surface area of an oyster bed across its dips and folds and crevices may be 50 times greater than that of an equally extensive flat mud bottom.
Shellfish reefs also provide important services to people by filtering water, and serving as natural coastal buffers from boat wakes, sea-level rise and storms.
Oysters have supported civilization for millennia, from the ancient Romans to railroad workers in California in the 1880s. In the 1870s, eastern oyster reefs extended for miles along the James River in Chesapeake Bay. By the 1940s, they had largely disappeared.
"It's unclear whether we will ever be able to return to that by-gone era," says Gaylord. "The constellation of environmental and other pressures on oysters--including the consequences of ocean acidification--places them at grave risk."
Gaylord and colleagues presented early results of their research at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Portland, Oregon, in February. They plan to publish a paper with updated findings later this year.
Story Source:
Adapted from materials provided by National Science Foundation.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Dry Regions Becoming Drier: Ocean Salinities Show an Intensified Water Cycle
ScienceDaily (Apr. 18, 2010) — The stronger water cycle means arid regions have become drier and high rainfall regions wetter as atmospheric temperature increases.
The study, co-authored by CSIRO scientists Paul Durack and Dr Susan Wijffels, shows the surface ocean beneath rainfall-dominated regions has freshened, whereas ocean regions dominated by evaporation are saltier. The paper also confirms that surface warming of the world's oceans over the past 50 years has penetrated into the oceans' interior changing deep-ocean salinity patterns.
"This is further confirmation from the global ocean that the Earth's water cycle has accelerated," says Mr Durack -- a PhD student at the joint CSIRO/University of Tasmania, Quantitative Marine Science program.
"These broad-scale patterns of change are qualitatively consistent with simulations reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
"While such changes in salinity would be expected at the ocean surface (where about 80 per cent of surface water exchange occurs), sub-surface measurements indicate much broader, warming-driven changes are extending into the deep ocean," Mr Durack said.
The study finds a clear link between salinity changes at the surface driven by ocean warming and changes in the ocean subsurface which follow the trajectories along which surface water travels into the ocean interior.
The ocean's average surface temperature has risen around 0.4ºC since 1950. As the near surface atmosphere warms it can evaporate more water from the surface ocean and move it to new regions to release it as rain and snow. Salinity patterns reflect the contrasts between ocean regions where the oceans lose water to the atmosphere and the others where it is re-deposited on the surface as salt-free rainwater.
"Observations of rainfall and evaporation over the oceans in the 20th century are very scarce. These new estimates of ocean salinity changes provide a rigorous benchmark to better validate global climate models and start to narrow the wide uncertainties associated with water cycle changes and oceanic processes both in the past and the future -- we can use ocean salinity changes as a rain-gauge," Mr Durack said.
Based on historical records and data provided by the Argo Program's world-wide network of ocean profilers -- robotic submersible buoys which record and report ocean salinity levels and temperatures to depths of two kilometres -- the research was conducted by CSIRO's Wealth from Oceans Flagship and partially funded by the Australian Climate Change Science Program. Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System is a significant contributor to the global Argo Program.
The study, co-authored by CSIRO scientists Paul Durack and Dr Susan Wijffels, shows the surface ocean beneath rainfall-dominated regions has freshened, whereas ocean regions dominated by evaporation are saltier. The paper also confirms that surface warming of the world's oceans over the past 50 years has penetrated into the oceans' interior changing deep-ocean salinity patterns.
"This is further confirmation from the global ocean that the Earth's water cycle has accelerated," says Mr Durack -- a PhD student at the joint CSIRO/University of Tasmania, Quantitative Marine Science program.
"These broad-scale patterns of change are qualitatively consistent with simulations reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
"While such changes in salinity would be expected at the ocean surface (where about 80 per cent of surface water exchange occurs), sub-surface measurements indicate much broader, warming-driven changes are extending into the deep ocean," Mr Durack said.
The study finds a clear link between salinity changes at the surface driven by ocean warming and changes in the ocean subsurface which follow the trajectories along which surface water travels into the ocean interior.
The ocean's average surface temperature has risen around 0.4ºC since 1950. As the near surface atmosphere warms it can evaporate more water from the surface ocean and move it to new regions to release it as rain and snow. Salinity patterns reflect the contrasts between ocean regions where the oceans lose water to the atmosphere and the others where it is re-deposited on the surface as salt-free rainwater.
"Observations of rainfall and evaporation over the oceans in the 20th century are very scarce. These new estimates of ocean salinity changes provide a rigorous benchmark to better validate global climate models and start to narrow the wide uncertainties associated with water cycle changes and oceanic processes both in the past and the future -- we can use ocean salinity changes as a rain-gauge," Mr Durack said.
Based on historical records and data provided by the Argo Program's world-wide network of ocean profilers -- robotic submersible buoys which record and report ocean salinity levels and temperatures to depths of two kilometres -- the research was conducted by CSIRO's Wealth from Oceans Flagship and partially funded by the Australian Climate Change Science Program. Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System is a significant contributor to the global Argo Program.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
'Paltry' Copenhagen carbon pledges point to 3C world
'Paltry' Copenhagen carbon pledges point to 3C world
Poorer nations are unlikely to make a low-carbon switch without a Western lead
Pledges made at December's UN summit in Copenhagen are unlikely to keep global warming below 2C, a study concludes.
Writing in the journal Nature, analysts at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impacts Research in Germany say a rise of at least 3C by 2100 is likely.
The team also says many countries, including EU members and China, have pledged slower carbon curbs than they have been achieving anyway.
They say a new global deal is needed if deeper cuts are to materialise.
"There's a big mismatch between the ambitious goal, which is 2C... and the emissions reductions," said Potsdam's Malte Meinshausen.
"The pledged emissions reductions are in most cases very unambitious," he told BBC News.
In their Nature article, the team uses stronger language, describing the pledges as "paltry".
"The prospects for limiting global warming to 2C - or even to 1.5C, as more than 100 nations demand - are in dire peril," they conclude.
Between now and 2020, global emissions are likely to rise by 10-20%, they calculate, and the chances of passing 3C by 2100 are greater than 50%.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this implies a range of serious impacts for the world, including
* significant falls in crop yields across most of the world
* damage to most coral reefs
* likely disruption to water supplies for hundreds of millions of people.
Chances of a 3C rise are higher than evens, the team calculates (simplified from Potsdam Institute's Nature paper)
More than 120 countries have now associated themselves with the Copenhagen Accord, the political document stitched together on the summit's final day by a small group of countries led by the US and the BASIC bloc of Brazil, China, India and South Africa.
The accord "recognises" the 2C target as indicated by science. It was also backed at last year's G8 summit.
Many of those 120-odd have said what they are prepared to do to constrain their greenhouse gas emissions - either pledging cuts by 2020, in the case of industrialised countries, or promising to improve their "carbon intensity" in the case of developing nations.
Some of the pledges are little more than vague statements of intent. But all developed countries, and the developing world's major emitters, have all given firm figures or ranges of figures.
The EU, for example, pledges to cut emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by 2020; China promises to improve carbon intensity by 40-45% by 2020 compared against 2005; and Australia vows an emission cut of 5-25% on 2000 levels by 2020.
The Potsdam team concludes that many of the detailed pledges are nowhere near as ambitious as their proponents would claim.
They calculate that the EU's 20% pledge implies an annual cut of 0.45% between 2010 and 2020, whereas it is already achieving annual reductions larger than that.
The Potsdam team calculates that the EU's emissions have fallen on average by 0.6% per year since 1980
During 2009, emissions from the bloc's power sector alone fell by 11% owing to the recession
Consequently, the current 20% by 2020 pledge equates to 0.45% per year - less than the historical average
China's 40% minimum pledge also amounts to nothing more than business as usual, they relate; and among developed countries, only pledges by Norway and Japan fall into the 25-40% by 2020 range that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommends as necessary to give a good chance of meeting the 2C target.
Hot air
Whereas many countries, rich and poor, have indicated they are willing to be more ambitious if there is a binding global deal, the Potsdam team notes that in the absence of a global deal, only the least ambitious end of their range can be counted upon.
Writing in the BBC's Green Room this week, Bryony Worthington from the campaign group Sandbag argues that the EU can easily move to its alternative higher figure of 30% - and that it must, if it wants to stimulate others to cut deeper.
"Many countries are looking to Europe to show how it is possible to achieve growth without increasing emissions," she said.
"Only when they see that this is possible will they be inclined to adopt absolute reduction targets of their own."
An additional factor flagged up in the analysis is that many countries have accrued surplus emissions credits under the Kyoto Protocol.
Countries such as Russia and other former Eastern bloc nations comfortably exceeded their Kyoto targets owing to the collapse of Communist economies in the early 1990s.
Without a binding global agreement preventing the practice, these nations would be allowed to put these "banked" credits towards meeting any future targets - meaning they would have to reduce actual emissions less than they promised.
These "hot air" credits could also be traded between nations.
Stern words
This is not the first analysis of the Copenhagen Accord pledges, but it is one of the starkest.
Lord Stern's team at the Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change and the Environment in London has also run the figures; and although their conclusions on the numbers are similar, they do not see things in quite such a pessimistic light.
Cocahambaba delegate
The Bolivian-hosted "Mother Earth" summit is lobbying for faster cuts
"You cannot characterise an emissions path for a country or the world by focusing solely on the level in 2020 or any other particular date," said the institute's principal research fellow Alex Bowen.
"It is the whole path that matters, and if more action is taken now to reduce emissions, less action will be required later, and vice versa."
The Potsdam team acknowledges that if emissions do rise as they project, it would still be possible to have a reasonable chance of meeting 2C if very strict carbon curbs were applied thereafter, bringing emissions down by 5% per year or so.
"In an ideal world, if you pull off every possible emission reduction from the year 2021 onwards, you can still get to get to 2C if you're lucky," said Dr Meinshausen.
"But it is like racing towards the cliff and hoping you stop just before it."
They argue that positive analyses may "lull decision-makers into a false sense of security".
The UN climate process continues through this year, with many countries saying they still want to reach a binding global agreement by December.
But stark divisions remain between various blocs over emission cuts, finance, technology transfer and other issues; and it is far from certain that all important countries want anything more binding than the current set of voluntary national commitments.
Poorer nations are unlikely to make a low-carbon switch without a Western lead
Pledges made at December's UN summit in Copenhagen are unlikely to keep global warming below 2C, a study concludes.
Writing in the journal Nature, analysts at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impacts Research in Germany say a rise of at least 3C by 2100 is likely.
The team also says many countries, including EU members and China, have pledged slower carbon curbs than they have been achieving anyway.
They say a new global deal is needed if deeper cuts are to materialise.
"There's a big mismatch between the ambitious goal, which is 2C... and the emissions reductions," said Potsdam's Malte Meinshausen.
"The pledged emissions reductions are in most cases very unambitious," he told BBC News.
In their Nature article, the team uses stronger language, describing the pledges as "paltry".
"The prospects for limiting global warming to 2C - or even to 1.5C, as more than 100 nations demand - are in dire peril," they conclude.
Between now and 2020, global emissions are likely to rise by 10-20%, they calculate, and the chances of passing 3C by 2100 are greater than 50%.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this implies a range of serious impacts for the world, including
* significant falls in crop yields across most of the world
* damage to most coral reefs
* likely disruption to water supplies for hundreds of millions of people.
Chances of a 3C rise are higher than evens, the team calculates (simplified from Potsdam Institute's Nature paper)
More than 120 countries have now associated themselves with the Copenhagen Accord, the political document stitched together on the summit's final day by a small group of countries led by the US and the BASIC bloc of Brazil, China, India and South Africa.
The accord "recognises" the 2C target as indicated by science. It was also backed at last year's G8 summit.
Many of those 120-odd have said what they are prepared to do to constrain their greenhouse gas emissions - either pledging cuts by 2020, in the case of industrialised countries, or promising to improve their "carbon intensity" in the case of developing nations.
Some of the pledges are little more than vague statements of intent. But all developed countries, and the developing world's major emitters, have all given firm figures or ranges of figures.
The EU, for example, pledges to cut emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by 2020; China promises to improve carbon intensity by 40-45% by 2020 compared against 2005; and Australia vows an emission cut of 5-25% on 2000 levels by 2020.
The Potsdam team concludes that many of the detailed pledges are nowhere near as ambitious as their proponents would claim.
They calculate that the EU's 20% pledge implies an annual cut of 0.45% between 2010 and 2020, whereas it is already achieving annual reductions larger than that.
The Potsdam team calculates that the EU's emissions have fallen on average by 0.6% per year since 1980
During 2009, emissions from the bloc's power sector alone fell by 11% owing to the recession
Consequently, the current 20% by 2020 pledge equates to 0.45% per year - less than the historical average
China's 40% minimum pledge also amounts to nothing more than business as usual, they relate; and among developed countries, only pledges by Norway and Japan fall into the 25-40% by 2020 range that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommends as necessary to give a good chance of meeting the 2C target.
Hot air
Whereas many countries, rich and poor, have indicated they are willing to be more ambitious if there is a binding global deal, the Potsdam team notes that in the absence of a global deal, only the least ambitious end of their range can be counted upon.
Writing in the BBC's Green Room this week, Bryony Worthington from the campaign group Sandbag argues that the EU can easily move to its alternative higher figure of 30% - and that it must, if it wants to stimulate others to cut deeper.
"Many countries are looking to Europe to show how it is possible to achieve growth without increasing emissions," she said.
"Only when they see that this is possible will they be inclined to adopt absolute reduction targets of their own."
An additional factor flagged up in the analysis is that many countries have accrued surplus emissions credits under the Kyoto Protocol.
Countries such as Russia and other former Eastern bloc nations comfortably exceeded their Kyoto targets owing to the collapse of Communist economies in the early 1990s.
Without a binding global agreement preventing the practice, these nations would be allowed to put these "banked" credits towards meeting any future targets - meaning they would have to reduce actual emissions less than they promised.
These "hot air" credits could also be traded between nations.
Stern words
This is not the first analysis of the Copenhagen Accord pledges, but it is one of the starkest.
Lord Stern's team at the Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change and the Environment in London has also run the figures; and although their conclusions on the numbers are similar, they do not see things in quite such a pessimistic light.
Cocahambaba delegate
The Bolivian-hosted "Mother Earth" summit is lobbying for faster cuts
"You cannot characterise an emissions path for a country or the world by focusing solely on the level in 2020 or any other particular date," said the institute's principal research fellow Alex Bowen.
"It is the whole path that matters, and if more action is taken now to reduce emissions, less action will be required later, and vice versa."
The Potsdam team acknowledges that if emissions do rise as they project, it would still be possible to have a reasonable chance of meeting 2C if very strict carbon curbs were applied thereafter, bringing emissions down by 5% per year or so.
"In an ideal world, if you pull off every possible emission reduction from the year 2021 onwards, you can still get to get to 2C if you're lucky," said Dr Meinshausen.
"But it is like racing towards the cliff and hoping you stop just before it."
They argue that positive analyses may "lull decision-makers into a false sense of security".
The UN climate process continues through this year, with many countries saying they still want to reach a binding global agreement by December.
But stark divisions remain between various blocs over emission cuts, finance, technology transfer and other issues; and it is far from certain that all important countries want anything more binding than the current set of voluntary national commitments.
Topography of Mountains Could Complicate Rates of Global Warming
Topography of Mountains Could Complicate Rates of Global Warming
A new study concludes that the future effects of global warming could be significantly changed over very small distances by local air movements in complex or mountainous terrain -- perhaps doubling or even tripling the temperature increases in some situations.
This graphic indicates December daytime temperature differentials that might be expected from future global warming, in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest near Blue River, Ore. Weather conditions that cause ridgetops to warm and cold air to pool in valleys may become more frequent - magnifying global warming on the ridgetops but not in the valley bottoms. (Credit: Oregon State University)
In an article to be published in the International Journal of Climatology, researchers from Oregon State University used the unique historical data provided by Oregon's H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest to study potential variations in temperature caused by steep hills and valleys.
Based on a regional temperature increase of about 5 degrees projected for western Oregon by 2100, the study concluded that some locations, such as mountain ridge tops, could actually increase as much as 14 degrees at some times, while cold air pools in the valleys below them with temperature increases similar to the regional average.
"Even if the predictions for average temperature changes are accurate, there's been very little work done on what that may mean in specific locations and situations," said Chris Daly, an OSU professor of geosciences, director of OSU's PRISM Climate Group and expert on the effects of elevation and topography on localized climatic effects.
"We are finding that there's a potential here for tremendous disparities in local effects that we need to learn more about," Daly said. "Some locations may get much warmer than the average while others nearby are affected less, with associated impacts on their ecology, the plant and animals species that live there."
The steep terrain and long-term climate records in the H.J. Andrews Forest near Blue River, Ore., in the central Oregon Cascade Range, have provided an unusual data set to study this phenomenon. In general, temperatures decrease as you go up in altitude -- but not necessarily in the mountains. Some ridges in the H.J. Andrews are routinely warmer than protected valleys below them, especially at night and during winter, as cool air drains down their flanks and forms "cold pools" with fairly stable temperatures.
The formation of these cold pools is most pronounced during clear, calm weather. Since the zone of high pressure that provides California with many clear, calm days is projected to shift northward in a warming climate, the Pacific Northwest may see an increase in cold air pooling in many mountain valleys. This could lead to amplified warming on the ridges of several degrees, compared to that in the valleys.
Ecological and hydrological impacts are likely, but difficult to predict. Douglas-fir forests tolerate a wide range of temperature conditions and are fairly resilient, Daly said, but some plant or animal species that can't readily move may face challenges.
Cool valley bottoms with more stable temperatures could actually act as refuges from the hotter ridge tops for some species, but are not expected to escape the overall warming that will affect the region. Variations in snowmelt between ridge tops and valleys are also likely to become more complex.
"At a larger scale, these changes in regional airflow patterns may also alter the flow of marine air from the Pacific Ocean that helps cool and ventilate the interior valleys during summer," Daly said. "If there are more times when that ocean air flow pattern shuts down, the valleys where most of the population lives could become much hotter than expected."
Similar forces could be found in many Mediterranean climates around the world, such as in Europe, South America and parts of the western U.S., which have climates that are controlled by the seasonal movement of high pressure belts, Daly said.
"There is more we need to be concerned about than overall warming, and we really haven't given these localized issues much consideration," he said.
Research will continue in the Andrews Forest to study these changes as they evolve, scientists said. Although not all U.S. mountains are topographically similar to this area, such steep terrain and poorly ventilated valleys are common in many parts of the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada mountains, and Rocky Mountains.
This research was aided by the Long Term Ecological Research Program of the National Science Foundation, which supports OSU and the U.S. Forest Service in operating the H.J. Andrews Forest.
Email or share this story:
| More
Story Source:
Adapted from materials provided by Oregon State University.
Journal Reference:
1. Christopher Daly, David R. Conklin, Michael H. Unsworth. Local atmospheric decoupling in complex topography alters climate change impacts. International Journal of Climatology, 2009; : n/a DOI: 10.1002/joc.2007
A new study concludes that the future effects of global warming could be significantly changed over very small distances by local air movements in complex or mountainous terrain -- perhaps doubling or even tripling the temperature increases in some situations.
This graphic indicates December daytime temperature differentials that might be expected from future global warming, in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest near Blue River, Ore. Weather conditions that cause ridgetops to warm and cold air to pool in valleys may become more frequent - magnifying global warming on the ridgetops but not in the valley bottoms. (Credit: Oregon State University)
In an article to be published in the International Journal of Climatology, researchers from Oregon State University used the unique historical data provided by Oregon's H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest to study potential variations in temperature caused by steep hills and valleys.
Based on a regional temperature increase of about 5 degrees projected for western Oregon by 2100, the study concluded that some locations, such as mountain ridge tops, could actually increase as much as 14 degrees at some times, while cold air pools in the valleys below them with temperature increases similar to the regional average.
"Even if the predictions for average temperature changes are accurate, there's been very little work done on what that may mean in specific locations and situations," said Chris Daly, an OSU professor of geosciences, director of OSU's PRISM Climate Group and expert on the effects of elevation and topography on localized climatic effects.
"We are finding that there's a potential here for tremendous disparities in local effects that we need to learn more about," Daly said. "Some locations may get much warmer than the average while others nearby are affected less, with associated impacts on their ecology, the plant and animals species that live there."
The steep terrain and long-term climate records in the H.J. Andrews Forest near Blue River, Ore., in the central Oregon Cascade Range, have provided an unusual data set to study this phenomenon. In general, temperatures decrease as you go up in altitude -- but not necessarily in the mountains. Some ridges in the H.J. Andrews are routinely warmer than protected valleys below them, especially at night and during winter, as cool air drains down their flanks and forms "cold pools" with fairly stable temperatures.
The formation of these cold pools is most pronounced during clear, calm weather. Since the zone of high pressure that provides California with many clear, calm days is projected to shift northward in a warming climate, the Pacific Northwest may see an increase in cold air pooling in many mountain valleys. This could lead to amplified warming on the ridges of several degrees, compared to that in the valleys.
Ecological and hydrological impacts are likely, but difficult to predict. Douglas-fir forests tolerate a wide range of temperature conditions and are fairly resilient, Daly said, but some plant or animal species that can't readily move may face challenges.
Cool valley bottoms with more stable temperatures could actually act as refuges from the hotter ridge tops for some species, but are not expected to escape the overall warming that will affect the region. Variations in snowmelt between ridge tops and valleys are also likely to become more complex.
"At a larger scale, these changes in regional airflow patterns may also alter the flow of marine air from the Pacific Ocean that helps cool and ventilate the interior valleys during summer," Daly said. "If there are more times when that ocean air flow pattern shuts down, the valleys where most of the population lives could become much hotter than expected."
Similar forces could be found in many Mediterranean climates around the world, such as in Europe, South America and parts of the western U.S., which have climates that are controlled by the seasonal movement of high pressure belts, Daly said.
"There is more we need to be concerned about than overall warming, and we really haven't given these localized issues much consideration," he said.
Research will continue in the Andrews Forest to study these changes as they evolve, scientists said. Although not all U.S. mountains are topographically similar to this area, such steep terrain and poorly ventilated valleys are common in many parts of the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada mountains, and Rocky Mountains.
This research was aided by the Long Term Ecological Research Program of the National Science Foundation, which supports OSU and the U.S. Forest Service in operating the H.J. Andrews Forest.
Email or share this story:
| More
Story Source:
Adapted from materials provided by Oregon State University.
Journal Reference:
1. Christopher Daly, David R. Conklin, Michael H. Unsworth. Local atmospheric decoupling in complex topography alters climate change impacts. International Journal of Climatology, 2009; : n/a DOI: 10.1002/joc.2007
Situation in Europe - The Eyjafjallajokull eruption (Update)- Iceland Eruption
Situation in Europe - The Eyjafjallajokull eruption (Update)
Iceland Eruption - Present situation
Photographer Martin Rietze got to within 250 metres of the lava fountains to capture his stunning series of images
Lava hits the sea from the volcanic eruption between the Myrdalsjokull and Eyjafjallajokull glaciers, east of Iceland's capital Reykjavik
Only around an hour old, this lavaflow is falling from a steep cliff a few hundred metres from the main eruption
Lava spurts out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Fimmvorduhals volcano near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier
Close-up: The dark cloud of smoke coming from the Icelandic crater as seen by an Icelandic Coast Guard helicopter
The plume from the Icelandic volcano - seen as a grey-brown streak drifting across the middle of the image - is visible from space. It was imaged by the Modis instruments on two Nasa satellites as it blew towards the Shetland Islands
Coating: Researchers at Sheffield Hallam University collected these particles of volcanic ash (seen here under a microscope) which fell on cars in the centre's grounds earlier today
Frozen: Ice chunks carried downstream by floodwaters caused by volcanic activity lie on the Markarfljot riverbank in Iceland yesterday
Dusty: A car in Iceland drives through the ash from the volcano
Widespread: Ash from the erupting volcano sweeps in an arc across the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and Russia in this image from NASA yesterday
Spectacular: A satellite image of the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland
A man surveys what is left of the main Icelandic coastal road after it was washed away by flood water following the volcano eruption
Around 800 people have had to be evacuated and 70 tourists were rescued after they were trapped by the rising flood waters
Spectacular: Plumes of smoke shoot up from a volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland today which has erupted for the first time in 200 years
The Eyjafjallajokull eruption is the second in less than a month and has seen hundreds of international flights cancelled
Workers have been forced to smash holes through roads in Iceland to allow the surging flood water to escape out to sea
Part of the glacier has melted under the ferocious temperatures causing the flood swell to pour down the mountain
Experts are concerned the recent eruption could trigger another more powerful one from the nearby Katla volcano
Earth Day finds itself in a political pickle
Earth Day finds itself in a political pickle
As Earth Day reaches middle age — it turns 40 today — will it get all the respect it’s grown to expect?
From those who love it? Always. It’s a chance for environmentalists, young and old, to look back on all that has been accomplished, but address the continuing challenges.
But in some circles, which may have broadened in recent years, not so much.
The environmental celebration that once seemed more innocently focused on planting trees, on DDT and on weeping Indians is now bound up with politics and climate change — and amid a toxic cloud of polarization and name calling.
As a result, some green movement momentum has been lost, Earth Day supporters agree. But they welcome the debates the day brings.
Critics long have accused its organizers of being anti-business or anti-growth. The Washington Post last year characterized the day a “global guilt-fest.”
Likely it will be called worse today from the right of the political spectrum, where the energetic tea party crowd resides.
A recent New York Times poll that reached more than 800 tea party supporters found that 51 percent see no serious impact from climate change, twice the rate of other Americans, and that 15 percent of supporters don’t believe climate change even exists, three times the rate of the rest of the population.
Other surveys suggest the larger public mood — recession-wracked and fearing the federal deficit — is shifting:
•More people place a greater priority on the economy than the environment.
•Nearly half believe global warming is exaggerated in the media.
•The numbers of those rejecting the theory that climate change is caused by human activity are growing.
More than two years ago, when Kristin Riott joined Kansas City’s Bridging the Gap group, “the phones were ringing off the hook with everybody wanting to go green.”
Today the phones still ring, Riott said, “but the intensity of concern about the environment has definitely been knocked off the radar screen by what’s been happening with the economy.”
Others say many of the pollution problems of 40 years ago have been addressed, so now media, scientists and activist groups must hype climate change just to remain relevant.
“Global warming alarmists have overstated their case in the media,” said James M. Taylor at the Heartland Institute, a nonprofit that promotes free-market solutions to environmental and other problems.
“Now the public doesn’t believe much of what they’re saying.”
Environmentalists retort that while the easily seen problems were cleaned up, the job is not done on things that the naked eye can’t detect.
That’s politically difficult, said Russell Train, chief environmental adviser in 1970 to President Richard Nixon.
“Back in the ’70s, people felt the threat of environmental mistakes and misbehavior,” he told The Associated Press.
“There was a real threat to your health, and people knew that. Today, people will accept that as a general principle, but don’t feel any immediate threat from climate change or indirect source pollution from farmers.”
Environmentalists express optimism about how “green” has taken deeper root and how Earth Day fires up the faithful.
A rally to promote federal climate legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is expected to draw people from across the nation Sunday to the National Mall in Washington.
The House of Representatives last year passed a climate bill, and a bipartisan Senate plan may be unveiled Monday.
“I think there is a general sense of optimism, not pessimism,” said Nate Byer, campaign director for Earth Day 2010 at the Earth Day Network in Washington.
“Climate change is the greatest threat of our time but it also presents us with opportunities … A (good) climate bill is a jobs bill and a national security bill, and it will allow a better future for our children.”
•••
When the first Earth Day happened in 1970, it was called a “teach-in” and reflected the activism of young people and organizational lessons learned from Vietnam War protests.
The focus was pollution and overpopulation. It was also a time of general agreement between government leaders and the public that something had to be done — the Cuyahoga River in Ohio, after all, was notoriously catching fire.
Within only a few years the Environmental Protection Agency had been created and a slew of laws were on the books, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Water Pollution Control Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act and the Pesticides Control Act.
But a major concern of the 1970s that remains today is our dependence on fossil fuels, which is at the core of the climate-change debate.
Noting the great potential for energy efficiencies, Riott said, “Clearly we are going to go on using oil and coal for some time.
“But we can certainly get much cleaner than we are now.”
Observers say the concept of being “green” has taken root in the generations of young people since the first Earth Day.
“I would say our kids are very aware,” said Kim Lilley, English teacher at Blue Valley West High School.
•••
At the University of Missouri, where a large Sunday event is planned, Jan Weaver, director of undergraduate environmental studies, said students generally understand that their behavior can have an impact on the environment.
“But if you ask them specifics, they’d probably be as hard-pressed to give you details as the population was maybe 40 years ago,” Weaver said.
The level of optimism remains about the same despite the specter of climate change as “a game changer” that will worsen global pollution and food shortages, she said.
“But I also think that we have a lot of the technology that we need and a lot of the tools that we need to make change,” she said. “It’s going to be a rough patch for the next 10 years, but the evidence will become more compelling, and people will recognize the opportunities of moving from fossil fuels to solar and wind and biomass and hydrogen fuel cells.”
Riott said it is unfortunate that political discourse has become so divisive, because if anything could unite us, it should be the destabilization of our habitat. She described herself as optimistic but realistic.
“Change on a scale we’re talking about doesn’t happen in a five-year period but happens over decades,” she said, citing labor law, women’s suffrage and slavery’s abolition.
Forty years of Earth Days have created a national awareness, she said.
“People in the 1930s didn’t know about climate change, even though scientists were aware. It wasn’t even discussed. Now we’re discussing it.”
SHORT STEPS
Bridging the Gap asks Kansas Citians to do five simple things to help the environment.
•Give up bottled water.
•Use only cold water in the washing machine.
•Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs.
•Set the thermostat to 68 or below in winter and 78 or above in summer.
•Drive less.
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/04/21/1894319/earth-day-finds-itself-in-a-political.html#ixzz0lnkCX04x
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/04/21/1894319/earth-day-finds-itself-in-a-political.html#ixzz0lnjvSc8O
As Earth Day reaches middle age — it turns 40 today — will it get all the respect it’s grown to expect?
From those who love it? Always. It’s a chance for environmentalists, young and old, to look back on all that has been accomplished, but address the continuing challenges.
But in some circles, which may have broadened in recent years, not so much.
The environmental celebration that once seemed more innocently focused on planting trees, on DDT and on weeping Indians is now bound up with politics and climate change — and amid a toxic cloud of polarization and name calling.
As a result, some green movement momentum has been lost, Earth Day supporters agree. But they welcome the debates the day brings.
Critics long have accused its organizers of being anti-business or anti-growth. The Washington Post last year characterized the day a “global guilt-fest.”
Likely it will be called worse today from the right of the political spectrum, where the energetic tea party crowd resides.
A recent New York Times poll that reached more than 800 tea party supporters found that 51 percent see no serious impact from climate change, twice the rate of other Americans, and that 15 percent of supporters don’t believe climate change even exists, three times the rate of the rest of the population.
Other surveys suggest the larger public mood — recession-wracked and fearing the federal deficit — is shifting:
•More people place a greater priority on the economy than the environment.
•Nearly half believe global warming is exaggerated in the media.
•The numbers of those rejecting the theory that climate change is caused by human activity are growing.
More than two years ago, when Kristin Riott joined Kansas City’s Bridging the Gap group, “the phones were ringing off the hook with everybody wanting to go green.”
Today the phones still ring, Riott said, “but the intensity of concern about the environment has definitely been knocked off the radar screen by what’s been happening with the economy.”
Others say many of the pollution problems of 40 years ago have been addressed, so now media, scientists and activist groups must hype climate change just to remain relevant.
“Global warming alarmists have overstated their case in the media,” said James M. Taylor at the Heartland Institute, a nonprofit that promotes free-market solutions to environmental and other problems.
“Now the public doesn’t believe much of what they’re saying.”
Environmentalists retort that while the easily seen problems were cleaned up, the job is not done on things that the naked eye can’t detect.
That’s politically difficult, said Russell Train, chief environmental adviser in 1970 to President Richard Nixon.
“Back in the ’70s, people felt the threat of environmental mistakes and misbehavior,” he told The Associated Press.
“There was a real threat to your health, and people knew that. Today, people will accept that as a general principle, but don’t feel any immediate threat from climate change or indirect source pollution from farmers.”
Environmentalists express optimism about how “green” has taken deeper root and how Earth Day fires up the faithful.
A rally to promote federal climate legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is expected to draw people from across the nation Sunday to the National Mall in Washington.
The House of Representatives last year passed a climate bill, and a bipartisan Senate plan may be unveiled Monday.
“I think there is a general sense of optimism, not pessimism,” said Nate Byer, campaign director for Earth Day 2010 at the Earth Day Network in Washington.
“Climate change is the greatest threat of our time but it also presents us with opportunities … A (good) climate bill is a jobs bill and a national security bill, and it will allow a better future for our children.”
•••
When the first Earth Day happened in 1970, it was called a “teach-in” and reflected the activism of young people and organizational lessons learned from Vietnam War protests.
The focus was pollution and overpopulation. It was also a time of general agreement between government leaders and the public that something had to be done — the Cuyahoga River in Ohio, after all, was notoriously catching fire.
Within only a few years the Environmental Protection Agency had been created and a slew of laws were on the books, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Water Pollution Control Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act and the Pesticides Control Act.
But a major concern of the 1970s that remains today is our dependence on fossil fuels, which is at the core of the climate-change debate.
Noting the great potential for energy efficiencies, Riott said, “Clearly we are going to go on using oil and coal for some time.
“But we can certainly get much cleaner than we are now.”
Observers say the concept of being “green” has taken root in the generations of young people since the first Earth Day.
“I would say our kids are very aware,” said Kim Lilley, English teacher at Blue Valley West High School.
•••
At the University of Missouri, where a large Sunday event is planned, Jan Weaver, director of undergraduate environmental studies, said students generally understand that their behavior can have an impact on the environment.
“But if you ask them specifics, they’d probably be as hard-pressed to give you details as the population was maybe 40 years ago,” Weaver said.
The level of optimism remains about the same despite the specter of climate change as “a game changer” that will worsen global pollution and food shortages, she said.
“But I also think that we have a lot of the technology that we need and a lot of the tools that we need to make change,” she said. “It’s going to be a rough patch for the next 10 years, but the evidence will become more compelling, and people will recognize the opportunities of moving from fossil fuels to solar and wind and biomass and hydrogen fuel cells.”
Riott said it is unfortunate that political discourse has become so divisive, because if anything could unite us, it should be the destabilization of our habitat. She described herself as optimistic but realistic.
“Change on a scale we’re talking about doesn’t happen in a five-year period but happens over decades,” she said, citing labor law, women’s suffrage and slavery’s abolition.
Forty years of Earth Days have created a national awareness, she said.
“People in the 1930s didn’t know about climate change, even though scientists were aware. It wasn’t even discussed. Now we’re discussing it.”
SHORT STEPS
Bridging the Gap asks Kansas Citians to do five simple things to help the environment.
•Give up bottled water.
•Use only cold water in the washing machine.
•Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs.
•Set the thermostat to 68 or below in winter and 78 or above in summer.
•Drive less.
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/04/21/1894319/earth-day-finds-itself-in-a-political.html#ixzz0lnkCX04x
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/04/21/1894319/earth-day-finds-itself-in-a-political.html#ixzz0lnjvSc8O
Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in held on April 22, 1970. Earth Day is celebrated in spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Many communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues. The first Earth Week originated in Philadelphia in 1970 (starting April 16 and culminating on Earth Day, April 22.) Earth Day Network, a group that wishes to become the coordinator of Earth Day globally, asserts that Earth Day is now observed on April 22 on virtually every country on Earth. World Environment Day, celebrated on June 5 in a different nation every year, is the principal United Nations environmental observance.
Rob Cobb's 1969 Ecology Flag with theta
The first Earth Day
U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin announced his idea for a nationwide teach-in day on the environment in a speech to a fledgling conservation group in Seattle on 20 September 1969, and then again six days later in Atlantic City to a meeting of the United Auto Workers. Senator Nelson hoped that a grassroots outcry about environmental issues might prove to Washington, D.C. just how distressed Americans were in every constituency. Senator Nelson invited Republican Representative Paul N “Pete” McCloskey to serve as his co-chair and they incorporated a new non-profit organization, environmental Teach-In, Inc., to stimulate participation across the country. Both continued to give speeches plugging the event.[5][6][7]
On September 29, 1969, in a front-page New York Times article, Gladwin Hill wrote:
"Rising concern about the "environmental crisis" is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam...a national day of observance of environmental problems, analogous to the mass demonstrations on Vietnam, is being planned for next spring, when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned...” Denis Hayes, a Harvard graduate student, read the NYT article and traveled to Washington to get involved. He had been student body president and a campus activist at Stanford University in McCloskey’s district and where Teach-In board member Paul Ehrlich was a professor. He thought he might be asked to organize Boston. Instead, Nelson eventually asked Hayes to drop out of Harvard, assemble a staff, and direct the effort to organize the United States. Hayes would go on to become a widely recognized environmental advocate.
Nelson's suggestion was difficult to implement, as the Earth Day movement proved to be autonomous with no central governing body. As Senator Nelson attests, it simply grew on its own:
Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.
Official Earth Week logo that was used as the backdrop for the prime time CBS News Special Report with Walter Cronkite about Earth Day 1970
On April 22 1970, Earth Day marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Approximately 20 million Americans participated. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, Freeway and expressway revolts, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.
Media coverage of the first Earth Day included a One-Hour Prime-time CBS News Special Report called "Earth Day: A Question of Survival," with correspondents reporting from a dozen major cities across the country, and narrated by Walter Cronkite (whose backdrop was the Earth Week Committee of Philadelphia's logo).[13] The largest segment of the special report (20 minutes of the 60-minute program) focused on Earth Day in Philadelphia
Earth Day 1970 in Philadelphia
Earth Week Committee Project Director, Edward Furia (left), and Chairman, Austan Librach (right) during a meeting in early 1970 with the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, in which they raised $30,000 (with commitments for additional funds) to fund Earth Week activities and expose the city's worst polluters.
Earth Day 1970 in Philadelphia gave birth to Earth Week, April 16-22. It was created by a committee of students (mostly from University of Pennsylvania), professionals, leaders of grass roots organizations and businessmen concerned about the environment and inspired by Senator Gaylord Nelson’s call for a national environmental teach-in. The Earth Week Committee of Philadelphia concluded that devoting only one day to the environment would not provide enough time and space to paint a comprehensive picture of the environmental issues confronting mankind. While all of their activities would build toward a climactic Earth Day celebration on April 22, there would also be an entire week of events in the week preceding.
Austan Librach, a regional planning graduate student, assumed the role of Committee Chairman and hired Edward Furia, who had just received his City Planning and Law Degrees from University of Pennsylvania, to be Project Director. The core group from Penn was joined in 1970 by students from other area colleges, as well as from other community, church and business groups which, working together, organized scores of educational activities, scientific symposia and major mass media events in the Delaware Valley Region in and around Philadelphia. The Earth Week Committee of 33 members settled on a common objective—to raise public awareness of environmental problems and their potential solutions.
U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie, author of the historic Clean Air Act of 1970 and sponsor of pending landmark water pollution legislation, was the keynote speaker on Earth Day in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. Other notable attendees included consumer protection activist and presidential candidate Ralph Nader; Landscape Architect Ian McHarg; Nobel prize-winning Harvard Biochemist, George Wald; U.S. Senate Minority Leader, Hugh Scott; and poet, Allen Ginsberg. Forty years later, the Earth Week Committee decided to make rare photos, video and other previously unpublished information about the history of Earth Week 1970 available to the public at EarthWeek.us.
Many cities now extend the observance of Earth Day events to an entire week, usually starting on April 16 and ending on Earth Day, April 22. These events are designed to encourage environmentally-aware behaviors, such as recycling, using energy efficiently, and reducing or reusing disposable items.
Earthday 1970 in New York City
On September 29, 1969, in a long, front-page New York Times article, Gladwin Hill wrote:
"Rising concern about the "environmental crisis" is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam...a national day of observance of environmental problems, analogous to the mass demonstrations on Vietnam, is being planned for next spring, when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned...."[9]
In the winter of 1969 a group of students met at Columbia University to hear Denis Hayes talk about his plans for Earth Day. Among the group were Fred Kent, Pete Grannis, and Kristin and William Hubbard. This New York group agreed to head up the New York City part of the national movement. Fred Kent took the lead in renting an office and recruiting volunteers. "The big break came when Mayor Lindsay agreed to shut down 5th Avenue for the event. A giant cheer went up in the office on that day," according to Kristin Hubbard (now Kristin Alexandre). 'From that time on we used Mayor Lindsay's offices and even his staff. I was Speaker Coordinator but had tremendous help from Lindsay staffer Judith Crichton."
In addition to shutting down Fifth Avenue, Mayor Lindsay made Central Park available for Earth Day. The crowd was estimated as more than one million—by far the largest in the nation. Since New York was also the home of NBC, CBS, ABC, the New York Times, Time, and Newsweek, it provided the best possible anchor for national coverage from their reporters all over the country.
Earth Day 20 and Earth Day 1990
Mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting the status of environmental issues onto the world stage, Earth Day activities in 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Unlike the first Earth Day in 1970, this 20th Anniversary was waged with stronger marketing tools, greater access to television and radio, and multimillion-dollar budgets.
The official logo of the Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb.
Two separate groups formed to sponsor Earth Day events in 1990: The Earth Day 20 Foundation, assembled by Edward Furia (Project Director of Earth Week in 1970), and Earth Day 1990, assembled by Denis Hayes (National Coordinator for Earth Day 1970). Senator Gaylord Nelson, the original founder of Earth Day, was honorary chairman for both groups. The two did not combine forces over disagreements about leadership of combined organization and incompatible structures and strategies.[20] Among the disagreements, key Earth Day 20 Foundation organizers were critical of Earth Day 1990 for including on their board Hewlett Packard, a company that at the time was the second-biggest emitter of chlorofluorocarbons in Silicon Valley and refused to switch to alternative solvents.[20] In terms of marketing, Earth Day 20 had a grassroots approach to organizing and relied largely on locally based groups like the National Toxics Campaign, a Boston-based coalition of 1,000 local groups concerned with industrial pollution. Earth Day 1990 Employed strategies including focus group testing, direct mail fund raising, and email marketing.[21]
The Earth Day 20 Foundation highlighted it's April 22 activities in George, Washington, near the Columbia River with a live satellite phone call with members of the historic Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb who called from their base camp on Mount Everest to pledge their support for world peace and attention to environmental issues.[22] The Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb was led by Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mt. Everest (many years earlier), and marked the first time in history that mountaineers from the United States, Soviet Union and China had roped together to climb a mountain, let alone Mt. Everest.[22] The group also collected over two tons of trash (transported down the mountain by support groups along the way) that was left behind on Mount Everest from previous climbing expeditions. The Earth Day 20 event also featured two live satellite phone calls from President George H.W. Bush, one to Whitaker on Everest and the other to Furia at Columbia Gorge. The elder President Bush had a few months earlier also become the first president to declare Earth Day a national holiday which he did in January, 1990.[22] Among those who were invited to the 20th Earth Day Proclamation signing ceremony in The White House were Edward Furia and Jim Whitaker from Earth Day 20 and Denis Hayes from Earth Day 1990. The master of ceremonies for the Columbia Gorge event was the TV star, John Ratzenberger, from "Cheers", and the headlining musician was the "Father of Rock and Roll," Chuck Berry.
The Earth Day Name
According to Senator Nelson, the moniker "Earth Day" was "an obvious and logical name" suggested by "a number of people" in the fall of 1969, including, he writes, both "a friend of mine who had been in the field of public relations" and "a New York advertising executive," Julian Koenig.[23] Koenig was on Nelson's organizing committee in 1969. April 22 also happened to be Koenig's birthday, and as "Earth Day" rhymed with "birthday," the idea came to him easily, he said.[24][25] Other names circulated during preparations—Nelson himself continued to call it the National Environment Teach-In, but press coverage of the event was "practically unanimous" in its use of "Earth Day," so the name stuck.[23]
Subsequent Earth Day Events
To turn Earth Day into a sustainable annual event rather than one that occurred every 10 years, Senator Nelson and Bruce Anderson, New Hampshire's lead organizer in 1990, formed Earth Day USA. Building on the momentum created by thousands of community organizers around the world, Earth Day USA coordinated the next five Earth Day celebrations through 1995, including the launch of EarthDay.org. Following the 25th Anniversary in 1995, the coordination baton was handed to Earth Day Network.
As the millennium approached, Hayes agreed to spearhead another campaign, this time focusing on global warming and pushing for clean energy. The April 22 Earth Day in 2000 combined the big-picture feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990. For 2000, Earth Day had the Internet to help link activists around the world. By the time April 22 came around, 5,000 environmental groups around the world were on board, reaching out to hundreds of millions of people in a record 184 countries. Events varied: A talking drum chain traveled from village to village in Gabon, Africa, for example, while hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., USA.
Earth Day 2007 was one of the largest Earth Days to date, with an estimated billion people participating in the activities in thousands of places like Kiev, Ukraine; Caracas, Venezuela; Tuvalu; Manila, Philippines; Togo; Madrid, Spain; London; and New York.
Earth Day Network
Earth Day Network was founded by Denis Hayes and the organizers of the first Earth Day in 1970 and by other national organizers, including Pam Lippe, to promote environmental activism and year-round progressive action, domestically and internationally. Earth Day Network members include NGOs, quasi-governmental agencies, local governments, activists, and others. Earth Day Network members focus on environmental education; local, national, and global policies; public environmental campaigns; and organizing national and local earth day events to promote activism and environmental protection. The international network reaches over 19,000 organizations in 192 countries, while the domestic program engages 10,000 groups and over 100,000 educators coordinating millions of community development and environmental-protection activities throughout the year.[26]
In observance of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, EDN created multiple global initiatives, ranging from a Global Day of Conversation with mayors worldwide, focusing on bringing green investment and building a green economy; Athletes for the Earth Campaign that brings Olympic, professional, and every day athletes' voices to help promote a solution to climate change; a Billion Acts of Green Campaign which will aggregate the millions of environmental service commitments that individuals and organizations around the world make each year;[27] to Artist for the Earth, a campaign the involves hundreds of arts institutions and artists worldwide to create environmental awareness. EDN expects at least 1.5 billion people to participate in these global events and programs.
EDN has helped create Earth Day organizations worldwide.
Earth Day Canada
Earth Day Canada logo
Earth Day Canada (EDC), a national environmental charity founded in 1990, provides Canadians with the practical knowledge and tools they need to lessen their impact on the environment. In 2004, it was recognized as the top environmental education organization in North America, for its innovative year-round programs and educational resources, by the Washington-based North American Association for Environmental Education, the world's largest association of environmental educators. In 2008, it was chosen as Canada’s “Outstanding Non-profit Organization” by the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication. EDC regularly partners with thousands of organizations in all parts of Canada. EDC hosts a suite of six environmental programs: Ecokids, EcoMentors, EcoAction Teams, Community Environment Fund, Hometown Heroes and the Toyota Earth Day Scholarship Program.
History of the Equinox Earth Day
The equinoctial Earth Day is celebrated on the March equinox (around March 20) to mark the precise moment of astronomical mid-spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and of astronomical mid-autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. An equinox in astronomy is that moment in time (not a whole day) when the center of the Sun can be observed to be directly "above" the Earth's equator, occurring around March 20 and September 23 each year. In most cultures, the equinoxes and solstices are considered to start or separate the seasons.
John McConnell[28] first introduced the idea of a global holiday called "Earth Day" at the 1969 UNESCO Conference on the Environment. The first Earth Day proclamation was issued by San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto on March 21, 1970. Celebrations were held in various cities, such as San Francisco and in Davis, California with a multi-day street party. UN Secretary-General U Thant supported McConnell's global initiative to celebrate this annual event; and on February 26, 1971, he signed a proclamation to that effect, saying:
May there be only peaceful and cheerful Earth Days to come for our beautiful Spaceship Earth as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animate life.[29]
United Nations secretary-general Kurt Waldheim observed Earth Day with similar ceremonies on the March equinox in 1972, and the United Nations Earth Day ceremony has continued each year since on the day of the March equinox (the United Nations also works with organizers of the April 22 global event). Margaret Mead added her support for the equinox Earth Day, and in 1978 declared:
"EARTH DAY is the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord, is devoted to the preservation of the harmony in nature and yet draws upon the triumphs of technology, the measurement of time, and instantaneous communication through space.
EARTH DAY draws on astronomical phenomena in a new way – which is also the most ancient way – by using the vernal Equinox, the time when the Sun crosses the equator making the length of night and day equal in all parts of the Earth. To this point in the annual calendar, EARTH DAY attaches no local or divisive set of symbols, no statement of the truth or superiority of one way of life over another. But the selection of the March Equinox makes planetary observance of a shared event possible, and a flag which shows the Earth, as seen from space, appropriate."[30]
At the moment of the equinox, it is traditional to observe Earth Day by ringing the Japanese Peace Bell, which was donated by Japan to the United Nations.[31] Over the years, celebrations have occurred in various places worldwide at the same time as the UN celebration. On March 20, 2008, in addition to the ceremony at the United Nations, ceremonies were held in New Zealand, and bells were sounded in California, Vienna, Paris, Lithuania, Tokyo and many other locations. The equinox Earth Day at the UN is organized by the Earth Society Foundation.
22 April observances
Growing eco-activism before Earth Day 1970
Project Survival, an early environmentalism-awareness education event, was held at Northwestern University on January 23, 1970. This was the first of several events held at university campuses across the United States in the lead-up to the first Earth Day. Also, Ralph Nader began talking about the importance of ecology in 1970.
The 1960s had been a very dynamic period for ecology in the US, in both theory and practice. It was in the mid-1960s that Congress passed the sweeping Wilderness Act, and Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas asked, "Who speaks for the trees?" Pre-1960 grassroots activism against DDT in Nassau County, New York, had inspired Rachel Carson to write her bestseller, Silent Spring (1962).
Earth Day 1970
Responding to widespread environmental degradation, Gaylord Nelson, a United States Senator from Wisconsin, called for an environmental teach-in, or Earth Day, to be held on April 22, 1970. Over 20 million people participated that year, and Earth Day is now observed on April 22 each year by more than 500 million people and several national governments in 175 countries.[citation needed]
Senator Nelson, an environmental activist, took a leading role in organizing the celebration, hoping to demonstrate popular political support for an environmental agenda. He modeled it on the highly effective Vietnam War teach-ins of the time.[33] The proposal for Earth Day was first proposed in a prospectus to JFK written by Fred Dutton.[34] However, Nelson decided against much of Dutton's top-down approach, favoring a decentralized, grassroots effort in which each community shaped their action around local concerns.
Earth Day was conceived by Senator Gaylord Nelson after a trip he took to Santa Barbara right after the horrific oil spill off the coast in 1969. Outraged by the devastation and Washington political inertia, Nelson proposed a national teach-in on the environment to be observed by every university campus in the U.S.[35]
I am convinced that all we need to do to bring an overwhelming insistence of the new generation that we stem the tide of environmental disaster is to present the facts clearly and dramatically. To marshal such an effort, I am proposing a national teach-in on the crisis of the environment to be held next spring on every university campus across the Nation. The crisis is so imminent, in my opinion, that every university should set aside 1 day in the school year-the same day across the Nation-for the teach-in.[35]
Senator Nelson selected Denis Hayes, a Harvard University graduate student, as the national coordinator of activities in a non-profit group, Environmental Teach-In, Inc. Hayes said he wanted Earth Day to "bypass the traditional political process."[36] Garrett DuBell compiled and edited The Environmental Handbook the first guide to the Environmental Teach-In. Its symbol was a green Greek letter theta, "the dead theta".
One of the organizers of the event said:
"We're going to be focusing an enormous amount of public interest on a whole, wide range of environmental events, hopefully in such a manner that it's going to be drawing the interrelationships between them and, getting people to look at the whole thing as one consistent kind of picture, a picture of a society that's rapidly going in the wrong direction that has to be stopped and turned around.
"It's going to be an enormous affair, I think. We have groups operating now in about 12,000 high schools, 2,000 colleges and universities and a couple of thousand other community groups. It's safe to say I think that the number of people who will be participating in one way or another is going to be ranging in the millions."[37]
The nationwide event included opposition to the Vietnam War on the agenda, but this was thought to detract from the environmental message. Pete Seeger was a keynote speaker and performer at the event held in Washington DC. Paul Newman and Ali McGraw attended the event held in New York City.
The most notable organization to protest the event was the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Results of Earth Day 1970
Earth Day proved popular in the United States and around the world. The first Earth Day had participants and celebrants in two thousand colleges and universities, roughly ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the United States. More importantly, it "brought 20 million Americans out into the spring sunshine for peaceful demonstrations in favor of environmental reform."
Senator Nelson stated that Earth Day "worked" because of the response at the grassroots level. Twenty-million demonstrators and thousands of schools and local communities participated. He directly credited the first Earth Day with persuading U.S. politicians that environmental legislation had a substantial, lasting constituency. Many important laws were passed by Congress in the wake of the 1970 Earth Day, including the Clean Air Act, wild lands and the ocean, and the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
It is now observed in 175 countries, and coordinated by the nonprofit Earth Day Network, according to whom Earth Day is now "the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated by more than a half billion people every year." Environmental groups have sought to make Earth Day into a day of action which changes human behavior and provokes policy changes
Significance of 22 April
* Senator Nelson chose the date in order to maximize participation on college campuses for what he conceived as an "environmental teach-in." He determined the week of April 19–25 was the best bet; it did not fall during exams or spring breaks, did not conflict with religious holidays such as Easter or Passover, and was late enough in spring to have decent weather. More students were likely to be in class, and there would be less competition with other mid-week events—so he chose Wednesday, April 22. Asked whether he had purposely chosen Lenin's 100th birthday, Nelson explained that with only 365 days a year and 3.7 billion people in the world, every day was the birthday of ten million living people. “On any given day, a lot of both good and bad people were born,” he said. "A person many consider the world’s first environmentalist, Saint Francis of Assisi, was born on April 22."[43]
* April 21 was the birthday of John Muir, who founded the Sierra Club. This was not lost on organizers who thought April 22 was Muir's birthday.[citation needed]
* April 22, 1970 was the 100th birthday of Vladimir Lenin. Time reported that some suspected the date was not a coincidence, but a clue that the event was "a Communist trick," and quoted a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution as saying, "Subversive elements plan to make American children live in an environment that is good for them."[36] J. Edgar Hoover, director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, may have found the Lenin connection intriguing; it was alleged the FBI conducted surveillance at the 1970 demonstrations.[44] The idea that the date was chosen to celebrate Lenin's centenary still persists in some quarters,[45][46] although Lenin was never noted as an environmentalist.
* April 22 is also the birthday of Julius Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day, a national tree-planting holiday started in 1872. Arbor Day became a legal holiday in Nebraska in 1885, to be permanently observed on April 22. According to the National Arbor Day Foundation "the most common day for the state observances is the last Friday in April . . . but a number of state Arbor Days are at other times in order to coincide with the best tree-planting weather."[47] It has since been largely eclipsed by the more widely-observed Earth Day, except in Nebraska, where it originated.
* April 22 is also the birthday of actor Eddie Albert (of Green Acres fame), who was a staunch environmentalist and spokesperson for The National Arbor Day Foundation. Albert spoke at the inaugural Earth Day ceremony in 1970.
* 22 April continues to be the date of the Annual Iowahawk "Virtual Cruise", attended by millions worldwide.
Earth Day ecology flag
Ron Cobb's 1969 Ecology Symbol
According to Flags of the World, the Ecology Flag was created by cartoonist Ron Cobb, published on November 7, 1969, in the Los Angeles Free Press, then placed in the public domain. The symbol is a combination of the letters "E" and "O" taken from the words "Environment" and "Organism," respectively. The flag is patterned after the United States' flag, with thirteen alternating-green-and-whites stripes. Its canton is green with a yellow theta. Later flags used either a theta, because of its historic use as a warning symbol[48] Petrus de Dacia in a document from 1291 relates the idea that theta was used to brand criminals as empty ciphers, and the branding rod was affixed to the crossbar spanning the circle,[49] or the peace symbol. Theta would later become associated with Earth Day.
As a 16-year-old high school student, Betsy Vogel, an environmental advocate and social activist who enjoyed sewing costumes and unique gifts, made a 4 x 6-foot (1.8 m) green-and-white "theta" ecology flag to commemorate the first Earth Day. Initially denied permission to fly the flag at C. E. Byrd High School in Shreveport, Louisiana, Vogel sought and received authorization from the Louisiana State Legislature and Louisiana Governor John McKeithen in time to display the flag for Earth Day.
Criticism
Writer Alex Steffen, proponent of bright green environmentalism, charges that Earth Day has come to symbolize the marginalization of environmental protection, and the celebration itself has outlived its usefulness.[50]
A 5 May 2009 editorial in The Washington Times compared Arbor Day to Earth Day, claiming that Arbor Day was a happy, non-political celebration of trees, whereas Earth Day was a pessimistic, political ideology that portrayed humans in a negative light.
Earth Day 2010
Earth Day 2010 will coincide with the World People's Conference on Climate Change, to be held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and with the International Year of Biodiversity.
Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in held on April 22, 1970. Earth Day is celebrated in spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Many communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues. The first Earth Week originated in Philadelphia in 1970 (starting April 16 and culminating on Earth Day, April 22.) Earth Day Network, a group that wishes to become the coordinator of Earth Day globally, asserts that Earth Day is now observed on April 22 on virtually every country on Earth. World Environment Day, celebrated on June 5 in a different nation every year, is the principal United Nations environmental observance.
Rob Cobb's 1969 Ecology Flag with theta
The first Earth Day
U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin announced his idea for a nationwide teach-in day on the environment in a speech to a fledgling conservation group in Seattle on 20 September 1969, and then again six days later in Atlantic City to a meeting of the United Auto Workers. Senator Nelson hoped that a grassroots outcry about environmental issues might prove to Washington, D.C. just how distressed Americans were in every constituency. Senator Nelson invited Republican Representative Paul N “Pete” McCloskey to serve as his co-chair and they incorporated a new non-profit organization, environmental Teach-In, Inc., to stimulate participation across the country. Both continued to give speeches plugging the event.[5][6][7]
On September 29, 1969, in a front-page New York Times article, Gladwin Hill wrote:
"Rising concern about the "environmental crisis" is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam...a national day of observance of environmental problems, analogous to the mass demonstrations on Vietnam, is being planned for next spring, when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned...” Denis Hayes, a Harvard graduate student, read the NYT article and traveled to Washington to get involved. He had been student body president and a campus activist at Stanford University in McCloskey’s district and where Teach-In board member Paul Ehrlich was a professor. He thought he might be asked to organize Boston. Instead, Nelson eventually asked Hayes to drop out of Harvard, assemble a staff, and direct the effort to organize the United States. Hayes would go on to become a widely recognized environmental advocate.
Nelson's suggestion was difficult to implement, as the Earth Day movement proved to be autonomous with no central governing body. As Senator Nelson attests, it simply grew on its own:
Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.
Official Earth Week logo that was used as the backdrop for the prime time CBS News Special Report with Walter Cronkite about Earth Day 1970
On April 22 1970, Earth Day marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Approximately 20 million Americans participated. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, Freeway and expressway revolts, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.
Media coverage of the first Earth Day included a One-Hour Prime-time CBS News Special Report called "Earth Day: A Question of Survival," with correspondents reporting from a dozen major cities across the country, and narrated by Walter Cronkite (whose backdrop was the Earth Week Committee of Philadelphia's logo).[13] The largest segment of the special report (20 minutes of the 60-minute program) focused on Earth Day in Philadelphia
Earth Day 1970 in Philadelphia
Earth Week Committee Project Director, Edward Furia (left), and Chairman, Austan Librach (right) during a meeting in early 1970 with the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, in which they raised $30,000 (with commitments for additional funds) to fund Earth Week activities and expose the city's worst polluters.
Earth Day 1970 in Philadelphia gave birth to Earth Week, April 16-22. It was created by a committee of students (mostly from University of Pennsylvania), professionals, leaders of grass roots organizations and businessmen concerned about the environment and inspired by Senator Gaylord Nelson’s call for a national environmental teach-in. The Earth Week Committee of Philadelphia concluded that devoting only one day to the environment would not provide enough time and space to paint a comprehensive picture of the environmental issues confronting mankind. While all of their activities would build toward a climactic Earth Day celebration on April 22, there would also be an entire week of events in the week preceding.
Austan Librach, a regional planning graduate student, assumed the role of Committee Chairman and hired Edward Furia, who had just received his City Planning and Law Degrees from University of Pennsylvania, to be Project Director. The core group from Penn was joined in 1970 by students from other area colleges, as well as from other community, church and business groups which, working together, organized scores of educational activities, scientific symposia and major mass media events in the Delaware Valley Region in and around Philadelphia. The Earth Week Committee of 33 members settled on a common objective—to raise public awareness of environmental problems and their potential solutions.
U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie, author of the historic Clean Air Act of 1970 and sponsor of pending landmark water pollution legislation, was the keynote speaker on Earth Day in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. Other notable attendees included consumer protection activist and presidential candidate Ralph Nader; Landscape Architect Ian McHarg; Nobel prize-winning Harvard Biochemist, George Wald; U.S. Senate Minority Leader, Hugh Scott; and poet, Allen Ginsberg. Forty years later, the Earth Week Committee decided to make rare photos, video and other previously unpublished information about the history of Earth Week 1970 available to the public at EarthWeek.us.
Many cities now extend the observance of Earth Day events to an entire week, usually starting on April 16 and ending on Earth Day, April 22. These events are designed to encourage environmentally-aware behaviors, such as recycling, using energy efficiently, and reducing or reusing disposable items.
Earthday 1970 in New York City
On September 29, 1969, in a long, front-page New York Times article, Gladwin Hill wrote:
"Rising concern about the "environmental crisis" is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam...a national day of observance of environmental problems, analogous to the mass demonstrations on Vietnam, is being planned for next spring, when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned...."[9]
In the winter of 1969 a group of students met at Columbia University to hear Denis Hayes talk about his plans for Earth Day. Among the group were Fred Kent, Pete Grannis, and Kristin and William Hubbard. This New York group agreed to head up the New York City part of the national movement. Fred Kent took the lead in renting an office and recruiting volunteers. "The big break came when Mayor Lindsay agreed to shut down 5th Avenue for the event. A giant cheer went up in the office on that day," according to Kristin Hubbard (now Kristin Alexandre). 'From that time on we used Mayor Lindsay's offices and even his staff. I was Speaker Coordinator but had tremendous help from Lindsay staffer Judith Crichton."
In addition to shutting down Fifth Avenue, Mayor Lindsay made Central Park available for Earth Day. The crowd was estimated as more than one million—by far the largest in the nation. Since New York was also the home of NBC, CBS, ABC, the New York Times, Time, and Newsweek, it provided the best possible anchor for national coverage from their reporters all over the country.
Earth Day 20 and Earth Day 1990
Mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting the status of environmental issues onto the world stage, Earth Day activities in 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Unlike the first Earth Day in 1970, this 20th Anniversary was waged with stronger marketing tools, greater access to television and radio, and multimillion-dollar budgets.
The official logo of the Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb.
Two separate groups formed to sponsor Earth Day events in 1990: The Earth Day 20 Foundation, assembled by Edward Furia (Project Director of Earth Week in 1970), and Earth Day 1990, assembled by Denis Hayes (National Coordinator for Earth Day 1970). Senator Gaylord Nelson, the original founder of Earth Day, was honorary chairman for both groups. The two did not combine forces over disagreements about leadership of combined organization and incompatible structures and strategies.[20] Among the disagreements, key Earth Day 20 Foundation organizers were critical of Earth Day 1990 for including on their board Hewlett Packard, a company that at the time was the second-biggest emitter of chlorofluorocarbons in Silicon Valley and refused to switch to alternative solvents.[20] In terms of marketing, Earth Day 20 had a grassroots approach to organizing and relied largely on locally based groups like the National Toxics Campaign, a Boston-based coalition of 1,000 local groups concerned with industrial pollution. Earth Day 1990 Employed strategies including focus group testing, direct mail fund raising, and email marketing.[21]
The Earth Day 20 Foundation highlighted it's April 22 activities in George, Washington, near the Columbia River with a live satellite phone call with members of the historic Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb who called from their base camp on Mount Everest to pledge their support for world peace and attention to environmental issues.[22] The Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb was led by Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mt. Everest (many years earlier), and marked the first time in history that mountaineers from the United States, Soviet Union and China had roped together to climb a mountain, let alone Mt. Everest.[22] The group also collected over two tons of trash (transported down the mountain by support groups along the way) that was left behind on Mount Everest from previous climbing expeditions. The Earth Day 20 event also featured two live satellite phone calls from President George H.W. Bush, one to Whitaker on Everest and the other to Furia at Columbia Gorge. The elder President Bush had a few months earlier also become the first president to declare Earth Day a national holiday which he did in January, 1990.[22] Among those who were invited to the 20th Earth Day Proclamation signing ceremony in The White House were Edward Furia and Jim Whitaker from Earth Day 20 and Denis Hayes from Earth Day 1990. The master of ceremonies for the Columbia Gorge event was the TV star, John Ratzenberger, from "Cheers", and the headlining musician was the "Father of Rock and Roll," Chuck Berry.
The Earth Day Name
According to Senator Nelson, the moniker "Earth Day" was "an obvious and logical name" suggested by "a number of people" in the fall of 1969, including, he writes, both "a friend of mine who had been in the field of public relations" and "a New York advertising executive," Julian Koenig.[23] Koenig was on Nelson's organizing committee in 1969. April 22 also happened to be Koenig's birthday, and as "Earth Day" rhymed with "birthday," the idea came to him easily, he said.[24][25] Other names circulated during preparations—Nelson himself continued to call it the National Environment Teach-In, but press coverage of the event was "practically unanimous" in its use of "Earth Day," so the name stuck.[23]
Subsequent Earth Day Events
To turn Earth Day into a sustainable annual event rather than one that occurred every 10 years, Senator Nelson and Bruce Anderson, New Hampshire's lead organizer in 1990, formed Earth Day USA. Building on the momentum created by thousands of community organizers around the world, Earth Day USA coordinated the next five Earth Day celebrations through 1995, including the launch of EarthDay.org. Following the 25th Anniversary in 1995, the coordination baton was handed to Earth Day Network.
As the millennium approached, Hayes agreed to spearhead another campaign, this time focusing on global warming and pushing for clean energy. The April 22 Earth Day in 2000 combined the big-picture feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990. For 2000, Earth Day had the Internet to help link activists around the world. By the time April 22 came around, 5,000 environmental groups around the world were on board, reaching out to hundreds of millions of people in a record 184 countries. Events varied: A talking drum chain traveled from village to village in Gabon, Africa, for example, while hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., USA.
Earth Day 2007 was one of the largest Earth Days to date, with an estimated billion people participating in the activities in thousands of places like Kiev, Ukraine; Caracas, Venezuela; Tuvalu; Manila, Philippines; Togo; Madrid, Spain; London; and New York.
Earth Day Network
Earth Day Network was founded by Denis Hayes and the organizers of the first Earth Day in 1970 and by other national organizers, including Pam Lippe, to promote environmental activism and year-round progressive action, domestically and internationally. Earth Day Network members include NGOs, quasi-governmental agencies, local governments, activists, and others. Earth Day Network members focus on environmental education; local, national, and global policies; public environmental campaigns; and organizing national and local earth day events to promote activism and environmental protection. The international network reaches over 19,000 organizations in 192 countries, while the domestic program engages 10,000 groups and over 100,000 educators coordinating millions of community development and environmental-protection activities throughout the year.[26]
In observance of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, EDN created multiple global initiatives, ranging from a Global Day of Conversation with mayors worldwide, focusing on bringing green investment and building a green economy; Athletes for the Earth Campaign that brings Olympic, professional, and every day athletes' voices to help promote a solution to climate change; a Billion Acts of Green Campaign which will aggregate the millions of environmental service commitments that individuals and organizations around the world make each year;[27] to Artist for the Earth, a campaign the involves hundreds of arts institutions and artists worldwide to create environmental awareness. EDN expects at least 1.5 billion people to participate in these global events and programs.
EDN has helped create Earth Day organizations worldwide.
Earth Day Canada
Earth Day Canada logo
Earth Day Canada (EDC), a national environmental charity founded in 1990, provides Canadians with the practical knowledge and tools they need to lessen their impact on the environment. In 2004, it was recognized as the top environmental education organization in North America, for its innovative year-round programs and educational resources, by the Washington-based North American Association for Environmental Education, the world's largest association of environmental educators. In 2008, it was chosen as Canada’s “Outstanding Non-profit Organization” by the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication. EDC regularly partners with thousands of organizations in all parts of Canada. EDC hosts a suite of six environmental programs: Ecokids, EcoMentors, EcoAction Teams, Community Environment Fund, Hometown Heroes and the Toyota Earth Day Scholarship Program.
History of the Equinox Earth Day
The equinoctial Earth Day is celebrated on the March equinox (around March 20) to mark the precise moment of astronomical mid-spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and of astronomical mid-autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. An equinox in astronomy is that moment in time (not a whole day) when the center of the Sun can be observed to be directly "above" the Earth's equator, occurring around March 20 and September 23 each year. In most cultures, the equinoxes and solstices are considered to start or separate the seasons.
John McConnell[28] first introduced the idea of a global holiday called "Earth Day" at the 1969 UNESCO Conference on the Environment. The first Earth Day proclamation was issued by San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto on March 21, 1970. Celebrations were held in various cities, such as San Francisco and in Davis, California with a multi-day street party. UN Secretary-General U Thant supported McConnell's global initiative to celebrate this annual event; and on February 26, 1971, he signed a proclamation to that effect, saying:
May there be only peaceful and cheerful Earth Days to come for our beautiful Spaceship Earth as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animate life.[29]
United Nations secretary-general Kurt Waldheim observed Earth Day with similar ceremonies on the March equinox in 1972, and the United Nations Earth Day ceremony has continued each year since on the day of the March equinox (the United Nations also works with organizers of the April 22 global event). Margaret Mead added her support for the equinox Earth Day, and in 1978 declared:
"EARTH DAY is the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord, is devoted to the preservation of the harmony in nature and yet draws upon the triumphs of technology, the measurement of time, and instantaneous communication through space.
EARTH DAY draws on astronomical phenomena in a new way – which is also the most ancient way – by using the vernal Equinox, the time when the Sun crosses the equator making the length of night and day equal in all parts of the Earth. To this point in the annual calendar, EARTH DAY attaches no local or divisive set of symbols, no statement of the truth or superiority of one way of life over another. But the selection of the March Equinox makes planetary observance of a shared event possible, and a flag which shows the Earth, as seen from space, appropriate."[30]
At the moment of the equinox, it is traditional to observe Earth Day by ringing the Japanese Peace Bell, which was donated by Japan to the United Nations.[31] Over the years, celebrations have occurred in various places worldwide at the same time as the UN celebration. On March 20, 2008, in addition to the ceremony at the United Nations, ceremonies were held in New Zealand, and bells were sounded in California, Vienna, Paris, Lithuania, Tokyo and many other locations. The equinox Earth Day at the UN is organized by the Earth Society Foundation.
22 April observances
Growing eco-activism before Earth Day 1970
Project Survival, an early environmentalism-awareness education event, was held at Northwestern University on January 23, 1970. This was the first of several events held at university campuses across the United States in the lead-up to the first Earth Day. Also, Ralph Nader began talking about the importance of ecology in 1970.
The 1960s had been a very dynamic period for ecology in the US, in both theory and practice. It was in the mid-1960s that Congress passed the sweeping Wilderness Act, and Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas asked, "Who speaks for the trees?" Pre-1960 grassroots activism against DDT in Nassau County, New York, had inspired Rachel Carson to write her bestseller, Silent Spring (1962).
Earth Day 1970
Responding to widespread environmental degradation, Gaylord Nelson, a United States Senator from Wisconsin, called for an environmental teach-in, or Earth Day, to be held on April 22, 1970. Over 20 million people participated that year, and Earth Day is now observed on April 22 each year by more than 500 million people and several national governments in 175 countries.[citation needed]
Senator Nelson, an environmental activist, took a leading role in organizing the celebration, hoping to demonstrate popular political support for an environmental agenda. He modeled it on the highly effective Vietnam War teach-ins of the time.[33] The proposal for Earth Day was first proposed in a prospectus to JFK written by Fred Dutton.[34] However, Nelson decided against much of Dutton's top-down approach, favoring a decentralized, grassroots effort in which each community shaped their action around local concerns.
Earth Day was conceived by Senator Gaylord Nelson after a trip he took to Santa Barbara right after the horrific oil spill off the coast in 1969. Outraged by the devastation and Washington political inertia, Nelson proposed a national teach-in on the environment to be observed by every university campus in the U.S.[35]
I am convinced that all we need to do to bring an overwhelming insistence of the new generation that we stem the tide of environmental disaster is to present the facts clearly and dramatically. To marshal such an effort, I am proposing a national teach-in on the crisis of the environment to be held next spring on every university campus across the Nation. The crisis is so imminent, in my opinion, that every university should set aside 1 day in the school year-the same day across the Nation-for the teach-in.[35]
Senator Nelson selected Denis Hayes, a Harvard University graduate student, as the national coordinator of activities in a non-profit group, Environmental Teach-In, Inc. Hayes said he wanted Earth Day to "bypass the traditional political process."[36] Garrett DuBell compiled and edited The Environmental Handbook the first guide to the Environmental Teach-In. Its symbol was a green Greek letter theta, "the dead theta".
One of the organizers of the event said:
"We're going to be focusing an enormous amount of public interest on a whole, wide range of environmental events, hopefully in such a manner that it's going to be drawing the interrelationships between them and, getting people to look at the whole thing as one consistent kind of picture, a picture of a society that's rapidly going in the wrong direction that has to be stopped and turned around.
"It's going to be an enormous affair, I think. We have groups operating now in about 12,000 high schools, 2,000 colleges and universities and a couple of thousand other community groups. It's safe to say I think that the number of people who will be participating in one way or another is going to be ranging in the millions."[37]
The nationwide event included opposition to the Vietnam War on the agenda, but this was thought to detract from the environmental message. Pete Seeger was a keynote speaker and performer at the event held in Washington DC. Paul Newman and Ali McGraw attended the event held in New York City.
The most notable organization to protest the event was the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Results of Earth Day 1970
Earth Day proved popular in the United States and around the world. The first Earth Day had participants and celebrants in two thousand colleges and universities, roughly ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the United States. More importantly, it "brought 20 million Americans out into the spring sunshine for peaceful demonstrations in favor of environmental reform."
Senator Nelson stated that Earth Day "worked" because of the response at the grassroots level. Twenty-million demonstrators and thousands of schools and local communities participated. He directly credited the first Earth Day with persuading U.S. politicians that environmental legislation had a substantial, lasting constituency. Many important laws were passed by Congress in the wake of the 1970 Earth Day, including the Clean Air Act, wild lands and the ocean, and the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
It is now observed in 175 countries, and coordinated by the nonprofit Earth Day Network, according to whom Earth Day is now "the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated by more than a half billion people every year." Environmental groups have sought to make Earth Day into a day of action which changes human behavior and provokes policy changes
Significance of 22 April
* Senator Nelson chose the date in order to maximize participation on college campuses for what he conceived as an "environmental teach-in." He determined the week of April 19–25 was the best bet; it did not fall during exams or spring breaks, did not conflict with religious holidays such as Easter or Passover, and was late enough in spring to have decent weather. More students were likely to be in class, and there would be less competition with other mid-week events—so he chose Wednesday, April 22. Asked whether he had purposely chosen Lenin's 100th birthday, Nelson explained that with only 365 days a year and 3.7 billion people in the world, every day was the birthday of ten million living people. “On any given day, a lot of both good and bad people were born,” he said. "A person many consider the world’s first environmentalist, Saint Francis of Assisi, was born on April 22."[43]
* April 21 was the birthday of John Muir, who founded the Sierra Club. This was not lost on organizers who thought April 22 was Muir's birthday.[citation needed]
* April 22, 1970 was the 100th birthday of Vladimir Lenin. Time reported that some suspected the date was not a coincidence, but a clue that the event was "a Communist trick," and quoted a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution as saying, "Subversive elements plan to make American children live in an environment that is good for them."[36] J. Edgar Hoover, director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, may have found the Lenin connection intriguing; it was alleged the FBI conducted surveillance at the 1970 demonstrations.[44] The idea that the date was chosen to celebrate Lenin's centenary still persists in some quarters,[45][46] although Lenin was never noted as an environmentalist.
* April 22 is also the birthday of Julius Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day, a national tree-planting holiday started in 1872. Arbor Day became a legal holiday in Nebraska in 1885, to be permanently observed on April 22. According to the National Arbor Day Foundation "the most common day for the state observances is the last Friday in April . . . but a number of state Arbor Days are at other times in order to coincide with the best tree-planting weather."[47] It has since been largely eclipsed by the more widely-observed Earth Day, except in Nebraska, where it originated.
* April 22 is also the birthday of actor Eddie Albert (of Green Acres fame), who was a staunch environmentalist and spokesperson for The National Arbor Day Foundation. Albert spoke at the inaugural Earth Day ceremony in 1970.
* 22 April continues to be the date of the Annual Iowahawk "Virtual Cruise", attended by millions worldwide.
Earth Day ecology flag
Ron Cobb's 1969 Ecology Symbol
According to Flags of the World, the Ecology Flag was created by cartoonist Ron Cobb, published on November 7, 1969, in the Los Angeles Free Press, then placed in the public domain. The symbol is a combination of the letters "E" and "O" taken from the words "Environment" and "Organism," respectively. The flag is patterned after the United States' flag, with thirteen alternating-green-and-whites stripes. Its canton is green with a yellow theta. Later flags used either a theta, because of its historic use as a warning symbol[48] Petrus de Dacia in a document from 1291 relates the idea that theta was used to brand criminals as empty ciphers, and the branding rod was affixed to the crossbar spanning the circle,[49] or the peace symbol. Theta would later become associated with Earth Day.
As a 16-year-old high school student, Betsy Vogel, an environmental advocate and social activist who enjoyed sewing costumes and unique gifts, made a 4 x 6-foot (1.8 m) green-and-white "theta" ecology flag to commemorate the first Earth Day. Initially denied permission to fly the flag at C. E. Byrd High School in Shreveport, Louisiana, Vogel sought and received authorization from the Louisiana State Legislature and Louisiana Governor John McKeithen in time to display the flag for Earth Day.
Criticism
Writer Alex Steffen, proponent of bright green environmentalism, charges that Earth Day has come to symbolize the marginalization of environmental protection, and the celebration itself has outlived its usefulness.[50]
A 5 May 2009 editorial in The Washington Times compared Arbor Day to Earth Day, claiming that Arbor Day was a happy, non-political celebration of trees, whereas Earth Day was a pessimistic, political ideology that portrayed humans in a negative light.
Earth Day 2010
Earth Day 2010 will coincide with the World People's Conference on Climate Change, to be held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and with the International Year of Biodiversity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
