CABI Blogs: hand picked... and carefully sorted

What is the single most effective thing we can do for the environment?

An article in the New Scientist issue number 2682 gave answers to the question above and many other eco questions, e.g. why can't the machines in my gym be used to generate electricity? or How clean does the pizza box have to be for it to be recyclable? Are laminated juice cartons recyclable? and 22 other eco questions. I would like to summarise these in a blog, but as there are so many interesting questions and answers to deal with in one go, I thought I would do a couple each day or every other day, depending on how busy my day is with deadlines at CAB Abstracts. I'm starting with the 3 questions I mentioned above. The blog title question will be the last in the series. Read on to find out the answers.

Coming soon: biofuel from forestry waste

As you will have noticed from our previous blog articles, sources of biofuels are a hot topic. There is an ongoing battle to find sources that have a minimal environmental impact. The popularity of food crops such as corn, sugar and vegetable oils, as a source has decreased recently as governments have become more aware of the possibility that biofuel production raises food prices, decreases biodiversity, causes water shortages and increases deforestation as a result of increased demands on land space (see Dave Simpson’s article for a summary of the issues). The hunt is on for low-impact sources of biofuels. Previous blog articles have highlighted two possibilities: waste products from coffee and high-yielding algae grown on marginal land. It now looks like we’re on the verge of being able to produce biofuel from forestry waste.

The Finnish forestry and paper group UPM-Kymmene are conducting trials to produce biodiesel, bioethanol and heavy fuel oils from forest residues including tree bark, twigs and stumps.

"According to our plans we should have the necessary information in our hands to make decisions about the first large scale commercial unit by the middle of this year," said vice president corporate relations and development Hans Sohlstrom on the sidelines of a conference on second generation biofuels.

Who can predict the fate of the Amazon rainforest?

Modellers around the world are trying to predict the fate of the Amazon rainforest under future conditions of climate change. It seems a tiny change in model parameters leads to regular new headlines contradicting previous predictions. The latest of these headlines is that the Amazon forest will survive warming, becoming seasonal forests rather than savannahs, as long as we manage the forest better, i.e. reduce deforestation and fires.

According to a new study by British scientists the “dieback” theory resulting from previous projections had underestimated rainfall, leading to predictions that the southern and eastern Amazon would transition towards savannah with warming.

Medicinal plants threatened by changing climates

An article (full text here) warning that climate change is affecting medicinal and aromatic plants around the world and could ultimately lead to losses of some key species, was recently published in HerbalGram the journal of the American Botanical Council.

The authors note that species endemic to regions or ecosystems that are especially vulnerable to climate change, such as alpine regions, could be most at risk. “After polar regions, alpine areas are changing faster than any other areas on Earth,” said Jan Salick, PhD, senior curator of ethnobotany at the Missouri Botanical Garden. “Alpine areas are very important for Tibetan doctors’ use,” explained Dr. Salick. “They traditionally spend a month each year going into the mountains to collect plants. A lot of their medicines come from the mountains.” Therefore, if climatic conditions change in these areas, there is high probability that traditional medicines will also suffer due to the difficulty in cultivating these species as each have niche micro-climate demands.

A Lot of Land

Last week, The National Trust announced that it would be making land available for 1,000 allotments over the next 3 years. This apparently equates to an estimated 2.6 million lettuces per year, 50,000 sacks of potatoes or £1.5 million worth of mixed produce¹. With the increased popularity of growing-your-own, this will be welcome news to the 100,000 people reportedly on allotment waiting lists around the country. 40 different locations across England, Wales and Northern Ireland will benefit from the Trust’s plan, so where do we go for such a golden opportunity?

If you go to Brazil tonight…

You will surely have the time of your life – as it is Carnival time! The Brazilian Carnival is usually associated with Rio de Janeiro and the Samba Schools parading along the Sambadrome, and is said to be the biggest street party in the world. However, it happens throughout Brazil in the streets and in night clubs. It is a tradition and almost all Brazilians of all ages, social class and religious belief take part and party together for the four days before Ash Wednesday. The question however is this: is the financial crisis going to affect this year’s celebrations?

Galapagos Islands need tourism, says Sir David Attenborough

As celebrated by fellow handpicked blogger Dave Hemming last week, this year sees the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, as well as the 150th anniversary of the publication of the 'Origin of Species. In the Galapagos Islands, which more than anywhere else have become associated with Darwin's development of the theory of evolution, these anniversaries have been marked by much marketing hype by tour operators hoping to cash in. Thus while many tourist destinations are currently reporting empty hotels and falling arrivals, the Galapagos are hoping to buck the trend and reach record arrivals of 180,000 during 2009.

While Ecuador will welcome the economic boost that this tourism will bring (if the hype overcomes the economic recession; there are some reports of lower bookings and discounting even here), increased tourism pressure brings its own problems. Visitor numbers have risen from 41,000 in 1991 to 173,000 in 2008, and many immigrants have moved from the Ecuadorian mainland to cash in. Over the past 20 years the human population has risen to more than 40,000. Many recent arrivals have been working illegally, and the Ecuadorean government has begun sending them back to the mainland. Problems associated with the influx of people include overfishing and a proliferation of introduced species threatening native wildlife.

Could ecosystem services save the Amazon?

A new report suggests that the Amazonian rainforest may be worth more standing than cut and cleared for farming.

Although the idea is not new, a recent report (Keeping the Amazon forest standing: a matter of values) commissioned by the WWF suggests that marketing the ecological services supplied by the Amazonian forest could hold the key for its long-term survival. Valuations of these services include carbon storage and avoided emissions ($70-100 per ha annually), production of non-timber forest products ($50-100/ha/year), erosion prevention ($238/ha/year), pollination services ($49/ha/year), existence value ($10-26/ha/year) and ecotourism ($3-7/ha/year). Although these ecosystem services cannot simply be added together (as they are interrelated), limited production of timber through reduced impact logging (not necessarily sustainable production) could boost the value even higher. "Humans are very dependent on the services provided by the Amazon region that are disappearing rapidly but for which we are not paying as yet: rain for agriculture, clean drinking water, pure air and the combating of global warming," stated Johan van Gronden, General Manager of WWF-Netherlands. Read on to find out more on this report and how the REDD mechanism is addressing these issues.......

A future climate that is beyond anything we have considered

GHG emissions are now far higher than even the worst-case scenario envisaged by the IPCC's fourth assessment report published in 2007, according to statement by Christopher Field, a lead author on that report. This statement was delivered at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Chicago, USA, last week (14 February 2009). He added that while emissions increased at a rate of 0.9% per year between 1990 and 1999, they have increased at a "startling" 3.5% per year since 2000. What is causing this increase? Read on to find out.

Roses are Red but are they 'green'?

The cheap ones aren't green (i.e. environmentally-friendly kind of green) according to an article by Dr. David Harper, from Leicester University, who has conducted research at Lake Naivasha, Kenya, for 25 years. Dr. Harper warned that cut-price Valentine roses exported for sale in the UK were ‘bleeding Kenya's Lake Naivasha dry'. He said the demand for the 10 000 tonnes of roses sold in the UK for Valentine’s Day and for Mother’s Day had contributed to the devastation of the ecosystem at the lake. Read on to find out why and about another opposing view!