The Ugly Animal Preservation Society

Panda's get way too much attention.

At least, that's the observation that's behind The Ugly Animal Preservation Society - a tongue-in-cheek, yet crucially important new initiative to broaden the idea of what we value and which species we care to save.

This is a theme that Chris touched on just the other day, exploring how anthropomorphism might help humans to empathize with animals, that have so far not made it to the "must save because it's so cute" list. After all, from the mini-beasties in our soils to the weird and wonderful life under the sea, most of the animal kingdom is, at first glance at least, pretty far removed from us humans.

Simon Watt, biologist and comedian, is harnessing what has always been a useful tool for the more aesthetically challenged among us—humor. Recruiting a troupe of comedians/scientists and scientists/comedians, Watt and his team are each championing a specific species, and then asking their audience to select a favorite for their region.

Aesthetically challenged animals need love too.

To know more about the campaign go to:

www.uglyanimalsoc.com

Source: http://www.treehugger.com

Deforestation dries up dams threatening hydropower

Deforestation may lead to electricity shortages in tropical rain forest regions that rely heavily on hydropower, as fewer trees mean less rainfall for hydropower generation, a study shows.

For example, if deforestation continues, one of the world's largest dam projects in Brazil will deliver around a third less energy than is currently estimated, according to the research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) last week (13 May).
 

and power generation at Brazil's Belo Monte hydropower complex, which is being built on the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon. It is set to be the third largest hydropower project in the world when it is completed in 2015 and is expected to supply 40 per cent of Brazil's energy needs by 2020.

They found that because of current levels of deforestation in the Amazon region, rainfall is already six to seven per cent lower than it would be with full forest cover.

"If forest loss doubles by 2050 — that is, if 40 per cent of the Amazon or Xingu river watershed has been deforested by that date — rainfall loss will reduce Belo Monte's energy production by one third over that projected," Stickler, a researcher at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute's International Program in the United States, tells SciDev.Net.

She says that such a degree of deforestation is plausible based on government infrastructure plans in the region.

The researchers used computer models simulating land cover, climate and the river system to examine how different deforestation scenarios would affect the regional climate and, ultimately, water flow into the Belo Monte complex. They then calculated the effect on the production of energy.

In accordance with previous studies, the researchers found that cutting down trees within the Xingu river basin increased water discharge and energy generation. But this water gain was heavily outweighed by the reduced flow of water caused by less rainfall across the entire Amazon basin.

"If deforestation continues to 40 per cent of the total Amazon River basin, even forest conservation or reforestation in the Xingu River basin will not be enough to compensate for the loss," Stickler says.

The study says the amount of rainfall in the Amazon, in Central Africa and in South-East Asia depends on regional forest cover, and that deforestation could affect the hydropower expansion plans of countries in these regions.

But Wilson Cabral de Souza Junior, an environmental economist at the Technological Institute of Aeronautics, Brazil, tells SciDev.Net that other regions should use the results with care, as they are based on specific data from the Amazon and Xingu basins.

Source: http://www.scidev.net