Ocean Acidification Will Make Climate Change Worse

Given that they cover 70% of the Earth’s surface—and provide about 90% of the planet’s habitable space by volume—the oceans tend to get short shrift when it comes to climate change. The leaked draft of the forthcoming coming new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlighted the atmospheric warming we’re likely to see, the rate of ice loss in the Arctic and the unprecedented (at least within the last 22,000 years) rate of increase of concentrations of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. But when it came to the oceans, press reports only focused on how warming would cause sea levels to rise, severely inconveniencing those of us who live on land.

Some of that ignorance is due to the out of sight, out of mind nature of the underwater world—a place human beings have only seen about 5% of. But it has more to do with the relative paucity of data on how climate change might impact the ocean. It’s not that scientists don’t think it matters—the reaction of the oceans to increased levels of CO2 will have an enormous effect on how global warming impacts the rest of us—it’s that there’s still a fair amount of uncertainty around the subject.

But here’s one thing they do know: oceans are absorbing a large portion of the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere—in fact, oceans are the largest single carbon sink in the world, dwarfing the absorbing abilities of the Amazon rainforest. But the more CO2 the oceans absorb, the more acidic they become on a relative scale, because some of the carbon reacts within the water to form carbonic acid. This is a slow-moving process—it’s not as if the oceans are suddenly going to become made of hydrochloric acid. But as two new studies published yesterday in the journal Nature Climate Change shows, acidification will make the oceans much less hospitable to many forms of marine life—and acidification may actually to serve to amplify overall warming.

The first study, by the German researchers Astrid Wittmann and Hans-O. Portner, is a meta-analysis looking at the specific effects rising acid levels are likely to have on specific categories of ocean life: corals, echinoderms, molluscs, crustaceans and fishes. Every category is projected to respond poorly to acidification, which isn’t that surprising—pH, which describes the relative acidity of a material, is about as basic a function of the underlying chemistry of life as you can get. (Lower pH indicates more acidity.) Rapid changes—and the ocean is acidifying rapidly, at least on a geological time scale—will be difficult for many species to adapt to.

Corals are likely to have the toughest time. The invertebrate species secretes calcium carbonate to make the rocky coastal reefs that form the basis of the most productive—and beautiful—ecosystems in the oceans. More acidic oceans will interfere with the ability of corals to form those reefs. Some coral have already shown the ability to adapt to lower pH levels, but combined with direct ocean warming—which can lead to coral bleaching, killing off whole reefs—many scientists believe that corals could become virtually extinct by the end of the century if we don’t reduce carbon emissions.

The Nature Climate Change study found that mollusks like oysters and squids will also struggle to adapt to acidification, though crustaceans like lobsters and crabs—which build lighter exoskeletons—seem likely to fare better. With fish it’s harder to know, though those species that live among coral reefs could be in trouble should the coral disappear. But ultimately, as the authors point out, “all considered groups are impacted negatively, albeit differently, even by moderate ocean acidification.” No one gets out untouched.

The other Nature Climate Change study—by American, German and British researchers—looked at the effects that ocean acidification could have on atmospheric warming. It turns out there may be some feedback—the researchers found that as the pH of the oceans dropped, it would result in lower concentrations of the biogenic sulfur compound dimethylsulphide (DMS). Why does that matter? Marine emissions of DMS are the largest natural source of atmospheric sulfur. (Manmade sources of sulfur include the burning of coal.)

Sulfur, in the form of sulfur dioxide, isn’t a greenhouse gas. But higher levels of sulfur in the atmosphere can reduce the amount of solar energy reaching the Earth’s surface, causing a cooling effect. (In the aftermath of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, which threw millions of tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, average global temperatures the two years fell by about 0.5 C.) If acidification decreases marine emissions of sulfur, it could cause an increase in the amount of solar energy reaching the Earth’s surface, speeding up warming—which is exactly what the Nature Climate Change study predicts. It’s one more surprise that the oceans have in store for us.

Source:: http://science.time.com

Go Green with Green Alternatives to Everyday Products...

Although you can't single-handedly clean up the environment, you can make choices in your everyday life that will benefit the health of the planet and your community. Simple changes, such as finding green alternatives for the everyday products you consume, can have a beneficial impact on water quality, energy use and the amount of pollution and waste you generate.

Personal Care Products

Everyday products such as soaps, toothpastes, cosmetics and hair care items, often contain chemicals that, when washed off during showers and baths, enter the waste-water stream and can pollute the waterways. When purchasing personal care items, read labels carefully. Products with "natural," organic" or "hypoallergenic," on the labels can be misleading, since there little regulation on the use of these terms. Look for products that list fewer ingredients, and ingredients with names that can be pronounced. Green alternatives include avoiding products with synthetic fragrances, and trying to use fewer personal care products overall. (See Reference 1) You can even make many of your own personal care products with natural ingredients. For example, substitute natural, oil-based soaps for commercial shampoos and rinse your hair with plain cider vinegar. Make your own lotions from essential oils and other natural ingredients, such as aloe vera, shea butter and jojoba.

Home Cleaning Products

Homes now contain up to 10 times more pollution than is found outdoors, much of it from the use of cleaning products. In addition to the health risks, these chemical cleaners also harm the environment in their manufacture, use and disposal. (See Reference 2.) Green alternatives to chemical cleaning products are often found in the kitchen. For example, the U.S. EPA's guide to safer cleaning recommends using 4 tablespoons of baking soda to one quart of water for an all-purpose kitchen and bath cleaner. Substitute 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of borax for automatic dishwasher soap. To clean carpets, sprinkle with a mixture of 1 cup of borax and 2 cups of cornmeal, and allow it to stand an hour before vacuuming. Clean hard-surface floors with 1/2 cup of white vinegar in 1/2 gallon of water. (See Reference 3.)

Disposable Paper Goods

Paper and cardboard make up almost 33 percent of solid wastes in landfills, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (See Reference 4.) Cut down on your landfill contribution with greener options for everyday paper products. Opt for cloth napkins over paper napkins, and substitute washable plates and cups for disposable ones. Instead of using paper towels, wipe up spills with re-usable cleaning cloths, and dry windows with clean, lint-free cloths that can be laundered. Carry your work or school lunches in fabric bags rather than disposable paper brown bags. Buy recycled copy paper instead of new, and then use both sides before shredding it and adding it to your compost pile. Instead of buying note pads and drawing paper for children, save junk mail for jotting down notes and paper craft projects.

Food Products

Much of the food Americans eat each day is grown, processed and packaged long distances from their homes. For example, produce may travel as much as 1,500 miles from grower to table. (See Reference 5.) Long “food miles” contribute to fossil-fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. Green options for many of your everyday grocery store purchases include buying local food whenever possible, shopping farmers’ markets and eating vegetables and fruit when in season. You may be able to shop for beef, free-range chicken and dairy products from growers in your area as well. Organizations such as Local Harvest provide searchable databases for each state and city in the U.S. to help your find nearby food resources in your community and to help you reduce your own "food miles." (See Reference 6).

References

• The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: Protect Your Health
• Montgomery County, Maryland Department of Environmental Protection: Green Ways to Do Dirty Jobs
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Safer Cleaning
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Municipal Solid Waste in the United States
• Land Stewardship Project: Racking up the Food Miles
• Local Harvest: Real Food, Real Farmers, Real Community
• World Watch Institute: China Watch: Plastic Bag Ban Trumps Market and Consumer Efforts

Resources

• The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: DIY Recipes
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Safer Cleaning
• Sustainable Table

Source: homeguides.sfgate.com   Bt Burn McKay

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

10 Ways to Green Your Day Off

 

1. Visit a farmer's market

Since you have some free time on your hands, make a trip to that unexplored farmer's market you've been eying. Buying local and sustainably-farmed produce dramatically decreases the footprint of your nightly meals, and these picks tend to be healthier and tastier, too. From heirloom veggies to homemade hot sauce, you never know what you might find from farmers and vendors in your area.
Not sure where to find a farmer's market near you? Just punch your zip code into the USDA or Local Harvest databases, and you'll get a list of choices in your neighborhood.

2. Explore your neighborhood

If you're ever stumped for a green activity, the best thing you can do is get outside. Spending time outdoors helps you remember why protecting the planet is so important, and you'll also save some cash on your electric bill, as you won't have to use energy for heating and lighting your home.
So, pile on the winter gear, and head to a local pocket park, botanical garden or uncharted walking path to experience something new in your town. Don't know where to go? Head to your town or municipality's Website to find listings of nearby parks, outdoor events and more. Once you get home, get cozy and enjoy one of our yummy coffee shop-free winter beverages to warm up.

3. Volunteer

Take a page from Dr. King's book and do a little volunteering in your spare time. Lend a hand at a local community garden or animal shelter, or take part in park or beach cleanup.
Most municipalities have a calendar of upcoming volunteer days on their Website. But if you don't see an event that strikes your fancy, a simple Google search with your town's name and the words "Martin Luther King Day (or Presidents' Day) volunteering" should point you in the right direction.

4. Relax the natural way

Planning a day full of much-needed TLC? Skip the pricey eco spa, and do a little relaxing right in your own home. Dim the lights, spark up some all-natural candles and test out one of these five luxe spa treatments that you can do yourself on the cheap. Most treatments cost less than $10!
And if the winter weather has been taking a toll on your bod, this is a great time to get your fix on. Check out our DIY guide to curing common winter woes like dry skin, chapped lips and frizzy hair using common pantry ingredients.

5. Do some winter weatherizing

If you've noticed a few drafts in your home, apartment or dorm room, your day off is the perfect time to make things a little more comfortable (and energy-efficient!). Start by taking a walk through all of your rooms, and make note of any drafty areas. Then, use our weatherization guides for homeowners, apartment-dwellers and dorm residents to fix the problem.
Also, take a moment to check out your heating system. Make sure the exterior of your system is clean and free of obstructions, and change the air filter if it looks dirty. If you live in an apartment or dorm room, speak to your landlord or RA about heating system maintenance, as an inefficient system can suck up loads of energy and cost you or your school big bucks on utilities.

6. Start a reuse project

Recycling your household waste is a great step towards sustainability, but why not reuse some of your throw-aways instead? Check out these five super-elegant decor items made from waste, or craft with the kids using recyclables for an afternoon of eco fun.
Want to take your day-off project beyond crafting? Check out our 12 crazy ways to go DIY in every room of the house, from homemade cheese to super-functional storage.
SEE: 15 Reuse Projects to Try in 2012

7. Do a packaging purge

Whether the food packaging in your home is recyclable or not, it's always best to find ways to reuse it before tossing it in the bin. Go through your pantry and transfer dry items from their original packaging into reusable storage containers, like these 100 percent recycled containers from Preserve.
Once you have all your packaging in the same place, consult our food packaging reuse guide to find ways to repurpose it. And take note of the products that the majority of your packaging waste came from. Can you buy any of these materials in bulk to cut back on waste? How about switching to homemade? A little planning could mean emptier trash cans all year long.
READ: 5 Absurdly Over-Packaged Foods

8. Stock up on bulk

Buying your favorite dry foods in bulk results in a huge reduction in packaging waste. But it can be hard to fit a trip to the bulk-foods store into your schedule. On your day off, make a list of the most common dry items you use in the kitchen: cereal for the kids, rice, beans and pasta for nightly dinners and nuts and dried fruits for healthy snacks.
Head to the bulk-foods store with plenty of reusable bags, and stock up on your favorites sans-packaging. Transfer your items into large reusable containers when you get home to keep them from getting stale.
READ: 5 Reasons to Bulk Up on Food Purchases

9. Choose a veg-based meal

Vegetarian Weeks have been steadily gaining popularity in recent years. But you don't need to cut out meat for a whole week to make a difference. Eating just one vegan or vegetarian meal each week will save about 35 pounds of meat a year, amounting to 84,000 gallons of water, 245 pounds of grain and 15.5 gallons of gasoline.
Wary about bland and boring vegetarian food? Our library of recipes, including exotic international cuisine, tasty low-cal delights and compostable classics, is sure to change your mind.

10. Plan a green getaway

Having something to look forward to can get you through all those tough weeks at work or school. So, spend some time planning an eco-friendly vacation for yourself this winter. Our go-to guides will help you plan a romantic, kid-free vacation with your sweetie, pick the right location for a family getaway or find a nearby weekend retreat.

Source: www.earth911.com

Simple Actions to save Energy and Go Green

One Change leads to another. When it comes to saving money and cutting your hydro bill, switching to energy efficiency light bulbs is just the start. Here are some more simple actions to help you conserve energy and save money.

Replace your old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving CFL and LED bulbs
Compact fluorescent light (CFL) and LED bulbs use about 75% less energy than old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs and last much longer. For every bulb you swap, you can cut greenhouse gas emissions and save money on your energy bill over the lifetime of the bulb. Click here for information on CFL recycling in North America.

Plug your electronics into power strips and shut them off when not in use
Fight what’s known as phantom or vampire power. Your computer, printer, TV, DVD player, stereo, kitchen appliances and other electronics are still sucking power while you have them shut off. In North America, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics and appliances is consumed while the products are turned off! Switching them off with a power strip when you’re not using them will cut all power to the appliances and save you loads of money on wasted energy—as much as 15% of your monthly bill!

Stay cool with a ceiling fan
Instead of A/C consider installing an ENERGY STAR-qualified ceiling fan, which can cost as little as 10 cents a month in energy. You can even save money in the winter. Reverse the direction of your ceiling fan motor so that cool air is pushed up towards the ceiling, drawing warm air down into the room. Rather than cold floors and warm ceilings, you’ll have a more even temperature throughout the room. Now, can your air conditioner do that?

Install a programmable thermostat and lower it
Install a programmable thermostat to lower your heat when you don’t need it, for example when you’re out of the house and you could save up to $65 a year. Turning the thermostat down just 1 degree C can save you 2% on your heating bill.

Run a Full Dishwasher
By using an ENERGY STAR qualified dishwasher, running it when it’s full, and using an economy setting helps reduce the amount of hot water and energy used to clean your dishes. As much as 80% of the energy your dishwasher uses goes to heat water. So the less hot water you use to wash your dishes, the more energy and money you save. For an additional 10% energy savings, select the no-heat dry cycle (or simply open the door) to air dry your dishes.

Install low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators
Get an adequate flow for less dough! Installing low-flow showerheads and low-flow aerators on your kitchen and bathroom faucets is the single most effective water conservation action you can do for your home. Inexpensive and simple to install, low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators can reduce your home water consumption as much as 50%, and reduce your energy cost of heating the water also by as much as 50%. You likely won’t even notice a drop in water pressure—just in your water and energy bills (to the tune of over $150 a year)!

Air dry your laundry
Did you know that your clothes dryer is the second biggest electricity-using appliance in your home (after the refrigerator)? Why not air dry your cloths on a clothesline or drying rack to save as much as $100 on your electricity bill each year.


Wash your laundry in cold water
85 – 90% of the energy used to wash your clothes is used to heat the water, so why not switch to cold to save money and energy. While you’re at it, wait until you have a full load before starting the washing machine.


Source: http://www.onechange.org

Canadian trio invent ‘most energy-efficient’ light bulb

 

There’s a new energy efficient lightbulb making waves, and not only was it invented by Canadians, but it’s about the funkiest looking illumination device we’ve seen since the lava lamp.

Introducing the Nanolight.

The flashy device promises to produce as much light a 100-watt incandescent bulb while using only an eighth of the power, reports the CBC.

Its makers are three University of Toronto graduates, and they took to crowdfunding website Kickstarter to get the project off the ground. Gimmy Chu, Tom Rodinger, Christian Yan, who all met at a solar car-building competition in 2005, were hoping to raise a paltry $20,000. They quickly blew past that marker and are currently sitting on $141,911 in pledges after less than a month of fundraising.

Make no mistake — these bulbs aren’t cheap. A $30 donation will get you a single 10 watt bulb, while a $45 will get you the 12 watt model. But NanoLight’s makers promise that users will quickly earn back that initial investment in electricity savings. The blub will last for 25-30 years based on three hours a day usage.

The NanoLight's genius is in its complex circuit board design, which is implanted with numerous tiny LED lights facing in different directions.

(Credit: Nanolight)

According to its makers, the NanoLight is superior to the current energy efficient LED lights on the market for a number of reasons.

For one, it lights in all directions, something current LED lights cannot do. It also produces the equivalent of 100 watts of light, something that is still relatively rare among LED lights. The Nano Light is also reportedly one of the coolest on the market, in that it won’t overheat when used in an enclosed fixture the way many other LED bulbs will.

Those interested in getting their paws on the first generation of these groundbreaking new bulbs need look no further than NanoLight’s Kickstarter page, which will be accepting pledges until Friday, March 8, 2013.

Source: http://ca.shine.yahoo.com

 

10 Organizations That Will Green Your World

The Nobel Prize for sustainability? That's what Katerva sells itself as: it's a new and important awards organization which scours the globe for people and organizations that can make real, immediate change for our planet. Now Katerva has announced its 10 winners for the Katerva Awards 2012. In 2011 I wrote about Katerva's 8 finalist projects that will save planet earth (including this eco-toilet) and today I am helping Katerva announce its 10 winners for 2012.

Terry Waghorn, who established the organization, spends his days and nights networking and Skyping with high-ranking authorities across the globe, from celebs, princesses, supermodels, entrepreneurs and universities to techies at their hubs. Oh, and once and a while, me. Unlike TED events (see the TEDx I helped organized in Jaffa) which bring together important and inspiring people to talk, Katerva is a catalyst that aims to put talk into serious action.
According to Waghorn, "Today's unprecedented challenges require a new kind of organization, one that optimizes the world's unprecedented interconnectedness, prioritizes action and systematically taps the most innovative ideas on the planet. Katerva is that organization: designed to convene, catalyze and accelerate breakthrough solutions to global challenges."
Winners (posted below, including the grand prize winner for a micro-implantable vaccine delivery device) will be fostered through development stages by members of Katerva -- people, businesses and committed experts. Read on for the list of who wins support from Katerva. These are organizations that should be on every humanitarian funders' e-roladex, and obviously they are great starts for interns and volunteers. Simply by sharing this post you can help support them.
And the winners are:
Bioneedle Technologies Group is the top winner of the 2012 Katerva Award. Bioneedles, "tiny, biodegradable mini-implants," come pre-filled and contain vaccines in a thermally stable environment. The Bioneedle Technologies Group is a project based in The Netherlands. Although this project is only in the ideation stage, this technology has the possibility to grant vaccine access to more people than ever before and increase the global population's immunity to infectious disease.
Safe World for Women: The Safeworld International Foundation is a women-led NGO working with grassroots groups to promote women's empowerment and sustainable development, tackle the root causes of poverty and oppression and bring positive social and economic change at a global level. It is registered in England and Wales.
¡Echale! a Tu Casa is an assisted self-build program that provides sustainable community development through social housing production. ¡Echale! a Tu Casa (put your heart into your home) is commissioned by the Mexican National Social Housing Production Program.
FOLDIT focuses on solving challenging biochemistry problems by building a symbiosis between computers and people through interaction with a video game. Foldit was developed by the University of Washington.
Water.org's WaterCredit puts microfinance tools to work in the water and sanitation (watsan) sector. WaterCredit is the first comprehensive program of its kind that connects the microfinance and watsan communities to scale up access to credit for individual- and household-based watsan needs. Water.org is a worldwide project based in the U.S. with staff in the U.S., India and Kenya.
Reef Check is the world's largest reef monitoring network. The Reef Check Foundation is a nonprofit that started in Southern California in 1996 with a mission to empower local communities through grassroots research, conservation and education to protect and rehabilitate reefs worldwide.
Center for Rice Husk Energy Technology: Discarded in heaps along roadsides and riverbanks, rice husks are considered waste in many countries heavily dependent on rice as a staple product. However, the Center for Rice Husk Energy Technology (CRHET) is challenging this notion by creating a rice husk gasifier stove that uses rice husks to provide clean and low-cost fuel. Gas produced from just one kilogram of husk can generate an equivalent of 1,920 kilocalories of energy. The CRHET is an office at the CPU College of Agriculture, Resources and Environmental Sciences in the Philippines.
The Backpack Farm Agricultural Program in Kenya is an internationally recognized social enterprise aggregating packages of "green" farming inputs and conservation training exclusively to smallholder "commercial" farmers with 2 to 5 acres of land earning their primary income from horticulture production.
The Pasteurization Technology Group seeks to revolutionize the disinfection of wastewater using a patented "two-for-one" technology, eliminating toxic chemicals and intensive electricity usage in the process. Based in California, it has partnerships in North America, Asia and South America.
Mitsubishi Air Lubrication System for Shipping, developed by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Corporation in Japan, is a technology designed to reduce the skin-friction resistance on the hull of a ship by sending air to the bottom of the hull to create a layer of air bubbles between the hull and seawater. This makes shipping less polluting and more efficient.
The Agua Clara program is a research program at Cornell University that produces engineering design for reliable and sustainable municipal-scale water treatment plants. This means less contaminants entering our groundwater, seas and waterways and an easier way for cities and towns to deal with wastewater.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

From "Light Green" to Sustainable Buildings

As more people move to urban areas in search of economic opportunities, the number of buildings that are needed to house them continues to rise. It is estimated that by 2030, an additional 1.4 billion people will live in cities, of which 1.3 billion will dwell in cities of developing countries. The increasing number of buildings has long-term impacts on both the environment and natural resources. Fortunately, a variety of policy tools hold promise for promoting sustainability in buildings, according to Kaarin Taipale, contributing author of the Worldwatch Institute's State of the World 2012: Moving Toward Sustainable Prosperity.
 

The buildings in which we live and work are a major consumer of energy, responsible for some 30—40 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, a similar share of total solid waste, and 12 percent of all fresh water used. With the rate of urbanization reaching record levels, there will be more construction and buildings than ever before.

The introduction and enforcement of effective public policies can be the cheapest and most efficient method for promoting sustainability in the construction and use of buildings, Taipale says. The goal is to radically reduce buildings' environmental footprint and long-term negative social and financial effects.
In search of a "best policy" in her State of the World 2012 chapter, "From Light Green to Sustainable Buildings," Taipale suggests considering four dimensions in a policy package:

Process. It is important to take into account the entire life-cycle of a building, from design and construction to its use and demolition. Some posit that designating a sustainability coordinator for the planning and construction period should be a requirement for any building permit. An additional tool for the time span when the building is being used is a mandatory "maintenance diary," documenting the various ways the building is serviced and renovated.

Performance. What matters most is how well the entire building performs, not how its individual parts might adhere to requirements. Setting minimum energy performance standards, for example, makes more sense than specifying the thickness of a thermal insulation. A growing set of core criteria has evolved by which to measure building performance in terms of resource use. These consider greenhouse gas emissions, energy and water use, and waste production, among others. Policies can require that certain minimum performance standards and benchmarks be met.

Sustainable Infrastructure. Buildings need efficient infrastructures that save resources and provide everyone equal access to basic services such as fresh water and sanitation, energy, communication, and public transport. The quality of these infrastructures determines the level of urban sustainability. National water legislation, for example, can help secure access to safe drinking water for urban residents for a fair price.

Resource Use. Sustainability of resource use considers financial, human, and natural resources. Shifting toward a greater reliance on renewable energy is the most efficient method to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and mitigate climate change. Such a shift also helps reduce local air pollution and health hazards. We need higher energy performance requirements for new construction and refurbishment, however, because it does not make much sense to waste renewable energy in buildings that are not energy efficient.d, by absorbing CO2, they help the global village, too.

Source: http://www.worldwatch.org

Europe is exporting more waste than ever as illegal trade grows

As waste is increasingly moving across EU borders for recovery or disposal, the European Environment Agency (EEA) is warning of a big rise in the export of hazardous waste to countries outside of Europe.

Increasingly stringent and harmonised waste policies in the EU have led countries to transport more waste material elsewhere, for example if they do not have the facilities to recycle or dispose of particular types of waste.

There are increasing demands for recyclable materials, both within the EU and beyond, particularly in booming Asian economies.

While trade of hazardous waste grew between 2001 and 2007, shipped volumes decreased in 2008 and 2009, probably due to the economic downturn, according to the report ‘Movements of waste across the EU's internal and external borders’. Exports of waste plastics and metals picked up again after the economic downturn and exceeded the pre-2009 levels in 2011.

The international trade in recyclable material is expected to continue to grow, the report states, driven by more recycling, growing global competition for resources and increasing awareness of the value of waste. Trade in hazardous waste is also expected to increase, although the driver in this case will be the need to treat waste in specific facilities that are not available in all countries.

Overall the EU should put more efforts into waste prevention in order to become more resource-efficient, a key element of the EU 2020 growth strategy. The report recommends encouraging new technologies and business models that generate less waste, or waste that is less hazardous.

“European countries are exporting more waste than ever,” EEA Executive Director Jacqueline McGlade said. “The trade in non-hazardous waste can be seen as largely positive, as material is often transported to places where it can be better used. However, we should not lose sight of the bigger picture – in an increasingly resource-constrained world, Europe needs to dramatically reduce the amount of waste it generates in the first place.”

Non-hazardous waste

* Exports of waste iron and steel, and copper, aluminium and nickel from Member States doubled between 1999 and 2011, while waste precious metal exports trebled and waste plastics increased by a factor of five.

* Increasing export volumes and rising prices are both contributing to the growing economic importance of waste exports. The value of scrap iron and steel exports out of the EU has increased by a factor of eight between 1999 and 2011 to €18 billion. Waste copper, aluminium and nickel exports expanded by a factor of six and waste precious metals increased by a factor of 15. The value of annual exports to Asia has grown at an even greater rate.

* Trade in waste wood has also increased steeply. Since 2003, EU imports of waste wood have exceeded exports. Imports of waste wood are primarily driven by the large demand of the particle board industry for wood material. Another demand driver is energy production from solid biomass, which grew by more than 50 % between 1995 and 2008.

* Transporting non-hazardous waste for recycling can have positive environmental effects overall, the report notes. Although transporting the material causes additional environmental damage and greenhouse gas emissions, these impacts are often much less than the environmental impacts of processing virgin materials.

Hazardous and electronic waste

* Exports of hazardous waste, which may be explosive, flammable, irritative, toxic or corrosive, grew by 131 % in the period 2000–2009, while the amount of hazardous waste generated in the EU increased by 28 % in the same period. Flows of hazardous waste into the EU countries, from other EU countries and also from outside the EU, almost trebled between 2001 and 2009, reaching 8.9 million tonnes (Mt).

* Hazardous waste can include fly ash from incinerators, contaminated soil, lead batteries, waste mineral oils and other chemicals. Most hazardous waste exports stay within the EU, going to neighbouring countries. The biggest importer of this material in 2009 was Germany (3 Mt) while the biggest exporter was the Netherlands (2.8 Mt). Most of this material is recycled or used as fuel, although some is still sent to landfill.

* It is illegal to ship hazardous waste from EU Member States to countries which are not members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Old computers, home appliances and other electronic equipment should be collected separately under EU legislation.

* However, a large volume of used electrical products are shipped out of the EU to West Africa and Asia, much of them falsely classified as ‘used goods’ although in reality they are non-functional. The report estimates this trade to be at least 250 000 tonnes every year, possibly much more. These goods may subsequently be processed in dangerous and inefficient conditions, harming the health of local people and damaging the environment.

* The illegal waste trade seems to be growing, the report says, noting that the EU needs to intensify and harmonise inspection activities across the EU to combat illegal waste transfers.

Source: www.clickgreen.org.uk

Come Hell and High Water: Last Call for a Living Ocean

The siege upon the ocean is now in its final convulsion. Nearly all marine species are enduring man-made forces that are outpacing their ability to reproduce and adapt to a deteriorating environment. Overfishing, dumping pollutants, rising sea levels and temperatures, dissolving reefs and shelled organisms by spewing ever more CO2... all besiege the ocean. The assault on terrestrial species and habitat, as bad as it is, pales in comparison.

Rio+20, the U.N. summit meeting supposedly guiding sustainable development and Earth's environmental future, began June 20, 2012 with a terribly watered-down draft statement, titled "The Future We Want." Representing 190 nations, the great majority of delegates were instead protecting their governments' shortsighted monetary interests rather than addressing the reality of an imperiled planet, which included the glaring omission of a clear mandate to end the unabated decimation of the ocean.

Now is not the time for toothless proclamations from summits like the charade taking place in Rio de Janeiro. The International Energy Agency, the world's foremost authority on energy economics, issued a no-nonsense deadline in their annual World Energy Outlook in November of 2011. They revealed that Earth would lock-in runaway feedback processes by 2017 if fossil fuel use continued to increase. While lifestyle choice depends on using more fossil fuel, life depends on using less. It's too late for piecemeal solutions. We have just five crucial years to level out on fossil fuel extraction and emissions while halting the degradation of vital greenhouse gas reservoirs: the soil, tundra, forests and ocean.

In early 2011, marine scientists at the International Program on the State of the Ocean, working with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, examined the ocean's condition regarding the combined impact of climate chaos, acidification and overfishing. They concluded that the ocean would soon approach catastrophic, potentially irreversible change. The consequence is unequivocal: "If the ocean continues to decline, it will reach a point where it can no longer function effectively and our planet will be unable to sustain the ecosystems that support humankind."

Without exaggeration, a ruined ocean rivals a massive asteroid strike in orders of magnitude. As the ocean is essential to maintain Earth's life-support systems, this unfolding disaster will severely impact life on land as well. Sixty-five million years ago, Earth's 5th mass extinction event destroyed 85% of all life when an asteroid slammed into the Yucatan peninsula. This time around, we are the asteroid.
Tragically, despite decades of increasingly dire warnings from the world's leading organizations on climate and earth science, no significant action is underway. The perpetual growth myth and willful ignorance remain the status quo, even though our own survival is clearly at stake. The answer lies within our capacity to foresee and forestall. Unlike an asteroid, we possess a precious gift: the ability to alter course.
While dangerous acidity and greenhouse gas levels are already embedded in Earth's ecosystems, overfishing is a major stressor that can be readily eliminated. We can rapidly downscale fishing pressure and expand marine protected areas (MPAs). Government subsidies for fishing fleets must cease, while only science-based management should govern legislation on the proper use of the seas. Navies and coastal patrols can enforce a new generation of strict maritime laws in a global campaign to seize all illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels.
Artisanal boats can strive to achieve sustainability by monitoring their catches through local consensus and by using selective methods such as handline fishing. Conversely, most far-ranging nomadic ships are indiscriminately pillaging the seas with mechanized efficiency, such as netting entire schools that gather beneath fish aggregating devices (FADs). Using equipment such as longlines, trawls, purse seines and driftnets, these vessels are ultimately producing famine rather than nourishment. After an area is fished-out, they simply move on to ravage yet another fishery. All IUU ships should be recognized as weapons of mass destruction in an on-going attack and acted upon in terms of disarmament. Confiscated vessels can be refitted for benign use, cut up for scrap or sunk. After decontamination, sunken ships can provide replenishment as new habitat.

People are a part of nature, its domination is an ingrained conceit we can no longer indulge. All the rhetoric about marine preservation is ultimately about one single goal: to curtail economic ruthlessness to ensure the ocean's vitality for the sake of its inhabitants and, in return, a habitable world. Once the consequence of unsustainable exploitation is fully realized, that greed-driven practices will devastate young and future generations, reason and integrity can spur both individual lifestyle change and collective systemic change. As for the latter, governments can be compelled to act, but only with a growing public involvement demanding an all-out offensive to end the ocean's destruction.

Saving the ocean is nothing less than an absolute necessity...humankind's most immediate and profound planetary challenge. The seas can still possibly rebound, but only if the carnage is reversed with a surge of action based on precaution, protection and restoration. When those we love face immanent danger, we'll use all means necessary to defend them. By extension, we must be equally determined to defend the life of an ocean which sustains all we love.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Top Predators Key to Extinctions as Planet Warms

Global warming may cause more extinctions than predicted if scientists fail to account for interactions among species in their models, Yale and UConn researchers argue in Science.

"Currently, most models predicting the effects of climate change treat species separately and focus only on climatic and environmental drivers," said Phoebe Zarnetske, the study's primary author and a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. "But we know that species don't exist in a vacuum. They interact with each other in ways that deeply affect their viability."

Zarnetske said the complexity of "species interaction networks" discourages their inclusion in models predicting the effects of climate change. Using the single-species, or "climate envelope," approach, researchers have predicted that 15 percent to 37 percent of species will be faced with extinction by 2050.
But research has shown that top consumers -- predators and herbivores -- have an especially strong effect on many other species. In a warming world, these species are "biotic multipliers," increasing the extinction risk and altering the ranges of many other species in the food web.

"Climate change is likely to have strong effects on top consumers. As a result, these effects can ripple through an entire food web, multiplying extinction risks along the way," said Dave Skelly, a co-author of the study and professor of ecology at Yale.

The paper argues that focusing on these biotic multipliers and their interactions with other species is a promising way to improve predictions of the effects of climate change, and recent studies support this idea. On Isle Royale, an island in Lake Superior, rising winter temperatures and a disease outbreak caused wolf populations to decline and the number of moose to surge, leading to a decline in balsam fir trees. Studies in the rocky intertidal of the North American Pacific Coast show that higher temperatures altered the ranges of mussel species and their interaction with sea stars, their top predators, resulting in lower species diversity. And in Arctic Greenland, studies show that without caribou and muskoxen as top herbivores, higher temperatures can lead to decreased diversity in tundra plants and, in turn, affect many other species dependent on them.

"Species interactions are necessary for life on Earth. We rely on fisheries, timber, agriculture, medicine and a variety of other ecosystem services that result from intact species interactions," said Zarnetske. "Humans have already altered these important species interactions, and climate change is predicted to alter them further. Incorporating these interactions into models is crucial to informed management decisions that protect biodiversity and the services it provides."

Multispecies models with species interactions, according to the paper, would enable tracking of the biotic multipliers by following how changes in the abundance of target species, such as top consumers, alter the composition of communities of species. But there needs to be more data.

"Collecting this type of high-resolution biodiversity data will not be easy. However, insights from such data could provide us with the ability to predict and thus avoid some of the negative effects of climate change on biodiversity," said Mark Urban, a co-author and an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com

Solar Impulse Plane

Solar Impulse Plane Could Set More World Records

A solar-powered plane that has shattered three world records plans to go the distance again this year. The pilots of the "Solar Impulse" want to fly more than 1,500 miles (2,500 kilometers) without a drop of fuel during a two-day journey — a dress rehearsal for the ultimate goal of flying around the world in 2014.

Two Swiss pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, plan to switch off on flying the solar-powered plane at a technical stopover in Spain during the upcoming flight scheduled for May or June. That would allow them to tag-team the 48-hour flight over the Pyrenees Mountains (the natural border between France and Spain) and the Mediterranean Sea so that they can safely land in Morocco.

The Solar Impulse team has already put seven years of work into their aircraft design with the wingspan of an Airbus A340 jetliner, the weight of a family car and the engine power of a scooter. Solar Impulse's four propellers draw an average of 8 horsepower — about what the Wright Brothers had available when they first flew in 1903. Each of the four engine pods also have lithium polymer batteries.

Solar cells cover the upper wing to harness the power of sunlight in flight. The aircraft also has a strong, lightweight structure based on carbon fiber-honeycomb composites.

That design helped Solar Impulse set a new flight-time record as a manned plane powered only by sunlight during a day-long voyage in 2010. It also set endurance and altitude records during the flight that lasted 26 hours, 10 minutes and 19 seconds.

Such solar-powered aeronautic feats do more than just impress — they also raise new possibilities for commercial planes that could rely on electricity rather than jet fuel. Electric motors could be far more efficient than today's jet engines, but electric planes remain limited by the weight of heavy batteries needed to store electricity.

Still, Solar Impulse has proved that the right combination of renewable energy and lightweight materials could theoretically keep a plane airborne almost indefinitely.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

Enzyme Battery

New research at Concordia University is bringing the world one step closer to cleaner energy. It is now possible to extend the length of time a battery like enzyme can store energy from seconds to hours, as shown in a study published in the Journal of The American Chemical Society. Concordia Associate Professor László Kálmán — along with his colleagues in the Department of Physics, graduate students Sasmit Deshmukh and Kai Tang — has been working with an enzyme found in bacteria that is crucial for capturing solar energy. Light induces a charge separation in the enzyme, causing one end to become negatively charged and the other positively charged, much like in a battery. The hope is that such batteries are more sustainable in the long run with less environmental effects.


In nature, the enzyme energy is used immediately, but Kálmán says that to store that electrical potential, he and his colleagues had to find a way to keep the enzyme in a charge-separated state for a longer period of time.

"We had to create a situation where the charges don’t want to or are not allowed to go back, and that’s what we did in this study," says Kálmán.

Kálmán and his colleagues showed that by adding different molecules, they were able to alter the shape of the enzyme and, thus, extend the lifespan of its electrical storage potential.

In its natural configuration, the enzyme is perfectly embedded in the cell’s outer layer, known as the lipid membrane. The enzyme’s structure allows it to quickly recombine the charges and recover from a charge separated state.

However, when different lipid molecules make up the membrane, as in Kálmán’s experiments, there is a mismatch between the shape of the membrane and the enzyme embedded within it. Both the enzyme and the membrane end up changing their shapes to find a good fit. The changes make it more difficult for the enzyme to recombine the charges, thereby allowing the electrical potential to last much longer.

"What we’re doing is similar to placing a race car in on snow-covered streets," says Kálmán. The surrounding conditions prevent the race car from performing as it would on a racetrack, just like the different lipids prevent the enzyme from recombining the charges as efficiently as it does under normal circumstances.

Photosynthesis, which has existed for billions of years, is one of the earliest energy-converting systems. "All of our food, our energy sources (gasoline, coal) — everything is a product of some ancient photosynthetic activity," says Kálmán.

But he adds that the main reason researchers are turning to these ancient natural systems is because they are carbon neutral and use resources that are in abundance: sun, carbon dioxide and water. Researchers are using nature’s battery to inspire more sustainable, man made energy storage systems.

For a peek into the future of these technologies, Kálmán points to medical applications and biocompatible batteries. Imagine batteries made of enzymes and other biological molecules. These could be used to, for example, power a monitor inside a patient from post surgery. Unlike traditional batteries that contain toxic metals, biocompatible batteries could be left inside the body without causing harm.

Sony has developed a biological battery that generates electricity from sugar in a way that is similar to the processes observed in living organisms. The battery generates electricity through the use of enzymes that break down carbohydrates, which are, in essence, sugar. Almost any liquid or moist object that has enough ions to be electrically conductive can serve as the electrolyte for a cell.

What is novel for this enzyme battery is use the enzyme to store energy for extended periods of time.

Source: http://www.enn.com/

2011 Set to Be 10th Warmest Year on Record
Global Warming is Real: Climate - Energy - Sustainability (via Global Warming is Real)

New crop varieties can cut poverty, study finds!!!

The thorny question of whether improved crop varieties do, in fact, lift peasant farmers out of poverty has been answered positively in a study of groundnut varieties, according to researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), in Kenya.


Evidence that new technologies improve small farmers' wellbeing is scarce because the impact of adopting technologies depends on many factors such as the existence of infrastructure, policies and institutions that are often not fully functional in developing countries. For example, technology that increases productivity may not reduce poverty if the farmers do not have access to markets to sell their extra crop.

In addition, some studies have claimed that building capacity is more important than technology for improving livelihoods.

Researchers from CIMMYT selected more than 900 households at random from seven major groundnut growing districts in Uganda and, in 2006, surveyed socioeconomic data and information related to the adoption of improved groundnut varieties. Groundnut is an important crop in Uganda.

Farmers who adopted any of four improved varieties resistant to major pests and diseases — developed by national and international organisations, and released in Uganda between 1999 and 2002 — were compared with non-adopters. The results of the study were published in the October 2011 issue of World Development.

"We found that the adoption of [improved] groundnut varieties significantly increased the net value of income by US$130–254 per hectare," said Menale Kassie, one of the authors of the study. "Adoption of groundnut varieties also significantly reduced poverty as measured by headcount index [the proportion of people below the poverty line] by 7–9 per cent."

In a related study, which has been submitted for publication, Kassie and colleagues found that adopting improved maize varieties also significantly improves rural households' food security and decreases the extent of poverty.

Richard Edema, a plant pathologist and senior lecturer in the school of agricultural sciences at Makerere University, Uganda, said: "Studies [such as this one] can serve as feedback for agricultural scientists to assess whether new [crop] varieties are making real impacts on farmers' lives".

Okello David Kalule, head of the Uganda National Groundnut Improvement Programme, said that, although the new groundnut varieties produce superior yields, some farmers are still growing low-yielding varieties. The reasons for this, he said, include poor agricultural extension services and a lack of access to information about the new varieties.

"Local institutions should be strengthened to collectively improve access to seeds, credit, and information to increase both the spread and intensity of adoption," he said.

Source: www.scidev.net

Satellite Studies Reveal Groundwater Depletion around the World

Access to freshwater resources has always been a critical need for human and all forms of life on Earth. With a world population estimated at just shy of 7 billion and growing, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says agricultural production will need to increase 70% by 2050. As agriculture takes up most of human water use, that’s going to put vastly greater demands and strains on our water resources at a time when climate change is changing temperature and precipitation levels and patterns in ways that cannot be predicted at local levels but are likely to make this even more difficult to achieve.

One thing that has been determined is that groundwater levels have dropped in many places around the world in the past nine years, including across key agricultural areas, such as southern Argentina, western Australia and the western US, according to a pair of studies of satellite gravity monitoring data conducted by researchers at the University of California Center for Hydrologic Modeling in Irvine, Science News reports.

The GRACE Project

Groundwater depletion is especially pronounced beneath parts of California, India, the Middle East and China. Besides showing that water is being pumped out of underground groundwater aquifers faster than it’s being replenished, the results raise concerns that farming in particular is the primary cause, according to the Science News report.

“Groundwater is being depleted at a rapid clip in virtually of all of the major aquifers in the world’s arid and semiarid regions,” cautioned UC Center hydrologist Jay Famiglietti, whose team presented the results at a Dec. 6 meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), conducted jointly by NASA and the German Aerospace Center, has been taking monthly snapshots of global groundwater used in the two studies since 2002. GRACE data is especially useful in accumulating data across countries where governments do not maintain extensive networks of groundwater monitoring wells. While the US maintains an extensive nationwide network of such wells, countries, such as China, do not.

Nicknamed Tom and Jerry, GRACE’s two satellites are pulled apart and pushed together by variations in the gravitational pull of the areas of the earth they pass over. While mountains and other large concentrations of mass have large, steady impacts on earth’s gravitational pull on the areas where they’re found, water moves over time and creates small fluctuations that the two satellites sense.

Isolating groundwater changes

To isolate the effects of groundwater in particular, researchers have to subtract the effects of snow pack, rivers, lakes and soil moisture, the Science Times article explains. Doing so, they can detect changes in groundwater levels greater than one centimeter (~0.4 inches) over an area about the size of Illinois.

Results of analyzing the data obtained in the two UC Center studies shows that China’s been underestimating groundwater use. GRACE’s measurements indicate that water levels have been dropping 6 or 7 centimeters per year beneath the country’s northeast plains.

Short-term variability in climate is also taking its toll on groundwater levels. having suffered recent droughts, aquifers in Patagonia and the southeastern US now store less groundwater than they did in 2002.

Farming is almost certainly the largest contributing factor, however. Booming agriculture in northern India, takes some 18 cubic kilometers of water out of the ground every year, more than enough to fill 7 million Olympic-size swimming pools, according to Science News.

Farmers in California’s Central Valley, which accounts for nearly 1/6 of irrigated land in the entire country, pump nearly 4 cubic kilometers of water per year out from underground. The valley has been sinking for decades as more wells have been drilled and water pumped out, land subsidence that’s also been occurring and causing increasing concerns, and costly remediation efforts, in Mexico City.

Aquifers in arid and desert areas with fast-growing populations, such as the Middle East, are also being depleted. The “fossil water” that fell millions of years ago and is now stored in the Arabian aquifer beneath Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries is being pumped out faster than it’s being replenished.

Just how much water is there?

Climate change only makes the problem more acute, according to UC Center’s Famiglietti. Precipitation patterns are becoming more extreme, with the severity of droughts increasing. Wet areas are becoming wetters and dry areas drier, Science News reports, and that may accelerate groundwater depletion in some areas.

A big question remains unanswered, however, as hydrologists don’t really know just how large these aquifers are and just how much water is left in them. That’s because GRACE can only show changes in aquifer levels, not their total volume.

Yet while they lack reliable estimates for the total amount of groundwater stored in the world’s aquifers, it’s become clear to hydrologists studying them that water use has become unsustainable in many areas. Better irrigation systems would help reduce water usage, as could channeling water runoff into aquifers during wet periods

Access to freshwater resources has always been a critical need for human and all forms of life on Earth. With a world population estimated at just shy of 7 billion and growing, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says agricultural production will need to increase 70% by 2050. As agriculture takes up most of human water use, that’s going to put vastly greater demands and strains on our water resources at a time when climate change is changing temperature and precipitation levels and patterns in ways that cannot be predicted at local levels but are likely to make this even more difficult to achieve.

One thing that has been determined is that groundwater levels have dropped in many places around the world in the past nine years, including across key agricultural areas, such as southern Argentina, western Australia and the western US, according to a pair of studies of satellite gravity monitoring data conducted by researchers at the University of California Center for Hydrologic Modeling in Irvine, Science News reports.

The GRACE Project

Groundwater depletion is especially pronounced beneath parts of California, India, the Middle East and China. Besides showing that water is being pumped out of underground groundwater aquifers faster than it’s being replenished, the results raise concerns that farming in particular is the primary cause, according to the Science News report.

“Groundwater is being depleted at a rapid clip in virtually of all of the major aquifers in the world’s arid and semiarid regions,” cautioned UC Center hydrologist Jay Famiglietti, whose team presented the results at a Dec. 6 meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), conducted jointly by NASA and the German Aerospace Center, has been taking monthly snapshots of global groundwater used in the two studies since 2002. GRACE data is especially useful in accumulating data across countries where governments do not maintain extensive networks of groundwater monitoring wells. While the US maintains an extensive nationwide network of such wells, countries, such as China, do not.

Nicknamed Tom and Jerry, GRACE’s two satellites are pulled apart and pushed together by variations in the gravitational pull of the areas of the earth they pass over. While mountains and other large concentrations of mass have large, steady impacts on earth’s gravitational pull on the areas where they’re found, water moves over time and creates small fluctuations that the two satellites sense.

Isolating groundwater changes

To isolate the effects of groundwater in particular, researchers have to subtract the effects of snow pack, rivers, lakes and soil moisture, the Science Times article explains. Doing so, they can detect changes in groundwater levels greater than one centimeter (~0.4 inches) over an area about the size of Illinois.

Results of analyzing the data obtained in the two UC Center studies shows that China’s been underestimating groundwater use. GRACE’s measurements indicate that water levels have been dropping 6 or 7 centimeters per year beneath the country’s northeast plains.

Short-term variability in climate is also taking its toll on groundwater levels. having suffered recent droughts, aquifers in Patagonia and the southeastern US now store less groundwater than they did in 2002.

Farming is almost certainly the largest contributing factor, however. Booming agriculture in northern India, takes some 18 cubic kilometers of water out of the ground every year, more than enough to fill 7 million Olympic-size swimming pools, according to Science News.

Farmers in California’s Central Valley, which accounts for nearly 1/6 of irrigated land in the entire country, pump nearly 4 cubic kilometers of water per year out from underground. The valley has been sinking for decades as more wells have been drilled and water pumped out, land subsidence that’s also been occurring and causing increasing concerns, and costly remediation efforts, in Mexico City.

Aquifers in arid and desert areas with fast-growing populations, such as the Middle East, are also being depleted. The “fossil water” that fell millions of years ago and is now stored in the Arabian aquifer beneath Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries is being pumped out faster than it’s being replenished.

Just how much water is there?

Climate change only makes the problem more acute, according to UC Center’s Famiglietti. Precipitation patterns are becoming more extreme, with the severity of droughts increasing. Wet areas are becoming wetters and dry areas drier, Science News reports, and that may accelerate groundwater depletion in some areas.

A big question remains unanswered, however, as hydrologists don’t really know just how large these aquifers are and just how much water is left in them. That’s because GRACE can only show changes in aquifer levels, not their total volume.

Yet while they lack reliable estimates for the total amount of groundwater stored in the world’s aquifers, it’s become clear to hydrologists studying them that water use has become unsustainable in many areas. Better irrigation systems would help reduce water usage, as could channeling water runoff into aquifers during wet periods

Source: www.enn.com