The environment in the news friday, January 07 2011

Hot spots

1. Arctic sea ice sheets

2. Shallow-water coral reefs

3. Hawaiian Islands

4. Deserts of the Southwest United States

5. Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta

6. Sierra Nevada

7. Snake River Basin

8. Greater Yellowstone ecosystem

9. Gulf Coast flatlands and wetlands

10. Greater Everglades
Bumblebee species ‘in trouble’: US Study

CBC News, 4 Jan 2011

Cameron, lead author of the first in-depth national study of wild bees in the U.S., said the analysis only covered eight species, so "this could be the tip of the iceberg."

The finding echoes similar ones in other reports that documented huge declines in honeybee populations.

Using historical records from the late 1800s, Cameron and her colleagues found the relative abundance — the proportion of the studied species out of all bumblebees — of the four species decreased by up to 96 per cent since that period, and their geographic range contracted by between 23 and 87 per cent.

The study said that the declining populations had significantly higher infection levels of the pathogen Nosema bombi than unaffected populations. Separate research has shown that the parasite can render bumblebees helpless and unable to function, and eventually kill them.

The infected populations also had lower genetic diversity.

"Higher pathogen prevalence and reduced genetic diversity are, thus, realistic predictors of these alarming patterns of decline in North America, although cause and effect remain uncertain," the abstract of the study said.

Research last year on colony-collapse disorder, which led to the mass deaths of honeybee colonies, suggests the collapse might have been caused by a combination of viruses and the fungi Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae.

Cameron said there is no proven cause of the bumblebee declines, but climate change has contributed to European losses and habitat loss may affect certain specialized species.

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada last May said the rusty-patched bumblebee should be listed as endangered. Its rapid decline is a mystery, but pesticides, disease and a loss of habitat could be contributing factors.

The three-year U.S. study compared more than 73,000 museum records with recent U.S. national surveys of more than 16,000 specimens from about 400 sites.

The report was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Vancouver Sun, 6 Jan 2011, Marianne White

Wayne Davidson, a weather station operator in Resolute Bay -- one of Canada's most northerly communities -- said Inuit hunters have noticed for years that the dark Arctic night is becoming lighter.

Davidson started to study the phenomenon and posted photos of the sky on his website ( www.eh2r.com).

Eventually, he and other observers say, they figured out what was happening in the Far North.

"I believe it's related to temperature differences and the Arctic is becoming warmer than usual ever since 1998," the weather researcher said in an interview from Resolute Bay, where he has been living for 25 years. Basically, the warmer layer of air over the Arctic is acting as a conduit for light from the south.

"It's the refraction of light where the warm air and the cold air meet that is creating this brightness," Davidson explained.

The bigger the temperature differences, the longer the light travels and shines, he noted.

"It's a slow but gradual process that doesn't seem to want to stop," Davidson said. "It's astounding, there's no other word for it."

The new kind of light -- that takes various shades of blue, green and red -- has been noticed not only by residents in Resolute Bay, but also in other hamlets on Baffin Island.

"Nowadays, we also see the daylight much earlier," said Harry Alookie, of Qikiqtarjuaq. "It never used to be like that."

While some Arctic residents might enjoy winters that are not as bitterly cold as they used to be, it's a different story for Inuit hunters.

The rising temperature makes hunting difficult as prey disappears and thinning ice becomes treacherous.

"The impact is especially big this year," said Alookie, who manages the Nattivak Hunters and Trappers Organization in Qikiqtarjuaq.

The sea ice used to freeze up in November, but this winter the hunters were only able to go on the ice for the first time on Monday.

"It's making it a lot more difficult for people up here," Alookie said, noting that ice is of paramount importance for Inuit livelihoods.

There are about 70 full-time hunters in Qikiqtarjuaq and other residents, such as Alookie, are occasional hunters who go out on weekends.

"We have to be in communication with each other about which areas are safe and which areas are not," he added.

Scientists have said the Arctic is warming more quickly than the rest of the planet and Davidson has noticed it firsthand.

"It's been surprisingly consistently warmer than usual for the past few winters," he said.

For instance, the mean temperature for this past December was 8 C above the normal seasonal temperatures.

"It's huge," Davidson said. In the Nunavut capital of

Iqaluit, it has been raining since Monday and there is still open water in the bay.

The United States National Snow and Ice Data Center reported Wednesday that the extent of Arctic sea ice cover for December 2010 was the lowest on record, particularly in the Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait, south of Baffin Island.

Kent says oilsants unfairly demonized

Montreal Gazette, 5 Jan 2011, Renata D’aliesio

On his second day in the federal environmental portfolio, the Toronto-area Conservative MP reiterated his predecessor’s pledge to enhance water monitoring in northern Alberta’s vast oilsands region.

However, he said, labels such as “dirty oil” and claims that bitumen extraction is the most destructive industrial activity on the planet are overblown.

“There has been a lot of disinformation and outright misinformation,” Kent said during an interview.

“There has been a demonizing of a legitimate resource. It is ethical oil. It is regulated oil. And it’s secure oil in a world where many of the free world’s oil sources are somewhat less secure.”

Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner is looking forward to working with his new federal counterpart, said spokeswoman Erin Carrier. Renner hopes to secure a meeting with Kent to hash out mutual environmental challenges, such as climate change.

Kent, part of a small cabinet shuffle, replaces House leader John Baird, who held the position for an interim stretch after Albertan Jim Prentice’s resignation from cabinet in November.

Environmentalists want Kent and the Harper government to move more aggressively on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Conservatives have set a goal of cutting the country’s carbon emissions to 17 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020, mirroring targets set by the Obama administration. Clare Demerse of the Pembina Institute, an Alberta-based environmental think-tank, said the federal government hasn’t outlined how it intends to achieve its climate change goal.

“We simply don’t have policies that would add up to actually reaching that target,” Demerse said. “Part of the problem there is the government’s decision to wait for the United States.”

Kent, who worked as a journalist before entering politics in 2008, dismisses the claim that Canada lacks a climate change plan. He noted Ottawa has implemented regulations focused on emissions from cars and plans to introduce draft regulations targeting heavy-duty vehicles later this year.

“Transportation, of course, is the biggest single segment of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada,” he said.

Also in the federal government’s crosshairs are coal-fired power plants. Draft regulations, expected in the spring, will not follow the United States’ recently announced path, Kent pledged.

“It really is apples and oranges,” Kent said of comparing Canada’s coal-fuelled electricity sector with the United States. Americans’ reliance on these power plants is much greater, he added.

“That’s simply a route we don’t have to go and we aren’t going to go, but the outcomes will be very similar.”

The U.S. Environment Protection Agency intends to propose emission-reduction rules for new and existing power plants. In contrast, the Harper government’s plan would require coal-fired electricity generators to eventually switch to natural gas or tap technology to capture and store their carbon emissions.

“The outcome will be the same,” Kent said.

David Collyer, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said Kent faces a steep learning curve as he familiarizes himself with issues facing the country’s energy sector.

Environmental issues surrounding oilsands development will likely be top of mind, he added. Collyer believes having an Ontario-based environment minister may help to better inform Central Canadians about the economic importance of the oilsands and what’s being done to reduce the mammoth development’s environmental footprint.

Sierra Club of Canada’s executive director John Bennett is calling for a halt on new oilsands projects. The oilsands are the country’s fastest-growing source of carbon dioxide.

“We need a moratorium on the oilsands until we figure out how we’re going to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and how we’re going to clean up the mess in the oilsands region that’s already there,” Bennett said.

While Kent acknowledges water-monitoring improvements are needed in the oilsands region — recommended last month by a federal scientific panel — he said he believes the resource’s economic value to Canadians isn’t properly understood.

“We have to work to make sure that the misrepresentation of our oilsands resources … are countered with facts,” Kent said.

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ENVIRONMENT NEWS FROM THE

UN DAILY NEWS
Other UN News
07 January 2011
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ENVIRONMENT NEWS FROM THE

S.G’s SPOKESMAN DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

06 January 2011

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  The Joint Special Representative of the African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Ibrahim Gambari, told mission staff in El Fasher, North Darfur, that their key priorities for 2011 will be to continue working towards a more secure and stable environment, including the protection of the civilian population.
   
  
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  He urged the staff to continue to support the Darfur peace and political process and the search for a comprehensive political and inclusive settlement which addresses the root causes of the conflict in Darfur.
   
  
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  This should include supporting the process of voluntary return of internally displaced persons and refugees to their homes, so that they can start living a normal life, Mr. Gambari said. He also emphasized that security remains a top concern.
  

 SECRETARY-GENERAL KEENLY AWARE OF RISING FOOD PRICES: Asked about the rising cost of food worldwide, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General is keenly aware of rising food prices, which have been reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Nesirky recalled that the Secretary-General and the UN system acted to deal with high food prices two years ago and would be prepared to act again once the right course of action has been decided.