We Made Our Bed Now We Have To Sleep In It
Give a beaver enough time and he will turn a stream into a pond, give coral enough time and they can turn a shallow sea into an island, some ants grow mold farms on leaves they cut from trees, trees trap soil to make a better environment for their seeds, humans like all these life forms have altered the environment to better suit themselves.
We have contributed to widespread changes in the environment, not all of them good. We are preforming a grand scientific experiment on this planet. This has involved a lot of change to the natural world, and these changes have consequences. Beavers run out of trees, coral can’t live out of water, ants can remove all the leaves they depend on for life, humans too can bump up against the limits of the natural world. If you alter the natural world you cause changes in the cycles that govern the natural world. We have altered a lot of things about this planet and now, change is coming. We will need to adapt to both predicted and unexpected consequences of our alterations.
The role, pace and impact of regional and local environmental change will need to be factored into human decision processes, with careful attention paid to uncertainties, say Tim Killeen, National Science Foundation (NSF) assistant director for geosciences, and David Lightfoot, NSF assistant director for social, behavioral & economic sciences.
To identify the strategies best suited to cover replacement costs for lost services, or recover from the effects of natural hazards, it’s important to compare the impacts of various mitigation efforts, such as those for carbon management like “cap and trade” programs, say Killeen and Lightfoot.
To factor valuation of “ecosystem services”–what Earth’s resources offer humans–into economic activities in a way that provides critically important information about land and water use, NSF’s Directorates for Geosciences (GEO) and Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences (SBE) have announced a focus on the impacts of humans and our economy on the environment.
The Directorates have issued a Dear Colleague Letter to the scientific community encouraging increased research, jointly supported by core programs in GEO and SBE, on the links among environment, society and the economy.
Especially sought are projects that address such areas as the impacts and adaptation of economic systems; the role of incentives in human behavior; environmental change and its impact on the evolution of human behavior; the interplay of environmental change and inequality of income and access to resources; and overcoming economic and political difficulties in implementing science-based mitigation strategies.
“Climate change will have significant impacts on many aspects of the Earth system,” says Killeen, “including carbon sequestration, water and air purification, fisheries and agricultural production and species habitats. Some climate-induced changes will occur gradually, while others will be abrupt.”
Adds Lightfoot, “Models show that changes in climate will greatly affect coastal regions, many of which have large urban populations. Climate change may alter the duration and magnitude of monsoonal rainfalls and river flooding. Communities will have to respond appropriately to these new stresses.”
These effects and many others, Killeen and Lightfoot state, have direct bearing on economic and policy decisions confronting individuals, groups, firms and governments at local, regional, national and global levels.
Humans are driven to make the world more habitable for themselves. But in the process we may have become victims of our own success. It is time we start taking a scientific and fact based approach to long term planning. We much begin to factor in the damage we have already done, but more than that.
Moving forward all human decision making must take into account the cost to the environment. All activities must be looked at in the context of long term survivability of the human race. It is no longer possible to simply hope that our actions will not have any effect until long after we are dead. It is time to start planning for the living, not the dead.
Something Just Brushed Up Against My Foot! (Giant Freshwater Fish)
There was a time before sonar, before every part of the earth was google mapped, before we knew what lurked in the depths of rivers, a time of gods and demons. Human beings used to fear and respect the giant creatures that lived in the depths of our fresh water rivers and lakes. Luck for us these creatures still roam the planet, and are every bit as interesting now as they were then.
We have talked about large freshwater fish here before. Below are a collection of other amazing and giant freshwater fish.
The giant freshwater stingray (more)
Alligator Gar (these used to live in Ohio!! where I grew up as a boy)
There are many humongous fish out there and they are all interesting and worth saving.
I am very comforted by the fact that these giants still roam this planet, and think we should do everything in our power to preserve and study these amazing, and freaking redonkulous sized fish.
Habitat loss and over fishing are the main causes of the die off of these giants.
Friday Fun: Are Video Games Enough?
Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse?
The onion av club asks the important questions, are video games going to be enough to prepare our children for a nightmarish hell scape? I don’t know, we report you decide.
All Biofuels Are Local
Like politics all biofuels are local (or should be). Field work and computer simulations in Michigan and Wisconsin are helping biofuels researchers understand the basics of getting home-grown energy from the field to consumers. Preliminary results presented today suggest that incorporating native, perennial plants during biofuels production reduces emissions of greenhouse gases, improves water quality and enhances biodiversity. The results are part of an experimental effort to make biofuels economically and environmentally sustainable.
“If we can make biofuels sustainable in the Great Lakes region, then we can apply the same methods to make biofuel industries work in other regions” said Cesar Izaurralde of the Joint Global Change Research Institute in College Park, Md. a collaboration between the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. and the University of Maryland.
Biofuels based on the food crop corn have come under criticism in recent years for contributing to high food prices and not reducing greenhouse gases enough. Now, researchers of the DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center are looking beyond food crops to be used as biofuel feedstocks. These “cellulosic biofuels” being studied include a range of herbaceous and woody species, including native prairie grasses.
How well these other biofuels will perform against greenhouse gas accumulation depends on the feedstock, how they’re grown, how the plant is converted to useful liquids, and where the industry is based. Something as simple as whether the crop needs to be planted every year or takes root can contribute to whether it’s an advantage over fossil fuels.
At the DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, scientists are investigating which biofuels crops are best suited to take advantage of the conditions unique to that region — for example, which grow best in the soils and with the amount of water the region has available. An economic concern is that they do not interfere with the production of food crops.
“One of the objectives of the center is to develop ecological, agricultural, and life cycle practices that are economically viable and environmentally responsive for the production of biofuel crops” said Izaurralde.
Izaurralde presented an overview of the program, which is in its early stages, today at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting. For example, he and his colleagues are using computer models to explore regional production of biofuels in Michigan and Wisconsin. The computer simulations include weather and soil information, and many other production and economic factors. The researchers expect to find ways to deploy biofuel cropping systems that are profitable and environmentally sustainable.
Coal Leaves the Capitol
This post is from Bruce Nilles, director of the Sierra Club’s Move Beyond Coal campaign.
Twenty four hours before 10,000 students are slated to descend on Washington urging Congress take strong and immediate action on global warming (Power Shift 2009), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have requested the Capitol Power Plant stop burning coal and instead switch to clean burning natural gas.
As the coal burning facility remaining in Washington D.C. the plant is a symbol of our country’s dependence on out-dated, dirty and dangerous energy sources. Sierra Club and our allies Friends of the Earth and Earthjustice, have been investigating this plant and just yesterday had sent a letter to Congressional leaders requesting their support to end coal burning in the District.
Today’s action shows change is here in Washington. We have responsive leaders who are listening to Americans’ desire for clean energy and green jobs. They can continue to build on this and show that we can and will solve climate change. Today’s action also shows 10,000 young Americans that are coming here to the Power Shift 2009 gathering this weekend that democracy is alive and well in the Nation’s capitol.(We are a supporter of the conference).
This decision also comes as more than 2,500 are headed to Washington to demonstrate there is a growing national demand to move America beyond coal. Those folks are still on their way for Monday’s protest, but now their message has changed:
“The more than 2,500 people coming to Washington to call for a solution to the climate crisis and an end to the use of coal are still coming because the climate is still in crisis and coal is still driving that crisis,” said Michael Brune, Executive Director of Rainforest Action Network.
The coal industry will not go quietly, and it seems intent of spending millions on trying to delay action on global warming. Taking on the coal industry requires all of us who care about the future to work together. We must all stand together. And today we can celebrate that we have champions in Congress who are on our side and committed to clean energy. Because of them, the U.S. Capitol has already made great strides in improving efficiency, increasing recycling and reducing water use. Ending coal use at the Capitol Power Plant is the next significant step.
Stopping the use of coal at the Capitol Power Plant will help local residents breathe easier, but the positive impacts will stretch far beyond the District. Bold leadership in Washington is needed to reduce global warming emissions and we look forward to continuing to work with Congress and the new Administration to send a clear signal to cities and states across the country that after eight long years, America is finally serious about clean energy and green jobs.
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