Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!

As you are browsing the internet today, reading about all the cool things people are doing across the world, you might want to consider looking at the First Eco Browser called Flock.

Flock is a browser based on Mozilla Firefox. Though it possesses all the capabilities of a regular browser, it was originally geared towards social networking. The excellent folks over at Flock's development teams have created this browser which retains the social networking capabilities while providing easy access to green news and content. Developments in the green world can now be shared rapidly with your friends and family!

This is an exciting development in the information world and will hopefully work wonders by changing the way in which green news and information is disseminated!

GK from the EcoWatch team.

Eco-friendly fronds for Palm Sunday
U researcher tapped for sustainable palm study

Photo and home page image by Dean Current
By Pauline Oo
March 12, 2008

Palm fronds are popular in floral arrangements any time of the year, but on Palm Sunday they have a symbolic and historical meaning. Church congregations in the United States buy more than 300 million fronds annually to commemorate Jesus's return to Jerusalem.

In 2002, the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (NACEC), which was set up by the North American Free Trade Agreement, hired University of Minnesota researcher Dean Current to study the palm trade between the United States and its southern neighbors, namely Mexico and Guatemala. He was asked to find out if the plant could be sustainably harvested and to figure out if it could generate a better income for the communities that harvest it.

"In many cases, they were overharvesting," says Current, a forest economist in the U's Center for Integrated Agriculture and Natural Resources Management at the Department of Forest Resources.

Local contractors hired villagers in Mexico and Guatemala and paid them by the volume, no matter the quality they delivered. This meant that 50 percent or more of what was brought in was discarded because it didn't meet the needs of the market--the fronds were too small, blemished, or missing leaves. The perfect frond, adds Current, should be 18 to 22 inches long without mold or any brown and black spots.

Current was also tapped to survey U.S. churches on their interest in buying sustainably harvested palm fronds. The positive response paved the way for Eco-Palms, greener and fair-trade palm fronds.

More than 360,000 Eco-Palms were shipped to 1,400 U.S. church congregations, including a U.S. Air Force base in Okinawa, Japan, in advance of Palm Sunday last year. In 2005, just 5,000 palms were sold to 22 churches.

Pronatura, a nongovernmental organization in Mexico, has been training the communities to be more selective when cutting the fronds so the harvesters don't also unwittingly contribute to the deforestation of the rainforest that supports their livelihood. "If you take off too many leaves you can damage or destroy the plant," says Current.

Did you know?

Guatemala has what are called "community concessions," government land in which the rights to harvest, say timber and palm, are given to the community.

"It's a better way to protect forests rather than declaring them a preserve," says U researcher Dean Current. "Most governments that have these important areas don't have many resources to protect them, but if they enlist the community--give them a viable option from the forest to live on--then they become an ally in protecting it. And they can do a much better job than governments often can. Around the world, you're seeing more countries giving more use rights to communities in forest areas."

Current and his U colleagues administer the project from the U's Twin Cities campus in St. Paul. They take orders from churches across the nation, and pass them on to Hermes Floral in St. Paul, which handles the monetary transactions and shipment of the fronds. Current says it takes three to four weeks to move the palms from forest to consumer, and about half of the orders come from Lutheran churches, thanks to Baltimore-based Eco-Palm partner Lutheran World Relief.

A average order is 260 stems. "But we have some Catholic churches that order up to 4,000, and some that order 20 stems," says Current.

Each eco-friendly frond cost 22 cents, which is more than double the cost of other fronds, but Current says the price includes 5 cents to help the local harvesting communities with social or development projects such as building schools or providing health care or insurance.

The harvested Eco-Palms are sorted and bundled by the women in the communities, instead of a distant warehouse, providing jobs where once there was none.

"One of the strengths of our work with the Eco-Palms are the partnerships we have formed with the communities, Christian organizations, environmental NGO's, international institutions, the private sector, and government agencies in Guatemala and Mexico," says Current. "It's a real tribute to the University of Minnesota outreach efforts and our ability to work effectively with a broad range of partners, and it has required that level of cooperation to attain what we have."

For more information on Eco-Palms, including a Flash presentation, visit the U's Center for Integrated Agriculture and Natural Resources Management.

The Story of Stuff

Hey hey.

Check out this website, www.storyofstuff.com

Well made video that does a good job of explaining the consequences of our consumptive habits!

MCPA and ballast water regulations

Are people familiar with the problem of invasive species being spread to new areas through ship ballast water? This problem is common in the great lakes and is a reason why zebra mussels were introduced to these waters and are now causing problems.

This article explains how a California court ruling determined that according to federal law officials are required to regulate ships dumping ballast water is U.S. water. This is great news, but was I the only one who though that this sort of regulation was already required? It seems that we have known about this problem for a while and yet lacked the legal documentation to support any action. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. Additionally the article brings up the point that individual states are responsible for requlating leading to the potential for all states to adopt different rules. Would it be better if a federal regulation was enacted? Just some thoughts about this new news.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/02/18/ballast/


MPCA draws up ballast water regulations
by Bob Kelleher, Minnesota Public Radio
February 18, 2008

Minnesota's Pollution Control Agency is drawing up new permitting and regulations for ships that carry ballast water. They're trying to stop ships from transporting non-native organisms like zebra mussels to the state's waters.

But everyone agrees it would be better for the federal government to do the regulating.

Duluth, Minn. — The Duluth harbor is home to a growing number of invasive species from spiny water fleas, to zebra mussels and round gobies.

The plants and animals can establish quickly and push out native and arguably more desirable organisms. And it is almost certain these creatures arrived from far flung places like the Caspian Sea, hidden in ship ballast water.

There has been a lot of discussion what to do about ballast water, but little action. Now, a court ruling from California is spurring new actions.

The court said federal pollution law requires officials to regulate ships which dump ballast in U.S. waters. And the ruling gives regulators until this October to do it.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is leading the effort in Minnesota. The MPCA's Jeff Stollenwerk said the court's ruling could apply to any kind of water vessel -- even recreational boats.

"Our initial focus has been on ballast water discharges from commercial vessels in the Great Lakes, since they are a suspected source of invasive species introductions, so we felt it was a high priority area," Stollenwerk said. "That's really what the court decision focussed on, and that's where we're concentrating our efforts right now."

Minnesota may be the second Great Lakes state with state-specific rules. Michigan was first, requiring permits for ships that come into Michigan waters from the ocean. Wisconsin is considering a similar program, and Ontario Province has its own rules and permits.

But even as he works to develop regulations, Stollenwerk says a state-by-state approach is not the best way to do this. Many people involved in Great Lakes shipping agree. The Director of Duluth Seaway Port Authority, Adolf Ojard, said the people who run the ships understand regulations are necessary.

"The industry as a whole, though, is looking more for a federal solution. We're looking for uniformity," Ojard said. "A hodge-podge of individual states and individual ports all requiring separate and unique permits and applications of treatment, really doesn't work in this environment. Ships move throughout the world and throughout the country, and so we're pressing for a federal legislation and uniformity from the federal government."

There is also some dispute about which vessels need regulations. Michigan's permits, for example, apply only to ocean going ships. But Minnesota's would put new ballast water rules on both the ocean going salties, and the lakers - the ships that sail only on the five Great Lakes. All the more reason, Ojard said, that regulating should fall to the federal government.

"This whole process is fraught with problems -- complications. It needs to be moved very thoughtfully," he said. "There needs to be a consideration for, I guess, people, and recreation, and goods and services. It has to be a practical approach."

The California court ruling has prompted action at both state and federal levels. Minnesota Congressman Jim Oberstar wrote authority for a federal ballast program into a Water Resources Development Bill that recently became law, over the President's veto. But the progam doesn't have funding yet. The money is in another bill which Congress has yet to pass. Still, Oberstar says the federal government is finally moving on regulations, largely because of the state's actions.

"I think the state government initiatives, while ultimately likely to be ruled out of order by a court, because of the over arching federal authority, none the less prod federal government agencies into action," he said.

Oberstar expects a federal permitting and ballast regulation program to be in effect by the October 1st deadline. But in the meantime, Minnesota will continue drawing up its own program.

The MPCA's Jeff Stollenwerk says it's too early to predict what might be in new regulations, but that public input hearings will likely be held in early March.

London raising its gas guzzler fees

This article explains London's policy to charge cars to enter the city. The most fuel efficient cars are able to enter the city for free. This idea of charging drivers to enter the city has also been proposed in NYC. This measures are enacted in hopes of reducing greenhouse gases as well as changing the communter habits of the region's citizens.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23132718/

Recycling Plastic

Kare 11 did an extra last night on Recycling plastics. Here is the text version of the piece.

http://www.kare11.com/news/ts_article.aspx?storyid=492682

Green Jobs Growing

Check out this interesting article on "green collar jobs".
One crucial issue brought up in this article is the expiration of tax breaks for clean energy industries. Last year Bush signed a bill that excluded tax breaks for these industries. $125 million is authorized for green job training programs, but many argue this is enough. Without tax credits renewable industries could get hit hard; stalling growth, implementation of clean energy and the creation of new jobs in the United States.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22968263/

Glee Gum

Over the weekend I heard about this all natural gum made from products from the rainforest. I was curious to see what it was all about, so I went to the company's website and found out a lot of information. The company, which is called Verve, Inc, semm to keep the environment in mind when manufacturing their product. The website states "Verve is an independent, family-owned business, dedicated to linking world communities and creating environmentally and socially responsible products and activities." The website goes on to state how the company goes about getting the ingredients for the gum and a bunch of other information. What I liked most about it though was the fact that they are using their product to educate students and children about the importance of sustainability in an area, and also the fact that the are helping to protect the rainforest (by keeping it from being cut down) in the areas that they are harvesting their ingredients. They are also providing income to the local area by providing jobs. Check out the website, and I encourage you to click on all the links within it because it states a lot of information, and it seems to be an interesting company.

http://www.gleegum.com/glee-gum.htm

Study: Destroying native ecosystems for biofuel crops worsens global warming

http://www.physorg.com/printnews.php?newsid=121614826

Turning native ecosystems into “farms” for biofuel crops causes major carbon emissions that worsen the global warming that biofuels are meant to mitigate, according to a new study by the University of Minnesota and the Nature Conservancy. The work will be published in Science later this month and will be posted online Thursday, Feb. 7.

The carbon lost by converting rainforests, peatlands, savannas, or grasslands outweighs the carbon savings from biofuels. Such conversions for corn or sugarcane (ethanol), or palms or soybeans (biodiesel) release 17 to 420 times more carbon than the annual savings from replacing fossil fuels, the researchers said. The carbon, which is stored in the original plants and soil, is released as carbon dioxide, a process that may take decades. This “carbon debt” must be paid before the biofuels produced on the land can begin to lower greenhouse gas levels and ameliorate global warming.

The conversion of peatlands for palm oil plantations in Indonesia ran up the greatest carbon debt, one that would require 423 years to pay off. The next worst case was the production of soybeans in the Amazon, which would not “pay for itself” in renewable soy biodiesel for 319 years.

“We don't have proper incentives in place because landowners are rewarded for producing palm oil and other products but not rewarded for carbon management,” said University of Minnesota Applied Economics professor Stephen Polasky, an author of the study. “This creates incentives for excessive land clearing and can result in large increases in carbon emissions.

“This research examines the conversion of land for biofuels and asks the question ‘Is it worth it"’,” said lead author Joe Fargione, a scientist for The Nature Conservancy. “And surprisingly, the answer is no.”

Fargione began the work as a University of Minnesota postdoctoral researcher with Polasky, Regents Professor of Ecology David Tilman; he completed it after joining the Nature Conservancy. They, along with university researchers Jason Hill and Peter Hawthorne, also contributed to the work.

“If you’re trying to mitigate global warming, it simply does not make sense to convert land for biofuels production,” said Fargione. “All the biofuels we use now cause habitat destruction, either directly or indirectly. Global agriculture is already producing food for six billion people. Producing food-based biofuel, too, will require that still more land be converted to agriculture.”

These findings coincide with observations that increased demand for ethanol corn crops in the United States is likely contributing to conversion of the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado (tropical savanna). American farmers traditionally rotated corn crops with soybeans, but now they are planting corn every year to meet the ethanol demand and Brazilian farmers are planting more of the world’s soybeans. And they’re deforesting the Amazon to do it.

The researchers also found significant carbon debt in the conversion of grasslands in the United States and rainforests in Indonesia.

Researchers did note that some biofuels do not contribute to global warming because they do not require the conversion of native habitat. These include waste from agriculture and forest lands and native grasses and woody biomass grown on marginal lands unsuitable for crop production. The researchers urge that all fuels be fully evaluated for their impacts on global warming, including impacts on habitat conversion.

“Biofuels made on perennial crops grown on degraded land that is no longer useful for growing food crops may actually help us fight global warming,” said Hill. “One example is ethanol made from diverse mixtures of native prairie plants. Minnesota is well poised in this respect.”

“Creating some sort of incentive for carbon sequestration, or penalty for carbon emissions, from land use is vital if we are serious about addressing this problem,” Polasky said.

“We will need to implement many approaches simultaneously to solve climate change. There is no silver bullet, but there are many silver BBs,” said Fargione. “Some biofuels may be one silver BB, but only if produced without requiring additional land to be converted from native habitats to agriculture.”

Source: University of Minnesota