Green (Living) Review: conservation

Showing posts with label conservation. Show all posts

Conservation is not some huge sacrifice

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Many people seem to believe that conservation and “going green” has to be some great sacrifice and that's why they cannot do it, also because the believe that it is expensive. If you find going green expensive you are doing it wrong, seriously wrong, and this is not the first time that I am saying this.

Conservation and being green isn’t some huge sacrifice. It doesn’t mean you can’t have nice things.

It just means that you aren’t constantly getting rid of perfectly good stuff to replace it with stuff that you don’t need. A perfect table, especially if it is well made, is perfect for hundreds of years. You don’t need a new one every couple years. Our culture is called ‘materialistic,’ but that’s not even correct, because ‘materialism’ implies that we value our possessions. And we don’t. We get rid of them, then we destroy Africa, or the Amazonian Rainforest, or some other places, to get more shit – pardon my French, as they say – that nobody needs. There’s no more pressing problem right now than the depletion of the Earth and her resources. The Earth can tolerate a lot of punishment, but if there isn’t a change in the way we consume, there is no way it can survive, or better we will be able to survive on it. We will gladly give money help people in need. But we can’t equate the act of conservation with helping billions of people for generations to come. Strange.

Yes, it is true that our stuff, nowadays, is made with so-called “built-in obsolescence”, which means that it is designed, yes, designed, to break (down) after a certain period of time, often within days or weeks after the warranty expires. It is, as said, designed in such a way by the manufacturers today so that they can keep selling us the same stuff over and over and over again without having to even think of developing better products, thus also saving on research and development. A total win-win situation for the capitalists and their shareholders and a continuous lose-lose one for us, the “consumers”.

There is no need to design and build products that break after a given time and this can be seen by the products from years gone by that still work today and which can be opened up and repaired – often quite easily – should they break down.

The whole affair of creating a built-in obsolescence started in earnest not long after World War Two when American corporation realized that suddenly they were not making the money anymore that they did during the war when the military needed to get new stuff all the time because of the way stuff was lost and destroyed on the battlefields in Europe and the Far East. However, to a degree it already began with Osram and others when they decided to use filaments in their light bulbs that would have a limited lifespan so they could sell bulbs time and again.

There are still ways today to make the choice of buying things that will last and then, the other choice is to keep holding on to the things that we have and stat are working fine for as long as possible instead of replacing them every year or so just because a new version of it may have come onto the market.

That also is conservation and it is not just environmental conservation that is conservation. We can chose by how we buy things, where we buy things and how we look after the things we buy and have and the latter is the easiest way to “go green” and it does not have to cost anything at all, especially not the looking after our things. Buying things that are made better and repairable may cost a little more in the beginning but is well worth it for your pocketbook and for the environment in the long run.

Conservation Solutions Can Improve Water Quality For Millions of Britons

New scientific findings indicate that Bristol and Glasgow could achieve a ten percent reduction in sediment from its water supply by investing in watershed conservation

Arlington, VA — Britain’s water quality is under unprecedented pressure from high nutrient and sediment levels due to increasing populations, climate change and environmental degradation. With urban water use on the rise, securing an adequate and clean water supply is an urgent challenge.

The “Urban Water Blueprint” released today by The Nature Conservancy, in partnership with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the International Water Association, provides an in-depth analysis of 2,000 drinking sources (rivers, forests and other ecosystems from which water comes from) serving over 500 large and medium sized cities. This includes the 100 largest cities in the world, representing nearly 1 billion people. Collectively, these cities represent $21.8 trillion in economic activity, or 48 percent of the global urban GDP.

Preventing water from becoming polluted can often be more cost-effective than treatment. The analysis finds that one in four cities would see a positive return on investment from investing in watershed conservation.

Bristol and Glasgow have been identified in the “Urban Water Blueprint” as cities that could reduce sediment and nutrients from their water sources by ten percent through incorporating conservation solutions and subsequently lowering their water treatment costs by an average of five percent.

“This analysis answers for the first time, the fundamental questions of what investments can be taken to incorporate nature in the delivery of clean water and the quantitative value of these actions for water managers,” said Giulio Boccaletti, The Nature Conservancy’s global managing director for water.

“Cities that invest in watershed conservation can no longer be the rare exception; rather such investments need to become a regular part of the toolbox for water managers. For this to happen, people living in cities need to understand where their water comes from so that city and water managers can support measures that will often be implemented outside of metropolitan areas.”

The “Urban Water Blueprint” not only identifies the water risks facing large cities around the world, but analyzes the potential for five conservation strategies that have proven performance and wide applicability across natural and working (agricultural) landscapes. The strategies include Forest Protection; Reforestation; Agricultural Best Management Practices; Riparian Restoration; and Forest Fuel Reduction.

Each strategy is evaluated on how effectively it reduces sedimentation and nutrient pollution in the 2,000 watersheds that were analyzed.

Forest protection and reforestation have been identified as the best conservation strategies for both British cities. The analysis identified that Glasgow has the highest potential for sediment and nutrient reduction from its watersheds and Bristol a medium potential on sediment reduction.

“We found that watershed conservation can be both an economical viable and environmentally sound investment for developed and developing cities alike,” said Robert McDonald, senior scientist at The Nature Conservancy and one of the lead authors of the report. “What’s so exciting is that cities that embrace both the engineered and natural solutions to securing adequate and clean water supplies can not only meet future demand, they can literally reshape surrounding landscapes for the better.”

“IWA sees the growing strategic importance of connecting cities to their watersheds, and water utilities as pivotal players in making the various inter-dependencies work. Watershed conservation solutions will increasingly need to become mainstream options for water utilities and cities for enhancing water security” Tom Williams, director of programmes, at The International Water Association.

"Access to clean and adequate water supplies is a critical issue facing global mayors, and one made more pressing as cities grapple with the impacts of climate change. The research released today shines a spotlight on the need for urban watershed conservation strategies, and paves the way for cities around the world to share knowledge and implement viable solutions," said Seth Schultz, director of research, measurement & planning at C40.

About The Urban Water Blueprint

The “Urban Water Blueprint – Mapping Conservation Solutions to the Global Water Challenge” was made possible through generous contributions from Ecolab through its Foundation, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Foundation, and 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation.

The “Urban Water Blueprint” has an accompanying website as a tool for city and water managers to evaluate the condition of drinking watersheds and the potential impact that conservation strategies, such as reforestation and agricultural best management practices, can have on water quality.

Displaying new information on more than 2,000 watersheds and 530 cities, the Blueprint provides science-based recommendations on where these strategies are most cost-effective. This data, along with detailed case studies of cities that have successfully adopted watershed conservation, can serve as a guide for city and water managers planning future infrastructure investments that include both engineered and natural infrastructure, as well as a learning tool for the one billion people living in the featured cities.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 119 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.

The Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) is a network of large and engaged cities from around the world committed to implementing meaningful and sustainable climate-related actions locally that will help address climate change globally. C40 was established in 2005 and expanded via a partnership in 2006 with President William J. Clinton’s Climate Initiative (CCI). The current chair of the C40 is Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes; the 108th Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the Board. To learn more about the work of C40 and our Cities, please visit www.c40.org, follow us on Twitter @c40cities and like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/C40Cities.

The International Water Association (IWA) is a global reference point for water professionals and a source of knowledge, experience and leadership for sustainable urban and basin-related water solutions. IWA members come together from across the water profession to share knowledge, experience and know-how that deliver solutions to the most pressing global water challenges. The strength of IWA lies in the professional and geographic diversity of its members: we are represented in 130 countries through 10,000 individual and 500 corporate members, including scientists from across many disciplines, economists, accountants, social scientists, and managers and leaders among those professions. www.iwa-network.org

Source: The Nature Conservancy

Aboriginal hunting practice helps kangaroos

Kangaroos In the depths of the Australian winter, small fires burn through the Little Sandy Desert. These fires are special, lit and controlled by the Martu, an aboriginal group in the Western part of the country.

The Martu burn the grass and brush over small areas of less than 10 acres to look for holes where sand monitor lizards burrow. These lizards are a much appreciated local delicacy and an important source of protein.

This hunting tradition has been practiced for more than a century, and studies show that these fires have ecological benefits. It turns out, hunting fires can actually help boost kangaroo populations by increasing ecosystem diversity and creating a landscape with plants at varying stages of growth.

Kangaroos feed primarily on young shoots which sprout after a fire, but use shrubs to hide from predators like dingoes. By burning small patches, the Martu create a vegetation mosaic that provides both cover and food for the kangaroos.

“It’s critical to have fire, but also to not have too much fire,” Dr. Sam Fuhlendorf, professor of fire and ecology at Oklahoma State University, told TreeHugger. “The neat thing about Australia is that the indigenous people still remember a lot about how they used fire historically. If they burn something every year, they get this shifting mosaic”

The historical basis of the fire burning practice led Dr. Brian Codding at the University of Utah to study how kangaroos and aboriginal peoples may have co-evolved. His study showed that kangaroo populations tend to be larger in areas where the Martu practice their fire regimes. Thus, the Martu play an important role in conservation by maintaining a varied environment in which they live and hunt that benefits kangaroos and other wildlife.

Ash dieback (Chalara fraxinea) in Britain

Already 100,000 Ash trees have been destroyed

by Michael Smith (Veshengro), RFA, Ecofor

After the devastation wrought by the New Dutch Elm Disease to the Elm trees of Britain, the Bleeding Canker in Horse Chestnut trees and the problems with Cameraria ohridella, the leaf miner moth in the same, and Sudden Oak Death, now the Ash trees of the British Isles are under threat by yet another – possible devastating – disease.

Ash trees make up almost one third of Britain's tree stock – there are 80 million of them – and they are under threat from a deadly disease which is sweeping the forests of continental Europe sand have now arrived in the forests of Britain.

After much clouding of the issue and pussyfooting from the side of the government, it now appears that a staggering 100,000 trees have already been destroyed in an effort to stop the spreading.^¹

The Ash is the fourth most common tree in the countryside so this poses a terrible threat to the UK’s forests and to trees growing in parks and gardens. The first cases were discovered almost eight months ago. They came on trees imported from the Netherlands.

But it has also been found on British ash trees and it is thought that it can also be carried by the wind or be lying dormant for years

Photo source: Forestry Commission

The disease, called Chalara fraxinea, is a fungus that causes leaf loss and crown dieback in affected trees, and it can lead to tree death.

First found in Poland 20 years ago, the fungus has gradually spread across Europe, reaching Denmark in 2002. There it led to estimated losses of between 60 and 90 per cent of Denmark’s ash trees.

The disease will devastate the landscape because if it spreads the trees will either die and rot or have to be destroyed, leaving huge gaps in forests and harming the wider eco-system, as they provide homes for birds, insects and mammals. It is second only to the oak tree in its popularity in the British countryside.

For now, effective from Monday, October 29, 2012, all imports of the Ash tree have been stopped and also no further planting of the trees in public forests will take place. A commission has been set up to examine the whole matter.

The Woodland Trust says: “Ash dieback is only one of numerous tree pests and diseases in the UK. With more than 15 separate pests and diseases listed on the Forestry Commission website as already present in the UK, it is crucial that the wider issue is tackled. The government must set up an emergency summit bringing together representatives from all areas of forestry, plant health and conservation – because today it's ash, but tomorrow yet another of our precious native trees could be at risk”.

Of great importance is also to introduce proper bio-security measures and to ensure that only trees raised from seeds in the UK, under monitored conditions, are grown for planting. And the same must go for all other trees.

We must, in fact, stop the importation of trees – all trees – and shrubs from abroad in order to ensure that diseases are kept at bay.

It would appear that New Dutch Elm Disease came into Britain with Elm lumber, imported as whole trees with bark on (lazy forestry practice), from the USA in the middle part of the last century after having first been exported with the same bad practice into the USA where the disease mutated in American Elms.

Sudden Oak Death also was brought into this country from abroad, and to all intents and purposes also from the USA, and in this instance via Rhododendrons.

It is, however, also true, as far as Ash dieback is concerned, the the spores of the fungus Chalara fraxinea are arriving in the UK on wind currents from the European mainland, such as from the Netherlands. Unfortunately there is little that we can do to protect against that kind of unwanted immigration.

Ash dieback is a reportable disease and anyone, especially woodland owners, managers of municipal parks, woodlands and open spaces, and in fact anyone else involved with trees, should immediately contact the appropriate authorities. The Forestry Commission research station at Alice Holt Lodge is the most central post of call in this case.

1However, according to forestry sources in Germany felling and burning the trees will not prevent the disease nor lessen its impact as their efforts have shown. In fact, according to German forestry sources there is, basically, nothing that can be done.

ORANGUTAN FOUNDATION VOLUNTEER PROGRAMME 2009

A once-in-a-lifetime experience; 6 weeks living and working in Borneo

Actively contribute towards orangutan and rainforest conversation

No experience necessary, applications accepted from anyone over 18

Dates for 2009 are: