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J U N E
 2 0 0 9Issue 29
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THE WORLD’S DESTINY LIES IN CLIMATE CHANGE
Ministers from economies accounting for 80 percent of the globe's greenhouse gases met recently to warnings that "the world's destiny" may lie in the outcome of a mooted pact on climate change. The so-called Major Economies Forum (MEF) met in Paris ahead of a new round of UN talks aimed at culminating in a sweeping global treaty in Copenhagen in December. "The world's destiny will probably be at stake in Copenhagen," French Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said as he opened the two-day meeting in Paris. He spoke out against skeptics who predict the accord will cripple the world's economy. "Copenhagen is not a retrograde vision, it's not the start of negative growth, but a new start for strong, sustainable, sober carbon development," he said. The 192-nation process under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) aims at securing cuts in emissions of heat-trapping carbon gases and building defenses for poor countries most exposed to changing weather patterns. It would take effect after 2012, when the current provisions of the convention's Kyoto Protocol run out. But the negotiations -- due to resume in Bonn -- are extremely complex and have been hampered by many differences. The MEF's role is to try to identify common ground among the world's biggest emitters and then hand this consensus back to the UNFCCC for approval.  The Paris meeting will cover financing and the transfer of clean technology, Borloo said.
In Copenhagen, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso admitted the climate negotiations would be "extremely difficult" but argued momentum was building. "There is now a new situation that would have been unthinkable just a few weeks ago," he said, referring to commitments signaled by China and the United States. "Some of our partners who a few years ago denied the existence of the climate change problem are now discussing the texts for a possible agreement." One of the stumbling blocks is a demand by developing countries that rich economies, which are chiefly to blame for today's warming, pledge deep cuts in future carbon emissions. China has demanded reductions of at least 40 percent by 2020, as compared to a benchmark of 1990. Supporters say a cut of this order will encourage the big developing countries -- led by China, now the world's number-one emitter by some estimates -- to give ground. But the only advanced economy making concessions on such a scale is the European Union, which is unilaterally targeting a 20 percent cut by 2020 over 1990 levels, and offering 30 percent if other advanced economies follow suit. By comparison, US President Barack Obama has proposed reducing America's greenhouse gas emissions by 14 percent by 2020 compared to their 2005 level. Analysts say this roughly translates to a three percent cut from 1990 levels. US climate envoy Todd Stern told AFP on Sunday that China's demand of 40 percent "is not realistic" and cautioned that domestic US politics meant the Obama administration could only go so far with its concessions. "We are jumping as high as the political system will tolerate," he added. At a press conference on Monday, Borloo said "there can't be any compromise over assuring others that we will do" a 25-to-40 percent reduction. The essential thing was to "work in a very imaginative fashion" to achieve a consensus among rich countries so that a 25-to-40 package was put on the table, he said. "We can have flexibility between us, some of us will do more, more quickly, and others a bit later... there could be commitments that take effect two, three years later, there could be other commitments in other areas," he said. He spoke of the possibility of "sectoral" agreements in industries that are big carbon emitters, such as electricity or steel. The MEF was launched by Obama last month on the back of a similar initiative by his predecessor, George W. Bush. 
PROJECT LAUNCHED TO STOP FROG KILLING FUNGUS
Zoos in the U.S., Panama and Mexico are deploying researchers in Central America to develop new ways to fight a fungus blamed for wiping out dozens of frog and amphibian species as part of a project announced Monday. The Smithsonian Institution is leading six other zoos and institutes in the Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project, which aims to raise $1.5 million to fight the fast-spreading chytrid fungus. Their protection efforts will focus on a small slice of Panama that is the only area in Central America that appears to be untouched by the disease, said Dr. Karen Lips, a University of Maryland researcher. Lips said it's only a matter of time, though, before even that area is hit with the fungus — perhaps five years.  The speed at which the fungus has spread is "absolutely incredible," she said. "It's probably much worse than we even appreciate." Scientists say the chytrid fungus threatens to wipe out a vast number of the approximately 6,000 known amphibian species and is spreading quickly. Already, 122 amphibian species are believed to have gone extinct in the last 30 years, primarily because of the fungus, conservationists say. "We're looking at losing half of all amphibians in our lifetime," said Brian Gratwicke, the Smithsonian's lead scientist on the project. The fungus has been found in 87 countries, including the United States. Scientists involved in the project will work on implementing recently published research from James Madison University in Virginia that shows bacteria in frogs' skin can be used to fight the fungal infection. Frogs bathed in a mixture containing the bacteria and then exposed to the fungus had a 100 percent survival rate in the study published in the International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal, said Professor Reid Harris. The survival rate was low for another set of frogs that didn't get the bath. Applications for the research could include a spray to help build frogs' resistance to the fungus or a benign, fungus-fighting bacteria strong enough to pass from one frog to another. "It's a very exciting discovery," Gratwicke said. "It's really the only thing we've got going." Other groups involved in the project include Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colo.; Zoo New England in Stoneham, Mass; Washington, D.C.-based Defenders of Wildlife; Africam Safari in Mexico; Houston Zoo; and Summit Municipal Park in Panama. |
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SEA SHELLS USED TO CLEAN UP HEAVY METALS
Technique could save millions of lives in coastal cities in developing world On the banks of the Saigon River in Vietnam, researchers have just completed tests on a new way to combat water pollution that could save millions of lives in coastal cities throughout the developing world and in regions such as the Caribbean. In factories on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, Stephan Kohler of the Graz University of Technology in Austria and a team of researchers have cleansed water tainted with toxic metals like cadmium, zinc, lead and iron. And they've done it using nothing but one of the cheapest, most abundant material around: seashells. Like many developing countries, Vietnam is plagued by poor water quality — millions of the country's inhabitants still lack access to clean drinking water, largely because local companies can't afford expensive filtration systems to treat wastewater.  Kohler's team has found that pouring metal and acid-laden water over a bed of crushed clam or mussel shells provides an easy fix. The shells are made of aragonite, a form of calcium carbonate (CACO3) that readily swaps out its calcium atoms in favor of heavy metals, locking them into a solid form. The shells are naturally basic, too — when dissolved they have a pH of 8.3. "If pH gets below neutral 7 the shells start leeching metals and become toxic again, and that's a problem" Kohler said. "But if you're worried about that, you can always add extra shells to keep the pH above neutral."
The team's technique stems from work in 2003 by Manuel Prieto of Oviedo University in Spain, who first showed that shells effectively remove cadmium from water. "The idea of using aragonite shells arose because abiogenic aragonite is not an extremely abundant mineral," Prieto wrote in an email to Discovery News. "Moreover, in the North of Spain we have a very important seafood canning industry (cockles, mussels, clams, etc.) and shells are the most important wastes of that industry." Prieto's work focused on removing cadmium in a controlled laboratory environment. Kohler's team has now expanded that to include a suite of heavy metals, including lead, a potent toxin. Their work in Vietnam also shows that the technique works on wastewater produced from real-world factory processes. Developed countries can afford more sophisticated filtration techniques and likely won't resort to using shells. But Kohler and his team believe that coastal communities in the developing world will be able to greatly reduce the public health risk posed by toxic heavy metals in their water supplies. THE CARIBBEAN NATURAL RESOURCE INSTITUTE IS ONE OF THREE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL NGO’S TO RECEIVE THE MACARTHUR AWARD In exciting news this past month, CANARI, the Caribbean Natural Resource Institute, based in Trinidad was one of three regional environmental NGOs in the insular Caribbean, to receive the prestigious MacArthur Award for Creative & Effective Nonprofits at a special ceremony in Chicago, Illinois, June 11th. This will be followed the next day by a presentation by CANARI at the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, DC, at 10:30 am, Friday, June 12th. Executive Director Sarah McIntosh and Board Member Dr. Patrick McConney of CERMES at UWI/Cave Hill will receive the award in Chicago, and they will be joined by Board Chairman Cletus Springer at the OAS presentation.
In the statement issued by the MacArthur Foundation it was announced that eight organizations in five countries will receive the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Though these nonprofit organizations have diverse missions - from defending equality in the Nigerian legal system to transforming low-income Chicago neighborhoods to advocating for conservation of natural resources in the Caribbean - they have much in common. All are highly creative and effective organizations that have made a remarkable impact in their fields, driving significant change on a modest budget. Each organization will receive up to $650,000, a significant sum considering their annual budgets range from just $200,000 to $4.5 million. Groups will use their awards for a range of purposes, including development of training and research facilities, technology upgrades, and the purchase of new office space. "These organizations may be small but their impact is tremendous," said MacArthur President Jonathan Fanton. "From protecting human rights to improving urban neighborhoods to conserving biodiversity, they are blazing new paths and finding fresh solutions to some of our most difficult challenges. The MacArthur Foundation has a long history of supporting organizations around the world like these that demonstrate the creativity, drive, and vision to make the world more just and peaceful."
 In making these Awards, the Foundation does not seek or accept nominations. To qualify, organizations must demonstrate exceptional creativity and effectiveness; have reached a critical or strategic point in their development; have budgets of less than $5 million per year; show strong leadership and stable financial management; have previously received MacArthur support; and engage in work central to one of MacArthur's core programs. The Foundation is well known for the MacArthur Fellows Program, which celebrates individual creativity. Each year, 25 people in diverse fields receive an unexpected phone call awarding them $500,000 with no strings attached. MacArthur also has a long history of strengthening institutions - from Human Rights Watch, now the largest U.S.-based human rights organization, to the World Resources Institute, the environmental think tank, to Creative Commons, which has changed the way we use and think about copyrights. On June 11, 2009, awardees will be honored at a ceremony at MacArthur's headquarters in Chicago. Additional information about this year's winners. Here's the citation for CANARI, which is the ONLY Caribbean NGO to have received one of these awards since they started in 2006: Caribbean Natural Resource Institute Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago For over 30 years, the Caribbean Natural Resource Institute has championed participation in the cause of biodiversity conservation, built alliances among the region's diverse island nations and organizations, and sensitively harmonized the needs of people and the health of their coastal environment.
It has protected watersheds, ensured a role for civil society in managing threatened natural resources, designed innovative training programs and provided clear-sighted analysis in community-based tourism, sustainable fisheries and forestry. It is currently playing a leading role in helping governments and civil society in the Caribbean deal effectively with the extraordinary challenges of the climate crisis and economic turmoil through efforts to resolve conflicts between environmental and development goals. |
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