Could honey bees finally be able to catch a break? Plagued with mysterious massive die-offs, or Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), commonly attributed to multiple factors of pesticides, mites, bacteria and virus infections and malnutrition, honey bees in Europe could finally have a move in their favour. Beekeepers and supporters have staged a demonstration in London, urging support for a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides in Europe, a common culprit for CCD. Read more

Beekeepers March: Action Urged Over Pesticides

Campaigners stage a protest calling on the Government to vote in favour of a European ban on certain pesticides

In Sky News (26 April 2013):

Beekeepers and their supporters have staged a demonstration in central London, urging Britain to support a ban on certain pesticides.

The ‘March of the Beekeepers’ in Parliament Square comes ahead of a crucial vote in Brussels next week.

Campaign groups are urging the Environment Secretary Owen Paterson not to block an EU proposal to suspend the use of certain types of neonicotinoid pesticides which they claim are linked to a decline in the bee population.

Member states are due to decide whether or not to introduce a two-year moratorium on their use on Monday.

Unlike France, Spain and Italy, Britain is widely expected to abstain or vote no against the neonicotinoid ban, saying the impact of the pesticides on bees is unclear and the restrictions could harm crop production.

The demonstration began at Westminster

Celebrities including fashion designers Dame Vivienne Westwood and Katharine Hamnett and artist Rachel Whiteread will be among those protesting at Westminster.

Ahead of the march, Ms Hamnett told Sky News: “The European Food Safety Agency – who are usually very right wing and on the side of business – are saying we definitely need this ban, and if they are saying it we really are in trouble.

“We have a huge problem with the British Government failing to support it and it’s quite hard to understand when you have got the Pesticide Action Network, the Soil Association, the Beekeepers Association (and) all the scientists saying this group of pesticides, neonicotinoids, kills bees.”

Friends of the Earth, one of the demonstration organisers, said the Government needed to take urgent action to protect declining bee populations by supporting the European Commission proposals.

The group’s head of campaigns, Andrew Pendleton, said: “Ministers can’t ignore the growing scientific evidence linking neonicotinoid insecticides to bee decline.

“Their claims to be concerned about bee health will ring hollow if they fail to back European moves to restrict the use of these chemicals.

“If we lose our bees and other vital pollinators it will have a devastating impact on our food, gardens and environment. We urgently need tougher pesticide restrictions and a British Bee Action Plan to tackle all the threats they face.”

Katharine Hamnett has launched a t-shirt range to back the bee campaign

But others claim there is no evidence to suggest neonicotinoids do harm bees.

Nick von Westenholz, chief executive of the Crop Protection Association, which represents the pesticides industry, told Sky News that while laboratory tests had shown some impact, “out in the field there is no effect being shown on bee health in real life”.

Chemical firm Syngenta added: “The groups marching today … have never presented any evidence from the field that these pesticides damage the health of bees.

“Somewhat irresponsibly, they are presenting a ban on them as the silver bullet for improving bee health.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “We respect people’s right to protest but decisions that affect the whole of Europe need to be based on scientific evidence. So far studies have not shown that neonicotinoids pose a serious threat.

“We have urged the EU to carry out a European-wide study before making a decision. Instead, it is pressing ahead with a ban that could have serious unintended consequences for food production.

“Unless the EU’s proposals change we will have to vote against them.”

Last month campaign group Avaaz took their argument to Brussels

Earlier this month a cross party committee of MPs, the Environment Audit Committee, unanimously urged the Government to restrict the use of sprays containing neonicotinoids.

The demonstration was organised by nine campaign groups – Avaaz, Buglife, Environmental Justice Foundation, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Pesticide Action Network UK, RSPB, Soil Association and 38 Degrees.

http://news.sky.com/

Health problems of bees are due to multiple factors

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)

Paris , 28 April 2010 – Arthropod parasites such as Varroa mites as well as virus and bacteria infections, pesticide exposure, and poor nutrition resulting from other environmental issues linked with human behaviour, are all concomitant factors which threaten the survival of certain bee colonies worldwide. Similarly, the causes of honey bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a recently described phenomenon leading to global extensive losses of bee colonies, are unquestionably multi-factored, concluded experts of an OIE ad hoc group on diseases of honey bees.

“Honey and royal jelly are examples of precious food that we owe to bees but foremost we owe them abundant harvesting of fruits and vegetables since they contribute to pollinate the flowers which will produce the harvest” Dr Bernard Vallat, OIE Director General said and “thus, bees contribute to global food security and their extinction would represent a terrible biological disaster. That is why the OIE considers bees’ mortality and bee diseases to be a priority in its Strategic Plan 2011- 2015.” he added.

A world review of honey bee health confirmed CCD occurs in bee populations of North America, Europe and Japan. Experts agreed that the irresponsible use of pesticides might have an impact on bee health in particular by weakening bees and increasing their susceptibility to different diseases. However pesticides can not be considered as the only factor affecting bee health. Biological factors, lack of biosecurity measures to be implemented by beekeepers and climate change might also have detrimental effects on bee health.

“Resources to establish increased surveillance and registration processes, inspection, diagnoses and research capacity are missing in many countries and regions of the world,” Dr Wolfgang Ritter, chair of the ad hoc Group commented and “there is an important need for more international guidelines for bee disease surveillance and disease control programmes,” he added.

Global state of health of honey bees

Independently from CCD, the Group concluded that knowledge on the clinical signs and modes of action of most bee viruses and other pathogens is still insufficient and recommended research continues to try and unravel the multiple factors that threaten the health of honey bees and other pollinators.

Various bee arthropod parasites have been pinpointed as active in different parts of the world among which, infestation with Varroa, Nosema and Tropilaelaps mites are identified as the most frequent sanitary issue of beehives globally.

In addition, a new form of Varroa , Varroa jacobsoni, that is pathogenic to Apis mellifera was detected in Oceania in 2008 and now presents a new threat to beekeeping in the region as well as globally.

“The OIE will propose to the international community to intensify the research on the causes of the mortality of bees and to better control and fight against the numerous emerging and already known diseases on the basis of the standards and guidelines adopted by the organisation, including in the field of biosecurity of global and regional trade of bees between countries, which is a major cause of global contaminations,”, Dr Vallat further commented.

http://www.oie.int/

British Designer Ross Lovegrove added colourful LED patterns over the glass roof and down the windshield edges of the carbon fibre Twin’Z electric city car for Renault, demonstrating that clean and green does not have to be dull to be functional and fuel efficient. Meanwhile, Tesla is ahead of GM with its latest electric  car sales in the US and Toyota has passed the 5 Million mark of hydrid cars produced. Read More

News from Renault  April 2013:

British Designer Ross Lovegrove added colourful LED patterns over the glass roof and down the windshield edges of the carbon fibre Twin’Z electric city car, after Renault invited him to provide finishing details to the bodywork  of the concept car. Shown at the Milan Motor Show, it demonstrates that clean and green does not have to be dull to be functional and fuel efficient.

As the ‘Play’ petal of Renault Design’s life-cycle ‘flower’, Twin’Z is the latest concept car in the programme which sets out to illustrate Renault’s new design strategy through parallels with threshold phases of human existence. Twin’Z is a fun, modern, artistic take on the city- car which plays on emotions and excites the senses. It draws its inspiration from the heritage of some of the brand’s most emblematic models, such as the Renault 5 and Renault Twingo. The Twin’Z is an all-electric car with rear-wheel drive and a rear-mounted motor.

Ross Lovegrove’s personal vision of the automobile takes its inspiration from the world of nature, and the result combines an unprecedented play on light and organic forms to make Z28RL an endearing, almost living object.

Twin’Z is the 5fth concept car to result from Renault’s design strategy which is founded on the notion of the human life cycle, symbolized by a 6-petalled flower.

After focusing on love, exploration, family and work, it’s now time to play for Renault with tTwin’Z, a playful citycar that plays with light and opens up a whole new world of personalisation opportunities.

This 5th concept car is symbolized by the colour blue. Twin’Z blue livery pays tribute to the 20th century French painter Yves Klein. The satin finish gives a pure skin to the body which appears to be coated, almost anodised, rather than painted. The soft clear-coat finish produces a velvet-like feel, while a certain iridescence lifts Twin’Z’ ‘electro-natural’ appearance.

Renault enlisted the services of Ross Lovegrove and gave the celebrated designer a free hand to express his vision of the automobile, which draws its inspiration from the world of nature and which is guided by a quest for a harmonious encounter between the automobile and its environment.

Source: www.renault.com

Toyota and Lexus global hybrid sales top five million

In News Home (18 April 2013):

Fleet News

Toyota plans to introduce 18 new hybrids and a fuel cell vehicle within the next two years, with more than five million Toyota and Lexus hybrid vehicles sold globally since 1997.

Prius has gone on to become one of the world’s best-selling cars and it features today among 20 different hybrids – including the first Toyota plug-in hybrid – sold by Toyota Motor Corporation in around 80 countries and regions.

Toyota calculates that its hybrid vehicles have contributed to around 34 million tonnes less CO2 entering the atmosphere, compared to the impact of the same number of petrol-powered vehicles of similar size and performance.

In terms of fuel, it estimates on the same basis that 1.2 billion litres of petrol have been saved.

Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota Motor Corporation vice-chairman, who was responsible for development of the first-generation Prius, said: “We developed the first-generation Prius with the aim of making it a car for the 21st century and as an indication of Toyota’s response to environmental issues.

“We had to develop a hybrid system from scratch, making our task extremely difficult. Nevertheless, we took on the challenge.

“The launch of the first-generation Prius had effects beyond our expectations, with the vehicle increasing consumer environmental awareness and raising hybrid vehicle expectations.

“The understanding of consumers at launch time laid the foundation for the widespread adoption, and, since then, consumers have continued to support TMC hybrid vehicles. For this, I am extremely grateful.”

Toyota plans to continue working to further raise performance, reduce costs and expand its hybrid product range.

Hybrid in the UK and Europe

The current range of nine Toyota and Lexus hybrids in the UK will increase too, first with the arrival this summer of the new Lexus IS 300h executive sports saloon and the British-built Auris Touring Sports Hybrid, Europe’s first full hybrid family estate car.

This will give it unprecedented market reach, from the Yaris Hybrid supermini all the way to the Lexus LS 600h limousine.

UK Sales of Toyota and Lexus hybrids are nearing the 100,000 mark since the original Prius made its debut here in 2000. This contributes to a European figure of 544,184 cars sold up to the end of March – more than 10% of the global figure.

The way in which customers have come to understand and embrace hybrid is reflected in the speed of sales growth: in Europe it took seven years for the first 100,000 to be sold, while in 2012 alone the figure was more than 109,000.

In the first quarter of 2013, European sales have increased 82% year-on-year, accounting for 21% of the Toyota’s sales total.

Customers in the UK and Europe who choose hybrid enjoy lower cost of ownership and attractive tax benefits, says Toyota.

As well as reducing CO2 emissions, the hybrid system plays an important part in improving air quality by emitting less NOx and particulate matter than diesel vehicles.

Source: www.fleetnews.co.uk

Tesla Model S Tops GM Volt in North American Plug-In Race

By Alan Ohnsman in Bloomberg News (26 April 2013):

Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA), the luxury battery-car company run by billionaire Elon Musk, is North America’s rechargeable auto sales leader so far this year as its Model S sedan passed General Motors Co. (GM)’s Chevrolet Volt.

Tesla expects to report at least 4,750 deliveries of the electric Model S in the U.S. and Canada when it releases first- quarter results on May 8, said Shanna Hendriks, a company spokeswoman, reiterating a March 31 estimate. That compares with 4,421 Volt sales in North America and 3,695 deliveries of Nissan Motor Co. (7201)’s Leaf, based on data provided by the carmakers.

The sales ranking for Model S is a first for the Palo Alto, California-based company’s flagship model and coincides with Tesla saying it would report a first-quarter profit, the first in its 10-year history. The plug-in hybrid Volt, which uses both batteries and a gasoline engine, led regional sales in 2012.

“Any success for a company in this space is helpful for all other makers of plug-in vehicles,” said Jim Cain, a spokesman for Detroit-based GM. “The single most important thing we can do for plug-ins, to encourage sales, is to have them on the road.”

Tesla began selling the Model S, with a $69,900 base price, in mid-2012 and hasn’t begun shipments beyond North America. It goes as far as 300 miles (483 kilometers) on a charge, according to Tesla. Musk has set a target of delivering 20,000 of the cars, built in Fremont, California, this year.

GM and Nissan each sold about 30,000 of their respective rechargeable models worldwide last year, the companies said. Both have declined to provide current-year volume targets. The Leaf, like the Model S, is an electric model.

‘Interesting Trivia’

While Tesla’s quarterly lead is “interesting trivia,” Volt will see higher volume over time, said John Wolkonowicz, an independent auto analyst based in Boston.

“The Volt is the one that makes sense out of that whole group of plug-ins, because you can use it like a regular car when the battery runs out,” Wolkonowicz said yesterday.

Tesla’s small size, relative to GM and Nissan, will keep the electric-car maker under financial pressure, he said.

“The auto business is all about capital intensity, you have to spend money to keep improving your products and develop new ones,” Wolkonowicz said. “A small little auto company like Tesla, I just don’t think they can do it.”

GM Production

The Volt can go 38 miles on electric power before its gasoline engine engages to recharge the battery. Plug-in hybrids can also be recharged by plugging into an electrical outlet. Nissan’s 2013 model Leaf averages 75 miles per charge, the company said this week.

GM built about 9,000 Volts and plug-in Opel Amperas, which are sold in Europe, in the first quarter, said Cain, the company spokesman. The largest U.S. carmaker sold 4,244 Volts in its home market in the year’s first three months.

Leaf deliveries dipped early this year after Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan moved production of the hatchback for North America to its Smyrna, Tennessee, plant, said Brian Brockman, a company spokesman. Leaf sales hit a record 2,236 in March in the U.S.

Separately, Tesla is adding a loaner fleet including new Model S sedans and older Roadster sports cars for customer use when their vehicles are serviced, Chief Executive Officer Musk said yesterday. The company is also adding a “no fault” battery warranty covering all damage, “even if you never followed or read the manual,” he said on a conference call.

“As long as you don’t set out to intentionally destroy the battery pack, it’s going to be covered,” Musk said.

Tesla slid 1.5 percent to $51.20 at the close yesterday in New York. The stock has gained 51 percent this year, compared with an 11 percent increase for the Russell 1000 Index.

Source: www.businessweek.com

Creating a sustainable way of living require more than just environmentally friendly products, as Unilever, a global giant in consumer products, has learned. In its second Sustainable Living Plan progress report, a key lesson for Unilever is that consumer behaviour plays an equally important part in meeting its carbon foot print goal. That would require not just motivating sustainable habits in consumers, but also supportive government policies. Read more

Unilever’s Progress Report Provides Important Lessons in Mainstreaming Sustainability

By Raz Godelnik in Triple Pundit (26 April 2013):

Earlier this week, Unilever released its second Sustainable Living Plan progress report. Comprehensive and rich in detail, this report provides not just an update on the progress of Unilever two years into its ten-year sustainability plan, but also an opportunity to learn about the state of mainstreaming sustainability in business from one of the most advanced “labs” in the world.

So how is the sustainability work so far for Unilever? The answer, according to the report is two-thirds positive, one-third not so much. The company has made solid progress on two out of three main 2020 goals: to help more than a billion people improve their health and well-being and to source 100 percent of its agricultural raw materials sustainably.

Unilever, however, still faces big challenges with its third goal: to double its sales whilst reducing its environmental footprint by half. The challenge wasn’t so much with sales that rose in 6.9 percent comparing to 2011, but mainly with changing consumer behavior in order to reduce the carbon footprint of Unilever’s products. This doesn’t work yet for Unilever.

The report provides many lessons for those who follow Unilever and the efforts to mainstream sustainability in business. Here are four lessons we find most important:

1. Creating shared value successfuly – last week we mentioned how Nestle succeeds in adopting the shared value concept. This report shows that Unilever also becomes a successful example of creating shared value.

I believe it all starts with the fact that the company approaches social issues such as poor sanitation, water scarcity and under-nutrition both as a moral duty and a business opportunity. In the report, Unilever reports that it reached 224 million people with programs to reduce diarrhoeal disease through handwashing with soap, provide safe drinking water, promote oral health and improve young people’s self-esteem.

The results of creating shared value can be seen for example with brands like Lifebuoy soap which reached 71 million people in 16 countries in 2012 – five times as many people as in 2010. It is also one of Unilever’s fastest-growing brands – it has achieved double digit-growth over 2010-12.

In all, sales in emerging markets grew in 2012 by 11.4 percent (comparing to 6.9 percent in general), now representing 55 percent of Unilever’s turnover,

2. The hidden benefit – innovation – from the report it’s clear that Unilever’s plan helps the company to become not just more sustainable but also more innovative. “Innovation is critical to achieving our sustainable living goals. We are committing a significant proportion of our R&D budget to finding sustainability-led technologies…we have found that once we start looking at product development, sourcing and manufacturing through a sustainability lens, it opens up great opportunities for innovation,” the company explains.

One example is dry shampoos such as TRESemmé and Dove that don’t require hot water. This small change results in 90 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to washing hair in heated water. Another example is Flora/Becel margarines, where using technological innovation, the biggest of its kind for 60 years, Unilever has been able to reduce saturated fats by around 25 percent and calories by 20 percent.

3. This work can’t be done alone – Unilever is already a champion of collaborations, but reading the report you get the feeling that the company puts even more effort into it now, understanding not only that the problems it addresses are too complex for any single company to tackle alone, but also that it won’t be able to meet its own goals working solo. From increasing the supply of sustainable agricultural raw materials to finding the best ways to change consumer behavior, Unilever needs the help of others and it’s not afraid to admit it.

Nevertheless don’t confuse Unilever’s understating of its inability to solve big problems alone with a search for a way out of its ambitious goals and vision. On the contrary, even when it looks for a group effort, the company still seeks to assume a leadership role. As Paul Polman, Unilever’s CEO explains “with scale comes responsibility – so we must continue to play a leadership role in seeking solutions for global transformational issues like climate change, food security and poverty alleviation.”

4. Will consumers join? – just like last year, Unilever’s main unmet challenge remains reducing the hot water used with its soaps, shower gels and shampoos – since consumer use is 68 percent of its total carbon footprint, the company needs to find ways to change consumer behavior to achieve its goal of reducing its carbon footprint per consumer by half.

“We need to provide consumers with more products and tools which motivate them to use less water. But material change will require wide-scale decarbonising of energy grids, effective carbon pricing and courageous government policies,” the company writes in the report.

With the ongoing difficulties to change consumer behavior it’s not clear when consumers will be willing to take greater responsibility on their carbon footprint, so it might be the time for Unilever to start thinking on new ways to reach its goal. Carbon pricing, for example, as the company itself mentions is an effective wide-scale tool to drive material change and therefore Unilever might want considering greater involvement in the efforts to pressure governments to start enacting carbon pricing. It’s not an easy task but it might still be easier than convincing people to take shorter showers.

Raz Godelnik is the co-founder of Eco-Libris and an adjunct faculty at the University of Delaware’s Business School, CUNY SPS and Parsons the New School for Design, teaching courses in green business, sustainable design and new product development. You can follow Raz on Twitter.

Source: http://www.triplepundit.com/

Nike has teamed up with NASA, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development to seek sustainable living practices in an initiative called LAUNCH, revolving around the research and development of sustainable materials and how they are made. The LAUNCH 2013 Challenge Statement is an open call for innovation to transform the system of producing fabrics. Shortlisted contestants will take part in an immersive program that provides access to capital, creativity and capacity. Read more

By Allan Brettman in The Oregonian (26 April 2013):

Hannah Jones, Nike vice president of sustainable business and innovation, was one of the speakers at LAUNCH.

Nike on Tuesday and Wednesday took another step in the strategic collaboration it joined in 2010 with NASA, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The four partners formed their coalition to seek sustainable living practices. They’ve called their endeavor LAUNCH.

At the World Headquarters campus, 150 materials specialists, designers, academics, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and non-government organizations met to discuss the sustainability of materials and how they are made.

From a Nike news release on the summit:

NIKE, Inc. President & CEO Mark Parker kicked off the two-day LAUNCH 2020 Summit stressing the importance of innovation and collaboration.

“Innovation is most powerful when it’s activated by collaboration between unlikely partners, coupled with investment dollars, marketing know-how and determination,“ Parker said. “Now is the time for big, bold solutions. Incremental change won’t get us where we need to go fast enough or at a scale that makes a difference.”

Through a unique, multi-year incubation process, LAUNCH will uncover innovations in sustainable materials that can have a major impact on people and the planet.

The summit also unveiled the LAUNCH 2013 Challenge Statement, an open call for innovation to transform the system of producing fabrics. LAUNCH 2013 is open to individuals and teams. In August the 10 strongest innovations will be selected and participants will take part in an immersive program that provides access to capital, creativity and capacity.

Materials have a significant impact on the planet. It is estimated that around 150 billion garments were produced around the world in 2010, and by 2015, the global apparel industry is expected to produce more than 400 billion square meters of fabric every year – enough to cover the state of California.

Nike VP of Sustainable Business and Innovation, Hannah Jones said: “About 60 percent of the environmental footprint of a pair of Nike shoes is embedded in the materials used to make them. When you multiply that across our business, and across the industry, it’s clear that innovation in sustainable materials is a huge opportunity, not just for Nike, but for the world.”

Also speaking at the LAUNCH 2020 Summit was Joan Benoit Samuelson, the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the Women’s Marathon in 1984, and Ron Garan, astronaut and LAUNCH innovator. They both shared their passion for the environment and their unique view on the need for collaboration to achieve seemingly impossible goals.

Three years ago LAUNCH selected and helped accelerate Garan’s innovation for clean water. Independent of his work with NASA, Garan developed a concept to deliver clean water, energy and sanitation to poor communities through the combination of sustainable development and carbon credits. As part of the LAUNCH process, Garan was exposed to experts with the investment dollars and business acumen to bring the innovation to life. The Carbon for Water project has now successfully distributed one million filters that provide clean water to 4.5 million people in Kenya.

Please register online to learn more about the LAUNCH Challenge for 2013 and to submit an application.

Successful innovations from previous LAUNCH challenges include:

Carbon For Water: delivering the technology to provide access to clean water to 4.5 million people in Kenya.

Gram Power: providing thousands of people in India with affordable, renewable energy.

Bioneedle: a biodegradable, implantable needle that delivers vaccines and dissolves in the body, allowing for mass distribution and minimal waste.

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/

Dirt. The stuff that clings to our shoes and gets wiped off when we get home. How often do we give a thought to the importance of dirt and soil? Now, it appears that soil and the organisms contained within it may well play an important role as an indicator of climate change, and in locking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Antarctic research has unearthed that this precious resource is facing increasing threat from climate change and human activities, and greater action needed to preserve it. Read more

Antarctic nematodes and climate change

By Jane O’Brien in BBC News (26 April 2013):

Diana Wall in Antartica

Climate change affects not only air temperature and sea levels, but soil as well. And an American scientist is on an award-winning quest to reverse the damage.

The frozen desert valleys of Antarctica are among the world’s most inhospitable environments. The landscape is so barren that just 30 years ago, experts did not think it could support life.

But beneath the surface, microscopic worms called nematodes thrive in a unique ecosystem – and they are helping researchers understand the effects of climate change.

Soil scientist Diana Wall has spent two decades studying Antarctic nematodes, ground-breaking work that this year earned her one of science’s top awards – the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement.

“Antarctica is pretty fantastic,” she says. “I can only equate it to what it must be like on Mars. There’s just nothing there.

“The first thing I always notice is the silence – unless the wind is blowing. There are no birds. Nothing moves, and you see no green.”

All life is hidden in the soil, under frozen lakes or in meltwater streams that run just a few weeks a year.

To work in such harsh conditions, the 69-year-old director of Colorado State University’s School of Global Environmental Sustainability must pass tough physical tests and train daily to keep fit.

“I’m used to it now but I don’t take it for granted,” she says. “As I tell my students, people die here.”

But that harshness makes Antarctica the perfect outdoor laboratory for testing theories about the relationship between the earth’s climate and the creatures that live in the soil.

Nematodes and bacteria capture and store carbon that otherwise contributes to global warming when allowed to overload the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide gas.

A handful of dry soil in most other regions would contain millions of organisms, making the soil difficult to study. But in the Antarctic there is just one – Scottnema lindsayae.

The ability to isolate the single organism makes possible the study of the environment’s role in its life cycle.

“I call it the Rambo,” says Dr Wall. “It’s not ugly, but it’s a really tough-looking nematode.”

But Rambo is on the ropes. As temperatures rise and more ice melts, another nematode that thrives in wet soil, Eudorylaimus glacialis, is moving in. And as the two species slug it out for Antarctic dominance, Rambo appears to be losing, declining 65% in the last few years.

That could prove a problem. Scottnema is a great carbon hoarder, and if its population is waning in Antarctica, Dr Wall theorises a similar calamity may be striking other important nematode species around the globe, potentially contributing to climate change.

She calls for soil conservation and restoration policies.

“We take soil for granted, but we need to pay more attention to it,” she says.

“Soil needs to be managed very carefully, just as we do our oceans, the water we drink and the air that we breathe.”

The Tyler Award recognizes the contribution of Dr Wall’s work to the climate change debate and how it has raised awareness of an area of science that has often lacked the popular appeal of ocean conservation and space exploration.

“It can be a pretty hard sell,” says David Wolfe, a professor of plant and soil ecology at Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

“Diana deserves a lot of credit. In addition to being one of the major soil biologists of our time, she’s also made sure that the information is getting out.”

Soil has become sexier in part because advances in molecular biology and deep earth ecology have enabled scientists to discover new life forms far below the surface of the earth.

“This is affecting our concept of where life can exist, expanding the notion that it’s very likely we can find habitable life on other planets,” he says.

“I and others have talked about the possibility that life on our planet may not have originated in some warm, murky, little pond as Darwin had once suggested, but actually in the deep earth where life was protected from asteroid bombardment and from adverse atmosphere.”

Dr Wolfe is also working on a $5m (£3.25m) US government project focusing on how farmers can help slow the pace of climate change by conserving carbon in the soil.

In Antarctica’s desert valleys, life is hidden in the soil

“Soils are a huge global reservoir of carbon – the equivalent of the amount of carbon you would find in plants and more than the amount found in the atmosphere,” says Patrick Megonigal, deputy director of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

He manages the world’s longest-running carbon dioxide experiment in Maryland, where scientists have created a salt marsh they hope to use as a model to predict the effects of climate change on fragile coastal regions.

“We’re beginning to understand that climate changes – changes in temperature, plant activity, rainfall – all effect the soil’s carbon reservoir,” he says. “The way we manage soils can either mobilise that carbon back into the atmosphere and contribute to greenhouse gasses – or work the other way.”

Dr Wall’s research has already contributed to US and European efforts to protect soil and address climate change. Scientists agree that government policy is critical to halting soil erosion, limiting loss from urbanisation and supporting sustainable agriculture.

Action may come too late to save Scottnema – the Rambo nematode of Antarctica – but other soil organisms that form the most complex food system on the planet may depend upon it.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/

Climate change has been cited as the cause behind a raft of recent phenomena, from increasing turbulence on planes to rising rates of malaria, dengue, and even domestic abuse. And now it’s hit the publishing world. Climate change inspires a new literary genre: cli-fi.  But we ask: what about “Cli-Fact” or “CliNonFic”? Being the author of a non-fiction work on the subject, Ken Hickson can only hope that more people understand that it’s for real. Whether disguised as “Cli-Fi” or not. An article in the Christian Science Monitor draws our attention to this new read. Read More

Cli-fi, or ‘climate fiction,’ describes a dystopian present, as opposed to a dystopian future. And don’t call it ‘science fiction.’ Cli-fi is literary fiction.

By Husna Haq in Christian Science Monitor (26 April 2013):

‘Odds Against Tomorrow,’ a novel by Nathaniel Rich, is an example of the emerging ‘cli-fi’ genre.

Climate change inspires a new literary genre: cli-fi

Climate change has been cited as the cause behind a raft of recent phenomena, from increasing turbulence on planes to rising rates of malaria, dengue, and even domestic abuse.

And now it’s hit the publishing world.

The next hot trend in books, it turns out isn’t Fifty Shades-esque erotica – it’s climate change.

That’s according to a fascinating report by NPR, “Has Climate Change Created a New Literary Genre?”

“Over the past decade, more and more writers have begun to set their novels and short stories in worlds, not unlike our own, where the Earth’s systems are noticeably off-kilter,” reports Angela Evancie for NPR. “The genre has come to be called climate fiction – ‘cli-fi,’ for short.”

Among the titles in this emerging literary genre is “Odds Against Tomorrow,” by Nathaniel Rich, a novel about a futurist who calculates worst-case scenarios for corporations, including the very scenario that landed on the book’s cover: the Manhattan skyline, half-submerged in water. (We should note, the book, and cover, were created before Hurricane Sandy.)

Other books include Michael Crichton’s 2004 novel, “State of Fear,” about ecoterrorists; Ian McEwan’s “Solar,” about impending environmental disaster; and Barbara Kingsolver’s “Flight Behavior,” about a world turned upside down by climate change.

There are two key points to emphasize in this trend. Cli-fi describes a dystopian present, as opposed to a dystopian future, and it isn’t non-fiction or even science fiction: cli-fi is about literary fiction.

As interesting as this new development is, we shouldn’t be too surprised. After all, whether it’s the Industrial Revolution, the Cold War, or the tech bubble, cultural and environmental milestones have historically shaped the world we – and by extension, the characters we read about – live in.

In this case, literature might actually prove to be a surprise secret weapon of sorts, helping scientists convey the issue to disinterested – or dubious – audiences.

That’s because “when novelists tackle climate change in their writing, they reach people in a way that scientists can’t,” says NPR.

“You know, scientists and other people are trying to get their message across about various aspects of the climate change issue,” Judith Curry, professor and chair of Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, tells NPR. “And it seems like fiction is an untapped way of doing this – a way of smuggling some serious topics into the consciousness” of readers who may not be following the science.

We’re fascinated by this emerging genre and if one cli-fi writer is on the mark, we’ll be seeing a lot more of it in coming years.

Predicted Daniel Kramb, the cli-fi novelist behind “From Here,” the 2012 novel about climate change activists, “I think when [people] look back at this 21st century … they will definitely see climate change as one of the major themes in literature, if not the major theme.”

Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.

Source: www.csmonitor.com/