Oceans are the lifeblood of the planet and the global economy, World Bank President Robert Zoellick told a conference on ocean conservation in Singapore. Yet the seas have become overexploited, coastlines badly degraded and reefs under threat from pollution and rising temperatures. Meanwhile, internet surfers will soon be able to go below the surface to immerse themselves in the spectacular coral and marine life of the Great Barrier Reef, under a joint venture between global technology giant Google, the University of Queensland Global Change Institute and insurance company Catlin.

David Fogarty for Reuters (24 February 2012):

The World Bank announced a global alliance to better manage and protect the world’s oceans, which are under threat from over-fishing, pollution and climate change.

Oceans are the lifeblood of the planet and the global economy, World Bank President Robert Zoellick told a conference on ocean conservation in Singapore. Yet the seas have become overexploited, coastlines badly degraded and reefs under threat from pollution and rising temperatures.

“We need a new SOS: Save Our Seas,” Zoellick said in announcing the alliance.

The partnership would bring together countries, scientific centers, non-governmental groups, international organizations, foundations and the private sector, he said.

The World Bank could help guide the effort by bringing together existing global ocean conservation programs and support efforts to mobilize finance and develop market-mechanisms to place a value on the benefits that oceans provide.

Millions of people rely on oceans for jobs and food and that dependence will grow as the world’s population heads for 9 billion people, underscoring the need to better manage the seas.

Zoellick said the alliance was initially committed to mobilizing at least $300 million in finance.

“Working with governments, the scientific community, civil society organizations, and the private sector, we aim to leverage as much as $1.2 billion to support healthy and sustainable oceans.”

FISH STOCKS

A key focus was understanding the full value of the oceans’ wealth and ecosystem services. Oceans are the top source of oxygen, help regulate the climate, while mangroves, reefs and wetlands are critical to protecting increasingly populous coastal areas against hazards such as storms — benefits that are largely taken for granted.

“Whatever the resource, it is impossible to evolve a plan to manage and grow the resource without knowing its value,” he said.

Another aim was to rebuild at least half the world’s fish stocks identified as depleted. About 85 percent of ocean fisheries are fully exploited, over-exploited or depleted.

“We should increase the annual net benefits of fisheries to between $20 billion and $30 billion. We estimate that global fisheries currently run a net economic loss of about $5 billion per year,” he said.

Participants at the conference spoke of the long-term dividends from ocean conservation and better management of its resources. But that needed economists, bankers and board rooms to place a value on the oceans’ “natural capital”.

“The key to the success of this partnership will be new market mechanisms that value natural capital and can attract private finance,” Abyd Karmali, global head of carbon markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, told Reuters.

He pointed to the value in preserving carbon-rich mangrove forests and sea grassbeds and the possibility of earning carbon offsets for projects that conserve these areas.

“The oceans’ stock is in trouble. We have diminished its asset value to a huge degree and poor asset management is poor economics,” Stephen Palumbi, director of the Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, told the conference.

Source: www.wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com

By Justin Norrie & Ove Hoegh-Guldberg in The Conversation (27 February 2012):

Internet surfers will soon be able to go below the surface to immerse themselves in the spectacular coral and marine life of the Great Barrier Reef, under a joint venture between global technology giant Google, the University of Queensland Global Change Institute and insurance company Catlin.

The Catlin Seaview Survey camera, developed for the expedition, will capture 50,000 360-degree underwater panoramas from the reef, which will then be uploaded to Google Earth and Google Maps.

The project’s chief scientist, Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, who is Director of the Global Change Institute at The University of Queensland, said the project would gather data to give scientists a better understanding of the impact of climate change and other environmental factors on ocean ecosystems.

“The visual nature of the project will also help bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and public awareness,” Professor Hoegh-Guldberg said.

“The Catlin Seaview Survey comprises a series of studies which will reveal to the public one of the last frontiers on Earth: the oceans.

“For the first time in history, we have the technology to broadcast the findings and expedition through Google. Millions of people will be able to experience the life, the science and the magic that exists under the surface of our oceans.”

The project, which will launch in September 2012, will be broadcast on a dedicated YouTube channel. With the aid of Google Hangouts video technology, internet users will be able to watch live streaming videos of dives by the expedition team.

The survey of the world’s largest coral reef system will be conducted at three levels: a shallow reef survey, a deep reef survey and a megafauna survey. Together they will provide a clearer picture of the composition, biodiversity and wellbeing of the reef.

The shallow survey will provide a rapid census of corals, fish and other organisms at 20 sites across the 2300-kilometre length of the reef.

For the deep reef survey, the team will use diving robots to explore depths of 30-100 metres. Little is known of this region, yet it may hold some of the secrets of whether or not the coral reefs will survive rapid climate change, Professor Hoegh-Guldberg said.

Emmy award-winning cinematographer and shark researcher Richard Fitzpatrick will lead a team carrying out the megafauna survey, for which they will study the migratory patterns of tiger sharks, green turtles and manta rays in response to rising water temperatures. The team will use satellite tags to track 50 animals.

Climate change has caused mass coral bleaching across the reef on three occasions in the past 15 years, and is considered the greatest threat to its future, according to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Water pollution and fishing are also major threats.

Justin Norrie is an editor at The Conversation and Ove Hoegh-Guldberg is Director, Global Change Institute at University of Queensland

Source: www.reneweconomy.com.au

Described as a breakthrough that will make electric cars “as popular as iPads”, California-based Envia Systems has come up with rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that cost less than half current cells, but with roughly double the energy density. Other good news on the development side include: a way to store energy with molten glass, allowing for round-the-clock power delivery from solar power plants and a rubber stamp that rolls the pattern on the silicon wafer to fabricate solar cells that are perfectly absorbing.

By Sophie Vorrath in Renew Economy (2 March 2012):

After copping an avalanche of criticism over its funding of the now-bankrupt solar manufacturing company Solyndra, it’s nice to see a US DoE-backed technology getting some positive media attention.

Actually, this week’s news that a breakthrough from California-based Envia Systems will yield rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that are less than half the cost of current cells, but with roughly double the energy density, is kinda big. “Moon-launch big,” according to Grist’s Christopher Mims. Why? Well, mainly because it could be the breakthrough that will make electric cars “as popular as iPads.”

Using a $4 million federal grant from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency — Energy (ARPA-E), the scientists at Envia Systems have managed to increase the battery’s energy density by including manganese in the materials of its cathode, the positive electrode to which the lithium ions are transferred, says Yale e360. And by blending carbon with silicon in the anode (the electrode from which the ions flow to create an electric current), they were able to bypass the tendency of silicon anodes to fail after a few cycles.

The company says this innovation, which would see its packs deliver cell energy of 400 watt-hours per kilogram at a cost of $150 per kilowatt-hour, could significantly increase the range of electric cars – to 300 miles, up from the long-held standard of 100 miles – and ultimately cut the price of battery packs (and thus the price of EVs) by 50 per cent; a revelation that has afforded Envia “star status” at ARPA-E’s third annual Energy Innovation Summit this week. The lithium-ion energy start-up was “mentioned by nearly everyone who took the stage on Tuesday,” says GreenTech Media‘s Katherine Tweed.

In announcing the news, Envia Systems co-founder, president & CTO was keen to show automakers that its product had arrived, says Tweed: “Rather than just a proof-of-concept of energy density, I am pleased that our team was successful in actually delivering 400 Wh/kg automotive grade 45 Ah lithium-ion rechargeable cells,” Kumar said. But proving that its battery can perform these miracles is just the first step, says Tweed: “The next step is to integrate some of the components into the batteries that are currently going into EVs,” an achievement Envia Systems’ CEO Atul Kapadia expects will happen in 2014 or 2015. As for a full battery pack with the entire 400W/kg system? Kapadia estimates this will take five to six years.

More from ARPA-E

Envia Systems might have stolen the show at this week’s ARPA-E Summit, but there were many other federally-backed technologies there worthy of attention. After all, as the name suggests, and the website says, ARPA-E focuses on supporting “high risk, high reward,” or “outside-the-box” technologies “that promise genuine transformation in the ways we generate, store and utilise energy” and “whose success would dramatically benefit the nation.” According to Martin La Monica from CNET News (which has a slideshow of some of the more interesting innovations and inventions on display), “a walk through the showcase of ARPA-E grant winners and applicants quickly demonstrates how active research is on ground-breaking ideas.”

One startup, says La Monica, is working on a way to store energy with molten glass, which it hopes to might  allow for round-the-clock power delivery from solar power plants. There are also many startups and research organisations turning their attention to applying existing technology or improving energy efficiency, he says – like the army’s solar packs and portable power systems. Others are developing materials for electronics to improve the efficiency of transferring power around the grid. The latest ARPA-E funding program, says La Monica, will be using cheap natural gas for vehicles or chemicals.

Nanoparticles: the new black in solar efficiency

One of the major problems limiting the efficiency of solar cells is reflection. A standard silicon wafer, the base material for solar cells, reflects around 40 per cent of the light from the sun, meaning that 40 per cent of the sunlight is not being converted to electricity. Now, a team of scientists from Dutch lab AMOLF and global firm Philips Research claim to have solved this problem, by developing a new type of anti-reflective coating that reduces the reflection of a silicon wafer from 40 per cent to just 1 per cent.

In a study published in February in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers found that when the solar cell was covered with a pattern of tiny silicon nanoparticles, the silicon wafer became completely black and absorbed 99 per cent of the light, while only 1 per cent bounced back. The key to the breakthrough is in the size of the nanoparticles, says My New Energy Source, which act as tiny cavities that can fit exactly one or more wavelengths of light inside. Once the light is trapped in the nano-cavities, it runs a few laps, and is then transferred into the silicon substrate. And thanks to the carefully selected geometry of the nano-cavities, this principle works for all colours of light from the ultraviolet to the infrared spectrum.

And thanks to a new technique developed at Philips Research, that uses a rubber stamp that rolls the pattern on the silicon wafer, it is now possible to apply this nanoparticle coating in an inexpensive way, says the blog. “This new method makes it possible to fabricate solar cells that are perfectly absorbing,” said Albert Polman, the leader of the team. “The stamping technique can be easily integrated in a roll-to-roll production process. And what I find most interesting is that we had never thought that by scattering light you can control it better. Usually we relate to disorder, but here it actually leads to exceptional control over light.”

Source: www.reneweconomy.com.au

OPOWER is also changing the methods in which people can connect with their utilities, offering creative online tools and energy alert options to keep customers informed and on top of their energy use. The  US energy efficiency firm whose fans include US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron is now looking to transfer its rapid growth across the Atlantic to Europe. Opower already has contracts with 60 US utilities since being established in 2007.

OPOWER is Leading the Change for the Future of Utilities

by Carl Pierre Staff Writer  In The Capitol (1 March 2012):

I’ll be the first to admit that I rarely give my utilities bills a second look when I get them in the mail. To me, it’s mostly nonsensical metrics jargon of how much I consume, so I rarely look at anything past the portion that tells me how much I owe my power company.

If it’s too high, I try to turn off the lights more. If it’s low I smile, do a little dance, and do nothing to change any of my energy using habits. That about sums up all of my behavioral nuances in regards to energy.

What really bothers me is how much I really should be concerned about this piece of paper, and the very real impact all of those numbers have on my life and on the world. As we continue to integrate new technologies into our daily behavior, we continue to use more and more devices that depend on electricity. As the number of devices add up quickly, people are slowly realizing how much of an impact energy consumption has on our existence.

The problem is that the average person takes a fetish approach to electricity: we flip a switch and the room lights up, press a button and your TV turns on, or plug your laptop in and your batteries magically recharge. Do you actually know the intricacies of where your electricity comes from, how much of it you use, how much of it you waste, and how much is available on a global scale?

Probably not.

But OPOWER does.

Last week I was fortunate enough to speak with Ogi Kavazovic, head of OPOWER corporate marketing and strategy. During our conversation I was quite surprised at the tremendous lack of knowledge the average person (including myself) has on their energy consumption. It’s easy to blame a person for ignorance of their energy consumption, but the truth is that the real culprit is lack of education. People are unaware that they are capable of understanding the details behind their utilities bills and can adapt to new easy energy-saving behaviors.

I know it’s easy to write this off as yet another “green week” initiative or a ploy to save Mother Gaia, but the reality is that no matter how much we fight it, we will have to understand and engage our energy consumption. Ogi eloquently explained how many utilities companies need to approach their customers this way,

Utilities find themseleves in a new world where they have to learn how to interact with their customers and engage them. You need to involve your customers more in managing their energy, because now it’s not as simple as turning the lights on.

Too true.

Thankfully, OPOWER understands this need for utilities to evolve, and facilitates it by recreating the concept of the utility bill with energy reports that a consumer can understand. These reports are able to relay actionable information, like how much you consume compared to your neighbors, how much you should be consuming for a household your size, and even provides you with real-world advice on how to cut down on your bill. OPOWER is also changing the methods in which people can connect with their utilities, offering creative online tools and energy alert options to keep customers informed and on top of their energy use. You know you’re really engaging your energy consumption when you get a text at work that warns you of a possibly high electric bill. Yes, that is as awesome as it sounds.

I can (grudgingly) admit that I’m not perfect, but we can all certainly try harder to understand how much utilities should mean to us. As technologies quickly evolve, it’s easy to stop being mindful of abstract concepts like energy consumption but thankfully OPOWER is creating ways to ameliorate that. It’s exciting to think that this is the future of energy efficiency in the country, and that we’re capable of really controlling how much we affect the earth and our energy bills. Before we ended our conversation, Ogi left me with a rather interesting thought, “What a lot of people have not internalized yet is that we are all utilities customers. The relationship you have with your utilities are about to change in a very profound, and exciting way.”

A sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with.

Source: www.inthecapital.com

Energy efficiency company is in discussions with European utilities after signing UK deal with First Utility

By Will Nichols

A US energy efficiency firm whose fans include Barack Obama and David Cameron is now looking to transfer its rapid growth across the Atlantic to Europe.

Opower has expanded to be worth an estimated $1bn after signing contracts with 60 US utilities, including eight of the 10 largest in the country, since being established in 2007.

It has brought in revenues of $11.4m over the year from software that lets homeowners measure and benchmark their energy use and access reports containing tips on lowering consumption. Over five million households receive these reports and Opower claims 10 million users in the US alone.

Now the company’s European expansion drive has seen it clinch a deal with First Utility in the UK. Nandini Basuthakur, newly appointed as senior vice president and managing director of Opower’s Europe, Middle East and Africa operations, told BusinessGreen discussion are ongoing with “several” other European companies.

“There is a huge opportunity to transform the relationship between utilities and the customer,” she said. “The average consumer spends six minutes a year thinking about energy consumption. If utilities are seen to be efficient and optimising [consumers'] consumption, they think of them as good providers.”

Basuthakur added that targets to roll out 53 million smart meters and the flagship £14bn Green Deal energy efficiency scheme make the UK an attractive market.

“Smart meters and in-home displays [coming in] mean people will want more accurate information about their energy use,” she said. “But data isn’t everything – the technology is only as efficient as the people that use it. You have to have insights on how to cut consumption as well.”

Part of Opower’s success has been down to embracing new ways of communicating with customers – the company teamed up with social networking site Facebook last year to launch an app that lets consumers compare their bill with their friends’.

“We’re keen to look at the power of social networking to raise awareness of energy consumption,” Basuthakur said. “The Facebook platform enables consumers to benchmark their energy usage against the notional average of similar homes. People can enter competitions, share energy saving tips, all across the world.”

Having found a London office, Basuthakur’s next challenge is to recruit a team of five to eight people to push the company into Europe and the Middle East during 2012.

“There is a high growth environment in Europe and we’re looking to capitalise,” she said.

Source: www.businessgreen.com and www.opower.com

THE first locally manufactured electric car to ply the roads in Singapore could be a taxi if Singapore and German researchers from the TUM-Create research group get their own way. Meanwhile, at the launch of Renault’s new test of electric vehicles with utility Singapore Power, Mr Andre Roy, the managing director of Wearnes Automotive, said Renault-Nissan aims to sell 1.5 million electric vehicles worldwide by 2016. The Renault Fluence ZE and Renault Kangoo ZE can travel up to 185km on a full battery.

By Grace Chua in Straits Times (2 March 2012):

THE first locally manufactured electric car to ply the roads in Singapore could be a taxi.

Singapore and German researchers from the TUM-Create research group, tasked with studying the use of electric vehicles and infrastructure in the tropics, have settled on designing a taxi.

‘Electric cars are expensive to buy but cheap to run,’ said Technical University of Munich’s (TUM’s) Professor Markus Lienkamp, the scientific director for the electric-vehicle project.

Because taxis get a lot of mileage and run all day, it makes more business sense to have electric cabs rather than private cars, he explained.

TUM and Nanyang Technological University are joint partners in the TUM-Create Centre for Electromobility, set up in Singapore in late 2010 as part of the National Research Foundation’s Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (Create) programme.

The centre’s studies of local taxi data and interviews with cabbies revealed that taxis here trundle along at an average speed of 33 kmh and travel 200km a shift, two shifts a day. That adds up to more than a million kilometres over a taxi’s lifespan of, say, eight years.

‘What we are doing here could be a blueprint for other tropical megacities as well,’ Prof Lienkamp added.

The researchers aim to have a demonstration model ready by 2014 and hope companies will then pick up the technology and invest in it. Now, they are deciding on the specific package of technologies that will go into the electric taxi.

For example, they must figure out how to boost the range of the car to the 400km a day that taxis typically travel here. Some options include using hydrogen fuel cells, faster battery charging and changing batteries.

The typical range of electric cars is much smaller – for example, the Mitsubishi i-MiEVs used in an experiment here can travel about 160km on one charge.

The researchers must also cut the amount of power that an electric taxi uses for air-conditioning, whether by insulating windows, using reflective surfaces or dehumidifying the vehicle.

Prof Lienkamp did not put a price tag on the prototype or share its specifications, but said the cost of building and running it should be on a par with that of owning and operating a taxi.

But the team is not stopping there.

Professor Ulrich Stimming, chief executive of TUM-Create, said: ‘The taxi is only one part of the electromobility project. It will be a platform for testing all the new technology that we are developing.’

The five-year electromobility project, which ends in 2016, spans the spectrum from battery technology to traffic modelling. But Prof Stimming said five years may not be enough to put the electric taxi on the road.

An electric car by TUM, the two-seater Mute sub-compact, made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year.

Said Prof Lienkamp: ‘We want to diversify energy sources much better than we have done today – we need a choice.

‘And at the moment, in mobility, we have no choice – 95 per cent of the energy in cars is from oil, so we need other options, and that’s what we are looking at.’

By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent Straits Times  (2 March 2012):

ELECTRIC vehicles (EVs) may be good for the environment but with each one using as much energy as a small flat when being charged, will they prove to be a drain on the island’s power supply? A ‘live’ trial is being conducted to find out.

Dubbed EVs@SP, it will involve three electric Renaults and will help Singapore Power determine what changes – if any – need to be made to the country’s infrastructure to prepare for the day when vehicles such as these become commonplace here.

‘If 4 per cent of the current car population convert to electric vehicles and they are charged at the same time, I am told the amount of power required would be the same as that required to power the whole of Ang Mo Kio.’

Singapore Power group chief executive Wong Kim Yin

The aim is to make sure that power outages do not occur as a result.

At the launch of EVs@SP yesterday, Singapore Power group chief executive Wong Kim Yin said: ‘If 4 per cent of the current car population convert to electric vehicles and they are charged at the same time, I am told the amount of power required would be the same as that required to power the whole of Ang Mo Kio.’

An electric vehicle – which runs on batteries that are juiced up from electrical mains – may also be charged at more than one location (for instance, the home or workplace), Mr Wong added. This makes forecasting and catering to demand more complicated.

The power distribution company’s trial is being carried out alongside a bigger electric vehicle test-bedding exercise that was launched last June.

That was when the Energy Market Authority and Land Transport Authority flagged off nine battery- powered cars: four Smart two-seaters from Daimler and five Mitsubishi iMiEVs.

All in, the test fleet in this bigger $20 million trial will have about 90 cars.

Singapore Power said that it will have access to findings of the bigger trial – which is to determine the robustness and economic viability of electric cars here – but its own trial focuses on the potential impact a large-scale charging of electric vehicles might have on power supply.

Industry sources believe electric vehicles will be ‘large scale’ in the not-too-distant future.

Mr Andre Roy, the managing director of Renault agent Wearnes Automotive, said Renault-Nissan aims to sell 1.5 million Renault and Nissan electric vehicles worldwide by 2016.

‘Renault estimates that by 2020, electric vehicles will account for 10 per cent of the total number of vehicles in the world,’ he said.

‘The automobile industry is at a historic turning point. Gone are the days where EVs can travel only 50km on a full charge.’

The Renault Fluence ZE and Renault Kangoo ZE, which were unveiled at Singapore Power’s event yesterday, can travel up to 185km on a full battery. And Mr Roy claimed the running cost of each is ‘as low as four cents per kilometre’.

While Singapore Power is apprehensive about the arrival of electric cars – a worry shared by utilities in other countries – these vehicles present a new revenue stream for power generation and distribution companies.

In fact, Singapore Power wanted to import and sell electric cars here in the 1990s to step up night-time power usage, which was then merely 60 per cent of day-time demand.

But now, with more homes with air-conditioning, the gap between day and night power demand has narrowed.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

Canadian scientists analysed how burning all of the earth’s stocks of coal, oil and natural gas would affect temperatures. The analysis covers both conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon sources such as oil sands. Burning all the world’s vast coal deposits would create a 15-degree rise in the globe’s temperature, well above the two-degree limit set by governments hoping to rein in global warming.

By Steve Mertl  in Daily Brew  (20 February 2012):

It’s unlikely protests against the development of Western Canada’s immense oil sands reserves will dry up over this, but two scientists’ contention that burning coal poses a greater global warming threat is bound to spark debate.

Andrew Weaver, a University of Victoria climate modeller, argues emissions from oil sands crude produced mainly in northern Alberta are unlikely to make a big difference to global warming, The Canadian Press reports.

“I was surprised by the results of our analysis,” Weaver, who also has been a lead author on two reports from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, told the news service. “I thought [the threat of oil sands emissions] was larger than it was.”

The article by Weaver and colleague Neil Stewart was published Sunday in the science journal Nature.

They analyzed how burning all of the earth’s stocks of coal, oil and natural gas would affect temperatures. The analysis covers both conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon sources such as oil sands.

If all the hydrocarbons in the oilsands were mined and consumed, they concluded the carbon dioxide released would raise global temperatures by about 0.36 degrees Celsius, roughly half the total amount of warming over the last century. But when only commercially viable oil sands deposits were considered, the temperature increase would be just 0.03 degrees Celsius, according to the scientists.

Burning all the world’s vast coal deposits would create a 15-degree rise in the globe’s temperature, well above the two-degree limit set by governments hoping to rein in global warming.

“The conventional and unconventional oil is not the problem with global warming,” Weaver told The Canadian Press. “The problem is coal and unconventional natural gas [such as shale gas and undersea methane hydrates].”

Oil sands development has become an international issue among environmentalists, bringing out high-profile opposition from the likes of Robert Redford. Opponents saw the U.S. government’s rejection of plans for the Keystone XL pipeline to take oil sands crude to American refineries as a major victory.

Weaver said his analysis suggests governments should be more worried about increased dependence on coal, as well as growth in the use of natural gas, which is considered greener than oil.

That doesn’t mean giving oil sands carte blanche, he stressed.

“One might argue that the best strategy one might take is to use our oil reserves wisely, but at the same time use them in a way that weans us off our dependence on coal and natural gas,” Weaver told The Canadian Press.

“As we become more and more dependent on these massive reserves, we’re less and less likely to wean ourselves away from them.”

Source: www.ca.news.yahoo.com

If ever a book managed to encapsulate in a simple and powerful way how our greed overrides our humanity and leads to environmental annihilation, it is ‘The Lorax’ by Dr Seuss.

The Lorax is a reminder of how a literary moment can illuminate an issue and set us on the path to change. Children’s books allow us to bypass the mind and go straight to the heart.

Children’s books can have a powerful impact on people of all ages and the UK Guardian would like to know which stories have made an impression on you? Whatever your story, they would love to hear how it has affected you and why. We support this literary environmental project. Read More

Jo Confino for the Guardian Professional Network (22 February 2012):

Children’s books can have a powerful impact on people of all ages and we’d like to know which stories have made an impression on you? Were you moved by the hardship endured by the rabbits as humans bulldozed through their homes in Richard Adams’ ‘Watership Down’? Or did Lynne Cherry’s ecological fairy tale ‘The Dragon and the Unicorn’ motivate you to work towards finding a more harmonious relationship between nature and humanity?

Whatever your story, we would love to hear how it has affected you and why. Send a short explanation in an email to jenny.purt@guardian.co.uk and we will publish the best and most interesting ones.

If ever a book managed to encapsulate in a simple and powerful way how our greed overrides our humanity and leads to environmental annihilation, it is ‘The Lorax’ by Dr Seuss.

Universal Pictures will in two weeks release its blockbuster animated film version of the 41-year-old childrens’ book in which Dr Seuss tells in his uniquely lyrical way the tale of the destruction of the Truffula Trees.

Later on in this blogpost I describe how Universal has trampled all over the book’s original vision, but let’s for the moment remain in an age of innocence.

The Lorax is a reminder of how a literary moment can illuminate an issue and set us on the path to change.

Children’s books often have a powerful impact, regardless of age, because they allow us to bypass the mind and go straight to the heart.

For those who haven’t had the pleasure of reading The Lorax, it is about the Once-ler, an entrepreneur, who discovers that the tufts of Truffula trees can be made into bizarre garments called Thneeds. As he wryly observes: “You never can tell what some people will buy.”

In his insane obsession for profits and growth, the Once-ler and his cronies, end up not only destroying the trees, but also the entire ecosystem that is supported by them.

The Lorax, a woodland creature who speaks up for the environment, tries to reason with the Once-ler, but like the real world, growth and profits must come first: “I went on biggering … selling more thneeds,” says the Once-ler. “And I biggered my money, which everyone needs.”

There is a moment in the book that I have experienced in no other; when the reader experiences a deathly silence as the axe comes down for the last time:

“And at that very moment, we heard a loud whack! From outside in the fields came a sickening smack of an axe on a tree. Then we heard a tree fall. The very last Truffula Tree of them all!

“No more trees, No more Thneeds. No more work to be done.”

The real beauty of the book, however, is that it shows the power of redemption and that it’s never too late to do the right thing.

The Once-ler, recognising his dastardly deed, retreats from the world where he is engulfed by grief. It takes the visit of an innocent young child for him to trust that it is never too late to make amends.

As he says: “UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

In the Once-ler’s possession is the one remaining Truffula seed, which he throws down to the boy: “You’re in charge of the last of the Truffula seeds. And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs.

“Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack. Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back.”

Having watched the film trailer, I came away depressed that much of the simple magic of the story has been lost.

For example, the child’s symbolic fear-laden journey alone through a dark and decimated landscape to visit the Once-ler is belittled by a script that makes the motivation of the 12-year-old the desire to “win the affection of the girl of his dreams,” who happens to be pretty and blonde. Would Dr Seuss have approved of this stereotyping? I think not.

But perhaps the deepest wound is how Universal is misusing the Lorax story through its 70 sponsorship deals, in order to bigger its money, which it clearly needs.

Perhaps we should be grateful for small mercies, for at least the studio had the sense to be a little more careful then Hollywood’s normal fast-food and plastic toy tie-ups.

“Our partners needed to legitimately be in the environmental space,” said Universal’s president of partnerships and licensing, Stephanie Sperber. “The brands and messages had to ring true to the Lorax story.”

The joys to come. Hilton’s DoubleTree hotel chain is offering the prize of a trip for four to eco-tourism mecca Costa Rica while technology giant HP is doing its bit to save the world: “When you print like the Lorax by choosing HP printing products – designed with the environment in mind – you’ll take a step towards making our planet a cleaner and greener place.”

Mazda’s new “Seuss-ified” crossover SUV will be seen on TV ads travelling through the Truffula valley with animals appearing at every curve.

Universal has itself created games, activities and educational tie-ins to promote forest conservation, but how deep does its commitment go and how long will its last?

At its root, what Universal has done is to industrialise and commercialise a story that seeks to warn against industrialisation and a throwaway cultur

Dr Seuss’s book has stood the test of time. Universal’s games and activities will not. In the same way that the Once-ler’s cronies moved on to pastures anew once the wind started smelling “slow and sour when it blows,” I expect HP and Hilton will soon find another way of promoting their goods and services to bigger the profits for their shareholders.

I cannot help but conclude that Universal and its sponsors have tainted the innocence of a simple tale, beautifully told.

None of this, of course, is done on purpose. As the Once-ler says: “I meant no harm. I most truly did not. But I had to grow bigger. So bigger I got.”

The film is released on March 2nd, the birthday of Dr Seuss. This year, it will be a day of commiseration rather than of celebration.

Source: www.guardian.co.uk