Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup
Litter on our beaches not only looks ugly - marine and land life can get entangled in plastic debris, or choke on it when they mistake it for food. The Vancouver Aquarium and WWF Canada, with help from the Loblaw Companies Ltd., are offering Canadians an opportunity to take action and contribute to caring for our shorelines and waterways. The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup will run September 18-26 this year, and everyone is invited to help remove litter from our waterfront.
Over 55,000 people registered to participate in the Cleanup in 2009, and together the volunteers removed 160,914 kg of litter. That included 116,138 food wrappers/containers, and 74,276 plastic bags. That’s a whole lot of plastic that is being kept from joining the continent of garbage that is polluting our ocean.
Volunteers have found some pretty strange items during the Cleanup. Why people have left a White Spot uniform, an 18 K gold ring, and a Message in a bottle with a note saying “Please don’t litter” on the shoreline is left to our imagination.
The Cleanup started in 1994 when a small group of Vancouver Aquarium employees collected data on the shoreline litter they removed from a local beach in Stanley Park. By 1997, it was known as the Great BC Beach Cleanup and 400 volunteers cleaned up litter from 20 sites across the Lower Mainland once a year. This year, WWF Canada joins the program as a full partner.
On August 26 this year, unique sculptures of aquatic animals, made of garbage, appeared at Vancouver’s English Bay and Toronto’s Ashbridge’s Bay. 3 seals played on Vancouver’s beach while a school of 60 fish jumped through Toronto’s Bay. On show for just that day, it was hoped they would help people realize that shoreline litter can have far-reaching and negative effects on ecosystems. As well, it was about the importance of the Cleanup.
Businesses, community groups and individuals can register now for the 2010 cleanup by visiting www.shorelinecleanup.ca. Register soon – sign up closes September 10, 2010.
Tags: cleanup, litter, Loblaw, plastic, shoreline, Vancouver Aquarium, WWF Canada
Europe’s Coastal Ecosystems
Europe’s coastal ecosystems are under increasing pressures including habitat loss and degradation, pollution, climate change, and overexploitation of fish stocks, reports the European Environment Agency. Such ecosystems are important for wildlife, the economy and human health. Conservation is needed.
The EEA has released a new assessment on coastal ecosystems, as part of their “10 messages for 2010” program. The assessment reports that two thirds of coastal habitat types and over half of coastal species have an unfavorable conservation status.
About 50 coastal habitat types such as wetlands provide key feeding areas for migratory and other birds as well as 150 animal species that prefer coastal ecosystems. Humans benefit from the services naturally provided by the ecosystems, for everything from food to medicines to freshwater storage to erosion control to recreational pursuits.
Human made structures such as seawalls and breakwaters cause fragmentation of populations and loss of natural habitats. Add pollution from pesticides, aquaculture, climate change and invasive species, and the native ecosystems and animals are under threat. Over 65% of coastal wetlands and seagrasses, and over 90% of wild native oyster reefs, have been lost.
Shorebirds and animals such as the Mediterranean monk seal are declining due to loss of habitat. Loggerhead sea turtles are just one species that is now endangered.
Many policies and laws aim to improve management of coastal areas but they must be better streamlined in order to safeguard Europe’s coastal biodiversity, the report suggests. Coordinated action at the global, regional and local levels will be key to sustainable management of coastal ecosystems.
Hopefully, increased conservation activities and policy-specific responses will happen and have a positive impact which helps to save the remaining coastal ecosystems and species.
Tags: bird, Climate Change, coastal, Conservation, ecosystem, Europe, European Environment Agency, fish, habitat, Wildlife
Tiger Conservation and China
There’s a glimmer of hope coming from Chinese and Indian officials meeting in Beijing to discuss business interests and wildlife conservation, according to MSN News.
The two countries are hoping to approve a protocol that includes shared actions to fight poaching of tigers and their body parts, including educational programs to stop poaching and the related captive breeding and releasing of captive tigers into the wild.
Indian officials consider the discussion important since they blame Chinese traditional medicine as the reason behind tiger poaching. While China has officially banned trading in tiger parts, its peoples’ interest in traditional medicines fuels demand for dead tigers. India has emphasized the need for China to refuse to yield to pressures from tiger farm owners to lift the ban against the trade. Unfortunately, the tiger farms may have increased the demand for tiger parts.
China has just 50 tigers left in the wild, and about 5,000 on tiger farms, reports the Hindustan Times. Officials have agreed to register all tigers to keep track of them.
As well, India is hoping that China will join the Global Tiger Forum, a network of 13 countries that have tigers. The forum has discussed ways to protect tigers but without China, the largest market for tiger body parts, the discussion remains simply talk.
Meanwhile, China and Russia have agreed to create the first cross border tiger conservation reserve for the rare Siberian tiger, reports International Business Times.
Wildlife in the area is suffering from poaching, habitat destruction, and a human-caused lack of prey. Creation of the forest reserve will save other animal species as well as the tigers.
Let’s hope that these two glimmers of hope are signs that China will become more environmentally and conservation friendly.
Tags: China, Conservation, Global Tiger Forum, India, poaching, Siberian, tiger, Wildlife
Factory Fishing
Wild fish populations can no longer meet the massive buyer demand for seafood, and fish-farming (or ‘aquaculture’) has become the fastest growing sector of global food production, reports The Fishing Hole.
Regrettably, many industrial aquaculture facilities are similar to livestock factory farms in that they house large numbers of animals in small, unsanitary facilities that pose immense environmental and human health risks. Open water aquaculture facilities house thousands of fish within small netpens or cages that allow extremely harmful pollutants, fish feces, uneaten feed, pesticides and pharmaceuticals to pass directly into the surrounding water.
Even worse – in many cases, aquaculture facilities use wild fish populations to create feed for farmed carnivorous species. The Fishing Hole estimates that 2.7 to 3.5 pounds of wild fish are used to produce one pound of farmed salmon. What is more, as a result of net damage many facilities release substantial numbers of non-native fish into the environment, which poses a great threat to ecosystems by causing competition for resources. There is also a risk that the escaped farmed fish may breed with their wild counterparts, thereby introducing farmed genetic traits into the gene pool. Certain forms of aquaculture such as land-based farming operations that refrain from using antibiotics/chemicals and small-scale aquaponic operations that use plants to filter out waste can be conducted safely however.
In a world of industrialized livestock and aquaculture it is difficult to imagine a time without factory farms, but the USDA’s When Beans Were Bullets exhibit in Beltsville, Maryland reminds visitors of a simpler time. The display features food and agriculture posters from World Wars I and II. How were the home front populations encouraged to eat in order to put the nation’s interest first? Eat locally, healthfully, and conscientiously, they were told, according to Food Safety News. The exhibit may inspire modern day citizens to cultivate and eat food the old-fashioned way- fresh and responsibly.
Tags: aquaculture, eat locally, environment, farm, fish, seafood
UK National Collections
According to Plant Heritage, formerly known as the Council for the Conservation of Plants & Gardens, there are around 650 National Collections in private and public gardens in the UK. Many of these conservation collections are located in Scotland. National Collections consist of plants that people, from professional gardeners to amateurs, have nurtured and choose to grow in abundance. Many of these people have dedicated themselves to raising these plants for years and have become authorities in their field.
The National Collections gardens started when a conference noted that the variety of cultivated plants available to gardeners was shrinking. Conservation of plants was needed, before they disappeared. People across the UK responded, and now many National Collections are open for public viewing.
New people interested in starting their own collection are welcome. They can visit public National Collections to get an idea of what they might like to plant in their gardens, or contact the office to find out what plants need conservation. Prospective members and interested parties can visit the Plant Heritage website for more information about National Collections.
Nicole Savage of Plant Heritage explains some requirements for gardens to become national collections, to The Scotsman. A garden must contain 75 per cent of the plants available for the “scope” of the collection. There must be three of each plant, labeled and all kept for one year. Finally gardeners must keep records of their plants. If gardeners need more help, Plant Heritage offers its members opportunities to attend lectures or to visit gardens and see rare and unusual plants. They aim to help people in conserving plants that in many cases are rare or threatened with extinction. Plant Heritage aims to teach people the importance of these plants since many of them can be used as medicines or as organic pesticides for other plants. In short, they are valuable for both humans and other plants.
Tags: Conservation, garden, National Collection, plant, Plant Heritage, UK
Smart Energy Conservation
Energy efficient and sustainable companies display a sense of organizational effectiveness that allows them to make good use of the energy conservation technology, suggests Ian Jarvis of Enerlife Consulting in a recent Financial Post article. Saving energy is linked to increased comfort and productivity, which in turn gives people more of a sense of control over their environment.
cc: Manitoba Hydro Place
Europeans have been constructing smart buildings and using energy audits in design for years. Similar smart buildings are now starting to be built in North America. Winnipeg’s Manitoba Hydro Place is a leading example of an intelligent building, with onsite weather stations and a digital management system that adjusts outside temperature-controlled vents every 3 hours.
For smart buildings to achieve successful energy conservation, the people in the buildings have to think about what’s happening around them and how they impact their environment. To be truly sustainable, they need to have a realistic sense of how they are using energy. However, a recent study found that many people believe they can save energy with small, ineffective behavior changes, and underestimate the major effects of switching to efficient, currently available technologies.
Too many people are just trying to save energy by doing what is cheap and easy, suggests the survey. Energy conservation advocates have tended to encourage actions like turning off lights to save energy, rather than focusing on the biggest energy savers including higher-mileage vehicles and installing room rather than central air conditioning.
Part of the problem is lack of awareness of the big energy savers. Luckily, giving people better information about energy conservation will make up for the current psychology and will lead to people making better decisions about using energy. Have a look at the “Savings from green measures” graph in the Economist that is from the study.
Just by becoming more efficient in their households and vehicles, people can substantially decline their energy consumption within the decade.
Tags: buildings, Conservation, design, energy, environment, Manitoba Hydro Place, smart, sustainable, Technology
Census for Marine Life
The Census for Marine Life will be like a publicly-available field guide to the oceans. It’s the most comprehensive list of life in our oceans that has ever been produced. The Census has taken 10 years, covers 25 ocean areas, and includes many previously unknown species.
The Census has found that flagship animals such as whales, seals and seabirds only make up about 2% of the known marine species in the 25 regions surveyed. Crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters and shrimp account for nearly 20%. The most common creatures, some of them one celled creatures, form the majority of animals and they are very important both in the ecosystem and in the food chain. Even with the Census, it is estimated that we only know about 20% of the entire creatures in the ocean.
Sadly, the Census has also found that some of the top 5 most diverse ocean areas in our world are also among the most threatened. These include the Mediterranean, China’s, and the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the ocean is still both unexplored and unprotected.
There are 3 videos that I have watched and would recommend to someone interested in new life forms and our ocean’s inhabitants.
The first video is an introduction to the Census and is sensibly called Census Overview. It’s among a selection of videos on the Census of Marine Life’s website.
The second is called Record Breaking Sea Creatures Released, and is filled with National Geographic’s splendid photography. It’s number 4 of the featured videos on their website.
The third video is called Counting Creatures and is an interview with Dr. Jesse Ausebel of the Census. It’s on the Census’ website.
I will be thinking about these life forms next time I look at our ocean!
Seabird Conference
More than 800 participants including world experts on penguins, puffins and albatrosses will be meeting in Victoria, BC, from September 7 to 11th as part of the 1st World Seabird Conference, Bird Studies Canada told me yesterday. Assembling to review the state of our world’s seabirds, they will address such issues as the impact of oil spills and pollution, fishing practices, climate change, invasive species, and general conservation needs. The organizers are hoping that the conference will lead to the formation of a new global governing body to address seabird monitoring and conservation.
Penguins, albatrosses and puffins are among the birds that are to the ocean what canaries are to mines. They reveal a lot about the health of marine ecosystems, and when their populations decline it tells of problems that can affect other life in the marine environment.
In a real “happens there, felt here” way, seabirds can be affected by events in different parts of the world because they migrate so far. They spend much of their lives on the high seas and can summer in one hemisphere and winter in the other. Most seabirds have multiple countries and bodies of water within their ranges.
Unfortunately, seabird populations have declined seriously over the last twenty years. Between being caught and drowned on fishing hooks, eating plastic garbage that they mistake for food, and being killed by invasive species, seabirds are telling us that our environment has problems that need solving.
The upcoming conference will also feature a film festival and seabird art exhibition. For more information, see the Conference’s website.
Tags: bird, conference, Conservation, ecosystem, environment, invasive, marine, Migration, oil spill, seabird
Water Footprints
It’s August, hot in many places, and “everyone” is talking about water. A lot of water may be used in summertime for lawns and swimming pools, but we all have a year round footprint that uses an amazing amount of water. As WWF Canada recently wrote, even as we consume breakfast we’re devouring food that used water through running factories to growing crops. And it’s a lot:
A single cup of coffee = 140 litres (Enough fresh water to fill to fill your mug 777 times)
One slice of white bread = 40 litres (Enough water to fill a fish tank)
A single egg = 200 litres (Enough fresh water to fill a rain barrel)
Dinner’s worse – A steak dinner = 15,500 litres (Enough fresh water to fill a small swimming pool)
Meanwhile, the BC Sustainable Energy Association states that we must act now to protect our rivers, streams and groundwater, and to balance competing demands for this precious and limited resource. The BC Legislature is currently considering how to modernize our Water Act, and the BCSEA has an online petition that asks the BC Legislature to prioritize environmental and social needs for water and involve the public in decisions about water. If you’re in BC, check out the petition.
Tags: energy, environmental, petition, sustainable, water, WWF Canada
Vedanta Mine Blocked
If you want to see a classic case of concerned people winning a decision in favor of indigenous people, wildlife and conservation over a multi billion dollar company with lobbyists, look towards India. Breaking news includes that India’s Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has blocked Vedanta Resources’ controversial plan to mine bauxite on the hills of the Dongria Kondh tribe.
As I wrote in my article “Vedanta – India Mine Report” on Monday August 16th, the proposed mine would have destroyed the dense forests the mineral lies under. The forests are home to the Dongria Kondh, are an important link between wildlife sanctuaries for elephants and tigers, and have around 20 species of orchids which are used as medicine.
Survival International reports http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/6385 that its supporters wrote more than 10,000 protest letters to the Indian government, and over 600,000 people have watched Survival’s film ‘Mine’.
It’s time to celebrate, before taking a deep breath and turning towards our next environmental challenge.
Tags: Conservation, Dongria Kondh, environment, India, mine, Vedanta
