Image Source: Flickr. By: TheMarque.

Conservation International is doing something about that. This awesome group has a “Save a Mile” program. People can adopt a square mile of ocean, thus ensuring it gains some more protection.

Why should anyone bother protecting the ocean (aside from the information in the first paragraph)? First, consider these threats:

• An estimated 14 billion pounds of trash (mostly plastic) end up in the oceans every year. This trash (including discarded fishing gear) kills more than 1 million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles every year.

• 90% of large predatory fish populations (such as sharks and bluefin tuna) have vanished around the globe, thanks to unsustainable fishing practices.

• Climate Change makes the ocean more acidic, which destroys critical habitats and marine food sources. In addition to that, 634 million people around the globe are directly threatened by the rising sea levels caused by Climate Change.

• Approximately 1 billion gallons of oil spill into the ocean every year (not counting this year’s Gulf Coast spill).

• Coastal development can damage important habitats, leaving a negative impact on the marine animals that depend on them.

Now, consider this information:

• 97% of all water on Earth is located in the oceans.

• The oceans store 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere and provide 70-80% of the oxygen we breathe.

• Oceans provide the main source of protein for more than 1 billion people, with 1 in 4 people relying on the ocean for food.

We certainly depend on the ocean for a lot of things. Now, imagine what would happen if all that food supply was tainted with oil, mercury, or other pollutants. Imagine going for a swim at the beach, but instead of encountering a sea turtle, you run into an old tire or pieces of plastic. Imagine going snorkeling or scuba diving to see all that colorful coral, but instead the coral is all bleached-out, due to the changing acidic levels. It loses its appeal in that light, doesn’t it?

To find out how you can Save a Mile, click here. Conservation International’s site also provides you with further information on the ocean, different marine habitats, and other ways you can help.

By Heidi Marshall

Earlier today, a helicopter spotted another oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. The 13 people on board did escape, though one was injured. Now, there’s a mile-long oil slick and it’s still growing.

The oil slick is at least 100 feet wide and was spotted near the rig, which is owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy Inc. At least 3 firefighting vessels have been deployed to deal with the ongoing fire. According to a statement from the company:

“Mariner has notified and is working with regulatory authorities in response to this incident. The cause is not known and an investigation will be undertaken.”

Apparently, the platform was also in production. This particular platform produces up to 58,800 gallons of oil and 900,000 cubic feet of gas per day. Located in shallow water 200 miles west of the BP oil rig that exploded back in April, it is hoped that this incident will be more easily (and a lot faster) dealt with than the last disaster.

Updates will be posted as they happen.

By Heidi Marshall

Many laptop computers, mobile phones and other electronic equipment used around the world contain minerals mined in conflict zones such as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Similar to the blood diamond scenario, which gained some attention from the 2006 Hollywood film of the same name, and more lately by Naomi Campbell’s well-publicized appearance in International Criminal Court in The Hague, conflict minerals fuel wars and atrocities in undemocratic countries. Rebel and militia groups are funded by the huge profits from gold, tungsten, tantalum and tin mining in the DCR, though miners receive only around $1-5 US per day.

These militias make millions and millions of dollars. We estimated that they made about $180 million from trading in these minerals last year and they’re able to continue their existence and their armed struggle on the basis of this trade.

–Sasha Lezhnev, Enough

US President Barack Obama recently signed a new provision requiring US companies to submit annual reports to divulging whether their products contain minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo or neighboring states. Several electronics companies like Intel, Motorola and HP have initiated stronger policies of their own accord.

This is a difficult and complex problem, partly because what funds militias who commit atrocities, also pays the meager wages of poor miners.

For more details on the story see the following report from the Voice of America:

Tracing DRC’s Conflict Minerals a Daunting Task

Also check out this video report from Time Magazine:

Conflict Minerals: Is There Blood on Your Laptop?

Additional resources:

Enough project – Eastern Congo

Image Source: Flickr. By: Fadder Uri.

The rig is located west of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion/spill site that started back in April and is approximately 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay, located along Louisiana’s central coast. The explosion was reported by a commercial helicopter company early this morning. Since then, at least 7 helicopters, 2 planes, and 4 boats have made their way to the site.

There were 13 people on board and fortunately, most of them escaped unharmed, save one who was injured. It is unknown if any oil is leaking from the site or if the rig is still burning, although smoke was reported.

Updates will be posted as they happen.

Note: The image posted is not of the rig involved in the explosion. It is simply of an oil rig in general.

By Heidi Marshall

We disinfect everything all the time and not always wisely.

While many of us are naturally immune against these invisible enemies, aka bacteria, others are born with a deficient immune system that does not allow them to live outside of a sterile room. For them, the battle against germs is a daily struggle as they are unable to produce enough white blood cells. The only treatment available today is still bone marrow donation, but not everyone has the possibility of finding a compatible donor.

For this reason, at the Necker Hospital, researchers are trying new ways. One innovative treatment is gene therapy. This is based on a transfer of genes into patients’ cells in order to introduce a normal copy of the defective gene. Gene therapy promises to be effective, but has yet to demonstrate that it is totally harmless.

photo by www.viajar24h.com

The parliament of Catalonia voted to ban bullfighting in July, a move that enraged Spain’s bullfighting community and drew accusations of Catalan nationalist motivations rather than concern for animal welfare.

Well, plainly both nationalism and animal welfare played their parts in the ban – apparent by the fact that groups from both camps participated in the anti bullfighting campaign.

But on the different, yet similar issue of fire bulls in Catalonia, the groups are more split.

In the Catalan town of Amposta, bulls are taunted after flaming torches are attached to their horns. Another Catalan tradition involves tying ropes around bulls’ horns and dragging them through the streets.

Many Catalans, especially separatists, hailed the bullfight ban, which comes into effect in January 2012, not just because it protected animals but because it targeted a potent symbol of Spain. Now some of the same politicians who voted for the ban are pledging to pass a law protecting the ‘bulls of fire’.

–Guardian

The one point the pro-fire bull Catalans seem to have is that the bulls aren’t – at least intentionally – killed. They’re just scared and teased and pulled by their tales, as can bee seen in this photo essay in the Guardian.

So it seems Catalonia is not as forward thinking in terms of animal welfare as many would like to think. Oh well, sometimes you form alliances to get the result you want, and sometimes the result stops there. Perhaps, in time, all of Spain will realize that a bunch of macho meatheads pulling bulls’ tails, lighting their horns on fire or running through the streets almost killing themselves aren’t such great forms of entertainment – enough people to pass some decent animal welfare laws anyway.

Read more about this story in the following Guardian article:

Catalan town fears bullfighting ban will extinguish its fire bull

Today, a man entered the Discovery Channel Headquarters near Washington, D.C. and held 3 people hostage at gunpoint. The man also had canisters strapped to his body that were suspected to be explosives of some kind.

After several hours of negotiations, one thing led to another and the gunman ended up shot to death by the police. The shots detonated one of the devices strapped to his body, but it is still unknown whether the others were explosive or not. All 3 hostages—one security officer and two employees—are safe and unharmed.

You can read more about the situation here.

By Heidi Marshall

Discovery Channel Headquarters decorated for Shark Week. Image Source: Flickr. By: Afagen.

The man was wearing canisters strapped to his body; whether they actually pose a threat or not remains to be seen, but FBI bomb technicians and the SWAT team were on scene to deal with the problem. Despite the situation, the good news is most of the workers were able to get out safely.

The suspect is believed to be James J. Lee, 43, who expressed his dislike for Discovery’s environmental programming in the past. Past offenses against the company include a protest outside the building, where he was arrested for “disorderly conduct”.

Inspired to save the planet by well-known environmental media (such as the documentary An Inconvenient Truth), Lee has repeatedly accused Discovery of being “sneaky and deceptive as to their contribution to the planetary problem,” citing shows like Planet Green as nothing more than a way to promote products and make money.

However, his arrest led to trial, which resulted in 2 weeks of jail time and a court order to stay 500 feet away from Discovery headquarters. So much for that. Stations part of the Discovery Channel network include: Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Health, and others.

You can find out more about the situation here.

By Heidi Marshall

image credit: Greenpeace (greenpeacede on Flickr CC)

Early this morning Greenpeace activists occupied a Cairn Energy exploratory oil rig in the Arctic Ocean off of the coast of Greenland.

Four Greenpeace activists, who are also expert climbers, avoided Greenland police and the Danish navy to climb the rig and suspend themselves in tents. The activists’ behavior has caused a temporary shut down of Cairn Energy’s drilling efforts.

From a report in the Telegraph:

The campaigners, who are protesting against what they claim are the ”huge risks” energy companies are taking with the environment by drilling for oil in deep water, say they have enough supplies to occupy the tents for several days.

Greenpeace hopes that the temporary disruption will be enough to force Cairn to abandon their exploratory drilling before harsh Arctic winter conditions set in.

According to Greenpeace, environmental concerns surrounding deep sea oil drilling in the Arctic include the risk of a Deepwater Horizon-like oil spill, compounded by a far less hospitable clean up environment than the Gulf of Mexico, as well as any eventual significant oil discoveries extending dependence on fossil fuels and thereby exacerbating dangerous climate change.

From an article in the Guardian:

In the Arctic an oil spill would destroy vulnerable and as yet untouched habitats, while the cold water would prevent the oil from breaking down quickly. Any emergency operation to tackle a disaster would encounter huge technical and logistical problems in such a remote area.

Greenland’s prime minister has criticized Greenpeace’s actions, due to their illegality and potential negative impact on Greenland’s economy.

According to a report by the Associated Press, the Danish navy has no plans to remove the activists, stating that the authority lies with Greenland’s police.

Japan’s economic success is causing many serious environmental problems, but one stems not from its factories but from too many golfers. In the late 1980s, several groups actively opposing golf course throughout Japan met in Kobe for their third annual national convention.

Here is powerful testimony to the seriousness with which communities consider the adverse effects of golf courses. According to a report by the OECD, Japan’s early success in combating pollution is threatened by increasingly wasteful patterns of consumption.

Japan’s total land area is about the same as the state of California. Over 100 million people live in this land space.

Before World War II, there were only 23 golf courses in all of Japan and only 72 in 1956. Now, there are a total of 1,700 golf courses in operation, with another 330 under construction and roughly 1,000 in various stage of planning.

Japan consists of islands covered by many mountains, and it is fairly easy to develop golf courses rather than developing agriculture and housing. Developers clear-cut the forests and use bulldozers to level hilltops and fill in valleys. As a result, golf course construction is identical to the destruction of environment. Even though 67 percent of Japan’s total land area is covered by forest, its forest products self-sufficiency rate has fallen 30 percent. Japan now must import much of the timber used in construction and the wood chips used for making pulp.

Forests serve as a kind of natural dam, storing rainwater in the leaves and soil. Natural water circulating from forests feeds rivers and streams. In contrast, golf courses have only one-fourth the water retention capacity of an equivalent forest area. Most rainwater simply runs off the greens and fairways. This produces flooding downstream. On the contrary, the water flow to rivers and creeks downstream from golf courses drops to a dribble during periods of drought. During golf course construction, rainfall sends mud pouring from the barren ground into streams. This often makes the water inappropriate for agricultural or residential use.

An 18-hole golf course requires three to four tons of various germicides, herbicides, and pesticides every year to keep the green and fairways healthy, to combat weeds, and kill insects.

Some of these chemicals are carcinogenic, while others are known to cause deformities and nerve damage. There have been reports of massive fish kills in fish hatcheries polluted by toxins in the water from golf courses. The nitrogen and phosphorus in the fertilizers will mix with rainwater and eventually flow into a reservoir. The high nutrient content of water will stimulate the growth of algae. Consequently, this requires the water treatment plant to use higher volumes of chlorine to cleanse the water.

Golf courses use pesticides containing organic phosphorus. After application, the pesticides evaporate in the air and are absorbed by the human body via the skin and lungs. Caddies and greenkeepers often experience health problems because of the air pollution.Golfers themselves breathe in the toxins as they walk the course before the newly sprayed pesticides have settled down.

Winds sometimes carry the chemical agents to surrounding neighborhoods, and people living near golf courses worry that their health may also be affected. Golf has an image as a healthy sport, but it may be quite different in reality.

A research group in Canada also identified the problematical factors of golf courses. Soil samples were taken from greens and fairways, and sediment samples were taken from waterways and analyzed for the presence of mercury. Greens had the highest mean mercury concentration, and the majority of greens exceeded Canadian environmental levels set for mercury in soil. Sediment from a golf course lake had higher mercury levels than a lake located 5 km from the course. Mussels from both lakes were analyzed, and those from the golf course lake near the greens had methylmercury and total mercury levels an order of magnitude greater than those from the reference lake. Fish in both lakes contained methylmercury, but the level was higher in fish collected near the golf course greens. The construction of golf courses in scenic natural sites, such as forest areas and coral islands, also results in the destruction of biodiversity.

“Much of what is called golf pollution is something altogether imagined or emotional,”

says Norio Nomura, an official at the Ministry of Construction in Tokyo.

“When the most precious commodity in Japan—land—gets grabbed up fast, the people react sharply and emotionally.”

Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, a devoted golfer, adds:

“Golf courses retain greenery. Japan needs more greenery and more golf courses.”

Many think that the environmentalists are overstating the case, and that golf is hardly in the same league as the other pollutions strangling Japan.

see more on www.time.com

photo by missmareck (Flickr CC)

I don’t get animal rights activists’ crusade against circuses. The animals are fed well and their lives are in less danger in comparison to their natural environments. They look happy while performig. An hour spent in a circus is also a rare occasion to look at wild animals. Why do some people want to ban them?

A: For several reasons.

Wild animals are wild, which means they should be born, live and die in the wild. Those that are used for entertainment aren’t really wild – they’re usually born in captivity; neglected, not fed properly and often tortured while being trained. They are sad and have had their spirits broken. Besides, they do not act like they would if you could watch them in their natural environments, anyway.

As you can read on peta.org:

Physical punishment has always been the standard training method for animals in circuses. Animals are beaten, shocked, and whipped to make them perform—over and over again—tricks that make no sense to them. The AWA does not prohibit the use of bullhooks, whips, electrical shock prods, or other devices used by circus trainers. Trainers drug some animals to make them “manageable” and surgically remove the teeth and claws from others.

Circus animals – who, depending on species, would naturally walk, run and jump for hours everyday – spend their lives in captivity. When not performing they wait for hours in cramped conditions, chained up in cages or being transported in the backs of trucks.

Even in the UK, which has some of the best animal welfare laws, captive animals sometimes suffer from living outside of their natural habitats.

A recent study by the RSPCA concluded that elephants living in the UK have far shorter lifespans than in the wild and live an existance comparable to “battery chickens”.

As far as animals being safer in captivity, the most common circus animals like tigers, bears and elephants have virtually no natural predators in the wild except humans.

For a graphic depiction of how cruelly circus animals are sometimes treated, follow this link to watch the 9 minute documentary film ‘The Performance’ on animal abuse in Chinese circuses.

Also check out this link for photo documentation of how Ringling Bros., aka the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’, cruelly trains baby elephants.

To read more about the animal abuse that takes place in circuses, see the following article from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ media center:

Circuses: Three Rings of Abuse.

If you have any questions about environmental issues or anything else relating to the site and topics we cover on Greenfudge, just Ask Joanna.



photo by Evstafiev (Wikimedia Commons)

In the wake of a summer that spawned harsh heat waves and forest fires in Europe; and catastrophic floods in China, Pakistan and elsewhere in Asia, climate debate is back in the news.

Debate about the significance or even existence of anthropogenic global warming featured prominently the headlines last winter during the UN climate conference in Copenhagen, the ‘Climategate’ scandal the IPCC and the Met Office were embroiled in; and when parts of Europe and the US experienced unseasonably cold temperatures.

These major events were followed by a relative lull in media coverage of climate issues, punctuated by the odd story about overfishing or biodiversity. Then came the Icelandic volcano and the granddaddy of all eco-news stories, the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe and blundering BP.

Now, dear friends, the debate – like the planet – is hotting up again.

Here are some of the stories:

The blowback of ‘Climategate’ and ‘Glaciergate’ has not totally died down, it seems. An independent review on the UN climate change body, the IPCC, overseen by the Inter-Academy Council (IAC) is largely positive, but recommends term limits to the organization’s executives and stricter policy guidelines. The review adds to pressure on IPCC chief Rajendra Pachauri to step down. It also criticizes some of the ‘grey’ sources used in the last IPCC report.

Read more on this story from BBC News and the Guardian.

Another sensational development in the climate debate – at least relatively speaking – is prominent ‘skeptical environmentalist’ Bjørn Lomborg’s recent book. Lomborg never denied man made climate change, but considered it a low priority issue, grossly exaggerated and used for political purposes. Now, as he explains in his new book, he’s in favor of some serious actions to limit climate change and adapt to its results.

Pachauri once compared Lomborg to Hitler – a classic argument stopper – but now lauds his latest book, entitled ‘Smart Solutions to Climate Change’.

Read more on this story in the Guardian and the Telegraph.

For those who want a real scrap, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) will host a debate between the skeptical Lord Lawson, who heads the Global Warming Policy Foundation; and Sir David King, former chief scientist for the UK government.

These are British heavyweights on each side of the political/scientific isle. Lawson is what I call a ‘soft skeptic’ Conservative who doesn’t deny man made climate change wholesale, but thinks it’s exaggerated and that the science is uncertain and without strong foundations. King, for a start, heads environmental science and physical chemistry departments at Oxford and Cambridge universities. I have a feeling that the debate will be a bit unbalanced between science and politics, but should be lively enough. Not exactly James Hansen vs. James Inhofe, however.

Read more on the upcoming debate here.

photo by Mark Somerville (Spakman on Flickr CC)

Last month it was reported in the Telegraph how clever baboons in South Africa have learned to recognize the door-locking signal ‘beep’ before deciding whether or not to break into cars parked at a popular tourist spot in Cape Town.

This month the buzz is that baboons are raiding the vineyards of Cape Town’s wine country on a daily basis and entering the city’s exclusive suburbs in search of easy pickings.

Sometimes the baboons even gorge themselves on grapes that have partially fermented in the sun and become intoxicated.

Of course this is a struggle between primates – and the baboons were there first:

Where there’s a mountain, there’s a baboon. As we take up more and more of their land, the conflict increases.

–Justin O’Riain of the Baboon Research Unit at the University of Cape Town

Residents used to be allowed to shoot baboons, but 10 years ago they were awarded protected status and now farmers and other hapless humans are having difficulties staving off the raiding troops.

Read more about the problem of baboons raiders in the following Telegraph article:

Drunk baboons plague Cape Town’s exclusive suburbs

photo by kozumel (Flickr CC)

The amount of rubbish produced every year in the EU is 3 billion tonnes. This waste takes time to disintegrate and so mountains of garbage grow day by day.

At the Ikos waste management site in Normandy in the north of France, bacteria are being cultivated and used as a way of accelerating decomposition. Taking the liquid that comes off of household rubbish, they fill basins and store the sewer-like soup in warm conditions, allowing the bacteria present to multiply rapidly. This microbe-heavy concoction is then regularly poured on top of the rubbish where the bacteria munch through the waste.

Elsewhere in the Ikos site, land that has been subjected to oil spills or used as industrial wasteland gets a bacterial cleansing. Here the earth is separated and the polluted elements piled up and covered with plastic sheets. A system of pipes supplies oxygen to the soil, as the type bacteria that works on petrol needs oxygen to prosper.

Therefore, for each form of waste, there is a bacterium that can help reduce the time it stays visible and active in our immediate environment. Boosting bacteria may be a tool to keep fields green and prevent our world from being submerged by rubbish.

Chernobyl, the site of the worst nuclear accident in history (in 1986), is now attracting a growing number of tourists curious to see if life has returned to the area cordoned off for the past 24 years. Some say that in the absence of men, nature is flourishing. Although trees and shrubs have grown through the cracks of the abandoned buildings, not everyone is convinced that the site has become what you could call a nature reserve. The area remains highly radioactive, in some places levels are 10,000 times higher than average.

See more in this video:

Pollution from the combustion of fossil fuels causes global warming and acid rain. Pollution brings unexpected and sometimes serious and devastating changes in our land, rivers and sea environments. Pollution can kill animals and plants and it probably kills us too. We know that pollution can cause health problems such as respiratory illnesses. Polluting our world should not even be an option, especially when there are alternatives, as there are nowadays. And when we can’t do anything else, but pollute, we should be investigating the best alternatives to the polluting technology. We should be. Please check out the actions listed below which can help reduce the amount of pollution in our world.

• Recycling everything that you can recycle!
• Buy organic food! This can sometimes be slightly more expensive but it will reduce the amount of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, artifical fertilizers, hormones, antibiotics and who knows what else, being used in the agricultural industries.
• Buy products with biodegradable packaging (or packaging that you will actively recycle). Look out for these in the shops you buy from, they should be clearly labelled.
• Re-use your plastic shopping bags or better still don’t use plastic bags. Buy a rucksack or other bag to use for your shopping.
• Use public transport, walk or cycle… or car share.
• Use less harmful detergents in your home. For example the Ecover range of detergents are sensitive to the environment and the more people that use these the more we can reduce pollution of our environments.

photo by א (Wikimedia Commons)

According to legislation passed in 2002 by the Social Democratic-Green Party coalition, all nuclear power stations in Germany are to be decommissioned by 2022.

However, according to a recent television interview, current German Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union plans to extend this deadline by another 10-15 years.

From a report in Deutsche Welle:

The chancellor, citing an independent consultants’ report set to be published this week, said such a time frame would ensure Germany’s energy needs are met as the country transitions to renewable energy sources. Energy prices would remain under control and goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions would be reached with an extra 10 to 15 years of nuclear power, Merkel added.

The opposition Social Democrats criticize this move as being strongly influenced by the nuclear power lobby. Polls also show that a majority (56%) of Germans are in favor of closing the plants by 2021.

Merkel has stated that she would like to enact the extension without the approval of the German upper house of parliament, something that has provoked a legal debate.

Despite this planned concession, Merkel’s government is not the darling of the nuclear industry.

From a Reuters report:

Germany has 17 nuclear plants, whose operators are embroiled in a scrap with Merkel’s government over a planned nuclear power tax the government hopes will contribute 2.3 billion euros ($2.93 billion) per year to an austerity programme.

For nuclear power news and information from around the world, check out the Nuclear power section of the Guardian.

Image Source: Stock.Xchng. By: BigEvil600.

Jumping on the green wagon this time is Tropicana Juice. The company has already made great effort in recycling and reducing their carbon footprint. Now, their latest mission to save the earth requires your help.

If you’ve bought any Tropicana Juice lately, you’ve probably noticed they have a new “Juicy Rewards” point system going on. All of their juice products now come with a special code (usually under the cap). You simply have to go to their website, create a free account, and submit the code.

Points for the codes vary, but can add up to a savings of $15 per carton. These points can be redeemed for a variety of things, including camping gear, a massage, or museum discounts, among a lot of other things.

The awesome thing about this new points program is they can also be redeemed to help the rainforest. All you have to do is donate 3 points. Why? Well, a donation of 3 points will save 100 square feet of rainforest. In particular, they are working to save the rainforest of the Ashaninka Corridor in Peru.

This is all being done in partnership with CoolEarth, which you can find out more about here.

Best of all, it’s free! Well, apart from paying for the juice–but small bottles count towards the campaign, too! And drinking juice is a great way to keep healthy.

The “Rescue the Rainforest” campaign ends on November 15, 2010. So, get out there, buy some Tropicana Juice, redeem those points and save that rainforest!

photo by dcmaster (Flickr CC)

‘The Performance’ is a disturbing, but important film about animal abuse in China’s zoos, circuses and animal parks.

In conjunction with a new report by Hong Kong-based Animals Asia, ‘The Performance’ exposes the cruel treatment of animals such as black bears, big cats, monkeys and elephants for the entertainment of live audiences, who are unaware of the suffering they are supporting. The film is part of an effort to get animal welfare legislation laws – of which there are none in China – drafted and passed.

Beaten throughout its life, declawed, de-toothed and kept in unsanitary conditions – this is the life of a Chinese circus animal.

Watch ‘The Performance’, hosted by Terry Waite, British humanitarian and former hostage of 4 years:

Additional resources:

Environment Films – The Performance

Animals Asia – Cruel and abusive practices at Chinese zoos, report says

photo by reflexer (Flickr CC)

Projected astronomic growth in transport and wind energy development during the next 20 years threaten the already imperiled Baltic sea, according to a new report by the WWF.

The report, entitled ‘Future Trends in the Baltic Sea’ warns that almost all maritime activity is projected to expand over the next two decades, which will add enormous stresses to the ecosystem of perhaps the world’s largest brackish sea. Many sectors, however, have no strategic growth plans, which makes their futures difficult to predict.

From the WWF report ‘Future Trends in the Baltic Sea’:

In addition to the pressures from place-based maritime activities, the already stressed Baltic Sea ecosystem is exposed to further pressures from diffuse sources like agricultural and industrial pollution and climate change. So far there has been no attempt to do a holistic and strategic plan for all sectors and human uses of the Baltic sea together. The lack of integrated planning and management in many cases results in counteracting decisions that hinder sustainable development in the region.

Wind energy production in the Baltic is expected to grow a whopping 60 times from 400 mw to a 25,000 mw. This part of the report sounds pretty good at least. Yet ad that to a doubling of freight traffic, a growth in oil transport by 64%, an increase of 600% in ferry traffic and continued expansion in both industry and farming and we begin to get a picture of an already overburdened ecological region being pushed far beyond sustainable levels.

The government of Sweden has recently lifted both the tax on fertilizers and a ban on the flame retardant decabromodiphenyl ether (deca BDE) which is causing concerns among groups such as the WWF that the Baltic will become a sort of ‘wild west’ – with the environment paying the price.

Additional resources:

WWF press release (in Swedish) – Ny framtidsrapport visar: Okontrollerad tillväxt hotar Östersjön

The Local – WWF warns of Baltic Sea ‘Wild West’

YLI.fi – Large Plastic Waste Find In Baltic Sea

Environmental and animal-welfare groups are urging the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to persuade the World Health Organization (WHO) to act against the eating of whale meat.

These groups say that whale meat is highly contaminated with mercury and should not be eaten. But whaling nations say they already have health guidelines in place.

“But still, the Faroe Islands are only about 200 miles off the Scottish coast. It’s a lovely place and they are certainly seeking eco-tourism, presenting themselves to the world as a very green and attractive place to go to. But that seems to clash somehow with the on-going enthusiasm for whaling.”

He said that in order to address the issue, it was important to understand why the local population kept on with the centuries-old tradition of the whale hunt.

“To so many of us in the countries that are sitting next door it just seems totally unacceptable. It is very clear that this form of hunting is incredibly cruel. There is no way it would be accepted in the British Isles, it would be against the law for conservation and welfare aspects.

“Killing the animals that come to those waters to breed, killing the youngsters and the pregnant mothers – and this all happens within sight of each other. These are intelligent animals, they are fully aware of what’s going on around them,” he stressed.

But Ms Sanderson said that killing pilot whales was not worse than slaughtering other animals, and that the local authorities were always trying to monitor the hunt and “improve things”.

“The circumstances are not entirely controlled, obviously, but if you can ethically accept hunting of wild animals at all, than you have to accept that in some circumstances things don’t always go according to plan.”

“Red deer in Scotland – are they all shot? Some are shot and wounded and they run off into the forest and it takes hours for them to die. “

“That never happens at the whale hunt in the Faroes. They may take a couple of minutes to die, but certainly not hours, like hunted animals in other form of hunting can.”

Though the conservationists think it is rather unlikely for IWC to extend the whaling ban to cover small cetaceans, many hope that getting people to think about their health will do the trick.

Lorenzo Fantacuzzi

See more on www.bbc.com

Copyright Frederic Logghe 1996-2005 - Maritime photo collection (Wikimedia Commons)

The 50 or so seals that have been found dead in England and Scotland, marked by strange corkscrew wounds, are thought to have been killed by boat propellers.

Researchers examined bodies of 12 dead seals recently found in Norfolk, England and found that the seals were probably killed by a certain type of boat propeller called a ‘ducted propeller’. Ducted propellers have non-rotating nozzles and are encircled by a duct or passageway, which could trap the seals as it slices them in a particularly gruesome manner.

From a report in the Independent:

The main theories put forward so far include shark attack, wind farms and shipping. Callan Duck, senior research scientist at the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrews University [Scotland], which is investigating the deaths, said it was not known how many ships might have the propeller.

According to the a BBC report, The National Trust, the Norfolk Wildlife Trust and the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the Norfolk police are among those attempting to find exactly what is happening to the seals.

Scientists are trying to find the boat or boats responsible, but stressed that they are not blaming anyone, as the pilots are ‘almost certainly unaware’ that their propellers are killing seals.