ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE ON MERIT OF WHAT HAS BEEN ATRIBUTED ONLY TO CHARLES DARWIN

Attenborough: The forgotten story of Alfred Russel Wallace

Alfred Russel Wallace was a pioneering naturalist who discovered thousands of new species, published numerous books and conceived the most important theory in biology independently of Charles Darwin: evolution by natural selection.

But whilst Darwin has gone on to become a household name, Alfred Russel Wallace has largely remained in his shadow to this day.

On the 100th anniversary of Wallace's death, Sir David Attenborough tells the story of this extraordinary explorer and explains why Wallace is, in Attenborough's opinion, the "most admirable character in the history of science".

[Reproduced from BBC]

WOULD VOLCANO-POWERED ELECTRICITY BE SAFE???

Icelandic Drilling Project Opens Door to Volcano-Powered Electricity

The project unexpectedly struck a pocket of magma and decided not to plug the hole with concrete

[reproduced from www.scientificamerican.com]

Jan 29, 2014 |By Michael Parker and The Conversation

 

Water + Heat = Power. 
Image courtesy of nes.is.

Editor's note: The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research.

Can enormous heat deep in the earth be harnessed to provide energy for us on the surface? A promising report from a geothermal borehole project that accidentally struck magma – the same fiery, molten rock that spews from volcanoes – suggests it could.

The Icelandic Deep Drilling Project, IDDP, has been drilling shafts up to 5km deep in an attempt to harness the heat in the volcanic bedrock far below the surface of Iceland.

But in 2009 their borehole at Krafla, northeast Iceland, reached only 2,100m deep before unexpectedly striking a pocket of magma intruding into the Earth’s upper crust from below, at searing temperatures of 900-1000°C.

This borehole, IDDP-1, was the first in a series of wells drilled by the IDDP in Iceland looking for usable geothermal resources. The special report in this month’s Geothermics journal details the engineering feats and scientific results that came from the decision not to the plug the hole with concrete, as in a previous case in Hawaii in 2007, but instead attempt to harness the incredible geothermal heat.

Wilfred Elders, professor emeritus of geology at the University of California, Riverside, co-authored three of the research papers in the Geothermics special issue with Icelandic colleagues.

“Drilling into magma is a very rare occurrence, and this is only the second known instance anywhere in the world,“ Elders said. The IDDP and Iceland’s National Power Company, which operates the Krafla geothermal power plant nearby, decided to make a substantial investment to investigate the hole further.

This meant cementing a steel casing into the well, leaving a perforated section at the bottom closest to the magma. Heat was allowed to slowly build in the borehole, and eventually superheated steam flowed up through the well for the next two years.

Elders said that the success of the drilling was “amazing, to say the least”, adding: “This could lead to a revolution in the energy efficiency of high-temperature geothermal projects in the future.”

The well funnelled superheated, high-pressure steam for months at temperatures of over 450°C – a world record. In comparison, geothermal resources in the UK rarely reach higher than around 60-80°C.

The magma-heated steam was measured to be capable of generating 36MW of electrical power. While relatively modest compared to a typical 660MW coal-fired power station, this is considerably more than the 1-3MW of an average wind turbine, and more than half of the Krafla plant’s current 60MW output.

Most importantly it demonstrated that it could be done. “Essentially, IDDP-1 is the world’s first magma-enhanced geothermal system, the first to supply heat directly from molten magma,” Elders said. The borehole was being set up to deliver steam directly into the Krafla power plant when a valve failed which required the borehole to be stoppered. Elders added that although the borehole had to plugged, the aim is to repair it or drill another well nearby.

Gillian Foulger, professor of geophysics at Durham University, worked at the Kravla site in the 1980s during a period of volcanic activity. “A well at this depth can’t have been expected to hit magma, but at the same time it can’t have been that surprising,” she said. “At one point when I was there we had magma gushing out of one of the boreholes,” she recalled.

Volcanic regions such as Iceland are not active most of the time, but can suddenly be activated by movement in the earth tens of kilometers below that fill chambers above with magma. “They can become very dynamic, raised in pressure, and even force magma to the surface. But if it’s not activated, then there’s no reason to expect a violent eruption, even if you drill into it,” she said.

“Having said that, with only one experimental account to go on, it wouldn’t be a good idea to drill like this in a volcanic region anywhere near a city,” she added.

The team, she said, deserved credit for using the opportunity to do research. “Most people faced with tapping into a magma chamber would pack their bags and leave,” she said. “But when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.”

In Iceland, around 90% of homes are heated from geothermal sources. According to the International Geothermal Association, 10,700MW of geothermal electricity was generated worldwide in 2010. Typically, these enhanced or engineered geothermal systems are created by pumping cold water into hot, dry rocks at depths of between 4-5km. The heated water is pumped up again as hot water or steam from production wells. The trend in recent decades has been steady growth in geothermal power, with Iceland, the Philippines and El Salvador leading the way, producing between 25-30% of their power from geothermal sources. Considerable effort invested in elsewhere including Europe, Australia, the US, and Japan, has typically had uneven results, and the cost is high.

With the deeper boreholes, the IDDP are looking for a further prize: supercritical water; at high temperature and under high pressure deep underground, the water enters a supercritical state, when it is neither gas nor liquid. In this state it carries far more energy and, harnessed correctly, this can increase the power output above ground tenfold, from 5MW to 50MW.

Elders said: “While the experiment at Krafla suffered various setbacks that pushed personnel and equipment to their limits, the process itself was very instructive. As well as the published scientific articles we’ve prepared comprehensive reports on the practical lessons learned.“ The Icelandic National Power Company will put these towards improving their next drilling operations.

The IDDP is a collaboration of three energy companies, HS Energy Ltd, National Power Company and Reykjavik Energy, and the National Energy Authority of Iceland, with a consortium of international scientists led by Elders. The next IDDP-2 borehole will be sunk in southwest Iceland at Reykjanes later this year.

35,000 AFRICAN ELEPHANTS KILLED EVERY YEAR!!!

Hong Kong to destroy 28 tonnes of ivory

[Reproduced from The Ecologist]

23rd January 2014

In a landmark decision, the Hong Kong Endangered Species Advisory Committee has voted to destroy almost the entire ivory stockpile, 28 of its estimated 33 tons.

The legal Chinese domestic market is the single most important factor behind the massacre of thousand of elephants every year.

The Committee has confirmed that apart from a small amount being saved for educational purposes all the stocks of ivory held by Hong Kong will be destroyed over a 1 to 2 year period. The first destruction will take place in the first half of this year.

The vote for the destruction was unanimous and the committee considered also that the costs of security and the management burden associated with monitoring the stockpile was too great to continue and destruction was the only viable option.

HK teaching Beijing a lesson

Hong Kong now follows China, the United States, Philippines, Gabon and Kenya. "Hong Kong is teaching a lesson to Beijing", said Elephant Action League's Executive Director Mr Andrea Crosta.

"The decision to destroy almost the entire stockpile dwarfs the destruction of only 6.1 tons in mainland China on January 4th, and shows that the Hong Kong authorities are taking the issue much more seriously." 

"The next challenge, which is the most important, is to eliminate the ivory demand and curb the illegal trade. The legal Chinese domestic market is the single most important factor behind the massacre of thousand of elephants every year."

35,000 African elephants killed every year

Over 35,000 elephants are killed every year in Africa for their ivory. In many African countries elephants are now extinct or very endangered.

The illegal ivory trade is also the cause for a heavy human death toll. It provides funds to criminal and terrorist groups, and hundreds of people die every year trying to defend or kill elephants, leaving behind orphans, widows and entire local communities exploited.

China is the final destination of most of the illegal ivory from Africa, with tens of tons of ivory smuggled into the country every year and then processed at carving factories authorized by the government.

SUCCESSFUL EFFORT, SEARCHING AND CARING FOR WATER: USGS + TRIBALCOMMUNITIES

More Sharing Services

USGS and Tribes Work Together to Gain Water Knowledge

CATEGORIES: FEATURED, WATER 
POSTED ON JANUARY 22, 2014 AT 11:47 PM
LAST UPDATE 2:31 PM BY: PIXIE HAMILTON PAHAMILT@USGS.GOV & JON CAMPBELL JONCAMPBELL@USGS.GOV

USGS monitors streamflow at more than 530 sites on Tribal lands, and more than 1,160 and 1,720 sites within 5 and 10 miles of Tribal lands. respectively.

USGS and Tribes Work Together to Gain Water Knowledge

USGS scientists work closely with Tribal leaders around the country to address water availability and water quality issues on Tribal lands.

Water — in adequate quantities and quality — is key for healthy Tribal communities across the United States. Fundamental information on how much freshwater is available from streams, rivers, or aquifers, and whether that supply of freshwater is increasing or decreasing, is essential for the Nation’s economic and environmental health. Business and community leaders, farmers, wildlife managers, urban planners, homeowners, and people who use water for recreation all need very specific information about water for many different purposes.

Beyond its necessity and practical use, water on Tribal lands often has an added significance for its place in a Tribe’s cultural heritage.

Water Data for Tribes

Tribal lands are home to an extensive network of USGS streamflow gages and groundwater monitoring stations. Coupled with quantitative models and scientific research, this monitoring network provides objective data and information that can be used by the Tribes to address vital issues such water rights, water supply, flood-warning predictions, contamination, and sustainability of critical habitats and healthy ecosystems.

Some Tribes depend on USGS water science for Tribal sustenance and sovereignty. Ms. Sharri Venno, Environmental Planner with the Houlton Band Maliseet Indians in Houlton, Maine, explained, “Our Tribe relies on USGS streamflow gaging activities to maintain aquatic habitats conducive to native medicinal flora that are of great importance to our Tribal lifestyle and longstanding tribal ceremonies.”

USGS streamgaging on the Meduxnekeag River in eastern Maine helps the Houlton Band Maliseet Indians manage and restore native fish habitats, such as for spawning Atlantic Salmon. USGS photo, Charles Culbertson.

“In addition,” Ms. Venno continued, “USGS streamgages located on the Meduxnekeag River in eastern Maine provide valuable real-time information for us on river flow and water-quality. This information is critical for preserving native fish habitat. One native species the Tribe hopes to restore to healthy populations is the Atlantic salmon.”

USGS monitoring, assessments, and research with Tribes in your state
(Look up your state)  

USGS coordinated efforts with Tribes span a wide variety of activities: for instance, monitoring, training, data management, geographic information systems (GIS), quality control, development of models, and scientific research on ecology, water quantity, and quality.

Moving Upstream in Washington

In the State of Washington, for example, cooperative monitoring, assessments, and research with more than 20 Tribes has led to water science and habitat restoration for threatened salmon species and other fish.

The USGS worked with the Yakama Nation, Washington State Department of Ecology, and the Bureau of Reclamation to create a comprehensive model for the entire Yakima River Basin that simulates the groundwater system and its interaction with rivers and streams.

Tom Ring with the Yakama Nation spoke of the importance of this work to the Yakama People.  “Salmon from the Yakima River have sustained the economy, diet and culture of the Yakama People since Time Immemorial,” he noted. Ring also highlighted the importance of sustained flows in the Yakima River Basin since the Yakama Nation Treaty Right for instream flow is the senior water right in the basin.

Salmon jumping ladders at Wapato Diversion dam in Yakima, Washington. USGS photo, Glade Walker.

OK in Oklahoma

USGS in Oklahoma works with many Tribal Nations, including with Citizen Potawatomi Nation, the Caddo Nation, and most recently, the Osage Nation. These efforts serve water resource needs within Tribal Nation jurisdictional boundaries and help to support the information needs identified in the Oklahoma Water Resources Board’s recently completed State Water Plan.

A “State of the Science” effort with the Osage Nation, begun in July 2013, employs the latest advancements in USGS technology to assess water types (i.e. fresh and saline) and help quantify connections between water supply and demand. The study incorporates conventional hydrologic data gathering along with the latest advanced technology for water studies: high-resolution aerial geophysical surveys, real-time surface water/groundwater interaction monitoring sites, aquifer yield assessment wells, and the development of a geologic framework model. Ultimately, an integrated three-dimensional surface-water/groundwater model will be developed to analyze critical changes in the several hydrologic regions of the Osage under different climate and water-use scenarios. The study results will provide a versatile and reliable knowledge base so that the Osage Nation and their partners can plan for sustained water resources now and into the future.

Arizona Waters and Tribal Lands

USGS in Arizona works with 10 of the 19 federally recognized Tribal governments to investigate such topics as water rights, water use, hydrologic conditions, and water-quality issues.  Summary of USGS Tribal programs in Arizona.

USGS and the Navajo Nation performed a “channel geometry” survey near Lukachukai, Arizona to help the Tribe improve indirect measurments of stream. USGS photo, Chris Smith.

USGS Water Science Center in Arizona provides critical training and materials to Tribal personnel in the collection of hydrologic data (including surface water, groundwater, and water quality), analysis of surface-water records, and other field techniques. The Center has prepared a step-by-step field guide for the Navajo Department of Water Management that describes procedures for collecting and maintaining surface-water data on the Navajo Indian Reservation.

Hurricanes to Climate Change: Hazardous and Long-Term Tribal Issues

A multi-disciplinary USGS team of scientists is working with four Native American Tribes in New England and New York— the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head-Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard, MA; the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on Cape Cod, MA; the Narragansett Indian Tribe near Charlestown, RI, and the Shinnecock Indian Nation on Long Island, NY—to assess impacts from Hurricane Sandy and to identify research needs related to hazards from future storms and climate change. The team is considering ways to supply the Tribes with datasets, GIS training, instrumentation, site evaluations, and science on vulnerability and resiliency that will help the Tribes meet their immediate storm recovery and longer term planning needs.

Shavonne Smith, Director of the Shinnecock Indian Nation Environmental Department, points out erosion impacts from Hurricane Sandy. USGS photo, Monique Fordham.

 

 

In the Northwest and Alaska, the USGS helps to address the impacts of climate change on American Indians and Alaska Natives through the Northwest Climate Science Center (NW CSC) and the Alaska Climate Science Center (AK CSC).  Tribal communities are especially vulnerable to climate change because they are place-based and depend on natural resources, such as salmon, shellfish, game, timber, medicinal and sacred plants and rangelands, to sustain their economies and traditional way of life. The Northwest and Alaska CSCs are committed to working with Tribal governments of all federally recognized Tribes that have reservations or natural and cultural resource interests within the Centers’ geographic reach to jointly address the effects of a changing climate.

In Alaska’s Yukon River Basin, the USGS National Research Program (NRP) is in its 10th year of a highly successful partnership with the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) to conduct a long-term water-quality and climate-change program. The partnership manages a vast network of trained volunteer water technicians from over 60 Tribes and First Nations across Alaska and Canada known as the Indigenous Observation Network (ION). (Fact Sheet)

200 DOLPHINS TO BE SLAUGHTERED: IT'S "LAWFUL", SAY THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT

[The Independent]

PARADOXAL? OLDER TREES ABSORB MORE CO2 THAN YOUNG TREES!!!

Rate of tree carbon accumulation increases continuously with tree size

• N. L. Stephenson,
• A. J. Das,
• R. Condit,
• S. E. Russo,
• P. J. Baker,
• N. G. Beckman,
• D. A. Coomes,
• E. R. Lines,
• W. K. Morris,
• N. Rüger,
• E. Álvarez,
• C. Blundo,
• S. Bunyavejchewin,
• G. Chuyong,
• S. J. Davies,
• Á. Duque,
• C. N. Ewango,
• O. Flores,
• J. F. Franklin,
• H. R. Grau,
• Z. Hao,
• M. E. Harmon,
• S. P. Hubbell,
• D. Kenfack,
• Y. Lin
• et al.

[Reproduced from Nature  (2014)  -  doi:10.1038/nature12914]

  

Published online

15 January 2014

Article tools

Forests are major components of the global carbon cycle, providing substantial feedback to atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations¹. Our ability to understand and predict changes in the forest carbon cycle—particularly net primary productivity and carbon storage—increasingly relies on models that represent biological processes across several scales of biological organization, from tree leaves to forest stands^2, 3. Yet, despite advances in our understanding of productivity at the scales of leaves and stands, no consensus exists about the nature of productivity at the scale of the individual tree^{4, 5, 6, 7}, in part because we lack a broad empirical assessment of whether rates of absolute tree mass growth (and thus carbon accumulation) decrease, remain constant, or increase as trees increase in size and age. Here we present a global analysis of 403 tropical and temperate tree species, showing that for most species mass growth rate increases continuously with tree size. Thus, large, old trees do not act simply as senescent carbon reservoirs but actively fix large amounts of carbon compared to smaller trees; at the extreme, a single big tree can add the same amount of carbon to the forest within a year as is contained in an entire mid-sized tree. The apparent paradoxes of individual tree growth increasing with tree size despite declining leaf-level^8, 9, 10 and stand-level¹⁰ productivity can be explained, respectively, by increases in a tree’s total leaf area that outpace declines in productivity per unit of leaf area and, among other factors, age-related reductions in population density. Our results resolve conflicting assumptions about the nature of tree growth, inform efforts to understand and model forest carbon dynamics, and have additional implications for theories of resource allocation¹¹ and plant senescence¹².

IT'S ONLY ONE PERCENT CONTAMINATION: THE GIANT MONSANTO IS THEN VICTORIOUS!!!

A long battle of independent seed companies and agricultural organizations whose combined memberships total over 1 million citizens, including many non-GMO farmers and over 25% of North America's certified organic farmers.

[Reproduced from www.theecologist.org]

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I'll take the non-GMO, please. Photo: J.C. Burns via Flickr.com.

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Supreme Court denies US farmers protection against Monsanto

Food Democracy Now

15th January 2014

The US Supreme Court has denied organic and GMO-free farmers their day in Court against Monsanto - leaving them unable to challenge the company's patents or seek redress for GMO seed contamination.

America's farmers have been denied justice, while Monsanto's reign of intimidation is allowed to continue in rural America.

The US Supreme Court has issued a decision in the landmark federal lawsuit, Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al v. Monsanto.

Farmers were denied the right to argue their case in court and gain protection from potential abuse by the agrichemical and genetic engineering giant, Monsanto.

The decision also dashes the hopes of family farmers who sought the opportunity to prove in court that Monsanto's genetically engineered seed patents are invalid.

Monsanto cannot sue if crop contamination is less than 1%

Daniel Ravicher, Executive Director of the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) and lead counsel to the plaintiffs in OSGATA et al v. Monsanto, said:

"While the Supreme Court's decision to not give organic and other non-GMO farmers the right to seek preemptive protection from Monsanto's patents at this time is disappointing, it should not be misinterpreted as meaning that Monsanto has the right to bring such suits."

"Indeed, in light of the Court of Appeals decision, Monsanto may not sue any contaminated farmer for patent infringement if the level of contamination is less than one percent.

"For farmers contaminated by more than one percent, perhaps a day will come to address whether Monsanto's patents may be asserted against them. We are confident that if the courts ever hear such a case, they will rule for the non-GMO farmers."

Farmers had sought Court protection under the Declaratory Judgment Act that should they become the innocent victims of contamination by Monsanto's patented gene-splice technology they could not perversely be sued for patent infringement.

Safeguards 'insufficient'

"The Supreme Court failed to grasp the extreme predicament family farmers find themselves in", said Maine organic seed farmer Jim Gerritsen, President of lead plaintiff OSGATA.

"The Court of Appeals agreed our case had merit. However, the safeguards they ordered are insufficient to protect our farms and our families.

"This high court which gave corporations the ability to patent life forms in 1980, and under Citizens United in 2010 gave corporations the power to buy their way to election victories, has now in 2014 denied farmers the basic right of protecting themselves from the notorious patent bully Monsanto."

1 million citizens and 25% of organic farmers ...

The historic lawsuit was filed in 2011 in Federal District Court in Manhattan. The large plaintiff group numbers 83 individual American and Canadian family farmers, independent seed companies and agricultural organizations whose combined memberships total over 1 million citizens, including many non-GMO farmers and over 25% of North America's certified organic farmers.

"The Appellate Court decision could leave Canadian farmers out in the cold because their protection may not extend to Canada at all", said Saskatchewan organic grain farmer Arnold Taylor, a member of plaintiff member Canadian Organic Growers (COG).

"Like many Canadian farmers, we sell crop into the United States and can therefore be liable to claims of patent infringement by Monsanto."

In a complicated ruling issued in June 2013 by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington DC, American farmers were handed a partial victory when the three justices agreed with the farmers' assertion that contamination by Monsanto was inevitable.

The justices ordered Monsanto not to sue American farmers whose fields were contaminated with trace amounts of patented material, which the Court defined as 1%.

Meanwhile in Canada

In a related situation, Canadian soybean farmer Stephen Webster of Ontario experienced just how abusively Monsanto treats innocent contamination victims.

Through no fault of his own Webster, who farms with his elderly father, had his 2012 identify-preserved (IP) non-GMO soybean crop contaminated by Monsanto's patented genetically engineered seed. Their soybeans were ruined for export to specialty markets in Japan.

"First Monsanto claimed we had too many bees and that we were at fault for the contaminated crop", said Webster. "Then they threatened to run up $100,000 in legal bills that we would have to pay."

Tragically, Webster's story is the norm in farm country, with Monsanto using its extreme economic power to silence family farmers even before they can legally defend themselves.

Unwanted GMO seed has cost farmers $2 billion

Notably, none of the plaintiffs are customers of Monsanto. None have signed licensing agreements with Monsanto. The plaintiffs do not want Monsanto's seed and they do not want Monsanto's gene-spliced technology and have sought legal protection from significant economic harm to their businesses and way of life.

"We have a fourth generation farm", said organic dairy farmer and plaintiff Rose Marie Burroughs of California Cloverleaf Farms.

"Monsanto cannot be trusted. Their refusal to provide a binding legal covenant not to sue our fellow farmers would make anyone wonder, what are their real motives? GMO contamination levels can easily rise above 1% and then we would have zero protection from a costly and burdensome lawsuit."

Significant contamination events, including Starlink corn and LibertyLink rice, have already cost farmers and the food companies nearly $2 billion.

In the past year alone, the discovery of Monsanto's illegal GMO wheat in an Oregon farmer's field and GMO alfalfa in Washington state sent foreign markets, where GMOs are not wanted, reeling. In both instances farmers' economic livelihoods were put at risk as buyers in foreign markets refused to buy the GMO contaminated crops.

Justice denied

Dave Murphy, founder and executive director of Food Democracy Now!, a grassroots advocacy group based in Iowa and a plaintiff in the case, said:

"If Monsanto can patent seeds for financial gain, they should be forced to pay for contaminating a farmer's field, not be allowed to sue them. Once again, America's farmers have been denied justice, while Monsanto's reign of intimidation is allowed to continue in rural America."

"Monsanto has effectively gotten away with stealing the world's seed heritage and abusing farmers for the flawed nature of their patented seed technology. This is an outrage of historic proportions and will not stand."

Case background: OSGATA vs Monsanto

Family farmers and farm organizations originally filed a lawsuit against Monsanto in March 2011 in an effort to invalidate Monsanto's patents and protect organic and non-GMO family farmers from unwanted genetic contamination of their crops and from Monsanto's aggressive patent infringement lawsuits.

Monsanto filed a motion to dismiss the case, which was heard in Federal District Court in New York City on January 31st, 2012. In February 2012, Federal Judge Naomi Buchwald dismissed the case, ruling that the farmers lacked legal standing regarding the concerns over genetic contamination and resulting economic harm.

In March 2012, Plaintiffs appealed the District Court's decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which scheduled oral argument in the case to be heard on January 10, 2013.

In June 2013 the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington DC gave farmers a patial victory when it ruled that contamination by Monsanto was inevitable, and ordered Monsanto not to sue farmers whose fields were contaminated with under 1% of patented material.

The Supreme Court decision not to hear the farmers' Appeal against the June 2013 ruling was issued on Monday 13th January 2014.

Why this case matters so much

OSGATA vs Monsanto is a landmark legal case attempting to protect family farmers from Monsanto's aggressive patent infringement lawsuits and unwanted genetic contamination that results when Monsanto's patented, GMO pollen blowing across farmer's fences and contaminates their crops against their wishes.

In an effort to enforce their legal patents on their genetically engineered genes, Monsanto regularly sends their seed police out in rural America to trespass on farmer's fields and steal their plants to take them back to their labs for testing.

---

This article was originally published by Food Democracy Now.