Archive for the ‘Climate Change’ Category

18 Apr

China’s Green Revolution

Posted by midwestnaturalist in Climate Change, Corporate Ecology, Energy Conservation, Environmentalism, Politics. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

A power plant in Pinghu, China. A cap-and-trade system would help China to reduce carbon emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2020. Photograph: Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images

A power plant in Pinghu, China. A cap-and-trade system would help China to reduce carbon emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2020. Photograph: Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images

The following article comes from a recent report by the Guardian Newspaper. The truth is that reports of similar green initiatives coming from China are becoming more and more frequent.

While typically viewed as the “bad boys” on the environmental stage, it seems that the “Johnny-come-lately” communist party is capable of agreeing and acting with greater ease on environmental issues than our democratically elected congress. Perhaps making decisions based on scientific evidence is more effective than the democratic process that bends to the wishes of an uninformed and opinionated populace and congressmen whose election campaigns are funded by the very corporations guilty of perpetuating the problem.

Quoted by the World Economic Forum, Victor L. L. Chu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, First Eastern Investment Group, Hong Kong SAR, states “In terms of energy intensity, which is the amount of energy required to generate one unit of GDP, China has dropped 75% over the last 20 years and is still looking very aggressively to achieve more efficiency. Nearly 40% of China’s 4 trillion renminbi stimulus package is green project related.”

I’m not suggesting we become a communist nation, nor am I pleased that China burns more coal than any other nation in the world. China has a number of hurtles to overcome, but at least they are on the track and making their way forward.

Here is the article entitled: China’s green progress leaves US red-faced, from the Guardian dated April 12, 2013:

When it comes to responding to climate change, the contrast between China and the United States is stark.

It has been clear for some time that the Asian powerhouse is moving more rapidly on renewable technologies. A recent report by Pew Charitable Trusts shows China led the world last year with a $54.4bn investment in clean technology, about 40% higher than third-placed America.

More surprisingly, the Communist government in Beijing is also showing a greater willingness to adopt market-based approaches that were once considered preferable only by capitalist economies.

On Monday, a senior Chinese official said mandatory emissions trading systems will be rolled out in six of the country’s most advanced regions by 2013. After the pilot schemes in Guangdong, Hubei, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing, the government has promised to ramp up the use of carbon-based financial instruments to a nationwide level by 2015.

It is a sign that China is both desperate and ambitious enough to try almost anything. The widely trailed move towards a cap-and-trade system will provide an extra tool for China to achieve its Copenhagen commitment to reduce carbon emissions relative to economic growth by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2020.

Cap-and-trade initiatives in Washington started much earlier, but have sunk in Congressional quicksand. The first US experiment in emissions trading came to an end four months ago with the closure of the Chicago Climate Exchange, though California’s scheme (the world’s second largest) is reportedly in talks to expand by joining with Europe’s.

Critics of emissions trading will undoubtedly say the US is better off without it. Europe currently has the world’s biggest carbon market, which has channelled billions of dollars towards projects in developing nations that are designed to reduce emissions. China has been a major beneficiary, accounting for about 60% of the world’s carbon credits.

But the United Nations mechanism for evaluating credits has been plagued by allegations of fraud and misallocation of resources. In the latest scandal, Chinese officials denied this week that the country’s factories were manipulating production of hydrofluorocarbon-23 – a powerful greenhouse gas – to qualify for huge quantities of carbon credits. The European Union is unimpressed and will ban such credits when its new emissions trading system starts in 2013.

Existing schemes are clearly flawed. But by opting out, the US is losing its ability to influence reform, just as China begins to establish what could become a rival trading system. Beijing has positioned itself cleverly.

In the years ahead, its influence will grow in both renewable technology and climate finance. This has prompted the analyst Søren Lütken to talk of an emerging Grand Chinese Climate Scheme.

It is far from certain that this will be successful. Corruption, imprecision and inexperience are major hurdles that China has yet to overcome in establishing a cap-and-trade scheme. Lobby groups could water down plans that will cost industry money. As in the US, the economy will remain dependent on fossil fuels for many decades.

Yet compared to the US, China seems to have a clearer sense of direction, greater flexibility and a willingness to move.

In a testimony last month to a congressional energy committee, Deborah Seligsohn, the Beijing-based representative of the World Resources Institute, spelled out the long-game that is underway:

“Chinese economic strategists recognise that China was late to the industrial revolution and even late to the IT revolution, but it believes it can be a leader in a green revolution.”

Frustration among US environmental groups has been building up for some time, evident in these blog comments last year from Jake Schmidt of the National Resources Defence Council:

“The signals today on clean energy coming from China and the US are pointing in complete opposite directions – one country on hold and the other moving forward. Sad but true.”

Expect more of the same in the coming years. The world’s red and green lights are not where they used to be.

14 Apr

Earth Day at Eagle Marsh

Posted by midwestnaturalist in Birds, Botany, Children and Nature, Climate Change, Corporate Ecology, Creation Care, Ecology, Education, Environmentalism, Gardening, Politics, Recreation, Reptiles, Water Conservation, Wetlands, Wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Earth-day-image

Earth Day is just around the corner and will be celebrated around the world. But how did it all begin and how can you become involved?

Origins

The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a “national teach-in on the environment” to the national media; persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair; and recruited Denis Hayes as national coordinator. Hayes built a national staff of 85 to promote events across the land.

As a result, on the 22nd of April, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. “It was a gamble,” Gaylord recalled, “but it worked.”

Earth Day at Eagle Marsh

Screen Shot 2013-04-14 at 8.15.53 PMHere in Fort Wayne Indiana, Earth Day will be celebrated at Eagle Marsh (Little Rivers Wetland Project) on Engle Road from 1-5pm. To say that it will take place on “Engle Road” is in fact the truth. After the success of last year’s event, executive director Sean Nolan requested permission to have Engle Road closed between West Jefferson and Smith Road from 9:00am to 9:00pm.

Many area nature groups and businesses will be part of this free event, which will feature numerous fun activities for the whole family. These include volunteer opportunities to plant native milkweed plants at Eagle Marsh , interactive nature education stations along the preserve’s trails, a new nature photography exhibit, face painting, and more.

The Education Stations will provide lots of “hands-on” activities and will include:

  • Building a Better Bug – insect parts and the opportunity to build your own bug
  • Bee a Pollinator – pollination and the life cycle of a bee
  • Why Wetlands – three experiments to demonstrate wetlands clean water
  • Everything Poops in the Marsh – scats and tracks (hosted by yours truly)
  • Whoo Eats That – what owls eat
  • Salamanders – environmental barometers
  • Frogs and Toads of Eagle Marsh – a hopping good time guaranteed
  • Life Cycle of a Leopard Frog – actually build the four stages
  • Pond Dipping – swimmers, wigglers and things that go hop
  • Bird Observation Station – spot birds and make your own binoculars
  • Coloring with AEP – sponsors for the educational stations

A Earth Day 5K Walk presented by OmniSource will begin at 2:00 pm on April 21 during Earth Day Fort Wayne. Register now at www.firstgiving.com/lrwp/EarthDayWalk ($20 for adults, $10 for ages 7-17) to help us raise funds for LRWP’s important work of wetland restoration and nature education, including the care of Eagle Marsh and other LRWP preserves.

Visit www.Facebook.com/EarthDayFortWayne for details.

 

 

 

 

11 Apr

“A Thousand Questions”

Posted by midwestnaturalist in Botany, Climate Change, Creation Care, Ecology, Environmental Missions, Film - documentary, Religion, Spirituality in Nature. Tagged: , , .

A Thousand Questions

A Thousand Questions

 

Produced by Dave Schwarz, Greg & Corinne Ferguson and starring “spoken-word” poet Sharon Irving this short film focuses attention on the universe as it was created in juxtaposition with what is being faced in the world today.

While not intended to be in any way scientific, it does raise meaningful questions about the role mankind has to play in the disintegration of the environment and society. It reminds us once again that the world is not as it should be and that each one of us bears responsibility either through our acts of commission or omission.

(click on the photo to watch the film)

27 Feb

What Place Does “Ecology” Have at the Home and Garden Show?

Posted by midwestnaturalist in Botany, Climate Change, Corporate Ecology, Creation Care, Ecology, Environmental Missions, Environmentalism, Gardening, Housing, Wetlands. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

earth-moonThis weekend I look forward to working the booth at the Fort Wayne Home and Garden Show for two of my favorite environmental care groups – Little River Wetlands Project and Acres Land Trust. But some may wonder what place these two organizations have at a Home and Garden Show. Was there simply booth space leftover?

The truth is that both, and others like it, ought to be the centerpiece of any home show. The origin of the current term ecology finds it’s place in the late 19th century (originally as oecology): and comes from the  Greek oikos ‘house’ + -logy. So ecology has to do with the study or care of our home.

It’s unfortunate we limit our concept of home to the four walls that surround us or the survey markers that define our property. Home is the place we share together.

While in West Africa last week, I was chatting with local leaders about the concept of community. I think North Americans have a pretty good concept of relationship, but we’re really weak when it comes to living in community. We emphasize ownership, privacy and establishing contractual relationships. We like to know about each other, but we don’t really do life together very well. In essence, we live in isolation from one another in our individual homes and therefore have little understanding of what it means to share in the care of our greater home. The garden, so to speak, in which we live.

Nothing happens in isolation. The water I pollute may not affect me, but it will impact those who live downstream. Likewise, recent announcements by China to restrict future carbon emissions will not simply improve conditions around Beijing, but will ultimately lower carbon emissions around the world. Ecology is a global concept. We can never think of creation care in local terms alone. The entire earth, and universe that surrounds us, is our home – a place we share in community with one another.

 

 

10 Jan

Wintering Birds – Cardinal

Posted by midwestnaturalist in Birds, Children and Nature, Climate Change, Education, Wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Female and Male Cardinals

Female and Male Cardinals

What is there to talk about during the winter months when it comes to nature, and how do we entertain ourselves if we’re not the types to brave the conditions? Well, for many of us the enjoyment of nature during these daylight-starved days, is to watch what’s going on at the bird feeder.

During the winter months there are still plenty of non-migratory birds that have not abandoned us completely for the southern states or Amazon jungles of South America. Some of these old friends are also among the most familiar species of birds in the Midwest.

Take for example the Hoosier state bird, the cardinal. It’s interesting to note that during the pioneering days (1800s) cardinals were not common in the Midwest’s northern reaches as they are today. The retreat of the Wisconsin Glacier (we all remember that I’m sure) and the gradual warming of temperatures, has resulted in cardinals becoming residents of the entire region.

Northern Cardinals (cardinalis cardinalis) have that conspicuous crest, orange colored bill, and black face. The only major difference between the male and female is the bright red hue that the male is privileged to sport. The conical bill is not just for esthetics, rather it serves to assist the cardinal in cracking open seed pods. As you get to know birds, you’ll begin to identify what they eat by the shape and design of their bills. If you’ve ever placed sunflowers seeds out in a feeder, you’ll understand how effective their bills can be.

Both male and female call out all year making a sharp chip. However, it’s the male you’ll hear as mating season begins late winter into spring and summer with their distinctive cue, cue, cue, cheer, cheer, cheer, purty, purty, purty. In fact, my five-year-old grandson is a big fan of cardinals and can identify their mating song without any trouble.

While they love woodland edges and streamside thickets, they also love to spend time in suburban gardens, especially if you put out something for them to eat.

So perhaps it’s time to brighten up your humdrum winter months with the company of a few colorful
friends that will bring a little cheer and entertainment to your yard.

9 Dec

Climate Change: Should Rich Nations Compensate Poor Nations

Posted by midwestnaturalist in Climate Change, Corporate Ecology, Creation Care, Environmental Missions, Environmentalism, Politics, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .

UN Climate Talks in Qatar

UN Climate Talks in Qatar

About one year ago, I found myself in the backseat of a taxi traveling four hours into New Delhi, India. As we neared the city the smog become so thick that from time-to-time it was nearly impossible to see more than a block away. Then came the burning sensation in the back of our throats accompanied by the watering eyes. We noticed people on the sidewalks, and even in their cars, covering their mouths and noses with kerchiefs.

Then we asked the question everyone in the taxi later wished we had never asked. Yes, we inquired of our, up until now, polite English-speaking taxi driver, “Why is there so much smog in New Delhi?” Bad question. He responded in such a way we knew recognized he had either prepared, or delivered his response before, “It’s because huge corporations come and set up their plants in our country so that they can freely pollute in ways that would never be tolerated in their own countries.”

Suddenly my worldview took yet another shift as I recognized that my efforts in the Midwest of the United States of America have little meaning if we are simply “greened-up” our own backyards, but relocating our problems to someone else’s.

This last week, on the heels of the Lausanne Movement’s statement regarding climate change and it’s affect on the poorest nations, (see “6. Radical action to confront climate change.”) the UN has been meeting for climate talks in Qatar with the prospect of rich nations having to compensate poor nations for losses due to climate change.

According to the BBC, the US has fiercely opposed the measure – it says the cost could be unlimited.
But after angry tussles throughout the night the principle of Loss and Damage is now in the final negotiating text. Small island states at risk from inundation say they will walk out if the US vetoes the proposed deal.

The political stakes are high. The EU’s position is not yet well defined, but soundings suggest that it can live with the text.

The report went on to say, the US will be seeking support from other big polluters – like Canada – likely to face liability for climate damages.

You may want to reread my blog on the Keystone XL Pipeline. The intent of the Kyoto Accord was to have 37 of the most industrialized nations sign on to an agreement in which they would seek to lower their carbon emissions by 5% over a period of 20 years. Many of these countries signed the accord and met or exceeded their cuotas. The United States increased its carbon emissions by 11%. But they never signed the accord in the first place. Canada, who signed the accord, increased their emissions by nearly 18%. The source in large part: he Alberta Tar Sands.

If the US is left alone fighting against the chair’s text, its negotiators face a dilemma – either to bow to the majority and accept that the nations which caused climate change bear a moral responsibility to other nations damaged by it, or to refuse to sign.

If the US vetoes the text, President Barack Obama will be accused of hypocrisy and failure after re-committing himself to tackling climate change since his re-election.

While the US does have a point in that the cost could be unlimited and in our current economic state we’re hardly ready to start handing out compensation to poor nations impacted by climate change. However, there is without a doubt a moral principle to consider.

Again the BBC reports points out, already poor nations are bitter that rich nations, particularly the US are dragging their feet over a promise made at the failed Copenhagen climate summit to mobilise $100 billion by 2020 to help poor nations get clean energy and adapt to climate change.

The developing countries say the original sum was too low – especially in the light of Mr Obama’s request to Congress for Sandy damages of $60 billion, and the UK’s bid to raise £200 billion for clean energy by 2020.

While there doesn’t seem to be a quick solution, a number of items stand out as first-things-first:

  • Corporations ought be follow the same envirnmental standards regardless of where they “set up shop” around the world.
  • Climate change and environmental issue are global in nature an so the responsibility for, and cost of restoration, ought to be shared.
  • Accords are what they are, “agreements” made in good faith. If we have made commitments, whether in good faith or in writing, we should honor our statements.

As I participated in a church service this morning celebrating the season of advent, I was caught be the words of a prayer, particularly the use of the word “humble” although I do not know the prayer’s author, this is what we recited,

Gracious Lord, prepare our lives to receive you beloved Son as he come to us in humble, simply and unexpected way. Let us love the humble one in our time and place. Let us be humble witnesses of your power and await him with joy. Amen. 

May we be the humble ones in our time and place.

6 Dec

Creation Care – Lausanne’s Call to Action

Posted by midwestnaturalist in Climate Change, Creation Care, Environmental Missions, Environmentalism, Food, Religion, Spirituality in Nature, Weather and Atmospheric Conditions. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

DSCN1687The Lausanne Global Consultation on Creation Care and the Gospel met from 29 Oct – 2 Nov 2012 in St. Ann, Jamaica to build on the creation care components of the Cape Town Commitment. 

The gathering consisted of theologians, church leaders, scientists and creation care practitioners, fifty-seven men and women from twenty-six countries from the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Latin America, Oceania, North America and Europe.

Many biblical passages, including reflections on Genesis 1 – 3, Psalm 8 and Romans 8, informed prayers, discussions and deliberations on the themes of God’s World, God’s Word and God’s Work. The consultation immediately followed Hurricane Sandy’s devastation of the Caribbean and coincided with that storm’s arrival in North America; the destruction and loss of life was a startling reminder as to the urgency, timeliness and importance of this Consultation.

Two Major Convictions:

Two major convictions emerged from the discussions:

  • Creation Care is indeed a gospel issue within the lordship of Christ.
  • We are faced with a crisis that is pressing, urgent, and that must be resolved in our generation.

Call to Action

The following points are directly quoted from what was referred to as a specific Call to Action:

1. A new commitment to a simple lifestyle.

Recognizing that much of our crisis is due to billions of lives lived carelessly, we reaffirm the Lausanne commitment to simple lifestyle (Lausanne Occasional Paper #20), and call on the global evangelical community to take steps, personally and collectively, to live within the proper boundaries of God’s good gift in creation, to engage further in its restoration and conservation, and to equitably share its bounty with each other.

2. New and robust theological work.

In particular, we need guidance in four areas:

  • An integrated theology of creation care that can engage seminaries, Bible colleges and others to equip pastors to disciple their congregations.
  • A theology that examines humanity’s identity as both embedded in creation and yet possessing a special role toward creation.
  • A theology that challenges current prevailing economic ideologies in relation to our biblical stewardship of creation.
  • A theology of hope in Christ and his Second Coming that properly informs and inspires creation care.

3. Leadership from the church in the Global South.

As the Global South represents those most affected in the current ecological crisis, it possesses a particular need to speak up, engage issues of creation care, and act upon them. We the members of the Consultation further request that the church of the Global South exercise leadership among us, helping to set the agenda for the advance of the gospel and the care of creation.

4. Mobilization of the whole church and engagement of all of society.

Mobilization must occur at the congregational level and include those who are often over-looked, utilizing the gifts of women, children, youth, and indigenous people as well as professionals and other resource people who possess experience and expertise. Engagement must be equally widespread, including formal, urgent and creative conversations with responsible leaders in government, business, civil society, and academia.

5. Environmental missions among unreached people groups.

We participate in Lausanne’s historic call to world evangelization, and believe that environmental issues represent one of the greatest opportunities to demonstrate the love of Christ and plant churches among unreached and unengaged people groups in our generation (CTC II.D.1.B). We encourage the church to promote “environmental missions” as a new category within mission work (akin in function to medical missions).

6. Radical action to confront climate change.

Affirming the Cape Town Commitment’s declaration of the “serious and urgent challenge of climate change” which will “disproportionately affect those in poorer countries”, (CTC II.B.6), we call for action in radically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building resilient communities. We understand these actions to be an application of the command to deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow Christ.

7. Sustainable principles in food production.

In gratitude to God who provides sustenance, and flowing from our conviction to become excellent stewards of creation, we urge the application of environmentally and generationally sustainable principles in agriculture (field crops and livestock, fisheries and all other forms of food production), with particular attention to the use of methodologies such as conservation agriculture.

8. An economy that works in harmony with God’s creation.

We call for an approach to economic well-being and development, energy production, natural resource management (including mining and forestry), water management and use, transportation, health care, rural and urban design and living, and personal and corporate consumption patterns that maintain the ecological integrity of creation.

9. Local expressions of creation care, which preserve and enhance biodiversity.

We commend such projects, along with any action that might be characterized as the “small step” or the “symbolic act,” to the worldwide church as ways to powerfully witness to Christ’s Lordship over all creation.

10. Prophetic advocacy and healing reconciliation.

We call for individual Christians and the church as a whole to prophetically “speak the truth to power” through advocacy and legal action so that public policies and private practice may change to better promote the care of creation and better support devastated communities and habitats. Additionally, we call the church to “speak the peace of Christ” into communities torn apart by environmental disputes, mobilizing those who are skilled at conflict resolution, and maintaining our own convictions with humility.

Observations and Opportunity:

In reading through all of the information, I noted that the signers to this Call to Action, consisted overwhelmingly of participants from what has become known today as the Global South, or Majority World. This is not to say that those belonging to what traditionally has been considered the West or the most industrialized nations of the world, are unconcerned. What it does say is, if the Global South is the most vulnerable to the impact of climate change, they ought to have the strongest voice at the table.  Among the fifty-seven participants there were just 11 from the United States.

If you’d like to read the entire document, or even sign your name to it as an individual, representative of an association, agency or local church, you can visit the Lausanne Movement website.

22 Oct

Clean Water Act – Prosperity and Our Part

Posted by midwestnaturalist in Climate Change, Corporate Ecology, Creation Care, Environmental Missions, Environmentalism, Spirituality in Nature, Water Conservation, Wetlands. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Conner Pond, New Hampshire (photo by Jeff Bleijerveld)

EarthJustice reports that forty years ago today, against a backdrop of flaming rivers, dying lakes and sewage-choked beaches, our politicians reached across the aisle to pass the Clean Water Act—a law aptly described by the New York Times’ Robert Semple as “a critical turning point” in rescuing the nation’s waterways from “centuries of industrial, municipal and agricultural pollution.” The primary goals of the law were simple and bold: to stop using our nation’s waters as open sewers and end the discharge of water pollution.

This wonderful, landmark law flourished under three decades of bipartisan support, reining in torrents of industrial and municipal discharges, and restoring health to waters great and small across the land.

But some 10 years ago, the clean water tide slowed as polluters gained traction in Congress; and two years ago, with political collaboration at an end, the tide turned. As a result, loopholes and lax enforcement led to the fouling of beaches and rivers with toxic slime, the filling thousands of miles of Appalachian streams with the rubble of mountaintop removal mining; and have allowed dozens of toxic coal ash ponds to exist unregulated among our communities.

The current Congress seems especially eager to prove that pollution means prosperity. Many representatives are joined in an effort to weaken and even wreck the Clean Water Act, particularly by attacking the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to enforce it.

Prosperity is a reoccurring theme we hear again and again, particularly in the lead up to a federal election. Generally such prosperity is a reference in increased profits and opportunity, but has little to say about living as responsible stewards of all that we have been given. We are all too often left with only two options – poverty or prosperity.

I’d like to suggest that in the world God created and ordered, there is room for both.

In Job 22:21, one of his counselors in his time of trouble tells him, “Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.” Although his seeming friend may have been a bit off base (particularly regarding Job’s sinfulness as the cause of all his suffering), he was correct in equating prosperity with our level submission to God and living in peace with him.

Aside from natural disasters and catastrophic events, the earth is designed to deliver what is needed to sustain both human and natural life if sustained properly. However, we must act as responsible caretakers for this to occur. In Psalm 72:3 we read, “May the mountains bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness.” If we neglect God’s creation in the pursuit of selfish prosperity and personal gain, we suffering the natural consequences caused by our neglect.

The options before us are not simply prosperity or poverty, but peace with God and his creation, trusting that he will bring prosperity to us and to those with whom we share this planet.

4 Oct

Ancient Flowers on only two Spanish Cliffs, that use Ants to Survive

Posted by midwestnaturalist in Botany, Climate Change, Ecology, Education, Environmentalism, Native Plants and Flowers, Wildflowers and Plants. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Borderea chouardii – one of the world’s rarest plants

Although I generally focus attention on the Midwest of the United States, the following story caught my attention when it was referred to me. I lived in Spain for some time in the 1990s and visited the Pyrenees on a number of occasions. Here’s a article from a biologist, Maria Garcia, that has seemingly spent a lot of time observing the fascinating adaptations of a flower found on just two cliffs.

Here is what was written about her by Discovery magazine: 

This story begins with a cliff-hanger. On the Spanish side of the Pyrenees mountains, around 850 metres above sea level, two adjacent cliff faces hold the entire population of Borderea chouardii – one of the world’s rarest plants. It’s a small herb that grows into crevices in the rock. Its leaves are heart-shaped and its flowers green and unassuming. There are around 10,000 individuals here, all growing on a square kilometre of vertical rock.

Now, Maria Garcia form the Spanish National Research Council has discovered the plant’s survival strategy, which involves three different species of ants. Through these multiple partnerships, B.chouardiiquite literally clings to existence.

The plant is a relict, an ancient hanger-on from a time just after the death of the dinosaurs, when the Pyrenees enjoyed a tropical climate. It was discovered in 1952, and Garcia started studying it in 1993 by request of the Regional Government of Aragon, which is responsible for its management. Since then, she has regularly returned to the site by herself, and monitored all the accessible plants. “It’s not easy fieldwork, I can tell you, but exciting and fun,” she says.
Borderea plants are either male or female and not both. They need some way of carrying pollen from male flowers to females. They live high in the mountains, so wind seems like an obvious candidate. But when Garcia placed several sticky microscope slides next to a male flower, none of them picked up any pollen at all. So, not wind.

What about insects? Between 2008 and 2009, Garcia spent 76 hours just watching B.chouardii to see which insects visited its flowers. The majority were ants: Lasius grandis and Lasius cinereus in particular. That seems to fit, for B.chouardii has many of the traits you’d expect of an ant-pollinated flower. Low-growing, nectar-filled flowers that can be reached by a non-flying insect? Check. Small flowers that aren’t attractive to bigger insects? Check

The ants are rare visitors but effective pollinators. Across 17 years of observations, Garcia has found that around 83 percent of the female flowers eventually bear fruit. But the plant then has another problem: How does it disperse its small, yellow seeds? It can sow itself: Borderea grows away from light, and some of the fruits end up headfirst in new crevices. Two-thirds of the seedlings germinate in this way. The two ants that pollinate B.chouardii might also contribute, since the plant has been found growing from their nests.

But the main seed disperser is another species of ant entirely – Pheidole pallidula. Garcia demonstrated this by setting up seed “cafes” – plastic seed-filled vials that were glued to the cliff. Only P.pallidula visited the vials, and dragged the seeds off to nearby crevices. It prefers the seeds of B.chouardii to those of related species, and it eats two thirds of the seeds it collects. The rest are left to germinate.

Garcia’s careful observations suggest that Borderea takes part in a “double mutualism” – partnering up with some ants to both pollinate its flowers and another to disperse its seeds. It’s a risky strategy. Even though three species of ants are involved, Garcia says that the plant is “putting all its stakes on just one kind of mutualist.” If ants disappear, perhaps if the surrounding cliff-sides become unsuitable for them, then B.chouardii would go extinct. “It is difficult to imagine other animals playing the ants’ role,” says Garcia.

But Borderea has another trick to mitigate its risk of extinction: an extraordinary lifespan of up to 300 years! In 17 years of monitoring, Garcia and other scientists have only counted 139 seedlings – just 8 per year. This is a plant that lives life in the slow lane. Its population is small and grows at an infinitesimal rate, but it’s in no rush.

The cliffs it hangs from are inaccessible to grazing animals, sheltered from the excesses of the elements, and constant in their climate.  Few new individuals are born each year, but few survivors die. Several were lost to public works before Garcia came on the scene, but she soon set up a management plan that prevented further losses. One of her colleagues has also started a programme to grow them in 2 new sites. Will she succeed? We cannot say. This story ends with a cliff-hanger.

Reference: Garcia, Espadaler & Olesen. 2012. Extreme Reproduction and Survival of a True Cliffhanger: The Endangered Plant Borderea chouardii (Dioscoreaceae). PLOS ONEhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0044657

14 Aug

New Development in Battery Storage Capacity

Posted by midwestnaturalist in Climate Change, Eco-Friendly Products, Ecology, Energy Conservation, Politics. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Lithium ion polymer batteries used by the NASA Space Shuttle program may soon be replaced.

Just yesterday I commented on the differing positions of the two presidential candidates in this year’s election. Both positions have merit and reflect one of two thoughts. On the Obama side, green energy holds great potential, if we can continue to develop the technology required to utilize it. Among the Romney camp, energy from fossil fuels is a known quantity for which we already have the systems and technology in place. Therefore the game-changer is new technology.

The storage of electricity poses a continuing challenge to those who would like to promote green sources of energy. It’s all fine to have solar panels and wind turbines, but if we can’t store the power they produce, we remain reliant on coal, gas or nuclear fired generators to supply the instantaneous demands of our power grid. If we have sustained cloudy weather or a lack of wind, a switch can’t be thrown and a nuclear generator suddenly fired up to meet what can often be a sudden surge in use. It takes weeks to shut them down and the same to fire them up again.

However, according to a number of news sources including the BBC, a team of Stanford researchers has found the solution to make lithium-ion batteries hold ten times the charge they currently can. How? By replacing the battery’s anode, usually constructed out of graphite, with silicon. It sounds like a simple fix, but scientists haven’t been able to do so until now because the silicon would be quickly destroyed in a process called decrepitation. Even though silicon atoms would allow more lithium ions to bind than carbon atoms, therefore allowing the battery to store more charge, the silicon would expand and retract as ions flowed through the battery. These expansions and retractions caused cracks in the silicon. Another problem is that the lithium ions would sometimes react with the silicon, removing the battery’s ability to charge.

The Stanford team has developed a technique to strengthen the silicon anodes by making them out of nanowires and hollow nanoparticles. The anode is also coated with an outer layer of silicon oxide, a ceramic material that prevents the silicon from expanding.

For now, these batteries are able to operate for more than 6,000 cycles, ten times beyond current lithium-ion battery cycle life standards.

The team’s given no timetable for when this technology will be commercialized. For now, they’re working on simplifying the process of creating the new silicon anodes and creating better cathodes to match the new silicon anodes on lithium-ion batteries. I can only hope that such technology will trickle down to the consumer level soon.

At present the development seems to be of tremendous benefit to the automotive industry which can expect the new silicon-based battery to replace the graphite-based lithium-ion and increase the distance electric cars can travel by ten times. However, it is hoped that this type of breakthrough result in others and eventually allows for wind and solar energy to be stored and reserved for a longer period of time, thus reducing our dependence on carbon-based energy sources.

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