World’s 100 most destructive species named

Scientists have identified the world’s 100 deadliest invasive species, aside from humans, which are responsible for the extinction of hundreds of other species and causing havoc to ecosystems and the birds and mammals that inhabit them.

The species are published in a new and updated booklet compiled by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), one of the world’s leading conservation agencies. Fish, ants, snails and even seaweed are named for their aggressive growth, biological pollution and catastrophic impact on habitats around the world.

Among the leading culprits in the booklet, entitled “One Hundred of the World’s Worst Species,” is the Nile perch, which has contributed to the extinction of more than 200 endemic fish species in Africa. Another is caulerpa, a seaweed in the Mediterranean that smothers the beds of native sea grass which act as nurseries for many species. The IUCN considers caulerpa to be a threat to the whole of the Mediterranean.

An invasive species is an animal or plant that has been taken from its native habitat and introduced to another area. Though the international trade in species is responsible for many “invasives,” some instances can be accidental. (Independent (UK))

Administration accused of changing drilling rule

The Sierra Club alleged in a lawsuit that the Bush administration quietly changed a rule so oil and gas producers could more easily drill under national parks from outside their boundaries.

The environmental group filed the suit Nov. 17 in DC District Court asking for an immediate injunction to reverse the alleged rule change, which it said was done without public input. It also asks that the drilling be stopped.

The National Park Service denied the allegation.

The Sierra Club alleged that a rule change affects 14 national parks, including four in Texas, that have privately owned minerals beneath them.

Oil and gas producers can drill at an angle to reach privately owned minerals from private land adjacent to a park.

Under a 1979 rule, the National Park Service must study such drilling plans and their possible impacts to the park or adjacent land, Mannchen said. Also, the drilling company was required to submit environmental impact analyses.

The Sierra Club alleges that since late 2001 the National Park Service has been allowing directional drilling without such impact analyses. (AP)

Carbon emissions reach record high

In 2003, carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels climbed to a record high of 6.8 billion tons, up nearly four percent from the previous year. Global emissions of carbon have been rising steadily since the late eighteenth century — and rapidly since the 1950s. In fact, annual emissions have quadrupled since 1950.

Three fourths of global carbon emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels, namely coal, oil, and natural gas. The rest come largely from deforestation. Of the four major sectors contributing to these emissions, electricity generation accounts for the largest share — 35 percent. Transportation and industrial processes each account for 20 percent, and the remaining 25 percent comes from residential and commercial buildings.

Two thirds of the carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion are produced by just 10 countries. The United States, with 5 percent of the world’s population, is the largest contributor, accounting for nearly one quarter of global emissions. China is second, with nearly 14 percent. Other major polluters are Russia, Japan, India, and Germany. (Earth Policy Institute)

US tries to prevent panic over BSE scare

Consumer groups and the beef industry in the United States attempted to avert any public panic over food supplies after officials at the Department of Agriculture revealed that they had uncovered a possible case of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy).

On Nov. 18, government officials announced that preliminary screening for the disease, which can be transmitted in a usually fatal form to humans, had proved positive on one animal. It insisted the results were considered “inconclusive” pending further tests.

The results may not be ready for several days and in the meantime the $40 billion-a-year US beef industry can only wait anxiously. The news sent beef prices tumbling and cast an instant chill on the main fast-food chains’ share prices.

While refusing to reveal where the animal had been found, Andrea Morgan, associate deputy administrator of the department’s inspectors, said the agency “remains confident in the safety of the US beef supply.” (Independent (UK))

Iraq’s seed patent law: A 20 year moratorium on biodiversity

A new amendment to Iraq’s patent law, enacted by former Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) administrator Paul Bremer, provides for the “protection of new varieties of plants.”

To qualify for protection under the law, and thus to be legal for agricultural use, plant varieties must be new, distinct, uniform, and stable. The seed supply that Iraqi farmers have used for years cannot meet these criteria. US corporations, who have the means to modify and “stabilize” the seed varieties, now dominate the market and can sell to farmers without domestic competition.

The intellectual property rights that the patent law grants last for 20 years for crop varieties and 25 years for trees and vines. So, while the US military occupation may be over within in the next two decades, the corporate occupation could last for generations. (Utne.com)

EU ratifies ban on most toxic chemicals

Western Europe’s battle against cancer-causing substances gained momentum Nov. 18 when the 25-nation European Union ratified an international treaty banning toxic chemicals.

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants bans production, marketing and use of a “dirty dozen” pesticides, industrial chemicals and “unintentional byproducts” of industrial processes such as dioxin. Most have been linked to cancer.

Although EU laws already enforce the ban, ratifying the treaty will allow the 25-nation union to push other states to adopt similar standards.

The Stockholm Convention targets chemicals that have been classified as toxic, persist for generations, and can travel great distances and accumulate in the bodies of both humans and animals.

EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom said the EU’s ratification of the treaty was “an important step to rid the world of the worst man-made substances.” She added the E.U. can now push for stricter safety standards worldwide “not only for our sake but also for the sake of people living in countries where some of these nasty substances are still being used.” (AP)

Computer use link to eye disease

According to a recently released report, heavy computer use could be linked to glaucoma, especially among those who are near-sighted.

The findings, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, are based on 10,000 Japanese workers. The authors and experts recommend more research, particularly because being near-sighted is a known glaucoma risk.

Researchers from Toho University School of Medicine tested the sight of workers in four different Japanese companies, employing over 5,000 people each.

Overall, over five percent of the employees were found to have visual field abnormalities. Workers who were classified as heavy computer users were more likely to be far-sighted (hypermetropia) or near-sighted (myopia).

Compounded by the fact that more and more people are using computers, the researchers said: “In the next decade…it might be important for public health professionals to show more concern about myopia and visual field abnormalities in heavy computer users.” (BBC)

City deaths rise with ozone levels

Short-term increases in ozone pollution lead to higher death rates in cities, according to the largest ozone mortality study ever carried out.

Ground-level ozone -- unlike protective ozone at higher atmospheric altitudes -- is produced mostly by human activity and has doubled since 1900. The gas forms when sunlight interacts with emissions from cars and power plants -- such as nitrogen dioxide -- and is generated in greater quantities when air temperatures are high.

Previous studies have shown that ozone causes inflammation of the lungs and increases both hospital admissions and asthma attacks, but these studies have produced inconsistent results when assessing the pollutant’s effect on the risk of death.

The results of the study may have implications for public policy, as the US Environmental Protection Agency -- which partially funded the study -- is currently reviewing its standards for maximum daily ozone levels. (New Scientist)


Air pollution in traffic could increase cardiovascular risks

Spending time in traffic -­ especially when the conditions are stop-and-go -­ could cause health problems because of the air pollution flowing into automobiles, recent research shows.

Although rolling up the windows might help a bit, no car is airtight. Turning on the fan makes only a modest difference at best, experts say. Drivers should avoid driving behind certain types of diesel vehicles and to minimize your time on congested freeways.

One recent study, funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency, suggests that exposure to air pollution particulate matter while driving could cause cardiovascular changes that have been associated with increased risks of heart attacks, inflammation, and arteriosclerosis.

Published in the April 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory Critical Care Medicine, the study followed nine North Carolina state highway troopers for four days. The officers were all nonsmokers between the ages of 23 and 30, and in “excellent physical condition.” Researchers observed that the officers’ exposure to particulate matter while inside their vehicles was correlated with irregular heart rhythm, elevated blood protein levels, and other blood cell changes. (LA Times)

Climate change ‘ruining’ Everest

A delegation of environmental lawyers is starting a new initiative to force action on global warming.They are arguing that governments which are members of Unesco -- the UN’s cultural and scientific agency -- are legally bound to protect World Heritage Sites from damage.

Some sites are threatened by climate change, they say -- and governments can only protect them by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

This campaign involves three “priceless and irreplaceable” places: the Belize Barrier Reef, where, conservationists say, coral is dying as water warms; Huascarán National Park in Peru, and Sagarmatha National Park in the Himalayas.

In these two mountain ranges, the dossiers say, ice is melting away; even the world’s highest mountain, Everest, could one day be nothing but rock.

“We know that over the last 30 years, in the eastern Himalayas, snow cover and ice cover have decreased on average by about 30 percent; so there’s 30 percent less ice and snow than there was 30 years ago,” said Mark New, a climatologist from Oxford University, who works on the Himalayas. (BBC)