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The Australian Electoral Commission estimates that 1.3 million eligible Australians are missing from the electoral roll, on the day enrolment closes for the federal election.
Source: ABC News | Duration: 5min 11sec
Original post by Duke University
Destruction of coastal habitats may release as much as 1 billion tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere each year, 10 times higher than previously reported, according to a new Duke led study.
Published online this week in PLOS ONE, the analysis provides the most comprehensive estimate of global carbon emissions from the loss of these coastal habitats to date: 0.15 to 1.2 billion tons. It suggests there is a high value associated with keeping these coastal-marine ecosystems intact as the release of their stored carbon costs roughly $6–$42 billion annually.
“On the high end of our estimates, emissions are almost as much as the carbon dioxide emissions produced by the world’s fifth-largest emitter, Japan,” said Brian Murray, director for economic analysis at Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. “This means we have previously ignored a source of greenhouse gas emissions that could rival the emissions of many developed nations.”
This carbon, captured through biological processes and stored in the sediment below mangroves, sea grasses and salt marshes, is called “blue carbon.” When these wetlands are drained and destroyed, the sediment layers below begin to oxidize. Once this soil, which can be many feet deep, is exposed to air or ocean water it releases carbon dioxide over days or years.
“There’s so little data out there on how much carbon might be released when these ecosystems are disturbed,” said Oregon State University’s Daniel Donato, co-lead author of the paper. “With this analysis we tried to reduce some of that uncertainty by identifying some ‘bookends’ that represent the lowest and highest probable emissions, given the information available.”
The PLOS ONE study looked at the potentially massive amount of carbon tucked away from the atmosphere by the slow accretion, over hundreds to thousands of years, of soils beneath these habitats. Previous work in the area has focused only on the amount of carbon stored in these systems and not what happens when these systems are degraded or destroyed and the stored carbon is released.
“These coastal ecosystems are a tiny ribbon of land, only 6 percent of the land area covered by tropical forest, but the emissions from their destruction are nearly one-fifth of those attributed to deforestation worldwide,” said Linwood Pendleton, the study’s co-lead author and director of the Ocean and Coastal Policy Program at the Nicholas Institute. “One hectare, or roughly two acres of coastal marsh, can contain the same amount of carbon as 488 cars produce in a year. Comparatively, destroying a hectare of mangroves could produce as much greenhouse gas emissions as cutting down three to five hectares of tropical forest.”
The critical role of these ecosystems for carbon sequestration has been overlooked, the study said. These coastal habitats could be protected and climate change combated if a system—much like what is being done to protect trees through Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) —were implemented. Such a policy would assign credits to carbon stored in these habitats and provide economic incentive if they are left intact.
“Blue carbon ecosystems provide a plethora of benefits to humans: they support fisheries, buffer coasts from floods and storms, and filter coastal waters from pollutants,” said Emily Pidgeon, senior director of Strategic Marine Initiatives at Conservation International and co-chair of the Blue Carbon Initiative. “Economic incentives to reverse these losses may help preserve these benefits and serve as a viable part of global efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and address climate change.”
The work was funded by Linden Trust for Conservation and Roger and Victoria Sant. To review the paper, “Estimating Global ‘Blue Carbon’ Emissions from Conversion and Degradation of Vegetated Coastal Ecosystems,” visit http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0043542.
The study was led by Linwood Pendleton of Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and Dan Donato of Oregon State University. Others from Duke’s Nicholas Institute, Conservation International, ESA Phillip Williams & Associates, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Florida International University, Oregon State University, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Ocean Conservancy contributed as co-authors.
READERS have written about Nick Xenophon’s push for population growth in SA, environmentalists, romance, and King Charles Spaniels.
Ease off
WHY all this pressure for population growth in South Australia (“People power key to growth of our state”, 30/7/13)?
Population growth does not necessarily lead to per capita GDP growth and rarely leads to increase in well-being or quality of life.
A state’s population has to be set in terms of what resources it has and, in particular, how much food can it grow. South Australia is the driest state on the driest inhabited continent and is very limited in this regard.
Will bringing in ever more people help youth in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, currently suffering up to 25 per cent unemployment? Probably not.
The reality is, of course, that population growth only benefits business by driving down wages, and real estate agents by creating demand for housing.
The rest have to endure higher house prices, congestion and pollution.
Why spoil a beautiful capital city and lovely state?
JENNY GOLDIE, national president, Sustainable Population Australia, Michelago, NSW.
Growth risks
HAS Nick Xenophon lost touch? If elected, he wants to boost migrant numbers and population growth in South Australia (The Advertiser, 7/8/13).
Is he aware that recent polls indicate around 70 per cent of the public are not in favour of a big population?
Has he considered the impact of growing demand on the Murray?
Does he understand that higher migration can at best defer an ‘’ageing population’’, as migrants also age?
Has he considered that a stable population will encourage skills to be developed locally, improving job opportunities for South Australians, especially younger people?
Has he considered the liveability of Adelaide and housing affordability?
GREG OATES, SA Senate candidate, Stable Population Party, Magill.
Do the maths
NICK Xenophon, like so many others, has fallen for the ageing myth.
Bringing in migrants to counteract the imagined problems with ageing only makes the problem worse not better.
In the 1950s and 1960s we were facing a severe labour shortage and so migration was a solution.
The situation we face today is radically different – we have 20 per cent of youth unemployment.
This basically means that the real problem demographic is the youth as they stay longer and longer on the taxpayers teat.
We also need to recognise that at 65 people do not magically lose all their skills and talents.
We are moving into a knowledge economy where people can work for much longer. Providing incentives to employ older workers and for workers to stay in the workforce is a better solution.
SA’s population is currently growing at a rate of 1.2 per cent a year. So in the last 12 months our population increased by about 20,000.
Nothing to worry about. That is until you start doing some basic arithmetic.
Each new resident requires an infrastructure expenditure of $200,000 to cover the costs needed to support that person. So government has to find billions of dollars to cover those costs.
How did they do this when money is tight?
The solution is simple – you simply require that essential services such as education, police and health have to cater for more people without a significant increase in their budgets.
Also, you transfer money that has been set aside for the maintenance of services like gas, water and electricity to spend it on providing services to the new developments.
Next you authorise the privatised utilities to increase their fees to cover some of the additional costs required.
Finally you just simply do not spend the money required on items like roads – people will just have to put up with more traffic congestion.
Put simply, the government’s policy of promoting population increase is paid for by reducing the quality of life for all South Australians; population growth is making most of us poorer.
It does benefit a few developers but is it really the job of government policy to make property developers richer?
JOHN TÖNS, Lenswood.
What price water?
I AM very concerned about the issue of overpopulation in the world today.
If overpopulation is to continue, it will only cause more problems for water and air pollution, along with the need for ever greater volumes of food and water to sustain our bugeoning population.
Even though the one-child policy was introduced in China, it doesn’t seem to be helping very much. If overpopulation is to continue we will be left fighting for our resources.
I think that it is important that people are aware of the consequences of out-of-control child birthing around the world.
LUCY BAMBRICK, Highgate.
Heat waves are the deadliest of extreme weather events, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week.
A case study published in the August 9 edition of the agency’s journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, looked at heat illness in New York City from 2000 to 2011. The results revealed that there were more than 150 deaths, about 1,600 hospitalizations and around 2,700 emergency room visits due to the extreme heat.
Heat waves are dangerous for everyone, but the elderly, children, the poor and those with pre-existing medical condition are particularly at risk. Those who have outdoor jobs like athletes and laborers are also in danger.
The new report revealed that the chance of heat-related health issues was higher among older adults and in neighborhoods with high poverty rates. Many of the victims had chronic physical or mental health problems.
Overall, heat waves killed more people in the U.S. than any other extreme weather event, the CDC researchers reported.
Air conditioning is a useful tool to combat the extreme heat, but researchers found that many of the deceased in New York did not have a working air conditioner. Obesity was another common factor among those who died.
The researchers said that New York City should make an effort to prevent heat illness by making it easier to access air conditioning and by increasing awareness of heat-related dangers, risk factors and protective measures among those who are at a higher risk and their caregivers.
Older people and those with chronic diseases should be encouraged to stay hydrated and use air conditioning or stay in areas that are air conditioned. Caregivers should also stop by often to make sure that people potentially in danger are okay.
“Water is the ideal fluid for hydration, and it is recommended to avoid excessive amounts of caffeine, which can lead to dehydration,” Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, previously told CBSNews.com. “Sports or energy drinks, which contain high amounts of caffeine as well as sugar, and are not recommended in the setting of extreme heat as they also predispose individuals to great amounts of water loss and subsequent dehydration.”
A previous study by the CDC showed that about 650 heat-related deaths across the nation could be prevented each year.
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People should also learn how to spot people who are suffering from heat-related illness. There are two types of heat-related illnesses, which occur when the body cannot regulate its own temperature or increased heat production.
Even before the body goes into heat stroke, the person may experience nausea, abdominal cramping, vomiting, muscle cramping, dizziness, headache and difficulty breathing.
During heat stroke, patients experience a body temperature of more than 103 degrees F. They also may have red, hot and dry skin and may not be sweating.
When you see someone having a heat stroke, get them to a cooler area, loosen or remove any heavy clothing and put them in a cool shower to lower their temperature to 101 or 102 degrees F. Do not give them anything to drink and seek immediate medical help.
When a person is having the second type of illness, heat exhaustion, they typically lack fluids. It can occur a few days after the extreme heat event. A person may experience heavy sweating, paleness, muscle cramps, tiredness, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting and fainting. The person could have a fast, weak pulse and breathing rate, and their skin may feel cool and moist. Get them hydrated with cool, nonalcoholic beverages. If the condition persists longer than an hour, go to a doctor.
Pets are also susceptible to extreme heat. Just because a pet is an outdoors most of the time doesn’t mean they can tolerate the extreme weather better. Dr. John Gicking, a board-certified specialist in critical care with BluePearl in Tampa, Fla., previously explained to CBSNews.com that pets should be given plenty of water and shade where they can escape the heat.
“They can develop organ failure including kidney, lung and liver failure, bleeding problems where they can’t clot blood and go into shock,” Gicking said.
© 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Published 9 August 2013 Science Leave a Comment
Tags: biological response, calcification, chemistry, corals, field, South Pacific
Some predictions of how ocean acidification (OA) will effect coral reefs assume a linear functional relationship between the ambient seawater aragonite saturation state (Ωa) and net ecosystem calcification (NEC). We quantified NEC in a healthy coral reef lagoon in the Great Barrier Reef during different times of the day. Our observations revealed a diel hysteresis pattern in the NEC versus Ωa relationship, with peak NEC rates occurring before the Ωa peak and relatively steady night-time NEC in spite of variable Ωa. Net ecosystem production had stronger correlations with NEC than light, temperature, nutrients, pH, and Ωa. The observed hysteresis may represent an overlooked challenge for predicting the effects of OA on coral reefs. If widespread in coral reefs, the hysteresis could prevent the use of a linear extrapolation to determine critical Ωa threshold levels required to shift coral reefs from a net calcifying to a net dissolving state.
McMahon A., Santos I. R., Cyronak T. & Eyre B. D., in press. Hysteresis between coral reef calcification and the seawater aragonite saturation state. Geophysical Research Letters. Article (subscription required).
