Ben has a degree in Marine Environmental Sciences, and has worked as a diving instructor in the Caribbean for the past few years. As a keen environmentalist he enjoys being able to introduce his students to the world under our oceans, and the importance of marine life to our existence on land. He currently lives in Amsterdam where he is contemplating the location of his next underwater adventures.
The problems of the US auto manufacturing industry have been widely reported in recent weeks.The big surprise is that to many, this actually came as a surprise.
But is it really surprising that the industry is in a state of collapse considering they continue to make cars that are increasingly irrelevant to the needs of the rest of the world?
This issue is no better demonstrated than by the US Government’s introduction last year of average fuel consumption targets. The legislation mandates a national passenger car fleet average consumption of 32 mpg by 2015, and 35 mpg by 2020.
Is this progress, or is it too little too late?
According to a recent report the fleet average for Europe was 34.4 mpg in 2007. Putting Europeans practically 14 years ahead of the game. Other major auto markets are similarly ahead.
Ignoring both the CITES treaty and the International Whaling Commission, exports of Fin Whale meat hunted by the Icelandic whaling fleet have passed customs and quality checks in Japan. It is hoped that Japanese consumers develop a taste for the meat, apparently one of the tastiest varieties.
Prior to the advent of modern whaling techniques in the 19th century, Fin whales were largely immune to predation by humans. However, modern methods have allowed an estimated 90,000 Fin whales to be caught in the North Atlantic up until around the late 1980’s, with some subsistence catches in Greenland continuing. Populations in the Pacific and Antarctic regions are less well known.
The Fin Whale is currently listed in appendix 1 of the CITES list of endangered species. This list aims to protect endangered species by preventing international trade except when import is for non commercial reasons. However, Iceland along with Norway and Japan hold reservations to this listing. This effectively means that these countries have opted out of this area of the CITES convention, allowing them to trade this species. The catch rates set by the International Whaling Commission have been set at zero since 1976, however this does not apply to Iceland, Norway or the Russian Federation which have all objected to this provision.
The Government of the Maldives, a small island nation in the Indian Ocean, is looking at alternative ways to deal with the nation’s impending inundation.
Global sea level rise is a big problem for many of the world’s nations. With an average height above sea level of 1.5m and a maximum height of 4m the Maldives has a bigger problem than most. In their 2007 report the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecast that sea level rise is occurring and is speeding up. They also acknowledge that the amount of change varies from place to place. Some regions are seeing a rise, others a fall.
The governments of all small island nations under threat from these changes have been trying to come up with workable solutions. For example one solution under consideration by the Maldivian government involves building a protective sea wall around a several of islands and moving the entire population to a new protected home. This option has been dismissed however as it was thought to be prohibitively expensive.
A cafe in the Dutch town of Zeist has installed a revolving door which generates electricity as you pass through.
Holland has led the way in wind power for centuries. With a quarter of the country lying below sea level they have traditionally used windmills to pump out the water. They currently have the world’s largest offshore wind farm, generating enough power to supply more than 100,000 homes. They are also famous in harnessing human power for transport. Anyone who has been to Amsterdam has seen the millions of bicycles on the streets. So what are they up to now?
Governments will meet in Copenhagen next year to begin the long process of formulating the next Kyoto protocol. But how will we make sure that countries abide by their promises?
One idea being explored is an international body similar to the international Court of Justice in The Hague. The idea being put forward in the Telegraph by Stephen Hockman QC, a former chairman of the Bar Council, is that a legal body should be set up to be the supreme authority on issues relating to environmental damage and climate change.
An important role which he foresees this body fulfilling is the influence of public opinion. He is quoted as saying:
“If there are bodies around that can give definitive legal rulings that are accepted as fair and reasonable that has its own impact on public opinion.”
Although the court would be able to hand down sanctions or fines, it is also hoped that it would be able to shame or embarrass countries or companies into taking the appropriate action..
“Taken together, the ice sheets in Greenland and
Antarctica have very likely been contributing to sea
level rise over 1993 to 2003.” IPCC 4th Assessment Report
A study commissioned by the bank HSBC which set out to gauge public opinion about climate change in nine of the world’s major markets reveals that people in developing countries are more concerned about the potential impacts of climate change, and more willing to do something about it. The study, which questioned a thousand people in each of the nine countries (UK, France, Germany, USA, Mexico, India, Brazil, China and Hong Kong) reveals much about how people perceive the threat of climate change, and the role of government and the individual in addressing the problem.
“Concern about climate
change is high, especially in
developing economies, and
so is people’s individual
commitment to address it.” - HSBC Climate Confidence Index
The difference in opinion can be stark. For example, in the United States of America where per capita CO2 output is very high, only 23% of people questioned believed they were making a significant effort to help reduce the effects of climate change. Contrast this with 43% in Mexico which has less than 1/4 of the CO2 output per capita.
The world over, fish stocks are declining, catch rates are falling and management is failing. Ever bigger ships with ever bigger nets employing more advanced technology should surely result in increasing catch sizes. However internationally, catch rates are declining. Even small scale subsistence fisheries are in decline. Why is this happening? The ocean is a complex system which crosses our arbitrary international boundary’s making management of these resources incredibly difficult. Over fishing of one fish species in one area can have a knock-on effect in areas far removed and on completely different species. Our understanding of these delicate interactions is very limited.
Since 1983 the fisheries of the European Union have been managed under the Common Fisheries Policy. In September this year the European Commission announced a full review of of the Common Fisheries Policy because it has failed to protect fish stocks.
It seems that quite often small islands can provide a condensed view of world-wide problems: As long as it is cheap today it’s ok.
Residents of the small Honduran Isle of Roatan, situated in the Caribbean sea just south of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula have recently taken to the streets in protest of the price increases imposed on them by the island’s power company RECO. The protesters have on several occasions set up road blocks and picket lines all over the island, effectively bringing the island to a standstill for three days on one occasion and two on another. In fact, several cruise ships responsible for a major source of income to the island’s developing economy have been turned around and sent on their way costing the island an estimated $450,000 a day.
