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the energy [r]evolution
The climate change imperative demands nothing short of an Energy [R]evolution. The expert consensus is that this fundamental shift must begin immediately and be well underway within the next ten years in order to avert the worst impacts. What is needed is a complete transformation of the way we produce, consume and distribute energy, while at the same time maintaining economic growth. Nothing short of such a revolution will enable us to limit global warming to less than a rise in temperature of 2° Celsius, above which the impacts become devastating.
Current electricity generation relies mainly on burning fossil fuels, with their associated CO2 emissions, in very large power stations which waste much of their primary input energy. More energy is lost as the power is moved around the electricity grid network and converted from high transmission voltage down to a supply suitable for domestic or commercial consumers. The system is innately vulnerable to disruption: localised technical, weather-related or even deliberately caused faults can quickly cascade, resulting in widespread blackouts. Whichever technology is used to generate electricity within this old fashioned configuration, it will inevitably be subject to some, or all, of these problems. At the core of the Energy [R]evolution there therefore needs to be a change in the way that energy is both produced and distributed.
4.1 key principles
the energy [r]evolution can be achieved by adhering to five key principles:
1.respect natural limits – phase out fossil fuels by the end of this century We must learn to respect natural limits. There is only so much carbon that the atmosphere can absorb. Each year humans emit over 25 billion tonnes of carbon equivalent; we are literally filling up the sky. Geological resources of coal could provide several hundred years of fuel, but we cannot burn them and keep within safe limits. Oil and coal development must be ended. The global Energy [R]evolution scenario has a target to reduce energy related CO2 emissions to a maximum of 10 Gigatonnes (Gt) by 2050 and phase out fossil fuels by 2085.
2.equity and fairness As long as there are natural limits there needs to be a fair distribution of benefits and costs within societies, between nations and between present and future generations. At one extreme, a third of the world’s population has no access to electricity, whilst the most industrialised countries consume much more than their fair share.
The effects of climate change on the poorest communities are exacerbated by massive global energy inequality. If we are to address climate change, one of the core principles must be equity and fairness, so that the benefits of energy services – such as light, heat, power and transport – are available for all: north and south, rich and poor. Only in this way can we create true energy security, as well as the conditions for genuine human wellbeing.
The Advanced Energy [R]evolution scenario has a target to achieve energy equity as soon as technically possible. By 2050 the average per capita emission should be between 1 and 2 tonnes of CO2.
3.implement clean, renewable solutions and decentralise energy systems. There is no energy shortage. All we need to do is use existing technologies to harness energy effectively and efficiently. Renewable energy and energy efficiency measures are ready, viable and increasingly competitive. Wind, solar and other renewable energy technologies have experienced double digit market growth for the past decade.
Just as climate change is real, so is the renewable energy sector. Sustainable decentralised energy systems produce less carbon emissions, are cheaper and involve less dependence on imported fuel. They create more jobs and empower local communities. Decentralised systems are more secure and more efficient. This is what the Energy [R]evolution must aim to create.
To stop the earth’s climate spinning out of control, most of the world’s fossil fuel reserves – coal, oil and gas – must remain in the ground. Our goal is for humans to live within the natural limits of our small planet.
4.decouple growth from fossil fuel use Starting in the developed countries, economic growth must be fully decoupled from fossil fuel usage. It is a fallacy to suggest that economic growth must be predicated on their increased combustion.
We need to use the energy we produce much more efficiently, and we need to make the transition to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels quickly in order to enable clean and sustainable growth.
5.phase out dirty, unsustainable energyWe need to phase out coal and nuclear power. We cannot continue to build coal plants at a time when emissions pose a real and present danger to both ecosystems and people. And we cannot continue to fuel the myriad nuclear threats by pretending nuclear power can in any way help to combat climate change. There is no role for nuclear power in the Energy [R]evolution.
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What is Rainwater Harvesting?
Rainwater harvesting is an ancient practice of catching and holding rain for later use. In a rainwater harvesting system, rain is gathered from a building rooftop or other source and is held in large containers for future use, such as watering gardens or washing cars. This practice reduces the demand on water resources and is excellent during times of drought.
Why is it Important?
In addition to reducing the demand on our water sources (especially important during drought), rainwater harvesting also helps prevent water pollution. Surprised?
Here’s why: the success of the 1972 Clean Water Act has meant that the greatest threat to New York’s waterbodies comes not from industrial sources, but rather through the small actions we all make in our daily lives. For example, in a rain storm, the oil, pesticides, animal waste, and litter from our lawns, sidewalks, driveways, and streets are washed down into our sewers. This is called non-point source (NPS) pollution because the pollutants come from too many sources to be identified. Rainwater harvesting diverts water from becoming polluted stormwater; instead, this captured rainwater may be used to irrigate gardens near where it falls.
In New York City, keeping rainwater out of the sewer system is very important. That’s because the city has an old combined sewer system that uses the same pipes to transport both household waste and stormwater to sewage treatment plants. During heavy rains, the system overloads; then untreated sewage and contaminated stormwater overflow into our rivers and estuary, with serious consequences:
Who is Harvesting Rainwater in New York City?
Back in 2002, a drought emergency pushed many community gardens to the brink of extinction. For the first time in twenty years, community gardeners were denied permission to use fire hydrants, the primary source of water for most community gardens. This crisis led to the formation of the Water Resources Group (WRG), an open collaboration of community gardening and environmental organizations. With help from the WRG, rainwater harvesting systems have now been built as demonstration sites in twenty NYC community gardens.
At community gardens that harvest rainwater, rain is diverted from the gutters of adjacent buildings and is stored in tanks in the gardens. A 1-inch rainfall on a 1,000-square-foot roof produces 600 gallons of water. The tanks are mosquito proof, so the standing water does not encourage West Nile virus. Because rainwater is chlorine free, it is better than tap water for plant growth, meaning healthier plants. And it’s free!
What are Other Cities Doing?
Many cities have adopted creative, low-cost ways to stop wasting rainwater by diverting it from their sewage systems and putting it to use where it falls. Here are some examples:
What Can I Do?
Spread the word! Educate those around you on the importance of lifestyle decisions.
Tell people not to litter, dump oil down storm drains, or overfertilize their lawns.
Install a rainwater harvesting system at your home, school, business, or local community center.
Contact your local elected officials, and let them know you support rainwater harvesting!
Supporting rainwater harvesting Jade Boat Loans
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The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft is expected to discover its 1,000TH comet this summer.
The SOHO spacecraft is a joint effort between NASA and the European Space Agency. It has accounted for approximately one-half of all comet discoveries with computed orbits in the history of astronomy.
"Before SOHO was launched, only 16 sun grazing comets had been discovered by space observatories. Based on that experience, who could have predicted SOHO would discover more than 60 times that number, and in only nine years," said Dr. Chris St. Cyr. He is senior project scientist for NASA's Living With a Star program at the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "This is truly a remarkable achievement!"
About 85 percent of the comets SOHO discovered belongs to the Kreutz group of sun grazing comets, so named because their orbits take them very close to Earth's star. The Kreutz sun grazers pass within 500,000 miles of the star's visible surface. Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, is about 36 million miles from the solar surface.
SOHO has also been used to discover three other well-populated comet groups: the Meyer, with at least 55 members; Marsden, with at least 21 members; and the Kracht, with 24 members. These groups are named after the astronomers who suggested the comets are related, because they have similar orbits.
Many comet discoveries were made by amateurs using SOHO images on the Internet. SOHO comet hunters come from all over the world. The United States, United Kingdom, China, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, Ukraine, France, Germany, and Lithuania are among the many countries whose citizens have used SOHO to chase comets.
Almost all of SOHO's comets are discovered using images from its Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) instrument. LASCO is used to observe the faint, multimillion-degree outer atmosphere of the sun, called the corona. A disk in the instrument is used to make an artificial eclipse, blocking direct light from the sun, so the much fainter corona can be seen. Sun grazing comets are discovered when they enter LASCO's field of view as they pass close by the star.
"Building coronagraphs like LASCO is still more art than science, because the light we are trying to detect is very faint," said Dr. Joe Gurman, U.S. project scientist for SOHO at Goddard. "Any imperfections in the optics or dust in the instrument will scatter the light, making the images too noisy to be useful. Discovering almost 1,000 comets since SOHO's launch on December 2, 1995 is a testament to the skill of the LASCO team."
SOHO successfully completed its primary mission in April 1998. It has enough fuel to remain on station to keep hunting comets for decades if the LASCO continues to function.
For information about SOHO on the Internet, visit:
Explore further: Long-term warming, short-term variability: Why climate change is still an issue
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American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To establish in office; install.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To set or place; establish, as in a rank or condition.
- To invest.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To set, place, or establish, as in a rank, office, or condition; to install; to invest.
- From in- + state. (Wiktionary)
“North Carolina improved to 21-1 in instate tournament games, including 6-0 in games played here - home to Atlantic Coast Conference rival Wake Forest.”
“While this was not a war, the instate was the same.”
“But, the difficult national environment for Democrats coupled with a surge in Republican energy instate -- the result of the passage of a stringent immigration bill -- quickly turned the race into a serious contest.”
“Soccer Board of Directors voted to re-instate the provisional sanction.”
“After a first refusal, Obama says he'll now re-instate solar water heating to the White House roof, and will add photo-voltaic cells that will generate electricity.”
“If we want to avoid catastrophic climate change and avoid climate disaster, we need to instate a moratorium on drilling in the Arctic.”
“I think only money from instate sources should be allowed to pay for the campaign.”
“This seems like more of a power play to me: they want a worldwide governing body to oversee this and have them instate rules in place that will change our lives forever.”
“It's time to re-instate the tax breaks from the 2000-2004 period and we all have to face the fact that these bills must be paid.”
“Then if Congress really thinks this is incorrect, they can re-instate them.”
These user-created lists contain the word ‘instate’.
The only letters without a "satine" bingo possibility: J, Q, Y
Words found through Wordie's random word function. I didn't take phrases, foreign, misspelled, or madeupical words, so I looked at about 200 words to assemble this list.
I was surprise...
Looking for tweets for instate.
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Japan has been hit by the worst crisis since 1945, as an earthquake and tsunami have killed 10,000, destroyed tens of thousands of buildings, displaced hundreds of thousands, and left millions without power or water. As the nation braces for more aftershocks, people have resorted to using sea water in an attempt to prevent a nuclear meltdown from adding a third catastrophe, which has already leaked and caused a mass evacuation. According to Greenpeace,
"We are told by the nuclear industry that things like this cannot happen with modern reactors, yet Japan is in the middle of a nuclear crisis with potentially devastating consequences…The evolving situation at Fukushima remains far from clear, but what we do know is that contamination from the release of Cesium-137 poses a significant health risk to anyone exposed. Cesium-137 has been one if the isotopes causing the greatest health impacts following the Chernobyl disaster, because it can remain in the environment and food chain for 300 years.”
Whereas the first two catastrophe’s were natural and unpredictable, a nuclear meltdown is entirely unnatural and entirely predictable. According to the local anti-nuclear group, Citizens’ Nuclear Information Centre,
The nuclear crisis comes a month before the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, the largest nuclear meltdown in history, which showered Europe in a radioactive cloud causing a quarter of a million cancers, 100,000 of them fatal. As of this writing the disaster in Japan is already the third worst in history, behind Chernobyl and the Three Mile Island partial meltdown in 1979, and comes only 12 years after a fatal overexposure of workers at a nuclear plant in Tokaimura, Japan. Even without the inherent risk of a meltdown, nuclear power is a threat to health. The problem is not just the few terrible times when they don't work, but the daily experience of when they do work. As climate campaigner George Monbiot wrote more than a decade ago,
“The children of women who have worked in nuclear installations, according to a study by the National Radiological Protection Board, are eleven times more likely to contract cancer than the children of workers in non-radioactive industries. You can tell how close to [the nuclear plant in] Sellafield children live by the amount of plutonium in their teeth.”
Add to this the morbidity and mortality or working in uranium mines and the dangers of disposing of radioactive waste, and you have negative health impacts at every stage of nuclear power (for a summary see the UK’s Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament). Despite this, governments have invested massively in the nuclear industry and globalized the risk. Canada has exported nuclear reactors while building seven of its own, and despite concerns about safety the Ontario government plans on investing $36 billion into nuclear power at the same time as its backing off wind power.
REASONS AND EXCUSES
While nuclear power is a clear and present danger to the health of the planet and its people, it is a thriving industry driven by economic and military competition. Vandana Shiva—who studied nuclear physics and now leads the climate justice movement in India—has exposed the hypocrisy of US hostility to Iranian nuclear power when it is doing the same thing to promote nuclear power and weapons in India as a bulwark against China:
As Shiva summarized in her book Soil Not Oil, “nuclear winter is not an alternative to global warming”, and it is a tragedy that Japan has become the test case against both military and civilian arms of the nuclear industry--from the atomic bomb 65 years ago to the nuclear meltdown today. But instead of admitting the problems of nuclear power, the nuclear industry and its supporters have greenwashed it and presented it as a solution to global warming. Some environmentalists, such as Gaia theorist James Lovelock, have fallen prey to these claims. Lovelock, whose ideas are driven by apocalyptic predictions and an extreme pessimism, has gone so far as to claim that “nuclear power is the only green solution”.While former US president George Bush defended his country’s 103 nuclear power plants as not producing "a single pound of air pollution or greenhouses gases”, Dr. Helen Caldicott has refuted the claim in her important book Nuclear Power is Not the Answer, which proves that even without meltdowns nuclear power is a threat to the planet:
The false dichotomy between carbon emissions and nuclear power is also refuted by those developing the Tar Sands, who have proposed using nuclear power to pump Tar Sands oil.
PEOPLE POWER, GREEN JOBS
Fortunately there are growing anti-nuclear campaigns uniting indigenous groups, NGOs and the broader climate justice movement to challenge nuclear power in all its stages—from mining to use to waste disporal. As Vandana Shiva writes in Soil Not Oil,
Meanwhile in Canada indigenous groups are leading opposition to transportation of nuclear waste through the Great Lakes and their surrounding communities, declaring “what we do to the land, we do to ourselves.” Last year the German government extended nuclear power against the will of the majority but after news of the leak in Japan, 50,000 people formed a human chain from a nuclear reactor to Stuttgart demanding an end to nuclear power.
Uniting these campaigns with the labour movement raises the demands of good green jobs for all, to transform our oil and nuclear economy into one based on ecological and social sustainability and justice. Instead of the billions in subsidies for the nuclear industry, governments could be investing in solar, wind and clean electricity, while retrofitting buildings, which could solve the economic and climate crises without the inherent dangers of nuclear power. As Greenpeace wrote,
"Our thoughts continue to be with the Japanese people as they face the threat of a nuclear disaster, following already devastating earthquake and tsunami. The authorities must focus on keeping people safe, and avoiding any further releases of radioactivity...Greenpeace is calling for the phase out of existing reactors, and no construction of new commercial nuclear reactors. Governments should invest in renewable energy resources that are not only environmentally sound but also affordable and reliable.”
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Barbara Heath Land Race – 2012
By the time Barbara Heath visited Horsham, the town and the surrounding Wimmera District of Western Victoria were in the process of recovering from a decade-long drought. To inform her work, which was initially to address issues of drought, Heath held a number of planned and fortuitous conversations with the assistance of Horsham Regional Art Gallery staff, which came to focus on the changes in agricultural practices in the area.
The list of people with whom Heath consulted is lengthy, but Dr Bob Redden, curator Australian Temperate Field Crops Collection of the Grains Innovation Park became her main contact. In an email of August 2011, Dr Redden wrote to Heath: ‘Now with unprecedented population levels and growth, there is a risk of disconnect and taking food supply for granted, even with climate change. Humans will need to change if they wish to continue their increasing diverse interests, but will need to prioritise agricultural research, better understanding our available genetic resources, plant growth and development, and imaginative paths to harnessing science and truly earn the title ‘Homo sapiens’.
Land race is a direct response to the urgency of maintaining biodiversity. Agriculture today requires economies of scale that change the social landscape and limit population diversity. This results in the erasure of many small communities, loss of connection to the past and cultural loss. Dr Redden explained his department’s work to ensure plant gene diversity by sourcing and saving seed from land race crops. ‘Land race’ is the term used to describe heritage seed varieties now being displaced by International Seed Uniformity Standards.
Heath’s Land Race series shows distinct levels, from biodiversity in the soils to the patterns of farming practices above. Each Land Race also features a remnant plant species that reaches up and through the tractor track patterns: briar, apple and aloe.
There are numerous hero shots (one above) and details prepared (below), we will wait for the show to get under way and publicise a little later. The preliminary research is in an earlier blog post – click here.
2 Responses »
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Human expansion and interference have detrimental effects as civilizations continue to encroach on previously undisturbed habitats. As a result, many species of animals and plants must struggle to survive.
Biodiversity reveals the important role each of these life forms plays in its ecosystem as well as the irreversible and extensive consequences that would result from a massive loss of biodiversity. It explores the ecological and evolutionary processes, how these processes depend on the cohabitation of a wide range of life forms within an ecosystem, and how the existence of these diverse organisms maintains a crucial stability in the natural world. Beginning with an introduction to biodiversity, this new volume discusses its importance and history, the difficulties in maintaining it, and past and current efforts to protect ecosystems from greater destruction. It examines five specific case studies, including the United States, Indonesia, New Zealand, Madagascar, and Costa Rica, describing the current status and history of biodiversity, obstacles, and conservation efforts in the country at hand.
Maps. Index. Bibliography. Glossary. Chronology. Tables and graphs.
About the Author(s)
Natalie Goldstein is a freelance writer who has written numerous books for the educational market, including textbooks and teacher's guides for the middle school and encyclopedias for the high school. She also wrote Globalization and Free Trade and Global Warming in the Global Issues series.
Foreword author Julie L. Lockwood is director of the graduate program in ecology and evolution and associate professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources at Rutgers University. She is the coauthor of Avian Invasions: The Ecology and Evolution of Exotic Birds and Invasion Ecology.
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Participatory Video created by members of various indigenous communities in Itogon, Philippines, tracking the impacts of large-scale mining and now climate change on their environment and culture.
This film was created by members of various indigenous communities in the Cordillera region of the Philippines, during a Participatory Video project facilitated by InsightShare. The participants were taught to use video cameras during an intensive 9-day PV workshop in the barangay of Garrison, in Itogon, and created this 24-minute film to communicate the devastating impacts of large-scale mining wrought on their communities by various companies over the years, and now the increasingly alarming impacts of climate change.
This project was part of Conversations with the Earth project. Launched in April 2009, Conversations with the Earth is a collective opportunity to build a global movement for an indigenous-controlled community media network. CWE works with a growing network of indigenous groups and communities living in critical ecosystems around the world, from the Atlantic Rainforest to Central Asia, from the Philippines to the Andes, from the Arctic to Ethiopia. Through CWE, these indigenous communities are able to share their story of climate change. Through the creation of sustainable autonomous indigenous media hubs in these regions, CWE fosters a long-term relationship with these communities, based on principles of local control and supporting indigenous media capacity.
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Does exercise help you detox?
Explore This Story
The word “detoxification” is flung around the fitness community as frequently as kettlebells.
Yoga teachers regularly speak of detoxifying twists, aerobics instructors of detoxifying sweat, dieters of detoxifying fasts. But health professionals are skeptical.
“If you start talking about exercising to detoxify, there’s no scientific data,” said Dr. Elizabeth Matzkin, chief of women’s sports medicine at Harvard Medical School. “The human body is designed to get rid of what we don’t need.”
The same applies to fasting.
“No good scientific data supports any of those cleanses, where you drink juice, or (only) water for a week,” she said.
Exercise is important, Matzkin added, because it enables our body to do what it is made to do, but the kidneys and colon get rid of waste. The role of exercise in that process is unclear.
“In general exercise helps our lungs; kidneys get rid of things that can cause us onset of disease,” she said.
A healthy lifestyle — eating healthy, drinking plenty of water and exercising — is important to detoxifying because it enables our body to do what is intended to do.
“As for specific yoga moves, I’m not so sure,” she said.
Yoga instructor and fitness expert Shirley Archer, an author and spokeswoman for the American Council on Exercise (ACE) said the theory behind the effectiveness of detoxifying twists in yoga is that they squeeze the organs, which push the blood out so fresh blood can rush in.
“Better circulation equals better health,” said Archer, who is based in Florida. “If detox means to eliminate from the body what it no longer needs, then certain yogic practices can help.”
She said yogic deep breathing with strong exhalations can empty the lungs of unneeded carbon dioxide and allow for a fresh breath of more oxygenated air. “This nourishes all of our cells,” she said. “It is also a method of cleansing because better circulation equals better health.”
Meditative movement practices, such as yoga and tai chi, she added, can detox your attitude because they require staying in the present moment and discourage dwelling on the past.
Last summer, celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson began taking groups of 40-odd women on what she calls Detox Weeks, which involve at least three hours of workouts each day, as well as lectures on fitness and nutrition aimed mainly at encouraging lifestyle changes.
Similar weeks in other cities are planned for 2013.
“Women work out and think ‘Why can’t my love handles, muffin tops go away’?” said Anderson, creator of the Tracy Anderson Method and a co-owner, with actress Gwyneth Paltrow, of fitness centres in Los Angeles and New York. “The most important thing is if you can become a consistent exerciser.”
“A good workout is not five to 10 yoga poses,” she explained. “You have to learn to scale up your endurance. If you can only jump for five minutes straight, we’ll go to 10 minutes, then 20 minutes.”
Anderson said she uses the term detoxification broadly to include everything from working up a good sweat to clearing the mind of destructive thoughts.
“Detoxification is a big topic,” she said.
Nancy Clark, a registered dietitian in Boston, Massachusetts and a member of the American College of Sports Medicine, said the body generally does a fine job of detoxifying itself through the liver and kidneys. Sweating has nothing to do with it.
“When you sweat you really don’t detoxify anything,” she explained. “If someone goes on a crash diet, then maybe toxins are released but then the body would take care of them. When you sweat you lose sodium.”
- NEW RCMP probing Senate expense scandal, Senate speaker says
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- Toronto terror suspect asks for defence lawyer who is guided by ‘holy book’
- Updated London attack: Two more people arrested, police say
- Tim Bosma homicide: Second suspect Mark Smich appears in court
- Updated City councillor Paul Ainslie's licence suspended after roadside check
- DiManno: No matter how it seems on Planet Ford, it’s over
- Updated As world gawks at Rob Ford scandal, Toronto police wait and watch
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As the years tick by with most of the planet doing little in the way of reducing carbon emissions, researchers are getting increasingly serious about the possibility of carbon sequestration. If it looks like we're going to be burning coal for decades, carbon sequestration offers us the best chance of limiting its impact on climate change and ocean acidification. A paper that will appear in today's PNAS describes a fantastic resource for carbon sequestration that happens to be located right next to many of the US' major urban centers on the East Coast.
Assuming that capturing the carbon dioxide is financially and energetically feasible, the big concern becomes where to put it so that it will stay out of the atmosphere for centuries. There appear to be two main schools of thought here. One is that areas that hold large deposits of natural gas should be able to trap other gasses for the long term. The one concern here is that, unlike natural gas, CO2 readily dissolves in water, and may escape via groundwater that flows through these features. The alternative approach turns that problem into a virtue: dissolved CO2 can react with minerals in rocks called basalts (the product of major volcanic activity), forming insoluble carbonate minerals. This should provide an irreversible chemical sequestration.
The new paper helpfully points out that if we're looking for basalts, the East Coast of the US, home to many of its major urban centers and their associated carbon emissions, has an embarrassment of riches. The rifting that broke up the supercontinent called Pangea and formed the Atlantic Ocean's basin triggered some massive basalt flows at the time, which are now part of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, or CAMP. The authors estimate that prior to some erosion, CAMP had the equivalent of the largest basalt flows we're currently aware of, the Siberian and Deccan Traps.
Some of this basalt is on land—anyone in northern Manhattan can look across the Hudson River and see it in the sheer cliffs of the Palisades. But much, much more of it is off the coast under the Atlantic Ocean. The authors provide some evidence in the form of drill cores and seismic readings that indicate there are large basalt deposits in basins offshore of New Jersey and New York, extending up to southern New England.
These areas are now covered with millions of years of sediment, which should provide a largely impermeable barrier that will trap any gas injected into the basalt for many years. The deposits should also have reached equilibrium with the seawater above, which will provide the water necessary for the chemical reactions that precipitate out carbonate minerals.
Using a drill core from an onshore deposit, the authors show that the basalt deposits are also composed of many distinct flows of material. Each of these flows would have undergone rapid cooling on both its upper and lower surface, which fragmented the rock. The core samples show porosity levels between 10 and 20 percent, which should allow any CO2 pumped into the deposits to spread widely.
The authors estimate that New Jersey's Sandy Hook basin, a relatively small deposit, is sufficient to house 40 years' worth of emissions from coal plants that produce 4GW of electricity. And the Sandy Hook basin is dwarfed by one that lies off the Carolinas and Georgia. They estimate that the South Georgia Rift basin covers roughly 40,000 square kilometers.
The authors argue that although laboratory simulations suggest the basic idea of using basalts for carbon sequestration is sound, the actual effectiveness in a given region can depend on local quirks of geology, so pilot tests in the field are absolutely essential for determining whether a given deposit is suitable. So far, only one small-scale test has been performed on any of the CAMP deposits.
Given the area's proximity to significant sources of CO2 and the infrastructure that could be brought into play if full-scale sequestration is attempted, it seems like one of the most promising proposals to date.
PNAS, 2010. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0913721107
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Bundelkhand’s ravine wastelands. Photo: Keya Acharya/IPS
BUNDELKHAND, India – Narrow, cobblestoned lanes separate the rows of mud houses with cool interiors and mud-smoothened patios, some with goats tethered to the wooden posts. This is Tajpura village, deep in this water-stressed, drought-prone region of northern India.
An area of stark beauty marked by deep ravines in central India, Bundelkhand spans the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The ruins of stone fortresses dotting the landscape betray a history of constant warfare just as the remnants of water courses and irrigation systems speak of peaceable and prosperous times gone by.
Bundelkhand suffers from manmade problems, starting with the government’s misplaced land and water policies that have worsened an already stressed climatic situation caused by prolonged droughts and erratic rainfall.
Air dropping of ‘Prosopis juliflora’ seeds as a soil-conservation measure in the 1960s resulted in the plant becoming an invasive species that killed indigenous shrubs and trees, making the soft soils of the ravines leach water rapidly and turned vast areas into wastelands.
Thoughtless promotion by the government of water-intensive crops like mentha (mint) encouraged richer farmers to dig deep tube wells while neglecting groundwater recharge, resulting in a disastrous lowering of the water table.
Marginalised farmers, unable to afford expensive infrastructure and inputs, suffer as groundwater depletion adds to problems caused by the ancient rainwater storage and distribution systems going defunct.
Drought is now a familiar spectre in this region and less than half of its one million hectare arable spread is now cultivable, causing distress to its mainly farming population of 50 million people.
“What you have is very high water consumption in an area suffering from water crisis,” says Anil Singh, coordinator of Parmarth, an organisation working to revive traditional systems of water and cropping among marginalised communities that inhabit the ravines of Bundelkhand.
In Tajpura village, as though in denial of Bundelkhand’s stark conditions, 36-year-old Mamtadevi, wife of Ajan Singh, serves up a meal of steaming hot chappatis (Indian flat bread) smeared with clarified butter, a cool, green salad and a dish of smoked brinjal, boiled potato, fresh tomato and green chilli.
“That extra taste in the vegetables is because they are grown sustainably and without chemicals,” explains Mamtadevi.
Ajan Singh and Mamtadevi were among the first to adopt Parmarth’s ‘low external input sustainable agriculture’ (LEISA) which is now standing them in good stead as rainfall becomes scantier and average temperatures rises.
LEISA involves such practices as efficient recycling of nitrogen and other plant nutrients, managing pests through natural means, maintaining ideal soil conditions and ensuring that local farmers are aware of the environment and the value of preserving ecosystems.
The soundness of this method shows in the freshness of Ajan Singh’s vegetable crops, in biodiversity conservation through the use of hardy indigenous seeds and avoiding chemicals for maintaining soil health.
Ajan Singh is also able to beat the vagaries of the weather and this year’s drought, caused by failure of the monsoons, holds no great terror for him or for other farmers who follow LEISA.
Bhartendu Prakash, steering committee member of the Organic Farmers Association of India (OFAI) and in-charge of its northern branch based in Bundelkhand, says the region was hit by frost last winter but organic farmlands using LEISA were the least affected.
“I did not know this system previously. I would grow ‘gehu’ (wheat) and manage 200-300 kg on this same plot,” says Ajan Singh.
Parmarth helped the community in contouring the lands for rainwater run-off and storage and constructed a well for irrigation. Its volunteers also taught farmers like Ajan Singh how to make vermicompost and set up pheromone traps to catch insects.
Most farmers though, already had their own methods of making biopesticide – usually a mix of neem leaves and garlic soaked in buffalo buttermilk. “But before the pheromone traps were laid, the spraying had to be done once every three days, now once a week is enough,” says Mamtadevi.
By 2009, the couple’s vegetables had such a reputation for quality that they sold at the local market 10 km away at higher than prevailing rates, earning them nearly 80,000 Indian rupees (then approximately 1,800 dollars) yearly.
Three years later, Ajan Singh bought another ‘bigha’ (approximately 2.2 acres) of land. He now takes his produce to two markets and also sells milk from five buffaloes that he bought with his earnings.
Fifteen more farmers from Tajpura are now following Ajan Singh’s methods.
Along with this, the women of the community have banded together into self-help groups that maintain a savings and loan account to assist women find simple livelihood alternatives like livestock rearing.
The women also run a grain bank that sells surplus grain in the open market and give grain free to distressed families in times of need.
“We are now trying to link the community to government schemes wherever possible, such as obtaining sprinklers, and getting some benefit from the state-run Bundelkhand Relief Package which does help with drought-proofing,” says Anil Singh who works for Parmarth.
Released in 2009 by the federal government, the package worth 1.5 billion dollars supports rainwater harvesting, proper utilisation of river systems, irrigation canals and water bodies over a three-year period.
But Bundelkhand’s natural farming methods need to get more support as the funding period comes to an end.
“Bundelkhand is too entrenched in northern Indian chemical farming methods,” says OFAI’s Prakash. In contrast, OFAI is deluged with requests for training in organic farming methods from farmers in Punjab and Haryana, the ‘mother zone’ of the so-called ‘green revolution’ that transformed agriculture in India after introduction in the 1960s.
Rajesh Krishnan, campaigner for Greenpeace in India, is optimistic that the government will see the wisdom of promoting organic agriculture as a counter measure to the numerous fallouts of chemical agriculture that fuelled the green revolution.
Krishnan is hopeful for the probable financing of sustainable agriculture in India’s 12th Five- Year Plan, due to be rolled out in November.
Prakash is confident that sustainable agricultural farming will survive through a growing demand for organically-grown crops.
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Scientists have long projected that areas north and south of the tropics will grow drier in a warming world –- from the Middle East through the European Riviera to the American Southwest, from sub-Saharan Africa to parts of Australia.
These regions are too far from the equator to benefit from the moist columns of heated air that result in steamy afternoon downpours. And the additional precipitation foreseen as more water evaporates from the seas is mostly expected to fall at higher latitudes. Essentially, a lot of climate scientists say, these regions may start to feel more like deserts under the influence of global warming.
Now scientists have measured a rapid recent expansion of desert-like barrenness in the subtropical oceans –- in places where surface waters have also been steadily warming. There could be a link to human-driven climate change, but it’s too soon to tell, the scientists said.
[UPDATED below, 3/6, 1 p..m] Read more…
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The Seine, the scenic river running through Paris, has inspired artists, attracted tourists and served as the soul of the city, and now it will also be a source of renewable energy. Paris officials have announced a plan to place river turbines beneath four bridges on the Seine.
The Pont du Garigliano, Pont de la Tournelle, Pont Marie and Pont au Change will each have two turbines installed underwater at their base. These bridges were chosen because the speed of the current accelerates in those locations. While river currents don't produce the kind of electricity that wave power can, the current-harvesting technology has come a long way and more devices are being introduced that can generate energy from even the slowest moving waters.
City officials have put a call out to power companies to come up with the best plan for installing the turbines, with a winner being chosen in January and installations starting next spring.
via The Guardian
written by Quiet-Environmentalist, June 29, 2010
written by David Brockes, July 08, 2010
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- Yes, this is a good time to plant native grass seed in the ground. You may have to supplement with irrigation if the rains stop before the seeds have germinated and made good root growth.
- Which grasses should I plant? The wonderful thing about California is that we have so many different ecosystems; the challenging thing about California is that we have so many different ecosystems. It’s impossible for us to know definitively which particular bunchgrasses used to grow or may still grow at your particular site, but to make the best guesses possible, we recommend the following:
- Bestcase scenario is to have bunchgrasses already on the site that you can augment through proper mowing or grazing techniques.
- Next best is to have a nearby site with native bunchgrasses and similar elevation, aspect, and soils, that you can use as a model.
- After that, go to sources such as our pamphlet Distribution of Native Grasses of California, by Alan Beetle, $7.50.
- Also reference local floras of your area, available through the California Native Plant Society.
Container growing: We grow seedlings in pots throughout the season, but ideal planning for growing your own plants in pots is to sow six months before you want to put them in the ground. Though restorationists frequently use plugs and liners (long narrow containers), and they may be required for large areas, we prefer growing them the horticultural way: first in flats, then transplanting into 4" pots, and when they are sturdy little plants, into the ground. Our thinking is that since they are not tap-rooted but fibrous-rooted (one of their main advantages as far as deep erosion control is concerned) square 4" pots suit them, and so far our experiences have borne this out.
In future newsletters, we will be reporting on the experiences and opinions of Marin ranchers Peggy Rathmann and John Wick, who are working with UC Berkeley researcher Wendy Silver on a study of carbon sequestration and bunchgrasses. So far, it’s very promising. But more on that later. For now, I’ll end with a quote from Peggy, who grows, eats, nurtures, lives, and sleeps bunchgrasses, for the health of their land and the benefit of their cows.
“It takes a while. But it’s so worth it.”
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Locating thermophiles in other parts of the universe could very well aid in the search for extraterrestrial life. Most people have agreed that if life is found among the stars, it will be microbial (at least in the near-term future). Many individuals have also suggested that intelligent life forms might very well be extinct in other parts of the universe. If scientists could locate thermophile microbes, they could piece together an archaeological picture of once powerful civilizations.
Taiwan is well known for its hot springs. Most tourists that visit the island end up visiting at least one. Many people like to take relaxing baths in them. Hot springs can be great for people with arthritis. New research is proving that they can also be a great place to find astrobiological data.
Photosynthetic thermophiles that live in hot springs may potentially be removing significant amounts of industrially produced carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They’ve thrived because of fundamental changes to the atmosphere caused by humanity. In fact, there are some scientists who feel that these microbes could play a vital role in regulating the planet’s climate. That role might become increasingly important in the future.
Planets that were once inhabited by industrially developed civilizations that have since passed might be teeming with life similar to these. If a planet was sufficiently changed by another race of beings, it could have ultimately favored the development of these tiny beings. They could indicate that intelligent lifeforms once inhabited a planet, and that planet could be different today than it was in the past.
While discovering a planet full of microbes would be initially interesting, in the future it could be a relatively common occurrence. Therefore, news services of the future might very well pass by such stories after a few weeks – much like they do today with the discovery of new exoplanets. Finding sufficient numbers of photosynthetic thermophiles would be telling about the history of a world, but it would also require a great deal of geological activity. Then again, there’s nothing to say that other civilizations wouldn’t also have the ability to increase the amount of geological activity on other planets. They might even do it on purpose, as a way of terraforming for instance.
For that matter, humans might want to give that a try. Venus is superheated because of thermal runaway as a result of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If water were transported to that very hot world, colonists could use the resulting geysers to grow bacteria that would absorb the atmospheric gas.
Leu, J., Lin, T., Selvamani, M., Chen, H., Liang, J., & Pan, K. (2012). Characterization of a novel thermophilic cyanobacterial strain from Taian hot springs in Taiwan for high CO2 mitigation and C-phycocyanin extraction Process Biochemistry DOI: 10.1016/j.procbio.2012.09.019
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of lakes dot the marshy Arctic tundra regions. Now, in the latest addition to
the growing body of evidence that global warming is significantly affecting
the Arctic, two recent studies suggest that thawing permafrost is the cause
of two seemingly contradictory observations both rapidly growing and
rapidly shrinking lakes.
Thawing permafrost is altering the lakes that dominate Arctic landscapes, such as this one in western Siberia. Courtesy of Laurence C. Smith.
The first study is a historical analysis of changes to 10,000 Siberian lakes over the past 30 years, a period of warming air and soil temperatures. Using satellite images, Laurence Smith, a geographer at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues found that, since the early 1970s, 125 Siberian lakes vanished completely, and those that remain averaged a 6 percent loss in surface area, a total of 930 square kilometers.
They report in the June 3 Science that the spatial pattern of lake disappearance suggests that the lakes drained away when the permafrost below them thawed, allowing the lake water to seep down into the groundwater. However, the team also found that lakes in northwestern Siberia actually grew by 12 percent, and 50 new lakes formed. Both of the rapid changes are due to warming, they say, and if the warming trend continues, the northern lakes will eventually shrink as well.
These two processes are similar, in that were witnessing permafrost degradation in both regions, says co-author Larry Hinzman, a hydrologist at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, who in previous studies documented shrinking lakes in southern Alaska. In the warmer, southern areas, we get groundwater infiltration, but in the northern areas, where the permafrost is thicker and colder, its going to take much, much longer for that to occur. So instead of seeing lakes shrinking there, were seeing lakes growing.
That finding is consistent with the second study, which focused on a set of unusually oriented, rapidly growing lakes in northern Alaska, an area of continuous permafrost. Jon Pelletier, a geomorphologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson, reports in the June 30 Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface that the odd alignment of the lakes is caused not by wind direction but by permafrost melting faster at the downhill end of the lake, which has shallower banks.
Since the 1950s, scientists have attributed the odd alignment of the egg-shaped lakes to winds blowing perpendicularly to the long axes of the lakes, which then set up currents that caused waves to break at the northwest and southeast ends, thus preferentially eroding them. The prevailing wind direction idea has been around so long that we dont even think about it, Smith says, but Jons [Pelletier] work is challenging that. Its a very interesting paper.
Wind-driven erosion occurs in the Great Lakes, but at rates of about a meter a year. The Alaskan oriented thaw lakes grow at rates of 5 meters or more per year. Pelletier says this rate difference suggests a different process is at work.
According to the model, the direction and speed of growth depend on where and how quickly the permafrost thaws, which is determined by two factors: how the water table intersects the slope of the landscape and how fast the summer temperature increases. If the permafrost thaws abruptly, the shorter, downhill bank is more likely to thaw first. The soggy soil slumps into the water, and the perimeter of the lake is enlarged. Its not just the [global] warming trend, but also how quickly the warming takes place in the summertime, Pelletier says.
Hinzman says that the lakes are just one part of the Arctic water cycle, which has seen an increasing number of perturbations in recent years. The whole hydrologic cycle is changing and this is just one component of that.
Understanding how the hydrologic cycle is changing is important, Hinzman says, because the amount of freshwater runoff into the Arctic Ocean impacts global ocean circulation and the amount of sea ice, thus affecting climate worldwide. If global warming continues to the point where permafrost goes away, there will be fewer lakes, Smith says. And a drier, less marshy Arctic could alter weather patterns and ecosystems, researchers say, affecting everything from the subsistence lifestyle of native people to the hazard of fire on the tundra.
Geotimes contributing writer
Back to top
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- For other places called Lodi, see Lodi.
Lodi is a town in Lombardy, Italy, on the right shore of the river Adda. It is the capital of the province of Lodi.
The commune has an area of 41,42 sq. km; population (2001) 40,805. Its name is pronounced by Italians as LAW-dee.
It was a Celtic village that in Roman times was called in Latin Laus Pompeia (probably in honor of the consul Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo) and was known also because its position allowed many Gauls of Gallia Cisalpina to obtain Roman citizenship. It was in an important position at the crossing of vital Roman roads.
In became a Catholic diocese and its first bishop, Saint Bassiano , (319-409), is the patron saint of the town (celebrated on January 19).
A free Comune (municipality) around 1000, it fiercely resisted the Milanese, who destroyed it in April 24 1158. Frederick Barbarossa re-built it on its current location.
Starting from 1220, the Lodigiani (inhabitants of Lodi) spent some decades in realizing an important work of hydraulic engineering: a system of miles and miles of artificial rivers and channels (called Consorzio di Muzza) was created in order to give water to the countryside, turning some arid areas into one of the (still now) most important agricultural areas of the region.
Lodi was ruled by the Visconti family, who built a castle.
In 1423, the antipope Antipope John XXIII, from Lodi's Duomo, launched his bolla by which he convened the Council of Constance (end of the Great Schism).
In 1454 representatives from all the regional states of Italy met in Lodi to sign the treaty known as the peace of Lodi, by which they intended to work in the direction of Italian unification, but this peace lasted only 40 years.
The town was then ruled by the Sforza family, France, Spain, Austria. In 1786 it became the eponymous capital of a province that included Crema.
On May 10, 1796: Battle of Lodi: the young Corsican general Napoleon Bonaparte won on the river Adda his first important battle, defeating the Austrians and later entering Milan. This is why in many towns there are streets dedicated to the famous bridge (for instance in Paris 6th arrondissement, Rue du Pont de Lodi).
In 1945, the Italian petrol company Agip, directed by Enrico Mattei, started extracting methane from its fields, and Lodi was the first Italian town with a regular domestic gas service.
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This multimedia lesson for Grades 7-10 explores the physical forces that act in concert to create snowflakes. Students build an apparatus that creates conditions similar to a winter cloud and produce their own snow crystals indoors. By watching the snow crystals grow, they learn about how snowflake size and shape is determined by the forces that act on water molecules at the atomic and molecular levels. Digital models and snowflake photo galleries bring together a cohesive package to help kids visualize what's happening at the molecular scale.
Editor's Note: This lab activity calls for dry ice. See Related Materials for a link to the NOAA's "Dry Ice Safety" Guidelines, and for a link to snow crystal images produced by an electron microscope.
Lewis structures, VSEPR, condensation, covalent bond, crystals, electron sharing, ice, physics of snowflakes, snow formation, valence electrons, valence shell
Metadata instance created
January 2, 2013
by Caroline Hall
January 2, 2013
by Caroline Hall
AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)
4. The Physical Setting
4B. The Earth
6-8: 4B/M15. The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and trace amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases.
4D. The Structure of Matter
6-8: 4D/M1a. All matter is made up of atoms, which are far too small to see directly through a microscope.
6-8: 4D/M1cd. Atoms may link together in well-defined molecules, or may be packed together in crystal patterns. Different arrangements of atoms into groups compose all substances and determine the characteristic properties of substances.
6-8: 4D/M3cd. In solids, the atoms or molecules are closely locked in position and can only vibrate. In liquids, they have higher energy, are more loosely connected, and can slide past one another; some molecules may get enough energy to escape into a gas. In gases, the atoms or molecules have still more energy and are free of one another except during occasional collisions.
9-12: 4D/H2. The number of protons in the nucleus determines what an atom's electron configuration can be and so defines the element. An atom's electron configuration, particularly the outermost electrons, determines how the atom can interact with other atoms. Atoms form bonds to other atoms by transferring or sharing electrons.
9-12: 4D/H7a. Atoms often join with one another in various combinations in distinct molecules or in repeating three-dimensional crystal patterns.
12. Habits of Mind
12C. Manipulation and Observation
6-8: 12C/M3. Make accurate measurements of length, volume, weight, elapsed time, rates, and temperature by using appropriate devices.
<a href="http://www.compadre.org/precollege/items/detail.cfm?ID=12568">WGBH Educational Foundation. Teachers' Domain: Why Do Snowflakes Come in So Many Shapes and Sizes?. Boston: WGBH Educational Foundation, 2010.</a>
Teachers' Domain: Why Do Snowflakes Come in So Many Shapes and Sizes? (WGBH Educational Foundation, Boston, 2010), WWW Document, (http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/lsps07.sci.phys.matter.lpsnowflakes/).
Teachers' Domain: Why Do Snowflakes Come in So Many Shapes and Sizes?. (2010). Retrieved May 21, 2013, from WGBH Educational Foundation: http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/lsps07.sci.phys.matter.lpsnowflakes/
WGBH Educational Foundation. Teachers' Domain: Why Do Snowflakes Come in So Many Shapes and Sizes?. Boston: WGBH Educational Foundation, 2010. http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/lsps07.sci.phys.matter.lpsnowflakes/ (accessed 21 May 2013).
Teachers' Domain: Why Do Snowflakes Come in So Many Shapes and Sizes?. Boston: WGBH Educational Foundation, 2010. 21 May 2013 <http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/lsps07.sci.phys.matter.lpsnowflakes/>.
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%0 Electronic Source %D 2010 %T Teachers' Domain: Why Do Snowflakes Come in So Many Shapes and Sizes? %I WGBH Educational Foundation %V 2013 %N 21 May 2013 %9 application/pdf %U http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/lsps07.sci.phys.matter.lpsnowflakes/
Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
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NPP launched Oct. 28, 2011. It is a first step in building the next satellite system to collect data on climate change and weather conditions.
Teachers to put science to the test in a microgravity environment aboard the agency’s reduced gravity aircraft.
01.25.12 - NASA Explorer Schools held a live video chat on Jan. 25, 2012 with Josh Willis who answered questions about sea level rise and global climate change.
01.12.12 - NES held a video webchat Jan 12, 2012 with Dr. Bill Cooke and Rhiannon Blaauw. They answered questions about meteors, meteorites and comets and their potential danger to spacecraft.
12.13.11 - Danielle Margiotta joined NES on Dec. 13, 2011 and answered student questions about how NASA engineers prepare satellites to endure the harsh environment of space.
11.23.11 - NASA Explorer Schools held a video chat on Nov. 23, 2011 with Zareh Gorjian for a look at NASA's computer graphics area.
11.03.11 - On Nov. 3, 2011, NASA's Deputy Director of Planetary Science, Jim Adams answered student questions about NASA's recent planetary mission discoveries and upcoming launches. Adams discussed his career path and some of the most rewarding moments in his 22-year career with NASA.
10.13.11 - In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Dr. Félix Soto Toro joined NES on Oct. 13, 2011, for our first live bilingual video chat. Students asked questions of this astronaut applicant and electrical engineer and found out what it was like for Soto to grow up in Barrio Amelia Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, with few advantages. They also learned what inspired him to pursue a career with NASA. A video or transcript of this chat will be posted at a later time.
02.17.11 - Being a scientist doesn't always mean spending your days in a lab. For NASA microbial ecologists, going to work might mean climbing aboard a research vessel, or collecting marine and soil samples in the Andes, Mexico, or even in Europe and Africa! Students were able to find out what it's like to hunt microbes around the globe with Angela Detweiler and Dr. Lee Bebout. Chat transcripts are now available.
03.29.11 - The NES project invited all K-12 students to participate in a one-hour-long NASA career panel video webchat on March 29, 2011. This year's panelists were three outstanding women who have chosen to pursue careers in science and engineering. A transcript and/or video will be posted at a later time.
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A new world record wind gust: 253 mph in Australia's Tropical Cyclone Olivia
The 6,288-foot peak of New Hampshire's Mount Washington is a forbidding landscape of wind-swept barren rock, home to some of planet Earth's fiercest winds. As a 5-year old boy, I remember being blown over by a terrific gust of wind on the summit, and rolling out of control towards a dangerous drop-off before a fortuitously-placed rock saved me. Perusing the Guinness Book of World Records as a kid, three iconic world weather records always held a particular mystique and fascination for me: the incredible 136°F (57.8°C) at El Azizia, Libya in 1922, the -128.5°F (-89.2°C) at the "Pole of Cold" in Vostok, Antarctica in 1983, and the amazing 231 mph wind gust (103.3 m/s) recorded in 1934 on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. Well, the legendary winds of Mount Washington have to take second place now, next to the tropical waters of northwest Australia. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has announced that the new world wind speed record at the surface is a 253 mph (113.2 m/s) wind gust measured on Barrow Island, Australia. The gust occurred on April 10, 1996, during passage of the eyewall of Category 4 Tropical Cyclone Olivia.
Figure 1. Instruments coated with rime ice on the summit of Mt. Washington, New Hampshire. Image credit: Mike Theiss.
Tropical Cyclone Olivia
Tropical Cyclone Olivia was a Category 4 storm on the U.S. Saffir-Simpson scale, and generated sustained winds of 145 mph (1-minute average) as it crossed over Barrow Island off the northwest coast of Australia on April 10, 1996. Olivia had a central pressure of 927 mb and an eye 45 miles in diameter at the time, and generated waves 21 meters (69 feet) high offshore. According to Black et al. (1999), the eyewall likely had a tornado-scale mesovortex embedded in it that caused the extreme wind gust of 253 mph. The gust was measured at the standard measuring height of 10 meters above ground, on ground at an elevation of 64 meters (210 feet). A similar mesovortex was encountered by a Hurricane Hunter aircraft in Hurricane Hugo of 1989, and a mesovortex was also believed to be responsible for the 239 mph wind gust measured at 1400 meters by a dropsonde in Hurricane Isabel in 2003. For reference, 200 mph is the threshold for the strongest category of tornado, the EF-5, and any gusts of this strength are capable of causing catastrophic damage.
Figure 2. Visible satellite image of Tropical Cyclone Olivia a few hours before it crossed Barrow Island, Australia, setting a new world-record wind gust of 253 mph. Image credit: Japan Meteorological Agency.
Figure 3. Wind trace taken at Barrow Island, Australia during Tropical Cyclone Olivia. Image credit: Buchan, S.J., P.G. Black, and R.L. Cohen, 1999, "The Impact of Tropical Cyclone Olivia on Australia's Northwest Shelf", paper presented at the 1999 Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, 3-6 May, 1999.
Why did it take so long for the new record to be announced?
The instrument used to take the world record wind gust was funded by a private company, Chevron, and Chevron's data was not made available to forecasters at Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) during the storm. After the storm, the tropical cyclone experts at BOM were made aware of the data, but it was viewed as suspect, since the gusts were so extreme and the data was taken with equipment of unknown accuracy. Hence, the observations were not included in the post-storm report. Steve Buchan from RPS MetOcean believed in the accuracy of the observations, and coauthored a paper on the record gust, presented at the 1999 Offshore Technology Conference in Houston (Buchan et al., 1999). The data lay dormant until 2009, when Joe Courtney of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology was made aware of it. Courtney wrote up a report, coauthored with Steve Buchan, and presented this to the WMO extremes committee for ratification. The report has not been made public yet, and is awaiting approval by Chevron. The verified data will be released next month at a World Meteorological Organization meeting in Turkey, when the new world wind record will become official.
New Hampshire residents are not happy
Residents of New Hampshire are understandably not too happy about losing their cherished claim to fame. The current home page of the Mount Washington Observatory reads, "For once, the big news on Mount Washington isn't our extreme weather. Sadly, it's about how our extreme weather--our world record wind speed, to be exact--was outdone by that of a warm, tropical island".
Comparison with other wind records
Top wind in an Atlantic hurricane: 239 mph (107 m/s) at an altitude of 1400 meters, measured by dropsonde in Hurricane Isabel (2003).
Top surface wind in an Atlantic hurricane: 211 mph (94.4 m/s), Hurricane Gustav, Paso Real de San Diego meteorological station in the western Cuban province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba, on the afternoon of August 30, 2008.
Top wind in a tornado: 302 mph (135 m/s), measured via Doppler radar at an altitude of 100 meters (330 feet), in the Bridge Creek, Oklahoma tornado of May 3, 1999.
Top surface wind not associated with a tropical cyclone or tornado: 231 mph (103.3 m/s), April 12, 1934 on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire.
Top wind in a typhoon: 191 mph (85.4 m/s) on Taiwanese Island of Lanya, Super Typhoon Ryan, Sep 22, 1995; also on island of Miyakojima, Super Typhoon Cora, Sep 5, 1966.
Top surface wind not measured on a mountain or in a tropical cyclone: 207 mph (92.5 m/s) measured in Greenland at Thule Air Force Base on March 6, 1972.
Top wind measured in a U.S. hurricane: 186 mph (83.1 m/s) measured at Blue Hill Observatory, Massachusetts, during the 1938 New England Hurricane.
Buchan, S.J., P.G. Black, and R.L. Cohen, 1999, "The Impact of Tropical Cyclone Olivia on Australia's Northwest Shelf", paper presented at the 1999 Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, 3-6 May, 1999.
Black, P.G., Buchan, S.J., and R.L. Cohen, 1999, "The Tropical Cyclone Eyewall Mesovortex: A Physical Mechanism Explaining Extreme Peak Gust Occurrence in TC Olivia, 4 April 1996 on Barrow Island, Australia", paper presented at the 1999 Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, 3-6 May, 1999.
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July 18, 2012
Since the Industrial Revolution, ocean acidity has risen by 30 percent as a direct result of fossil-fuel burning and deforestation. And within the last 50 years, human industry has caused the world’s oceans to experience a sharp increase in acidity that rivals levels seen when ancient carbon cycles triggered mass extinctions, which took out more than 90 percent of the oceans’ species and more than 75 percent of terrestrial species.
Rising ocean acidity is now considered to be just as much of a formidable threat to the health of Earth’s environment as the atmospheric climate changes brought on by pumping out greenhouse gases. Scientists are now trying to understand what that means for the future survival of marine and terrestrial organisms.
In June, ScienceNOW reported that out of the 35 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide released annually through fossil fuel use, one-third of those emissions diffuse into the surface layer of the ocean. The effects those emissions will have on the biosphere is sobering, as rising ocean acidity will completely upset the balance of marine life in the world’s oceans and will subsequently affect humans and animals who benefit from the oceans’ food resources.
The damage to marine life is due in large part to the fact that higher acidity dissolves naturally-occurring calcium carbonate that many marine species–including plankton, sea urchins, shellfish and coral–use to construct their shells and external skeletons. Studies conducted off Arctic regions have shown that the combination of melting sea ice, atmospheric carbon dioxide and subsequently hotter, CO2-saturated surface waters has led to the undersaturation of calcium carbonate in ocean waters. The reduction in the amount of calcium carbonate in the ocean spells out disaster for the organisms that rely on those nutrients to build their protective shells and body structures.
The link between ocean acidity and calcium carbonate is a directly inverse relationship, which allows scientists to use the oceans’ calcium carbonate saturation levels to measure just how acidic the waters are. In a study by the University of Hawaii at Manoa published earlier this year, researchers calculated that the level of calcium carbonate saturation in the world’s oceans has fallen faster in the last 200 years than has been seen in the last 21,000 years–signaling an extraordinary rise in ocean acidity to levels higher than would ever occur naturally.
The authors of the study continued on to say that currently only 50 percent of the world’s ocean waters are saturated with enough calcium carbonate to support coral reef growth and maintenance, but by 2100, that proportion is expected to drop to a mere five percent, putting most of the world’s beautiful and diverse coral reef habitats in danger.
In the face of so much mounting and discouraging evidence that the oceans are on a trajectory toward irreparable marine life damage, a new study offers hope that certain species may be able to adapt quick enough to keep pace with the changing make-up of Earth’s waters.
In a study published last week in the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers from the ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies found that baby clownfish (Amphiprion melanopus) are able to cope with increased acidity if their parents also lived in higher acidic water, a remarkable finding after a study conducted last year on another clownfish species (Amphiprion percula) suggested acidic waters reduced the fish’s sense of smell, making it likely for the fish to mistakenly swim toward predators.
But the new study will require further research to determine whether or not the adaptive abilities of the clownfish are also present in more environmentally-sensitive marine species.
While the news that at least some baby fish may be able to adapt to changes provides optimism, there is still much to learn about the process. It is unclear through what mechanism clownfish are able to pass along this trait to their offspring so quickly, evolutionarily speaking. Organisms capable of generation-to-generation adaptations could have an advantage in the coming decades, as anthropogenic emissions push Earth to non-natural extremes and place new stresses on the biosphere.
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Proceedings of the 2005 Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference
KPLU (NPR): Marine Conference
SEATTLE, WA (2005-03-30) The Puget Sound is in trouble and hundreds of scientists are gathering this week in Seattle to discuss why and what can be done to fix the problem. KPLU environment reporter Steve Krueger has this preview of what lies ahead.
Also posted on:
By Peggy Andersen
SEATTLE - During the great annual gray whale migrations between feeding grounds in the north Pacific and breeding spots off Mexico, about 200 individuals apparently take up "seasonal residence" in the Pacific Northwest, scientists say.
Six gray whales, for example, have been spotted around Whidbey Island nearly every spring since 1991, says biologist John Calambokidis of Olympia-based Cascadia Research. Other small groups of gray whales return annually to preferred spots along the coasts of Oregon and British Columbia.
"In recent years, we've done a much better job identifying these seasonal resident animals," Calambokidis said. In some cases, "we have evidence they don't go to Alaska. They migrate south to the breeding grounds but seem to make this their primary feeding area."
Also, he said, unusually high numbers of beached grays reported in the spring of 1999 and 2000 apparently did not mark the start of a population decline for gray whales.
"The mortality since then has been very low," he said.
Calambokidis presented recent research about grays as the Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference got under way Tuesday at the downtown Washington State Convention Center. The three-day session, featuring scores of scientists on a range of topics, is sponsored by the state's Puget Sound Action Team and Environment Canada.
In a brief luncheon address, Gov. Christine Gregoire said she's making "real science" a priority in making decisions about the environment. There need not be a conflict between business and the environment, she said - businesses are drawn to the region for its quality of life.
Historically, Calambokidis said, gray whales that ventured inland were likely more vulnerable to shore-based hunters than those that swam farther offshore, churning all the way north to the Bering and Beaufort seas of Alaska and the Chukchi Sea off Siberia.
A gray whale calf emerges to be touched by tourists in Ojo de Liebre lagoon in Baja California Sur, Mexico, in March 1999 during the great annual gray whale migration between feeding grounds in the North Pacific and breeding spots off Mexico.
(Associated Press file photo)
The ones that stop in the Northwest tend to not have as many young as the larger population, he said. Determining the gender of the seasonal residents is a work in progress, but females with calves tend to start the migration late and inland stops "may not be advantageous" for them, Calambokidis said.
Some of the returnees move on in early summer and may in fact head north, he said. Some only drop in once or twice. Grays seen farther inland, in central and south Puget Sound, tend to be stragglers foraging for food - sometimes desperately - that rejoin the migration if they can.
There was a surge in reports of dead, beached gray whales five years ago, when population estimates peaked at about 27,000 and the Makah Indian Tribe moved to reaffirm its whaling rights under an 1855 treaty.
While most whale deaths occur in the ocean, the 50 carcasses found on Washington state shores alone in 1999-2000 may have marked a converging of two extremes, Calambokidis said: The whale population reaching its maximum carrying capacity and a natural downturn in the cyclical availability of food and prey.
Many researchers believe both the high population number and the big die-off were "blips," Calambokidis said.
"That's why there was a dramatic event, instead of a gradual tapering off." Records from around the Northwest indicate that the "major mortality event" was a very isolated incident, he said.
On average, Washington state has four gray whale beachings a year, based on reports from the regional stranding network that has been in place since the 1970s, Calambokidis said.
"We haven't really changed our response to strandings," he said. A beached whale carcass as long as 40 feet is hard to miss in a populated area, while dead whales on remote stretches of beach may go unnoticed.
Gray whales, the first creature listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act, were decimated by commercial whaling that peaked in the late 19th century.
Recent gray whale counts conducted along the migration route suggest the population may have settled at about 17,000 animals - roughly the pre-whaling total, Calambokidis said.
The grays' removal from the Endangered Species List in 1994 prompted the Makah to reclaim whaling rights after 70 years. The issue has been bogged down in federal court appeals since the tribe killed a single whale in May 1999.
Antiwhaling activists characterized "resident" gray whales as a separate population that warranted special protection. Some definitions of Makah whaling grounds limited the tribe to offshore whales, while others allowed whaling some distance into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the waterway that divides the United States and Canada before making a sharp right into Puget Sound.
"Now that we have accurate evidence of their abundance ... it would allow someone to make estimates of what level of kills could come from that group," Calambokidis said. "We have a much more solid basis of information for either side in that debate."
On the Net:
By SUSAN GORDON
Gov. Christine Gregoire promised Monday to take action to protect and restore Puget Sound.
She told a gathering of 600 environmental scientists and others at a U.S.-Canadian research conference that the Sound's health is both central to Washington's future prosperity and a legacy important to future generations.
"Only if we redouble our efforts will we succeed," she said.
Gregoire wants to boost spending on what she described as scientifically based solutions to problems such as pollution and environmental degradation.
She proposes to spend $31.5 million over the next two years to clean up mercury contamination, control the spread of toxic flame retardants, restore polluted shellfish beds and remove spartina, an invasive beach grass, among other things.
Her proposal includes $7.5 million for continuing scientific monitoring.
"We are going to invest and we are going to deliver," she said.
Gregoire has already proposed spending $5 million on the Hood Canal, where pollution has been blamed for an oxygen imbalance that has killed fish.
Gregoire's pledge to save the Sound came during luncheon speech at the Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference, a three-day event at the Washington State Trade & Convention Center in Seattle.
The annual conference brings together U.S. and Canadian scientists who present new scientific findings on some of the most pressing environmental problems facing the region.
Kathy Fletcher, executive director of the environmental group People for Puget Sound, was in the audience.
"It's music to my ears," she said of Gregoire's promise of action. "She's been around this issue long enough to know we need to do a lot more than studies and research."
The governor described the state's continuing population boom as a threat.
"We have met the enemy and the enemy is us," Gregoire said. "Our robust population leads directly to the health problems of the Sound,"
Over the past decade, Washington's population has grown by about 1 million, a 20 percent increase that means more sewage, more road runoff and more pressure on sensitive resources, she said.
Perhaps anticipating objections from the business community, Gregoire underscored the value of Washington's quality of life as a lure to enterprise.
She praised the work of scientists who have focused on both problems and solutions.
"Real science has got to be the key to our decisions with respect to the environment," she said. "Every time we make decisions based on science, the environment is always the winner."
Also Monday, she announced the reappointment of Brad Ack as director of the Puget Sound Action Team, which sets the state's environmental protection priorities for Puget Sound.
During her speech, she endorsed the team's seven-point plan for 2005-2007, which was released last December.
Gregoire told the Seattle audience her first brush with international environmental controversy came in 1988 when she was in charge of the state Department of Ecology. The barge "Nestucca" spilled 230,000 gallons of fuel oil that contaminated beaches from Grays Harbor County to Vancouver Island.
The oil spill roused the state's attention to the damage associated with the risks of oil transport. It also affected Gregoire's family, she said.
The governor recalled bringing her daughter Michelle, now 20, along when she visited a bird rescue operation.
It was "heart-wrenching," Gregoire said.
But the grim scene also influenced Michelle, who is now a college student majoring in environmental science.
What the plan would do
To view the strategy endorsed by Gov. Christine Gregoire to restore and conserve Puget Sound, go to www.psat.wa.gov/Publications/priorities_05/ Priorities_05_review.htm.
Gregoire made a commitment Monday to fund a two-year, seven-point action plan developed last year by the Puget Sound Action Team.
The team was created in 1996 to set priorities for Puget Sound environmental protection.
Susan Gordon: 253-597-8756
By Christopher Dunagan, Sun Staff
SEATTLE-- With science as a guiding light, political leaders must "redouble" their efforts to reverse a dangerous decline in the Puget Sound ecosystem, Gov. Christine Gregoire said Tuesday.
Gregoire expressed concerns about the deadly low-oxygen conditions that plague Hood Canal, and she said similar "dead zones" could develop in southern Puget Sound if people don't take appropriate action."
"We can do better," the governor said, addressing the Puget Sound and Georgia Strait Research Conference. "My friends, we have no choice. We have to do a lot better. It is not too late - but only if we redouble our efforts."
More than 700 scientists, policy makers and concerned individuals attended the first day of a three-day conference addressing scientific issues in Puget Sound and Canada's Georgia Strait. Close to 200 separate research topics are on tap for discussion at the event, which takes place every two years.
Gov. Christine Gregoire says pollution will create more 'dead zones' in Puget Sound unless action is taken now.
(AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Gregoire, former director of the Washington Department of Ecology, said Washington state residents are engaged in a fight against pollution, habitat destruction and declining fish and wildlife populations. But it simply isn't enough. Over the past 20 years, the state's own studies show that for every environmental success, there are new or growing problems for Puget Sound.
"We have a million more people putting demands on that fragile ecosystem," she said, "... and we will add a million more people."
Business owners want to come to Washington because they love the quality of life here, she said. But the challenge is for everyone to work together to improve the environment and leave things better for the next generation.
Gregoire told the scientists that research is essential. Because of dedicated scientific work, "we have a grasp today of the problems and some of the solutions."
She has called on the Legislature to create a new Washington Academy of Sciences to bring together the best minds in the state to provide answers to vexing questions.
"There were bright people who preceded me," she said, "and they couldn't solve the problem. We need new thinking ... When we make our decisions based on science, the environment is always the winner."
But Gregoire does not want to wait for the scientists to answer all the questions - which is why she demanded that the "action plan" for Hood Canal include projects for reducing nitrogen, believed to be at the heart of the problem.
The research conference, held at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, has been one of the few venues to bring together a cross-section of the scientific community studying Puget Sound. Issues range from killer whale behavior to the chemistry of sewage.
One group of researchers at Tuesday's session described an intensive effort to characterize the existing ecosystem in the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula. It will be important, they said, to study the changes after two dams on the river are removed in 2007.
One thing the research has revealed, said Jonathan Warrick of the U.S. Geological Survey, is that the river above the dams is starved for nutrients, essential to the entire food chain. In rivers without blockages, adult salmon carry nutrients in their bodies from the ocean to the upper watershed.
When salmon die, they feed organisms from the bottom of the food chain, as well as eagles and bears that then distribute the nutrients over a broader area.
Other sessions on Tuesday included a discussion of how climate change could alter salmon populations, a talk about gray whales and humpback whales visiting Puget Sound in recent years, and a presentation about an advanced computer model used to describe the movement of pollutants in Bremerton's Sinclair Inlet.
Reach Christopher Dunagan at (360) 792-9207 or e-mail email@example.com.
Copyright 2005, kitsapsun.com. All Rights Reserved.
By Larry Pynn
The shared waters of the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound are home to 63 marine species at risk, with over-harvesting, habitat loss, and pollution rated as the biggest threats, according to a research study being released at an international conference starting today.
The study by Joseph Gaydos and Nicholas Brown also finds that the four jurisdictions responsible for protecting marine species -- B.C., Washington state, and the Canadian and U.S. governments -- cannot reach consensus on the level of threat facing all of those 63 species.
Of the 63 species, Washington officially considered 73 per cent of them at risk, B.C. 50 per cent, the Canadian government 36 per cent, and the U.S. government 31 per cent.
As an example, B.C. lists 12 seabirds that neighbouring Washington state does not list, even though it is common for various species to fly back and forth across the international boundary.
The high number of species at risk in the region's marine waters are evidence of "ecosystem decay," the report's authors conclude, and reflect the need for the various levels of governments to work harder on conservation and to adopt an international ecosystem approach.
Gaydos and Brown are with the SeaDoc Society, a marine ecosystem health program administered through the University of California, Davis, Wildlife Health Centre, and based in Washington's San Juan Islands.
As of September 2004, the 63 species at risk consisted of 27 fish, 23 birds, nine mammals (including the grey whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, and killer whale), three invertebrates, and one reptile.
Within the Puget Sound-Georgia Basin marine ecosystem, the number of invertebrate species is much greater than vertebrate species, yet only three invertebrates are listed at risk -- Newcomb's littorine snail, Olympic oyster, and northern abalone -- suggesting the category is not receiving as much attention as it should.
The results of the study are being presented at the Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference running today through Thursday in Seattle and co-sponsored by Environment Canada.
Commenting on the study, Tony Pitcher, a professor at the University of B.C. Fisheries Centre, said in Vancouver that governments have been slow to adopt an ecosystem approach to marine management.
And while states and provinces can have different mandates, he agreed that the international border poses a political obstacle to good management of marine species, not just between B.C. and Washington, but between B.C. and Alaska on our north coast.
Pitcher also agreed that more research is needed on invertebrate species such as crabs, squid and octopus, and the roles they play in the greater ecosystem.
He added that despite the need for more work by Canadian and American authorities to reverse a decline in the health of our marine ecosystem, local waters are still in relatively good shape compared with other coastal areas in the Pacific Rim, including China, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
RISK TO SPECIES BY JURISDICTION:
The shared waters of Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia are home to 63 marine species that are at risk, with overharvesting, habitat loss and pollution rated as the biggest threats, according to a study being released at an international conference today.
The results show "ecosystem decay" and reflect the need for B.C., Washington state, Canada and the U.S. to work together to adopt an international, cooperative ecosystem approach. The statistics below show the differing levels of risk to some species, assigned by just two of those jurisdictions.
Source: The SeaDoc Society, The Vancouver Sun FISH, REPTILES, BIRDS AND MAMMALS ON THE AT-RISK LIST:
Also posted on:
March 24, 2005
Tacoma, WA, Mar. 24 (UPI) -- Concentrations of the banned chemical PCB are at least three times higher in Puget Sound chinook salmon than in that from other areas, a report says.
That finding, from Sandie O'Neill, a scientist with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, measured chinook salmon from Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, coastal Washington and the Columbia River.
Her report prompted the state to begin its own research. Officials say there is no immediate cause for alarm, the Tacoma News-Tribune said Thursday.
O'Neill presented preliminary data to the state Fish & Wildlife Commission last October and plans to unveil more comprehensive research at the 2005 Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference next week in Seattle.
"The food chain in Puget Sound is significantly contaminated with PCBs and flame retardants," said Jim West, another state scientist.
PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are banned industrial compounds that build up in the food chain and can cause developmental and behavioral problems in children.
SUSAN GORDON; The News Tribune
Concentrations of banned chemicals that are particularly threatening to children are at least three times higher in Puget Sound chinook salmon than in chinook from other areas.
In light of that finding by a state Department of Fish and Wildlife scientist, state Health Department officials are conducting their own research. While they say there is no cause for alarm, health officials acknowledge they might revise fish consumption warnings in a few months.
"I don't think the data is clear enough yet," said Rob Duff, the Health Department's environmental health director.
Sandie O'Neill, a state Department of Fish and Wildlife scientist, has found PCB concentrations in Puget Sound chinook are three times higher than what others have measured in chinook salmon from Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, coastal Washington and the Columbia River.
O'Neill has studied PCBs in salmon since 1992. But comparable data from other researchers weren't available until recently, she said.
She first presented preliminary data to the state Fish & Wildlife Commission last October and plans to unveil more comprehensive research at the 2005 Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference next week in Seattle.
O'Neill's results underscore the persistence of dangerous contaminants in Puget Sound.
"The food chain in Puget Sound is significantly contaminated with PCBs and flame retardants," said Jim West, another state Fish and Wildlife Department scientist.
He recently discovered both pollutants in herring, a key component of the salmon diet.
PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are banned industrial compounds found worldwide that build up in the food chain and can cause developmental and behavioral problems in children.
Testing store-bought fish
Although PCBs are found in meat and dairy products, some health experts believe humans are most at risk from eating contaminated fish.
However, because fish are nutritious and contain fatty acids that lower cholesterol, many experts are reluctant to suggest consumption limits based on PCBs.
"These contaminants are in every fish and every person on the planet," Duff said.
Current state Health Department advisories warn about contaminated fish or shellfish in eight tainted locations around Puget Sound, including Tacoma's Commencement Bay.
But that advice, which doesn't mention salmon, is complicated and might not be sufficient, Duff said.
So Health Department researchers are testing store-bought fish for PCBs, mercury and flame retardants. The sampling list includes chinook salmon, catfish, pollack, red snapper, halibut, cod and flounder, Duff said.
After that analysis, due in about three months, state health officials could revise statewide fish consumption recommendations, Duff said.
PCBs, which cause cancer, are highly toxic compounds that can be transferred from mothers to children through breast milk. Once used to cool and insulate transformers and other electrical equipment, PCBs have been banned in the United States since 1977.
Because PCBs don't break down over time, they persist in air, water and soil. The PCBs also build up in the food chain, so top predators harbor high concentrations. Because of PCBs, orca whales are some of the world's most contaminated marine mammals.
In Puget Sound chinook, O'Neill measured average PCB concentrations of 53 parts per billion. That's like a spoonful of poison in a railroad tanker car full of water, but scientists believe the toxicity of the compound makes it notable.
In Puget Sound coho, O'Neill measured average PCB concentrations of 31 parts per billion.
"These are not screamingly high levels," Duff said.
Concentrations found in Great Lakes salmon have been many times higher.
But Puget Sound chinook, also known as king salmon, are far more contaminated than other types of salmon, such as pinks, sockeye and chum, O'Neill said. That might be because young chinook spend more time in the estuaries than other young salmon, which also feed lower on the food web.
Also, O'Neill said concentrations of PCBs in Puget Sound chinook are comparable to what others have measured in farmed Atlantic salmon from Norway and Scotland.
For years, scientists have known about excessive concentrations of PCBs in bottom-dwelling Puget Sound fish, particularly those inhabiting polluted industrial areas such as Commencement Bay in Tacoma and the Seattle waterfront.
For example, state researchers have found PCBs in concentrations of 121 parts per billion in rockfish and 62 parts per billion in English sole. Both were caught in Seattle.
Harbor seals also are contaminated.
The new research suggests that efforts to confine contaminated sediments in polluted areas such as Commencement Bay might not prevent PCBs from recycling through plankton and fish, said West, O'Neill's colleague at the Fish and Wildlife Department.
"We need to better understand the dynamic between contaminants trapped in sediments and those entrained in the (salmon) food web," O'Neill said.
Bill Sullivan, environmental director for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, said he wouldn't be surprised if contaminants leak out of disposal sites.
"Obviously, we have something very wrong in the interior Puget Sound," he said.
If state officials revamp fish consumption recommendations, Duff said special outreach efforts will be made to tribes and immigrant groups of Asians and Pacific Islanders. They often eat lots of fish and might be more vulnerable to injury than the mainstream population, he said.
Most Washington residents eat no more than two fish meals a week, and that's probably not enough to cause harm, he said.
On the net:
For state Health Department fish consumption recommendations, visit www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/oehas/EHA_fish_adv.htm.
Susan Gordon: 253-597-8756
March. 23-29, 2005
Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference: Literally hundreds of scientists and scholars converge on the Washington Convention and Trade Center for this environmental confab. The Wednesday evening forum, led by a panel of researchers and policymakers, is open to the public. 800 Convention Pl., 206-694-5000. Free. 7-9 p.m. Wed., March 30.
By Warren Cornwall
A prolific and potentially toxic fire retardant is showing up in Puget Sound marine life ranging from tiny herring to massive killer whales, raising alarms among scientists who warn it could become the next big toxic threat to underwater animals.
"We've got fireproof killer whales," said Peter Ross, a research scientist with the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Canada and an expert in toxic chemicals in marine animals. "We're concerned about this."
The problem appears greatest in south and central Puget Sound - where fish, seals and whales had higher levels of chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs.
Since the early 1980s, levels of those chemicals in southern Puget Sound harbor seals have soared, a sign of an emerging threat to local killer whales that also feed on fish, Ross said. The whales are on the verge of being listed as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.
"I'm surprised at the rate of increase [of contamination]," said Sandie O'Neill, a research scientist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. "This is definitely an increasing concern, and that's what's getting everybody's attention."
Scientists are unsure how the chemicals are affecting marine life, or what threat is posed to people who eat contaminated fish. The state Department of Health hasn't established safety thresholds for food containing PBDEs.
A bromine-industry spokesman questioned whether the presence of PBDEs was cause for concern.
Production of some versions of the chemicals ended in 2004 because of health concerns. The most widespread version now is considered far less toxic, or not toxic at all, said John Kyte, executive director of the industry-backed Bromine Science and Environmental Forum.
"To simply say, 'We've found PBDEs' ... it's hard to make any meaningful judgment about whether this means anything."
But marine biologists worry the chemicals, used to fireproof everything from computers to mattresses, could interfere with neurological development or throw off an animal's hormones or immune system. PBDEs can linger in the environment for years, increasing the risk they will travel up the food chain as one animal eats another.
Toxic chemicals are considered one of the chief threats to the southern orcas. Their numbers have fallen from 99 in 1999 to 85 in 2004.
New research suggests those orcas may absorb much of the chemicals through the chinook salmon they eat. Puget Sound chinook had between three and five times higher levels of PBDEs and PCBs, a longstanding contaminant, compared with chinook from elsewhere, O'Neill said. This Puget Sound hot spot affects a number of marine creatures, according to studies by state, federal and Canadian agencies discussed yesterday at the Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference, a Seattle meeting of scientists studying the waters shared by Washington and British Columbia.
The fire retardant may wind up in Puget Sound through storm-water runoff; or after floating into the air and then falling into the water, where they can be absorbed by animals scouring the sediment for food; or by plankton, O'Neill said. PBDEs also have been found in house dust and in women's breast milk.
The state Department of Ecology last year called for a ban on PBDEs, except in cases where no replacement flame retardant is available. But the ban proposal has stalled in the state Legislature this year.
Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or firstname.lastname@example.org
Scientists find high concentrations of harmful flame retardants in Puget Sound fish and marine mammals. They say action is needed now.
SUSAN GORDON; The News Tribune
U.S. and Canadian scientists have found abnormal levels of harmful flame retardants in Puget Sound fish and marine mammals, including orca whales.
Scientists who presented their findings at the Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference in Seattle on Wednesday said the results confirm the region's vulnerability to contamination from the unstable but increasingly common chemical compounds.
The findings also underscore the need for a safe substitute for the flame retardants frequently used in consumer electronics, upholstery and carpeting, they said.
The problem is polybrominated diphenyl ethers, also known as PBDEs. The chemicals cause learning and behavioral problems in laboratory rats and mice and might have a similar effect on people, health officials say.
Peter Ross, a Canadian marine mammal toxicologist, and Sandie O'Neill, a Washington fish biologist, said new research highlights the need for government action. O'Neill and Ross compared flame retardants to polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a banned industrial compound that poses similar health threats.
Similar research, first reported last week by The News Tribune, will be presented today at the conference that shows unusually high concentrations of PCBs in Puget Sound chinook salmon.
"It's a no-brainer. We banned PCBs and it's time to do something about PBDEs. If we wait to see health effects on fish, whales or people, it'll be too late," O'Neill said after her presentation. "We've got to turn off the tap now."
PBDEs break down over time, don't stick to the products in which they are used, attach to dust particles and wind up in foods such as fish and meat.
Ross, for his part, commended Washington state's effort to reduce the risks, saying action is necessary to protect the health of the region's dwindling population of orca whales, already heavily contaminated by PCBs.
Last year, then-Gov. Gary Locke ordered the state Department of Ecology to work with health experts to reduce the threat of harm from flame retardants.
Recently, state lawmakers introduced bills to ban PBDEs, but the measures have failed to move beyond legislative committees.
Earl Tower, a lobbyist for a coalition of chemical manufactures, said the two most controversial forms of the chemical - Penta and Octa - are no longer manufactured. The third, Deca-BDE, is used in the casings for computers, TVs and wiring. It is required by federal law to be used in airplanes and automobiles.
"Deca is not toxic. It's not bioaccumulative. There are no cases noted of any ill effects related to Deca," said Tower, who represents the industry-funded Bromine Science and Environmental Forum.
The proposal to ban Deca is "based on the precautionary principle that we don't know if it's a problem but it might be," Tower said, adding, "It's the most understood and most tested flame retardant."
O'Neill and Ross on Wednesday shared new evidence of abnormal levels of PBDEs in Puget Sound harbor seals, English sole, rockfish, herring, coho and chinook salmon.
O'Neill said she didn't find excessive amounts of the chemical in chum or pink salmon, which spend more time in the open ocean than in the Sound.
Ross presented results of research on harbor seals done in conjunction with Steven Jeffries, a state Fish and Wildlife Department marine mammal expert. Harbor seal pups captured on Gertrude Island, near Tacoma, also show higher levels of PBDE contamination than samples collected from other groups of seals in the north Puget Sound and British Columbia, Ross said.
Ross and O'Neill said their PBDE findings are consistent with a pattern of bioaccumulation high in the food chain previously seen in research on PCBs.
The United States banned PCBs almost 30 years ago because of the health risks.
Flame retardants are troublesome in part because they are unstable, said Denise Laflamme, a state Department of Health toxicologist who also spoke at the conference.
Flame retardants accumulate in fat, have been found in human breast milk and can be passed from mothers to their babies.
Since Locke's call for action in January 2004, Ecology Department officials have proposed a PBDE ban, but have not put it into place.
One lingering question is what would substitute for PBDEs now on the market, said Cheri Peele, an Ecology Department official working on the problem.
Flame retardant-to-human path unclear
Human health experts believe people are not exposed to the same high levels of flame retardants as have been proved to harm laboratory mice and rats, said Denise Laflamme, a state Department of Health toxicologist. But toxicologists also haven't figured out how the chemicals get into people, she said.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, known as PBDEs, are present in many consumer products. Because flame retardants easily bind to dust, good housekeeping can reduce exposure, Laflamme said.
While fish is the most likely dietary source of flame retardants, they also have been found in meat and dairy products, she said. And despite the presence of flame retardants in breast milk, health officials still recommend breast feeding.
Health officials are studying the presence of flame retardants and other chemicals in fish and say they might change their advisories about fish consumption in the next few months.
On the Net
Susan Gordon: 253-597-8756
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||This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2011)|
Nuclear meltdown is an informal term for a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. The term is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. However, it has been defined to mean the accidental melting of the core of a nuclear reactor, and is in common usage a reference to the core's either complete or partial collapse. "Core melt accident" and "partial core melt" are the analogous technical terms for a meltdown.
A core melt accident occurs when the heat generated by a nuclear reactor exceeds the heat removed by the cooling systems to the point where at least one nuclear fuel element exceeds its melting point. This differs from a fuel element failure, which is not caused by high temperatures. A meltdown may be caused by a loss of coolant, loss of coolant pressure, or low coolant flow rate or be the result of a criticality excursion in which the reactor is operated at a power level that exceeds its design limits. Alternately, in a reactor plant such as the RBMK-1000, an external fire may endanger the core, leading to a meltdown.
Once the fuel elements of a reactor begin to melt, the fuel cladding has been breached, and the nuclear fuel (such as uranium, plutonium, or thorium) and fission products (such as cesium-137, krypton-88, or iodine-131) within the fuel elements can leach out into the coolant. Subsequent failures can permit these radioisotopes to breach further layers of containment. Superheated steam and hot metal inside the core can lead to fuel-coolant interactions, hydrogen explosions, or water hammer, any of which could destroy parts of the containment. A meltdown is considered very serious because of the potential, however remote, that radioactive materials could breach all containment and escape (or be released) into the environment, resulting in radioactive contamination and fallout, and potentially leading to radiation poisoning of people and animals nearby.
Nuclear power plants generate electricity by heating fluid via a nuclear reaction to run a generator. If the heat from that reaction is not removed adequately, the fuel assemblies in a reactor core can melt. A core damage incident can occur even after a reactor is shut down because the fuel continues to produce decay heat.
A core damage accident is caused by the loss of sufficient cooling for the nuclear fuel within the reactor core. The reason may be one of several factors, including a loss-of-pressure-control accident, a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), an uncontrolled power excursion or, in reactors without a pressure vessel, a fire within the reactor core. Failures in control systems may cause a series of events resulting in loss of cooling. Contemporary safety principles of defense in depth ensure that multiple layers of safety systems are always present to make such accidents unlikely.
The containment building is the last of several safeguards that prevent the release of radioactivity to the environment. Many commercial reactors are contained within a 1.2-to-2.4-metre (3.9 to 7.9 ft) thick pre-stressed, steel-reinforced, air-tight concrete structure that can withstand hurricane-force winds and severe earthquakes.
- In a loss-of-coolant accident, either the physical loss of coolant (which is typically deionized water, an inert gas, NaK, or liquid sodium) or the loss of a method to ensure a sufficient flow rate of the coolant occurs. A loss-of-coolant accident and a loss-of-pressure-control accident are closely related in some reactors. In a pressurized water reactor, a LOCA can also cause a "steam bubble" to form in the core due to excessive heating of stalled coolant or by the subsequent loss-of-pressure-control accident caused by a rapid loss of coolant. In a loss-of-forced-circulation accident, a gas cooled reactor's circulators (generally motor or steam driven turbines) fail to circulate the gas coolant within the core, and heat transfer is impeded by this loss of forced circulation, though natural circulation through convection will keep the fuel cool as long as the reactor is not depressurized.
- In a loss-of-pressure-control accident, the pressure of the confined coolant falls below specification without the means to restore it. In some cases this may reduce the heat transfer efficiency (when using an inert gas as a coolant) and in others may form an insulating "bubble" of steam surrounding the fuel assemblies (for pressurized water reactors). In the latter case, due to localized heating of the "steam bubble" due to decay heat, the pressure required to collapse the "steam bubble" may exceed reactor design specifications until the reactor has had time to cool down. (This event is less likely to occur in boiling water reactors, where the core may be deliberately depressurized so that the Emergency Core Cooling System may be turned on). In a depressurization fault, a gas-cooled reactor loses gas pressure within the core, reducing heat transfer efficiency and posing a challenge to the cooling of fuel; however, as long as at least one gas circulator is available, the fuel will be kept cool.
- In an uncontrolled power excursion accident, a sudden power spike in the reactor exceeds reactor design specifications due to a sudden increase in reactor reactivity. An uncontrolled power excursion occurs due to significantly altering a parameter that affects the neutron multiplication rate of a chain reaction (examples include ejecting a control rod or significantly altering the nuclear characteristics of the moderator, such as by rapid cooling). In extreme cases the reactor may proceed to a condition known as prompt critical. This is especially a problem in reactors that have a positive void coefficient of reactivity, a positive temperature coefficient, are overmoderated, or can trap excess quantities of deleterious fission products within their fuel or moderators. Many of these characteristics are present in the RBMK design, and the Chernobyl disaster was caused by such deficiencies as well as by severe operator negligence. Western light water reactors are not subject to very large uncontrolled power excursions because loss of coolant decreases, rather than increases, core reactivity (a negative void coefficient of reactivity); "transients," as the minor power fluctuations within Western light water reactors are called, are limited to momentary increases in reactivity that will rapidly decrease with time (approximately 200% - 250% of maximum neutronic power for a few seconds in the event of a complete rapid shutdown failure combined with a transient).
- Core-based fires endanger the core and can cause the fuel assemblies to melt. A fire may be caused by air entering a graphite moderated reactor, or a liquid-sodium cooled reactor. Graphite is also subject to accumulation of Wigner energy, which can overheat the graphite (as happened at the Windscale fire). Light water reactors do not have flammable cores or moderators and are not subject to core fires. Gas-cooled civilian reactors, such as the Magnox, UNGG, and AGCR type reactors, keep their cores blanketed with non reactive carbon dioxide gas, which cannot support a fire. Modern gas-cooled civilian reactors use helium, which cannot burn, and have fuel that can withstand high temperatures without melting (such as the High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor and the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor).
- Byzantine faults and cascading failures within instrumentation and control systems may cause severe problems in reactor operation, potentially leading to core damage if not mitigated. For example, the Browns Ferry fire damaged control cables and required the plant operators to manually activate cooling systems. The Three Mile Island accident was caused by a stuck-open pilot-operated pressure relief valve combined with a deceptive water level gauge that misled reactor operators, which resulted in core damage.
Light water reactors (LWRs)
Before the core of a light water nuclear reactor can be damaged, two precursor events must have already occurred:
- A limiting fault (or a set of compounded emergency conditions) that leads to the failure of heat removal within the core (the loss of cooling). Low water level uncovers the core, allowing it to heat up.
- Failure of the Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS). The ECCS is designed to rapidly cool the core and make it safe in the event of the maximum fault (the design basis accident) that nuclear regulators and plant engineers could imagine. There are at least two copies of the ECCS built for every reactor. Each division (copy) of the ECCS is capable, by itself, of responding to the design basis accident. The latest reactors have as many as four divisions of the ECCS. This is the principle of redundancy, or duplication. As long as at least one ECCS division functions, no core damage can occur. Each of the several divisions of the ECCS has several internal "trains" of components. Thus the ECCS divisions themselves have internal redundancy – and can withstand failures of components within them.
The Three Mile Island accident was a compounded group of emergencies that led to core damage. What led to this was an erroneous decision by operators to shut down the ECCS during an emergency condition due to gauge readings that were either incorrect or misinterpreted; this caused another emergency condition that, several hours after the fact, led to core exposure and a core damage incident. If the ECCS had been allowed to function, it would have prevented both exposure and core damage. During the Fukushima incident the emergency cooling system had also been manually shut down several minutes after it started.
If such a limiting fault were to occur, and a complete failure of all ECCS divisions were to occur, both Kuan, et al and Haskin, et al describe six stages between the start of the limiting fault (the loss of cooling) and the potential escape of molten corium into the containment (a so-called "full meltdown"):
- Uncovering of the Core – In the event of a transient, upset, emergency, or limiting fault, LWRs are designed to automatically SCRAM (a SCRAM being the immediate and full insertion of all control rods) and spin up the ECCS. This greatly reduces reactor thermal power (but does not remove it completely); this delays core becoming uncovered, which is defined as the point when the fuel rods are no longer covered by coolant and can begin to heat up. As Kuan states: "In a small-break LOCA with no emergency core coolant injection, core uncovery [sic] generally begins approximately an hour after the initiation of the break. If the reactor coolant pumps are not running, the upper part of the core will be exposed to a steam environment and heatup of the core will begin. However, if the coolant pumps are running, the core will be cooled by a two-phase mixture of steam and water, and heatup of the fuel rods will be delayed until almost all of the water in the two-phase mixture is vaporized. The TMI-2 accident showed that operation of reactor coolant pumps may be sustained for up to approximately two hours to deliver a two phase mixture that can prevent core heatup."
- Pre-damage heat up – "In the absence of a two-phase mixture going through the core or of water addition to the core to compensate water boiloff, the fuel rods in a steam environment will heat up at a rate between 0.3 °C/s (0.5 °F/s) and 1 °C/s (1.8 °F/s) (3)."
- Fuel ballooning and bursting – "In less than half an hour, the peak core temperature would reach 1,100 K (1,520 °F). At this temperature the zircaloy cladding of the fuel rods may balloon and burst. This is the first stage of core damage. Cladding ballooning may block a substantial portion of the flow area of the core and restrict the flow of coolant. However complete blockage of the core is unlikely because not all fuel rods balloon at the same axial location. In this case, sufficient water addition can cool the core and stop core damage progression."
- Rapid oxidation – "The next stage of core damage, beginning at approximately 1,500 K (2,240 °F), is the rapid oxidation of the Zircaloy by steam. In the oxidation process, hydrogen is produced and a large amount of heat is released. Above 1,500 K (2,240 °F), the power from oxidation exceeds that from decay heat (4,5) unless the oxidation rate is limited by the supply of either zircaloy or steam."
- Debris bed formation – "When the temperature in the core reaches about 1,700 K (2,600 °F), molten control materials [1,6] will flow to and solidify in the space between the lower parts of the fuel rods where the temperature is comparatively low. Above 1,700 K (2,600 °F), the core temperature may escalate in a few minutes to the melting point of zircaloy [2,150 K (3,410 °F)] due to increased oxidation rate. When the oxidized cladding breaks, the molten zircaloy, along with dissolved UO2 [1,7] would flow downward and freeze in the cooler, lower region of the core. Together with solidified control materials from earlier down-flows, the relocated zircaloy and UO2 would form the lower crust of a developing cohesive debris bed."
- (Corium) Relocation to the lower plenum – "In scenarios of small-break LOCAs, there is generally a pool of water in the lower plenum of the vessel at the time of core relocation. Release of molten core materials into water always generates large amounts of steam. If the molten stream of core materials breaks up rapidly in water, there is also a possibility of a steam explosion. During relocation, any unoxidized zirconium in the molten material may also be oxidized by steam, and in the process hydrogen is produced. Recriticality also may be a concern if the control materials are left behind in the core and the relocated material breaks up in unborated water in the lower plenum."
At the point at which the corium relocates to the lower plenum, Haskin, et al relate that the possibility exists for an incident called a fuel-coolant interaction (FCI) to substantially stress or breach the primary pressure boundary when the corium relocates to the lower plenum of the reactor pressure vessel ("RPV"). This is because the lower plenum of the RPV may have a substantial quantity of water - the reactor coolant - in it, and, assuming the primary system has not been depressurized, the water will likely be in the liquid phase, and consequently dense, and at a vastly lower temperature than the corium. Since corium is a liquid metal-ceramic eutectic at temperatures of 2,200 to 3,200 K (3,500 to 5,300 °F), its fall into liquid water at 550 to 600 K (530 to 620 °F) may cause an extremely rapid evolution of steam that could cause a sudden extreme overpressure and consequent gross structural failure of the primary system or RPV. Though most modern studies hold that it is physically infeasible, or at least extraordinarily unlikely, Haskin, et al state that that there exists a remote possibility of an extremely violent FCI leading to something referred to as an alpha-mode failure, or the gross failure of the RPV itself, and subsequent ejection of the upper plenum of the RPV as a missile against the inside of the containment, which would likely lead to the failure of the containment and release of the fission products of the core to the outside environment without any substantial decay having taken place.
Breach of the Primary Pressure Boundary
There are several possibilities as to how the primary pressure boundary could be breached by corium.
- Steam Explosion
As previously described, FCI could lead to an overpressure event leading to RPV fail, and thus, primary pressure boundary fail. Haskin, et al. report that in the event of a steam explosion, failure of the lower plenum is far more likely than ejection of the upper plenum in the alpha-mode. In the even of lower plenum failure, debris at varied temperatures can be expected to be projected into the cavity below the core. The containment may be subject to overpressure, though this is not likely to fail the containment. The alpha-mode failure will lead to the consequences previously discussed.
- Pressurized Melt Ejection (PME)
It is quite possible, especially in pressurized water reactors, that the primary loop will remain pressurized following corium relocation to the lower plenum. As such, pressure stresses on the RPV will be present in addition to the weight stress that the molten corium places on the lower plenum of the RPV; when the metal of the RPV weakens sufficiently due to the heat of the molten corium, it is likely that the liquid corium will be discharged under pressure out of the bottom of the RPV in a pressurized stream, together with entrained gases. This mode of corium ejection may lead to direct containment heating (DCH).
Severe Accident Ex-Vessel Interactions and Challenges to Containment
Haskin, et al identify six modes by which the containment could be credibly challenged; some of these modes are not applicable to core melt accidents.
- Dynamic pressure (shockwaves)
- Internal missiles
- External missiles (not applicable to core melt accidents)
Standard failure modes
If the melted core penetrates the pressure vessel, there are theories and speculations as to what may then occur.
In modern Russian plants, there is a "core catching device" in the bottom of the containment building, the melted core is supposed to hit a thick layer of a "sacrificial metal" which would melt, dilute the core and increase the heat conductivity, and finally the diluted core can be cooled down by water circulating in the floor. However there has never been any full-scale testing of this device.
In Western plants there is an airtight containment building. Though radiation would be at a high level within the containment, doses outside of it would be lower. Containment buildings are designed for the orderly release of pressure without releasing radionuclides, through a pressure release valve and filters. Hydrogen/oxygen recombiners also are installed within the containment to prevent gas explosions.
In a melting event, one spot or area on the RPV will become hotter than other areas, and will eventually melt. When it melts, corium will pour into the cavity under the reactor. Though the cavity is designed to remain dry, several NUREG-class documents advise operators to flood the cavity in the event of a fuel melt incident. This water will become steam and pressurize the containment. Automatic water sprays will pump large quantities of water into the steamy environment to keep the pressure down. Catalytic recombiners will rapidly convert the hydrogen and oxygen back into water. One positive effect of the corium falling into water is that it is cooled and returns to a solid state.
Extensive water spray systems within the containment along with the ECCS, when it is reactivated, will allow operators to spray water within the containment to cool the core on the floor and reduce it to a low temperature.
These procedures are intended to prevent release of radiation. In the Three Mile Island event in 1979, a theoretical person standing at the plant property line during the entire event would have received a dose of approximately 2 millisieverts (200 millirem), between a chest X-ray's and a CT scan's worth of radiation. This was due to outgassing by an uncontrolled system that, today, would have been backfitted with activated carbon and HEPA filters to prevent radionuclide release.
However in case of Fukushima incident this design also at least partially failed: large amounts of highly radioactive water were produced and nuclear fuel has possibly melted through the base of the pressure vessels.
Cooling will take quite a while, until the natural decay heat of the corium reduces to the point where natural convection and conduction of heat to the containment walls and re-radiation of heat from the containment allows for water spray systems to be shut down and the reactor put into safe storage. The containment can be sealed with release of extremely limited offsite radioactivity and release of pressure within the containment. After a number of years for fission products to decay - probably around a decade - the containment can be reopened for decontamination and demolition.
Unexpected failure modes
Another scenario sees a buildup of hydrogen, which may lead to a detonation event, as happened for three reactors during Fukushima incident. Catalytic hydrogen recombiners located within containment are designed to prevent this from occurring; however, prior to the installation of these recombiners in the 1980s, the Three Mile Island containment (in 1979) suffered a massive hydrogen explosion event in the accident there. The containment withstood the pressure and no radioactivity was released. However, in Fukushima recombiners did not work due the absence of power and hydrogen detonation breached the containment.
Speculative failure modes
One scenario consists of the reactor pressure vessel failing all at once, with the entire mass of corium dropping into a pool of water (for example, coolant or moderator) and causing extremely rapid generation of steam. The pressure rise within the containment could threaten integrity if rupture disks could not relieve the stress. Exposed flammable substances could burn, but there are few, if any, flammable substances within the containment.
Another theory called an 'alpha mode' failure by the 1975 Rasmussen (WASH-1400) study asserted steam could produce enough pressure to blow the head off the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). The containment could be threatened if the RPV head collided with it. (The WASH-1400 report was replaced by better-based[original research?] newer studies, and now the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has disavowed them all and is preparing the overarching State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analyses [SOARCA] study - see the Disclaimer in NUREG-1150.)
It has not been determined to what extent a molten mass can melt through a structure (although that was tested in the Loss-of-Fluid-Test Reactor described in Test Area North's fact sheet). The Three Mile Island accident provided some real-life experience, with an actual molten core within an actual structure; the molten corium failed to melt through the Reactor Pressure Vessel after over six hours of exposure, due to dilution of the melt by the control rods and other reactor internals, validating the emphasis on defense in depth against core damage incidents. Some believe a molten reactor core could actually penetrate the reactor pressure vessel and containment structure and burn downwards into the earth beneath, to the level of the groundwater.
By 1970, there were doubts about the ability of the emergency cooling systems of a nuclear reactor to prevent a loss of coolant accident and the consequent meltdown of the fuel core; the subject proved popular in the technical and the popular presses. In 1971, in the article Thoughts on Nuclear Plumbing, former Manhattan Project (1942–1946) nuclear physicist Ralph Lapp used the term "China syndrome" to describe a possible burn-through, after a loss of coolant accident, of the nuclear fuel rods and core components melting the containment structures, and the subsequent escape of radioactive material(s) into the atmosphere and environment; the hypothesis derived from a 1967 report by a group of nuclear physicists, headed by W. K. Ergen.
The geographic, planet-piercing concept of the China syndrome derives from the misperception that China is the antipode of the United States; to many Americans, it is the “the other side of the world”. Moreover, the hypothetical transit of a meltdown product to the other side of the Earth (i.e. China) ignores the fact that the Earth's gravity tends to pull all masses towards its center. Assuming a meltdown product could persist in a mobile molten form for long enough to reach the center of the Earth; gravity would prevent it continuing to the other side.
Other reactor types
Other types of reactors have different capabilities and safety profiles than the LWR does. Advanced varieties of several of these reactors have the potential to be inherently safe.
CANDU reactors
CANDU reactors, Canadian-invented deuterium-uranium design, are designed with at least one, and generally two, large low-temperature and low-pressure water reservoirs around their fuel/coolant channels. The first is the bulk heavy-water moderator (a separate system from the coolant), and the second is the light-water-filled shield tank. These backup heat sinks are sufficient to prevent either the fuel meltdown in the first place (using the moderator heat sink), or the breaching of the core vessel should the moderator eventually boil off (using the shield tank heat sink). Other failure modes aside from fuel melt will probably occur in a CANDU rather than a meltdown, such as deformation of the calandria into a non-critical configuration. All CANDU reactors are located within standard Western containments as well.
Gas-cooled reactors
One type of Western reactor, known as the advanced gas-cooled reactor (or AGCR), built by the United Kingdom, is not very vulnerable to loss-of-cooling accidents or to core damage except in the most extreme of circumstances. By virtue of the relatively inert coolant (carbon dioxide), the large volume and high pressure of the coolant, and the relatively high heat transfer efficiency of the reactor, the time frame for core damage in the event of a limiting fault is measured in days. Restoration of some means of coolant flow will prevent core damage from occurring.
Other types of highly advanced gas cooled reactors, generally known as high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) such as the Japanese High Temperature Test Reactor and the United States' Very High Temperature Reactor, are inherently safe, meaning that meltdown or other forms of core damage are physically impossible, due to the structure of the core, which consists of hexagonal prismatic blocks of silicon carbide reinforced graphite infused with TRISO or QUADRISO pellets of uranium, thorium, or mixed oxide buried underground in a helium-filled steel pressure vessel within a concrete containment. Though this type of reactor is not susceptible to meltdown, additional capabilities of heat removal are provided by using regular atmospheric airflow as a means of backup heat removal, by having it pass through a heat exchanger and rising into the atmosphere due to convection, achieving full residual heat removal. The VHTR is scheduled to be prototyped and tested at Idaho National Laboratory within the next decade (as of 2009) as the design selected for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant by the US Department of Energy. This reactor will use a gas as a coolant, which can then be used for process heat (such as in hydrogen production) or for the driving of gas turbines and the generation of electricity.
A similar highly advanced gas cooled reactor originally designed by West Germany (the AVR reactor) and now developed by South Africa is known as the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor. It is an inherently safe design, meaning that core damage is physically impossible, due to the design of the fuel (spherical graphite "pebbles" arranged in a bed within a metal RPV and filled with TRISO (or QUADRISO) pellets of uranium, thorium, or mixed oxide within). A prototype of a very similar type of reactor has been built by the Chinese, HTR-10, and has worked beyond researchers' expectations, leading the Chinese to announce plans to build a pair of follow-on, full-scale 250 MWe, inherently safe, power production reactors based on the same concept. (See Nuclear power in the People's Republic of China for more information.)
Experimental or conceptual designs
Some design concepts for nuclear reactors emphasize resistance to meltdown and operating safety.
The PIUS (process inherent ultimate safety) designs, originally engineered by the Swedes in the late 1970s and early 1980s, are LWRs that by virtue of their design are resistant to core damage. No units have ever been built.
Power reactors, including the Deployable Electrical Energy Reactor, a larger-scale mobile version of the TRIGA for power generation in disaster areas and on military missions, and the TRIGA Power System, a small power plant and heat source for small and remote community use, have been put forward by interested engineers, and share the safety characteristics of the TRIGA due to the uranium zirconium hydride fuel used.
The Hydrogen Moderated Self-regulating Nuclear Power Module, a reactor that uses uranium hydride as a moderator and fuel, similar in chemistry and safety to the TRIGA, also possesses these extreme safety and stability characteristics, and has attracted a good deal of interest in recent times.
The liquid fluoride thermal reactor is designed to naturally have its core in a molten state, as a eutectic mix of thorium and fluorine salts. As such, a molten core is reflective of the normal and safe state of operation of this reactor type. In the event the core overheats, a metal plug will melt, and the molten salt core will drain into tanks where it will cool in a non-critical configuration. Since the core is liquid, and already melted, it cannot be damaged.
Advanced liquid metal reactors, such as the U.S. Integral Fast Reactor and the Russian BN-350, BN-600, and BN-800, all have a coolant with very high heat capacity, sodium metal. As such, they can withstand a loss of cooling without SCRAM and a loss of heat sink without SCRAM, qualifying them as inherently safe.
Soviet Union-designed reactors
Soviet designed RBMKs, found only in Russia and the CIS and now shut down everywhere except Russia, do not have containment buildings, are naturally unstable (tending to dangerous power fluctuations), and also have ECCS systems that are considered grossly inadequate by Western safety standards. The reactor from the Chernobyl Disaster was a RBMK reactor.
RBMK ECCS systems only have one division and have less than sufficient redundancy within that division. Though the large core size of the RBMK makes it less energy-dense than the Western LWR core, it makes it harder to cool. The RBMK is moderated by graphite. In the presence of both steam and oxygen, at high temperatures, graphite forms synthesis gas and with the water gas shift reaction the resultant hydrogen burns explosively. If oxygen contacts hot graphite, it will burn. The RBMK tends towards dangerous power fluctuations. Control rods used to be tipped with graphite, a material that slows neutrons and thus speeds up the chain reaction. Water is used as a coolant, but not a moderator. If the water boils away, cooling is lost, but moderation continues. This is termed a positive void coefficient of reactivity.
Control rods can become stuck if the reactor suddenly heats up and they are moving. Xenon-135, a neutron absorbent fission product, has a tendency to build up in the core and burn off unpredictably in the event of low power operation. This can lead to inaccurate neutronic and thermal power ratings.
The RBMK does not have any containment above the core. The only substantial solid barrier above the fuel is the upper part of the core, called the upper biological shield, which is a piece of concrete interpenetrated with control rods and with access holes for refueling while online. Other parts of the RBMK were shielded better than the core itself. Rapid shutdown (SCRAM) takes 10 to 15 seconds. Western reactors take 1 - 2.5 seconds.
Western aid has been given to provide certain real-time safety monitoring capacities to the human staff. Whether this extends to automatic initiation of emergency cooling is not known. Training has been provided in safety assessment from Western sources, and Russian reactors have evolved in result to the weaknesses that were in the RBMK. However, numerous RBMKs still operate.
It is safe to say that it might be possible to stop a loss-of-coolant event prior to core damage occurring, but that any core damage incidents will probably assure massive release of radioactive materials. Further, dangerous power fluctuations are natural to the design.
Lithuania joined the EU recently, and upon acceding, it has been required to shut the two RBMKs that it has at Ignalina NPP, as such reactors are totally incompatible with the nuclear safety standards of Europe. It will be replacing them with some safer form of reactor.
The MKER is a modern Russian-engineered channel type reactor that is a distant descendant of the RBMK. It approaches the concept from a different and superior direction, optimizing the benefits, and fixing the flaws of the original RBMK design.
There are several unique features of the MKER's design that make it a credible and interesting option: One unique benefit of the MKER's design is that in the event of a challenge to cooling within the core - a pipe break of a channel, the channel can be isolated from the plenums supplying water, decreasing the potential for common-mode failures.
The lower power density of the core greatly enhances thermal regulation. Graphite moderation enhances neutronic characteristics beyond light water ranges. The passive emergency cooling system provides a high level of protection by using natural phenomena to cool the core rather than depending on motor-driven pumps. The containment structure is modern and designed to withstand a very high level of punishment.
Refueling is accomplished while online, ensuring that outages are for maintenance only and are very few and far between. 97-99% uptime is a definite possibility. Lower enrichment fuels can be used, and high burnup can be achieved due to the moderator design. Neutronics characteristics have been revamped to optimize for purely civilian fuel fertilization and recycling.
Due to the enhanced quality control of parts, advanced computer controls, comprehensive passive emergency core cooling system, and very strong containment structure, along with a negative void coefficient and a fast acting rapid shutdown system, the MKER's safety can generally be regarded as being in the range of the Western Generation III reactors, and the unique benefits of the design may enhance its competitiveness in countries considering full fuel-cycle options for nuclear development.
The VVER is a pressurized light water reactor that is far more stable and safe than the RBMK. This is because it uses light water as a moderator (rather than graphite), has well understood operating characteristics, and has a negative void coefficient of reactivity. In addition, some have been built with more than marginal containments, some have quality ECCS systems, and some have been upgraded to international standards of control and instrumentation. Present generations of VVERs (the VVER-1000) are built to Western-equivalent levels of instrumentation, control, and containment systems.
However, even with these positive developments, certain older VVER models raise a high level of concern, especially the VVER-440 V230.
The VVER-440 V230 has no containment building, but only has a structure capable of confining steam surrounding the RPV. This is a volume of thin steel, perhaps an inch or two in thickness, grossly insufficient by Western standards.
- Has no ECCS. Can survive at most one 4 inch pipe break (there are many pipes greater than 4 inches within the design).
- Has six steam generator loops, adding unnecessary complexity.
- However, apparently steam generator loops can be isolated, in the event that a break occurs in one of these loops. The plant can remain operating with one isolated loop - a feature found in few Western reactors.
The interior of the pressure vessel is plain alloy steel, exposed to water. This can lead to rust, if the reactor is exposed to water. One point of distinction in which the VVER surpasses the West is the reactor water cleanup facility - built, no doubt, to deal with the enormous volume of rust within the primary coolant loop - the product of the slow corrosion of the RPV. This model is viewed as having inadequate process control systems.
Bulgaria had a number of VVER-440 V230 models, but they opted to shut them down upon joining the EU rather than backfit them, and are instead building new VVER-1000 models. Many non-EU states maintain V230 models, including Russia and the CIS. Many of these states - rather than abandoning the reactors entirely - have opted to install an ECCS, develop standard procedures, and install proper instrumentation and control systems. Though confinements cannot be transformed into containments, the risk of a limiting fault resulting in core damage can be greatly reduced.
The VVER-440 V213 model was built to the first set of Soviet nuclear safety standards. It possesses a modest containment building, and the ECCS systems, though not completely to Western standards, are reasonably comprehensive. Many VVER-440 V213 models possessed by former Soviet bloc countries have been upgraded to fully automated Western-style instrumentation and control systems, improving safety to Western levels for accident prevention - but not for accident containment, which is of a modest level compared to Western plants. These reactors are regarded as "safe enough" by Western standards to continue operation without major modifications, though most owners have performed major modifications to bring them up to generally equivalent levels of nuclear safety.
During the 1970s, Finland built two VVER-440 V213 models to Western standards with a large-volume full containment and world-class instrumentation, control standards and an ECCS with multiply redundant and diversified components. In addition, passive safety features such as 900-tonne ice condensers have been installed, making these two units safety-wise the most advanced VVER-440's in the world.
The VVER-1000 type has a definitely adequate Western-style containment, the ECCS is sufficient by Western standards, and instrumentation and control has been markedly improved to Western 1970s-era levels.
Chernobyl disaster
In the Chernobyl disaster the fuel became non-critical when it melted and flowed away from the graphite moderator - however, it took considerable time to cool. The molten core of Chernobyl (that part that did not vaporize in the fire) flowed in a channel created by the structure of its reactor building and froze in place before a core-concrete interaction could happen. In the basement of the reactor at Chernobyl, a large "elephant's foot" of congealed core material was found. Time delay, and prevention of direct emission to the atmosphere, would have reduced the radiological release. If the basement of the reactor building had been penetrated, the groundwater would be severely contaminated, and its flow could carry the contamination far afield.
The Chernobyl reactor was an RBMK type. The disaster was caused by a power excursion that led to a meltdown and extensive offsite consequences. Operator error and a faulty shutdown system led to a sudden, massive spike in the neutron multiplication rate, a sudden decrease in the neutron period, and a consequent increase in neutron population; thus, core heat flux very rapidly increased to unsafe levels. This caused the water coolant to flash to steam, causing a sudden overpressure within the reactor pressure vessel (RPV), leading to granulation of the upper portion of the core and the ejection of the upper plenum of said pressure vessel along with core debris from the reactor building in a widely dispersed pattern. The lower portion of the reactor remained somewhat intact; the graphite neutron moderator was exposed to oxygen containing air; heat from the power excursion in addition to residual heat flux from the remaining fuel rods left without coolant induced oxidation in the moderator; this in turn evolved more heat and contributed to the melting of the fuel rods and the outgassing of the fission products contained therein. The liquefied remains of the fuel rods flowed through a drainage pipe into the basement of the reactor building and solidified in a mass later dubbed corium, though the primary threat to the public safety was the dispersed core ejecta and the gasses evolved from the oxidation of the moderator.
Although the Chernobyl accident had dire off-site effects, much of the radioactivity remained within the building. If the building were to fail and dust was to be released into the environment then the release of a given mass of fission products which have aged for twenty years would have a smaller effect than the release of the same mass of fission products (in the same chemical and physical form) which had only undergone a short cooling time (such as one hour) after the nuclear reaction has been terminated. However, if a nuclear reaction was to occur again within the Chernobyl plant (for instance if rainwater was to collect and act as a moderator) then the new fission products would have a higher specific activity and thus pose a greater threat if they were released. To prevent a post-accident nuclear reaction, steps have been taken, such as adding neutron poisons to key parts of the basement.
The effects of a nuclear meltdown depend on the safety features designed into a reactor. A modern reactor is designed both to make a meltdown unlikely, and to contain one should it occur.
In a modern reactor, a nuclear meltdown, whether partial or total, should be contained inside the reactor's containment structure. Thus (assuming that no other major disasters occur) while the meltdown will severely damage the reactor itself, possibly contaminating the whole structure with highly radioactive material, a meltdown alone should not lead to significant radiation release or danger to the public.
In practice, however, a nuclear meltdown is often part of a larger chain of disasters (although there have been so few meltdowns in the history of nuclear power that there is not a large pool of statistical information from which to draw a credible conclusion as to what "often" happens in such circumstances). For example, in the Chernobyl accident, by the time the core melted, there had already been a large steam explosion and graphite fire and major release of radioactive contamination (as with almost all Soviet reactors, there was no containment structure at Chernobyl). Also, before a possible meltdown occurs, pressure can already be rising in the reactor, and to prevent a meltdown by restoring the cooling of the core, operators are allowed to reduce the pressure in the reactor by releasing (radioactive) steam into the environment. This enables them to inject additional cooling water into the reactor again.
Reactor design
Although pressurized water reactors are more susceptible to nuclear meltdown in the absence of active safety measures, this is not a universal feature of civilian nuclear reactors. Much of the research in civilian nuclear reactors is for designs with passive nuclear safety features that may be less susceptible to meltdown, even if all emergency systems failed. For example, pebble bed reactors are designed so that complete loss of coolant for an indefinite period does not result in the reactor overheating. The General Electric ESBWR and Westinghouse AP1000 have passively activated safety systems. The CANDU reactor has two low-temperature and low-pressure water systems surrounding the fuel (i.e. moderator and shield tank) that act as back-up heat sinks and preclude meltdowns and core-breaching scenarios.
Fast breeder reactors are more susceptible to meltdown than other reactor types, due to the larger quantity of fissile material and the higher neutron flux inside the reactor core, which makes it more difficult to control the reaction.
Accidental fires are widely acknowledged to be risk factors that can contribute to a nuclear meltdown.
United States
There have been at least eight meltdowns in the history of the United States. All are widely called "partial meltdowns."
- BORAX-I was a test reactor designed to explore criticality excursions and observe if a reactor would self limit. In the final test, it was deliberately destroyed and revealed that the reactor reached much higher temperatures than were predicted at the time.
- The reactor at EBR-I suffered a partial meltdown during a coolant flow test on November 29, 1955.
- The Sodium Reactor Experiment in Santa Susana Field Laboratory was an experimental nuclear reactor which operated from 1957 to 1964 and was the first commercial power plant in the world to experience a core meltdown in July 1959.
- Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One (SL-1) was a United States Army experimental nuclear power reactor which underwent a criticality excursion, a steam explosion, and a meltdown on January 3, 1961, killing three operators.
- The SNAP8ER reactor at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory experienced damage to 80% of its fuel in an accident in 1964.
- The partial meltdown at the Fermi 1 experimental fast breeder reactor, in 1966, required the reactor to be repaired, though it never achieved full operation afterward.
- The SNAP8DR reactor at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory experienced damage to approximately a third of its fuel in an accident in 1969.
- The Three Mile Island accident, in 1979, referred to in the press as a "partial core melt," led to the permanent shutdown of that reactor.
Soviet Union
In the most serious example, the Chernobyl disaster, design flaws and operator negligence led to a power excursion that subsequently caused a meltdown. According to a report released by the Chernobyl Forum (consisting of numerous United Nations agencies, including the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organization; the World Bank; and the Governments of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia) the disaster killed twenty-eight people due to acute radiation syndrome, could possibly result in up to four thousand fatal cancers at an unknown time in the future and required the permanent evacuation of an exclusion zone around the reactor.
During the Fukushima I nuclear accidents, three of the power plant's six reactors reportedly suffered meltdowns. Most of the fuel in the reactor No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant melted. TEPCO believes No.2 and No.3 reactors were similarly affected. On May 24, 2011, TEPCO reported that all three reactors melted down.
Meltdown incidents
- There was also a fatal core meltdown at SL-1, an experimental U.S. military reactor in Idaho.
Large-scale nuclear meltdowns at civilian nuclear power plants include:
- the Lucens reactor, Switzerland, in 1969.
- the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania, U.S.A., in 1979.
- the Chernobyl disaster at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine, USSR, in 1986.
- the Fukushima I nuclear accidents following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, March 2011.
Other core meltdowns have occurred at:
- NRX (military), Ontario, Canada, in 1952
- BORAX-I (experimental), Idaho, U.S.A., in 1954
- EBR-I (military), Idaho, U.S.A., in 1955
- Windscale (military), Sellafield, England, in 1957 (see Windscale fire)
- Sodium Reactor Experiment, (civilian), California, U.S.A., in 1959
- Fermi 1 (civilian), Michigan, U.S.A., in 1966
- Chapelcross nuclear power station (civilian), Scotland, in 1967
- Saint-Laurent Nuclear Power Plant (civilian), France, in 1969
- A1 plant, (civilian) at Jaslovské Bohunice, Czechoslovakia, in 1977
- Saint-Laurent Nuclear Power Plant (civilian), France, in 1980
China Syndrome
The China syndrome (loss-of-coolant accident) is a fictional nuclear reactor operations accident characterized by the severe meltdown of the core components of the reactor, which then burn through the containment vessel and the housing building, then notionally through the crust and body of the Earth until reaching the other side, which in the United States is jokingly referred to as being China.
The system design of the nuclear power plants built in the late 1960s raised questions of operational safety, and raised the concern that a severe reactor accident could release large quantities of radioactive materials into the atmosphere and environment. By 1970, there were doubts about the ability of the emergency cooling systems of a nuclear reactor to prevent a loss of coolant accident and the consequent meltdown of the fuel core; the subject proved popular in the technical and the popular presses. In 1971, in the article Thoughts on Nuclear Plumbing, former Manhattan Project (1942–1946) nuclear physicist Ralph Lapp used the term "China syndrome" to describe a possible burn-through, after a loss of coolant accident, of the nuclear fuel rods and core components melting the containment structures, and the subsequent escape of radioactive material(s) into the atmosphere and environment; the hypothesis derived from a 1967 report by a group of nuclear physicists, headed by W. K. Ergen. In the event, Lapp’s hypothetical nuclear accident was cinematically adapted as The China Syndrome (1979).
The geographic, planet-piercing concept of the China syndrome derives from the misperception that China is the antipode of the United States; to many Americans, it is the “the other side of the world”. Moreover, the hypothetical transit of a meltdown product to the other side of the Earth (i.e. China) ignores the fact that the Earth's gravity tends to pull all masses towards its center. Assuming a meltdown product could persist in a mobile molten form for long enough to reach the center of the Earth; momentum loss due to friction (fluid viscosity) would prevent it continuing to the other side.
See also
- Behavior of nuclear fuel during a reactor accident
- Chernobyl compared to other radioactivity releases
- Chernobyl disaster effects
- High-level radioactive waste management
- International Nuclear Event Scale
- List of civilian nuclear accidents
- Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents
- Nuclear fuel response to reactor accidents
- Nuclear safety
- Nuclear power
- Nuclear power debate
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- United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (2009-09-14). "Glossary". Website. Rockville, Maryland, USA: Federal Government of the United States. pp. See Entries for Letter M and Entries for Letter N. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
- Reactor safety study: an assessment of accident risks in U.S. commercial nuclear power plants, Volume 1
- Hewitt, Geoffrey Frederick; Collier, John Gordon (2000). "4.6.1 Design Basis Accident for the AGR: Depressurization Fault". Introduction to nuclear power (in Technical English). London, UK: Taylor & Francis. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-56032-454-6. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
- "Earthquake Report No. 91". JAIF. May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- Kuan, P.; Hanson, D. J., Odar, F. (1991). Managing water addition to a degraded core. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
- Haskin, F.E.; Camp, A.L. (1994). Perspectives on Reactor Safety (NUREG/CR-6042) (Reactor Safety Course R-800), 1st Edition. Beltsville, MD: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. p. 3.1–5. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
- Haskin, F.E.; Camp, A.L. (1994). Perspectives on Reactor Safety (NUREG/CR-6042) (Reactor Safety Course R-800), 1st Edition. Beltsville, MD: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. pp. 3.5–1 to 3.5–4. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- Haskin, F.E.; Camp, A.L. (1994). Perspectives on Reactor Safety (NUREG/CR-6042) (Reactor Safety Course R-800), 1st Edition. Beltsville, MD: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. pp. 3.5–4 to 3.5–5. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ANS : Public Information : Resources : Special Topics : History at Three Mile Island : What Happened and What Didn't in the TMI-2 Accident
- Nuclear Industry in Russia Sells Safety, Taught by Chernobyl
- 'Melt-through' at Fukushima? / Govt. suggests situation worse than meltdown http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110607005367.htm
- Test Area North
- Walker, J. Samuel (2004). Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective (Berkeley: University of California Press), p. 11.
- Lapp, Ralph E. "Thoughts on nuclear plumbing." The New York Times, 12 December 1971, pg. E11.
- "China Syndrome". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
- Presenter: Martha Raddatz (15 March 2011). "ABC World News". ABC.
- Allen, P.J.; J.Q. Howieson, H.S. Shapiro, J.T. Rogers, P. Mostert and R.W. van Otterloo (April–June 1990). "Summary of CANDU 6 Probabilistic Safety Assessment Study Results". Nuclear Safety 31 (2): 202–214.
- http://www.insc.anl.gov/neisb/neisb4/NEISB_1.1.html INL VVER Sourcebook
- Partial Fuel Meltdown Events
- ANL-W Reactor History: BORAX I
- Wald, Matthew L. (2011-03-11). "Japan Expands Evacuation Around Nuclear Plant". The New York Times.
- The Chernobyl Forum: 2003-2005 (2006-04). "Chernobyl’s Legacy: Health, Environmental and Socio-economic Impacts". International Atomic Energy Agency. p. 14. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- The Chernobyl Forum: 2003-2005 (2006-04). "Chernobyl’s Legacy: Health, Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts". International Atomic Energy Agency. p. 16. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- Hiroko Tabuchi (May 24, 2011). "Company Believes 3 Reactors Melted Down in Japan". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
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Hot Weather Gets Scientists' Attention
Originally published on Wed July 11, 2012 5:30 am
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
Across America people are sweltering through extreme heat this year, continuing a long-term trend of rising temperatures. Inevitably, many are wondering if the scorching heat is due to global warming. Scientists are expected to dig into the data and grapple with that in the months to come. They've already taken a stab at a possible connection with last year's extreme weather events, like the blistering drought in Texas. NPR's Richard Harris reports.
RICHARD HARRIS, BYLINE: Weather researchers from around the world are now taking stock of what happened in 2011. It was not the hottest year on record, but it was still in the top 15. Jessica Blunden from the National Climatic Data Center says 2011 had its own memorable characteristics.
JESSICA BLUNDEN: People may very well remember this year as a year of extreme weather and climate.
HARRIS: There were devastating droughts in Africa, Mexico, and Texas. In Thailand, massive flooding kept people's houses underwater for two months.
BLUNDEN: Here in the United States, we had one of our busiest and most destructive seasons on record in 2011. There were seven different tornado and severe weather outbreaks that each caused more than a billion dollars in damages.
HARRIS: So what's going on here? Federal climate scientist, Tom Karl, said one major feature of the global weather last year was a La Nina event. That's a period of cooler Pacific Ocean temperatures and it has effects around the globe, primarily in producing floods in some parts of the world and droughts in others.
TOM KARL: By no means did it explain all of the activity in 2011, but it certainly influenced a considerable part of the climate and weather.
HARRIS: Karl and Blunden are part of a huge multinational effort to sum up last year's weather and say what it all means. They provided an update by conference call. Clearly, long-term temperature trends are climbing as you'd expect as a result of global warming. Tom Peterson from the Federal Climate Data Center says the effort now is to look more closely at individual events.
TOM PETERSON: You've probably all heard the term you can't attribute any single event to global warming, and while that's true, the focus of the science now is evolving and moving onto how is the probability of event change.
HARRIS: And there researchers report some progress. For example, last year's record-breaking drought in Texas wasn't simply the result of La Nina. Peter Stott from the British Meteorology Office says today's much warmer planet played a huge role as well, according to the study the group released on Tuesday.
PETER STOTT: The result that they find is really quite striking, in that they find that such a heat wave is now about 20 times more likely during a La Nina year than it was during the 1960s.
HARRIS: A second study found that an extraordinary warm spell in London last November was 60 times more likely to occur on our warming planet than it would have been over the last 350 years. But that's not to say everything is related to climate change. There's no clear link between the spate of tornadoes and global warming, and devastating floods in Thailand last year, turn out to be the result of poor land use practices.
Even so, Kate Willett of the British Weather Service says there is a global trend consistent with what scientists expect climate change to bring.
KATE WILLETT: So, in simple terms, we can say that the dry regions are getting drier and the wet regions are getting wetter.
HARRIS: This year's extreme events are different from last year's, but they all fit into a coherent picture of global change. Richard Harris, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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Climate change has already pushed the nation's wildlife into crisis, according to a report released Wednesday from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), and further catastrophe, including widespread extinction, can only be curbed with swift action to curb the carbon pollution that has the planet sweltering.
Entitled Wildlife in a Warming World: Confronting the Climate Crisis, the report looks at 8 regions across the U.S. where "the underlying climatic conditions to which species have been accustomed for thousands of years," the report explains, have been upturned by human-caused climate change.
“Some of America’s most iconic species—from moose to sandhill cranes to sea turtles – are seeing their homes transformed by rapid climate change,” stated Dr. Amanda Staudt, climate scientist at the National Wildlife Federation.
Feb 15, 2013 Living on Earth: STARVING POLAR BEARS Polar Bears have long been the poster species for the problem of climate change. But a new paper in Conservation Letters argues that supplemental feeding may be necessary to prevent polar bear populations from going extinct. Polar bear expert Andrew Derocher from the University of Alberta joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss how we can save the largest bear on the planet.http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=13-P13-00007&segmentID=2
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Pricing Carbon Emissions
A bill before Congress may prove a costly way to reduce greenhouse gases.
- Friday, June 5, 2009
- By Kevin Bullis
Experts are applauding a sweeping energy bill currently before the United States Congress, saying that it could lead to significant cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions and improve the likelihood of a comprehensive international agreement to cut greenhouse gases. "It's real climate-change legislation that's being taken seriously," says Gilbert Metcalf, a professor of economics at Tufts University. But many warn that the bill's market-based mechanisms and more conventional regulations could make these emissions reductions more expensive than they need to be.
The bill, officially called the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, is also referred to as the Waxman-Markey Bill, after its sponsors, Henry Waxman (D-Ca.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.). The legislation would establish a cap and trade system to reduce greenhouse gases, an approach favored by most economists over conventional regulatory approaches because it provides a great deal of flexibility in how emissions targets are met. But it also contains mandates that could significantly reduce the cost savings that the cap and trade approach is supposed to provide.
In a cap and trade system, the government sets a cap on total emissions of greenhouse gases from various industrial and utility sources, including power plants burning fossil fuels to generate electricity. It then issues allowances to polluters allowing them to emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases; total emissions are meant to stay under the cap. Over a period of time, the government gradually reduces the cap and the number of allowances until it reaches its target. If companies' emissions exceed their allowances, they must buy more.
Economists like the system because companies can choose to either lower their emissions, such as by investing in new technology, or buy more allowances from the government or from companies that don't need them--whichever makes the best economic sense. It is meant to create a carbon market, putting a value on emissions.
In the proposed energy bill, the government will set caps to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020 (compared with 2005 levels) and by 80 percent by 2050--targets chosen to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Setting caps will make electricity more expensive, as companies turn to cleaner technologies to meet ever lower caps or have to spend money to buy allowances from others with lower emissions. But the bill has some provisions for cushioning the blow, especially at first. For one thing, it gives away most of the allowances rather than charging for them, and it also requires that any profits gained from these free allowances be passed on to electricity customers. It also allows companies to buy "offsets" that permit them to pay to reduce emissions outside the United States.
If the program is designed right, there are fewer allowances than the total emissions when the program starts. At first, when the caps are relatively easy to meet, the prices for allowances on the carbon market will be low. But eventually, they will get higher as the allowances become scarcer. In an ideal world, companies will predict what the price of the allowances will be, and plan accordingly.
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Vinca is very drought-tolerant and has an extremely long blooming season. It can also tolerate the highest temperatures we face during the summer growing season.
Great improvements have been made in vinca flower colors and varieties during the past 25 years. In the 1980s, gardeners had few choices in terms of vinca growth habits, flower colors or disease resistance. In the 1990s, new forms and new flower colors arrived with rapid expansion occurring between 2000-2005.
Vinca flower colors now include pink, deep rose, red, blush, scarlet, white, white with a red eye, lavender blue, peach, apricot, orchid, burgundy and many others. You can have vinca varieties that are upright and vinca varieties that are spreading. Plants generally grow 18-20 inches tall with a spread of 12-14 inches. Spreading types, though, have more trailing or ground cover habits and reach only 6-8 inches tall (at the most) with spreads of 18-14 inches.
We do have vinca problems in the landscape, and based on the number of calls with vinca issues this spring, this is a bad year for vinca. This is surprising considering we now have disease-resistant varieties and we had a very dry spring and early summer.
The main disease culprit is a fungus called Phytophthora, which always is present in our soils. It is often responsible for root rots and crown rots, and it attacks many types of plants. This fungus causes a disease seen shortly after planting, but it also can be found later in the year.
Rhizoctonia is another disease common on vinca in Louisiana. It normally shows up in the summer after plants are established. Plant pathologists can also find Botrytis (gray mold) and Alternaria (leaf spot) on vinca in summer and fall.
To get the best performance out of vinca in your landscape, consider the following LSU AgCenter recommendations:
•Begin with good quality plants. Inspect plants obtained from the greenhouse grower or retail garden center for healthy roots.
•Select a full-sun location. Vinca need at least eight hours of direct sun daily for optimum performance.
•Properly prepare the landscape bed to allow for drainage and aeration. Raise the bed at least 6 inches if drainage is questionable. If beds are already established, all debris from the previous planting needs to be removed. Possibly, mulch should be removed also and add another couple inches of landscape soil prior to planting.
•Although late April through early May is the ideal first planting date for the spring, you can continue planting vinca through the summer. The main thing to remember is that vinca love warm soil.
•Plant so that the top of the root ball is level with or slightly higher than the soil of the bed. Proper spacing also is important because a crowded planting limits air circulation and can create conditions more favorable to disease development. Space transplants at least 8-10 inches apart. The more quickly plants grow together, the higher the likelihood of disease moving through foliage later in the year.
•Mulch to decrease splashing of rainfall and irrigation water from soil onto the lower stems and foliage of the plants. Bedding plants should be mulched to a depth of about 1 inch. Pine straw is the preferred mulch material.
•Manage irrigation properly. This is the main culprit in plant decline in commercial landscape beds. Vinca need very little irrigation once they’re established. Avoid regular overhead irrigation. Even if the landscape bed drains very well, an adequate volume once a week is the most water that should be applied.
•Don’t plant periwinkles in the same bed year after year. Rotate them with other summer bedding plants that like sunny locations, such as blue daze, lantana, pentas, angelonia, scaevola, verbena, melampodium or sun-tolerant coleus.
Varieties of vinca available in Louisiana include Pacifica, Cooler, Mediterranean, Victory, Titan, Nirvana and Cora series. Cooler and Pacifica are older varieties that still perform well with correct care. Mediterranean vincas spread and should be planted only in hanging baskets and containers. Titans have the largest flowers of all the vinca groups. The newer and more expensive Nirvana and Cora vincas have genetic resistance to Phytophthora. A few other vincas we have evaluated at the LSU AgCenter recently are not being sold in any significant quantities in Louisiana.
It is late in the bedding-plant season, but pay attention to vinca in landscapes. Are you noticing them looking good or looking bad? Try to figure out why a particular planting is performing well or not performing well. Vinca can have trouble through the summer and fall if proper practices are not followed, so consider the above options to improve your success.
For more information, contact Dr. Chris Robichaux, county agent/area horticulturist, St. Martin/Iberia Parishes, at 332-2181 or 369-4440.
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WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the launch of a website, DOepatents, which allows search and retrieval of information from a collection of more than 20,000 patent records. The database represents a growing collection of patents resulting from R&D supported by DOE and demonstrates the Department’s considerable contribution to scientific progress from the 1940s to the present.
“From helping the blind to see again to identifying hidden weapons through holographic computerized imaging technology, the U.S. Department of Energy has supported and will continue to support research addressing some of the world’s most pressing scientific challenges,” Under Secretary for Science Dr. Raymond L. Orbach said. “Content within DOepatents represents a truly impressive demonstration of DOE research and development and technological innovation.”
Highlighted at DOepatents is a compilation of noteworthy DOE innovations from the past few decades. These technologies have improved quality of life and provided national economic, health and environmental benefits. One such invention is the Artificial Retina, a collaborative research project between DOE national laboratories, universities and the private sector aimed at restoring vision to millions of people blinded by retinal disease. Another invention is the DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s pioneering multi-junction solar cell. A cell based on this design set a world efficiency record in converting sunlight to electricity. The DOepatents database also includes inventions of Nobel Laureates associated with DOE or its predecessors such as Enrico Fermi, Glenn Seaborg and Luis Alvarez, along with other distinguished scientists.
patents consists of bibliographic records, with full text where available via either a PDF file or an HTML link to the record at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The DOepatents database is updated quarterly with new patent records. The website is updated on a regular basis with news and information about significant and recent inventions. Resource links for inventors are included at the site, as well as Recent Inventions and Patent News pages. DOepatents was developed by the DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) and may be viewed at http://www.osti.gov/doepatents/.
OSTI, a part of the DOE Office of Science, accelerates discovery by making research results rapidly available to scientists and to the public. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the nation.
Jeff Sherwood, DOE, (202) 586-5806
Cathey Daniels, OSTI, (865) 576-9539
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Green building facts
- Buildings consume 32% of the world’s resources including 12% of fresh water and 40% of the world’s energy (7).
- In Australia commercial buildings produce almost 9% of our national Greenhouse gas emissions (8).
- To make way for the new Law School the Edgeworth David building and the Stephen Roberts lecture theatre were demolished in 2006. Over 80% of the materials from these buildings were recycled including the valuable copper from the roof of the lecture theatre
The new Law School Building
7. “Environmentally Sustainable Buildings: Challenges and Policies” OECD (2003)
8. “Australia State of the Environment Report” Department of Environment & Heritage (2001)
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I've heard that the "smog" in NYC actually helps plants and vegetables grow better. Is there any truth to this, or is it one of those things New Yorkers say to make themselves feel better, like "We have the best drinking water in the country"?
-Sarah from Astoria, NY
I'm sorry to burst your Big Apple bubble, but this is just wishful thinking. I'll start by blowing your mind and totally turning the question around: Do plants affect the air quality in polluted cities?
Trees planted in urban areas have actually been proven to reduce air pollution by doing what they do naturally, which is filter the air. Plants suck in carbon dioxide (along with the pollution) and release clean oxygen back into the environment. Woohoo, new clean air! But the flipside of all this is that the plant is sucking in polluted carbon dioxide. And that pollution has gotta end up somewhere...
Toxins pulled in from air, water and soil can eventually be transferred to the leaves and fruit of the plant. All plants are affected differently: Tomatoes, for example, harbor toxins in their leaves and not in their fruit, so you're safe if you're only eating the tomatoes and not the leaves like a weirdo.
Trees planted along the streets of NYC are actually chosen for their high rate of filtration. High filtering trees help clean the air better, but they also have a strong tolerance for pollution so they can survive the tough NYC air conditions. To learn more about trees planted in NYC, check out the Million Trees Initiative- you can request a tree to be planted on your block!
So, sorry Sarah... your New York City garden does not like the smog. But hey, at least you don't live in super-smoggy Los Angeles!
If anyone has a specific plant they're growing and would like to know how pollution is affecting it, comment below and I'll find the answer!
Have a question? Send it to Green Thumb Conundrums!
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The hoary marmot (Marmota caligata), the Alaska marmot (M. broweri), and the woodchuck (M. monax) are the three species of marmots that live in Alaska. The hoary marmot can be found at the bases of active talus slopes in the mountains of central, southeastern, and southwestern Alaska. It also occurs down to sea level along some areas of the coast. The Alaska marmot lives in similar talus habitat throughout much of the Brooks Range. The woodchuck digs its den in loess (wind-deposited soils) along river valleys in the dry lowlands of eastcentral Alaska.
General description: Large relatives of the squirrel, the hoary and closely related Alaska marmots weigh 10 pounds (4.5 kg) or more and may exceed 24 inches (61 cm) in total length. The woodchuck weighs between 2 and 6 pounds (.4-2.7 kg). They may grow to be 20 inches (50.8 cm) long. The animals attain their maximum weight in late summer, when they accumulate thick layers of fat that will sustain them through winter hibernation. Body shape is similar in all three species: head short and broad, legs short, ears small, body thickset, tail densely furred, and front paws clawed for digging burrows. Hoary and Alaska marmots are predominantly gray with a darker lower back and face and a dark, reddish tail. The hoary marmot has a white patch above its nose and usually has dark brown feet, giving it the Latin name caligata, meaning “booted.” The Alaska marmot does not have a white face patch, its feet may be light or dark, and its fur is much softer than the stiff fur of the hoary marmot. A uniform reddish brown, the woodchuck has an unmarked brown face. The name woodchuck originated as a Cree Indian word used to describe a number of similar-sized animals and does not describe characteristics of the woodchuck's behavior or habitat preference.
Life history: In Alaska, all marmots mate in April or May. About a month later, two to six young are born hairless and blind. The young disperse two months after birth and may breed for the first time when they are 2 or 3 years old. Marmots may live to 5 years or more. They feed on grasses, flowering plants, berries, roots, mosses, and lichens.
Hoary and Alaska marmots make their summer homes on the bases of active talus slopes, where the rocks protect them from predators and provide lookout stations. Woodchuck dens may be up to 30 feet long, are dug in the loamy soils of river valleys in Interior Alaska, and end with a chamber containing a large grass nest. Most marmot dens have a main entrance with a mound of dirt near the hole and a number of concealed entrances. Marmots are social animals. Although each family has a separate burrow, these burrows are located near each other, forming a colony.
True hibernators, marmots enter a state of torpor in winter during which all bodily functions are reduced. Hoary marmots and woodchucks hibernate alone in the same burrows in which they spent the summer. To protect themselves from the cold, they plug the tunnel leading to the nest chamber with a mixture of dirt, vegetation, and feces. They emerge from their winter hibernation in April or early May to find food and mates. Adapted to the harsher winter climate of the Brooks Range, Alaska marmots create a special winter den which has a single entrance and is characteristically located on an exposed ridge that becomes snow-free in early spring. The entrance is plugged after all colony members are inside, and no animals can leave until the plug thaws in early May. Consequently, Alaska marmots mate before they emerge from their winter den. These dens are relatively permanent for each colony, and some are used for more than 20 years. Because hibernation begins in September, most marmots in Alaska spend two-thirds of each year locked in their winter dens.
Marmots are most active in early morning and late afternoon, although they may leave their burrows during other daylight hours. Marmots need wind to control mosquito levels and rarely venture out on calm days. The Alaska marmot marks its territory by rubbing its face and glands on rocks and along trails. The hoary marmot probably marks its territory in the same way.
The pelt colors of marmots help them blend with the lichen-colored rocks or rusty-brown soil of their surroundings. Nevertheless, marmots remain alert for predators including eagles, foxes, coyotes, wolves, and bears. When the Alaska marmot is alarmed, it produces a slurred, low-pitched warning call. The alarm call of both hoary marmot and the woodchuck is a loud whistle. They also hiss, squeal, growl, and yip. In areas where marmots are hunted by humans, they have learned to remain quiet when humans approach. Good climbers and swimmers, woodchucks may also take to trees or water to avoid predators.
Marmots often secondarily benefit other animals and plants. Abandoned marmot holes can become homes for small mammals. In moderation, their digging and defecation loosen, aerate, and improve the soil. Alaska Natives have long relished marmot meat and used its thick coat for warm clothing. Although these wary animals are difficult to approach closely, persistent observers are rewarded by the fascinating sight of a marmot community.
The northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus yukonensis) is a gliding (volplaning) mammal that is incapable of true flight like birds and bats. There are 25 subspecies across North America with Interior Alaska being the most northern and western limit of the species' range. The generic name, Glaucomys, is from the Greek glaukos (silver, gray) and mys (mouse). Sabrinus is derived from the latin word sabrina (river-nymph) and refers to the squirrel's habit of living near streams and rivers.
General description: Adult flying squirrels average 4.9 ounces (139 gm) in weight and 12 inches (30 cm) in total length. The tail is broad, flattened, and feather-like. A unique feature of the body is the lateral skin folds (patagia) on each side that stretch between front and hind legs and function as gliding membranes. This squirrel is nocturnal and has large eyes that are efficient on the darkest nights. Eye shine color is a distinctive reddish-orange. Flying squirrel pelage is silky and thick with the top of the body light brown to cinnamon, the sides grayish, and the belly whitish.
Habitat requirements: Flying squirrels require a forest mosaic that includes adequate denning and feeding areas. Den sites include tree cavities and witches' brooms. Tree cavities are most numerous in old forests where wood rot, frost cracking, woodpeckers, and carpenter ants have created or enlarged cavities. Witches' brooms, clumps of abnormal branches caused by tree rust diseases, are the most common denning sites of flying squirrels in Interior Alaska. About November or December, when temperatures begin to drop sharply, flying squirrels move out of cavities and into brooms. In the coldest periods of winter, they form aggregations of two or more individuals in the brooms and sleep in torpor.
Feeding areas preferred by flying squirrels contain fungi (mushrooms and truffles), berries, and tree lichens and may be in either young or old forests. Dried fungi cached in limbs by red squirrels are sometimes stolen by flying squirrels.
Flying squirrels probably get water from foods they eat and rain, dew, and snow. Constant sources of free water (lakes, ponds, and watercourses) do not appear to be a stringent habitat requirement.
In a year's time, a flying squirrel in Interior Alaska may use as many as 13 different den trees within 19.8 acres (8 ha). On a night foray, a squirrel may travel as far as 1.2 miles (2 km) in a circular route and be away from its den tree for up to 7 hours. It may change den trees at night and move to different ones more than 20 times over a year, staying in each for a varying numbers of days. Den trees with brooms are used more than twice as much as trees with cavities.
Fairly dense, old closed-canopy forests with logs and corridors of trees (especially conifers) that are spaced close enough to glide between are needed for cover from predators. High quality flying squirrel habitat can be a community mosaic of small stands of varying age classes in which there is a mix of tall conifers and hardwoods. Part of the mosaic must be old coniferous forest with den trees containing witches' brooms, woodpecker cavities, and natural cavities for nesting sites. Riparian zones provide excellent habitat in all coniferous forest associations.
Life history: Flying squirrels in Alaska may breed anytime from March to late June, depending on length and severity of the winter. The female can breed before 11 months of age and give birth at about 1 year of age. Gestation requires about 37 days, so the young are born from May to early July. One litter of two per year is probably the usual case for Alaska, but they are known to have litters ranging from one to six in other parts of their range. At birth, the young flying squirrel (nestling) is hairless, and its eyes and ears are closed. Development is slow in comparison with other mammals of similar size. Their eyes open at about 25 days, and they nurse for about 60 to 70 days. By day 240, the young are fully grown and cannot be distinguished from adults by body measurements and fur characteristics. Mortality rate for flying squirrels 1 and 2 years old is about 50 percent, and few live past 4 years of age. Complete population turnover can occur by the third year.
Individual flying squirrels nest in tree cavities, witches' brooms, and drays. In Interior Alaska, most brooms and cavity entrances have southerly exposures. Nests in cavities are usually located about 25 feet above the ground but may range between 5 and 45 feet. Flying squirrels excavate chambers in witches' brooms and line them with nesting materials. A dray nest is a ball-like mass of mosses, twigs, lichens, and leaves with shredded bark and lichens forming the lining of the chamber. Flying squirrels build drays entirely by themselves or modify the nests of other species (e.g., bird nests, red squirrel nests). The dray is usually positioned close to the trunk on a limb or whorl of branches with its entrance next to the trunk. Most drays in Alaska are probably conifers.
Food habits: The flying squirrel is omnivorous. While little is known about its diet in Alaska, the food it consumes in other parts of its range include mushrooms, truffles, lichens, fruits, green vegetation, nuts, seeds, tree buds, insects, and meat (fresh, dried, or rotted). Nestling birds and birds' eggs may also be eaten. Those observed foraging in the wild in Interior Alaska ate mushrooms (fresh and dried), truffles, berries, tree lichens, and the newly flushed growth tips on white spruce limbs. In spring, summer, and fall the diet is mostly fresh fungi. In winter it's mostly lichens. Flying squirrels are not known to cache fungi for winter in Alaska, but they are known to do so elsewhere in their range. Witches' brooms and tree cavities would be likely places to find their caches.
Predators and parasites: Owls, hawks, and carnivorous mammals prey on flying squirrels. Primary predators are probably the great horned owl, goshawk, and marten due to their common occurrence and widespread range in Alaska's forests. Three different flea species may infest a single squirrel.
Economic and ecological value: Flying squirrels are important to forest regeneration and timber production because they disperse spores of ectomycorrhizal fungi like truffles. Truffles are fruiting bodies of a special type of fungus that matures underground. They are dependent upon animals to smell them out, dig them up, consume them, and disperse their spores in fecal material where the animal travels. The animal serves to inoculate disturbed sites (e.g., clearcuts, burned areas) with mycorrhizae that join symbiotically with plant roots and enhance their ability to absorb nutrients and maintain health. The flying squirrel's ecological role in forest ecosystems, therefore, gives it economic value. In addition, they may be important prey for a variety of hawks, owls, small carnivores, and furbearers like marten, lynx, and red fox. Many Alaskans value flying squirrels just for their interesting habits and aesthetic qualities.
Management considerations: Logging for house logs, wood for fuel, and lumber can have devastating effects on flying squirrel populations if clearcut size is too large or if some scattered tall conifers in large cuts are not retained as cover and for travel across the open spaces. Management should include retention of other squirrel species in shared habitats. Snags with woodpecker holes or other natural cavities and coniferous trees with witches' brooms must also be maintained in managed forests in order to provide adequate habitat for flying squirrels.
The red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) makes itself quite conspicuous with its lively habits and noisy chatter. Cone cuttings on stumps or rocks are common and tracks in snow are numerous where this squirrel occurs. It can be found in spruce forests over most of Alaska and has a wide range in North America. It occupies a wide variety of forest habitat, occurring in the hardwood forests of eastern North America and the coniferous forests of the west and north.
General description: The active rodent averages 11 to 13 inches in length (28-33 cm), including tail, and is a rusty-olive color on the upper parts of its body with a whitish belly and underparts. In summer, a dark stripe on the side separates the upper rusty color from the white of the belly. The bushy tail is often a lighter orange or red with light tipped hairs.
Life history: Red squirrels are solitary but pair for mating in February and March. Females usually breed when they are 1 year old. Three to seven young are born after a gestation period of 36 to 40 days. The young are born blind and hairless, weighing about ¼ ounce at birth. They are weaned at about 5 weeks but remain with the female until almost adult size.
The young leave the female and are independent during their first winter. This means that they have to be successful at gathering and storing a winter's supply of food.
Behavior: Much of the red squirrel's time in the summer is spent cutting and storing green spruce cones. There may be several bushels of cones stored in a cache. Caches may attain a diameter of 15 to 18 feet and a depth of 3 feet. Red squirrels also cache mushrooms on tree branches. They eat seeds, berries, buds, fungi, and occasionally insects and birds' eggs. They are busy collecting and storing food from early morning until dusk and also on moonlit nights.
Nests may be a hole in a tree trunk or a tightly constructed mass of twigs, leaves, mosses, and lichens in the densest foliage of a tree (making the nest almost completely weatherproof). A loose mass of twigs and leafy debris in a high tree is used as a “fair weather” nest. Their ground burrows, also known as middens, are used mostly for food storage. There is usually one large active midden in each territory with perhaps an inactive or auxiliary midden.
The home range of red squirrels is about ½ to 1 acre, and each squirrel knows its territory well. Each squirrel has several nests in its territory and always seems to know which retreat is nearest. Territorial behavior seems to be most rigid during caching of food and relaxes somewhat in the spring.
The red squirrel is active all year but may remain in its nest during severe cold spells and inclement weather. They are agile climbers and, being extremely curious, will often attempt to enter buildings, upsetting anything they can move and gnawing on woodwork. Once in a house or cabin, they can be very destructive, tearing out insulation and mattress stuffing for use as nesting material and caching food stores in any available niche.
Predators: The main predators of red squirrels are hawks, owls, and marten. Other predators may occasionally take a squirrel but are not serious threats. Around populated areas, one of the predators is the domestic housecat.
Human use: The red squirrel is used to a limited extent by man for food and fur. Squirrels may be small but the meat is good eating. In parts of Canada and Alaska the pelts are sold for their fur. Red squirrels may damage trees, cutting off twigs by the bushel, but they are also helpful because they distribute and plant seeds of spruce and other trees.
The Arctic Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus Parryii) was named "tsik-tsik" by the Inupiat Eskimos on account of a call this little rodent makes when it is alarmed?
Tsik-tsiks are found in both arctic and alpine tundra. They fatten themselves on seeds, mushrooms and berries—almost doubling their body weight over the summer—in preparation for fall hibernation. Although they insulate their winter burrows with grasses and block the entrances with dirt, winter temperatures inside the burrows still fall well below 0° F.
During hibernation, the body temperature of the arctic ground squirrel drops from 98.6° F to 26.4° F—that's below the freezing point of water and is the lowest known body temperature of any living mammal. Most mammals, including people, would be frozen solid at that body temperature! Scientists aren't sure just how these diminutive rodents do it, but they apparently have developed a unique mechanism that allows their body fluids to become supercooled—to fall below the freezing point without crystallizing into ice and damaging cell tissue.
Periodically throughout the winter, the tsik-tsik will rouse itself, briefly raising its body temperature more than 70° F in four hours, before going back into hibernation. Not until late March or early April does the arctic ground squirrel finally emerge from its winter den to the light of another spring and six months of intense activity.
Arctic ground squirrels are the largest and most northern of the North American ground squirrels. This species is common in the ice-free mountainous regions of Denali. Permafrost and soil type are two of the most important factors limiting ground squirrel distribution in Denali.
Arctic ground squirrels are burrowing animals and they establish colonies in areas with well-drained soils and views of the surrounding landscape. Colonies often consist of multiple burrows and a maze of tunnels beneath the surface. Well-drained soils are important, as flooding of these burrows causes considerable problems for squirrels. Accordingly, squirrels usually avoid establishing colonies or excavating burrows where permafrost is close to the surface.
Like many other arctic animals, arctic ground squirrels have unique physiological adaptations that allow them to survive during winter. Arctic ground squirrels are obligate hibernators and spend 7 to 8 months in hibernation. Researchers at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks have shown that during hibernation, arctic ground squirrels adopt the lowest body temperature ever measured in a mammal. The body temperature of hibernating squirrels drops below freezing, a condition referred to as supercooling. At intervals of two to three weeks, still in a state of sleep, hibernating squirrels shiver and shake for 12 to 15 hours to create heat that warms them back to a normal body temperature of about 98 degrees Fahrenheit. When the shivering and shaking stops, body temperature drops back to the minimal temperature. This type of hibernation is rare among mammals and scientists are still studying this unique physiological behavior.
In Denali, ground squirrels are active from late April to early October, but the sexes and age-classes show some differences in their annual activity patterns. Adult males are usually the first to emerge from hibernation. They dig their way through the snow and stay relatively close to their burrows until the snow cover melts. Breeding occurs in May and a single litter of 5 to 10 pups is born in June. The young develop rapidly and usually emerge from their burrows in mid-July. By late summer, young abandon their natal burrow and occupy a neighboring, empty burrow or excavate a new one.
Adults start hibernating as soon as they have enough body fat to survive the winter, often in late August when plenty of foods are still available. It is probably safer to enter hibernation early, even when foods are accessible, than to remain on the surface vulnerable to predators. Youngsters, however, take much longer to find foods and put on body fat and they are often active until late September. This means that youngsters are more vulnerable to predation than adults.
The diet of arctic ground squirrels is diverse and opportunistic. They eat many types of vegetation including the leaves, seeds, fruits, stems, flowers, and roots of many species of grasses, forbs, and woody plants. They also eat mushrooms and meat from freshly killed animals (including ground squirrels). Because they are active only during the short subarctic summer, arctic ground squirrels must be efficient foragers. As summer progresses, they put on a tremendous amount of fat stores for the winter and often double their body weight by the time they enter hibernation in fall.
The social behavior of arctic ground squirrels is complex. This species is highly territorial and squirrels may kill other squirrels over territorial disputes. However, other related females in the colony often care for orphaned youngsters. Further, territorial behavior lessens during late summer, and male squirrels may move between colonies or establish colonies of their own.
So many different predators eat arctic ground squirrels that Adolph Murie called them the "staff of life" in Denali. They are one of the most important summer food sources for golden eagles, gyrfalcons, foxes, and grizzly bears.
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The drought in Texas, during March, was the worst since 1895.
That is about the time my parents were born 120 years ago.
I never thought it could be worse than the drought of the 1950s, but it is. Drive out into grazing country where mesquite aren't too thick and all you can see is dry, cracked soil with an occasional fire ant or a gopher mound in the sandier soil.
Comparing the current drought with the seven-year drought in the 1950s, old-timers say the current drought sapped the soil of moisture faster than it did in the 1950s.
It just stopped raining last July, and pasture after pasture was hit by wildfires.
Right now, there is no potential to produce hay, harvest wheat or plant cotton or grain sorghum this May. Unless there is a week of rain fairly soon there is no hope for agriculture this year.
The Texas Ag Extension Service says that, despite a few recent showers in some areas, the cotton growing in Texas and Oklahoma is still in a drought. Any crop planted in southern Texas earlier in the year that got up out of the ground is now being sand blasted by hot, dry winds.
Wildfires have burned at least 1.5 million acres in the state since Jan. 1.
In addition to grazing losses, ranchers are facing rangeland stock water tanks that are dry or nearly dry. Streams are not flowing and lakes and big tanks are turning to deep mud.
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by Gregory McNamee
Talk about your worm’s-eye view of the world. From time to time, I am pleased in this column to announce the discovery of some hitherto unknown species,or the rediscovery of one thought to have disappeared. An international team of scientists has done this one better, announcing the discovery of an entirely new phylum comprising an ocean-dwelling flatworm called Xenoturbella and its kin, collectively the acoelomorphs. Interestingly, these creatures seem to be backward-evolving: their ancestors had gill slits and guts, but the current acoelomorphic configuration lacks them. As researcher Maximilian Telford of University College London puts it, “We’ve got these very simple worms nested right in the middle of the complex animals. How did they end up so simple? They must have lost a lot of complexity.”
* * *
If in the course of evolution you decided to lose your ears, you would have good reason. The world is a noisy place, thanks to ever-busy humans, and it’s getting noisier. In response, many species of animals are getting noisier themselves in an effort to be heard, a process, notes Rose Eveleth in Scientific American, called the Lombard effect. Right whales and house finches, for their parts, are calling in at different frequencies to get around shipping and urban noise. As Eveleth writes of animals in her provocative piece, “Many of them are doing the vocal equivalent of wandering around asking, ‘Can you hear me now?’ And increasingly, the answer is no.”
* * *
Gibbons make a fair amount of noise themselves—and perhaps that stands to reason, given that, next to the great apes, they’re our closest living relatives. That noise is more complex than you might think. Indeed, report researchers from the German Primate Center in Göttingen, the crested gibbons of Southeast Asia have distinctive regional accents. These accents suggest both familial typings, as well as the ancient migration of the species from a location to the north of their current range to points farther south.
* * *
A new phylum is discovered, but a current species declines. That, sadly, is the way of this noisy world. Scottish scientists, reports the BBC’s Highlands and Islands service, are documenting the decline of the common scoter, a kind of duck, in the islands to the north of the country. The scientists are now studying the effects of climate change, which has implications in predation and in food supply. Says one, “We believe climate change may be a factor because warmer winters and springs could lead to aquatic insects such as mayflies and caddis flies hatching earlier in the season and not being available to the scoter ducklings when they hatch out themselves. And warmer winters may, over time, lead to more predators surviving and that could make an impact.”
* * *
Homer Simpson, his son, Bart, their kin, and the good citizens of Springfield are odd ducks one and all. They’re cartoons, after all, so they’re supposed to be goofy. It’s worth noting, though, that the Homeric lineup lives in the shadow of a nuclear reactor, the river is full of three-headed fish, and the night sky glows unnaturally, all reasons to think that something other than mere cartoonery might be at play. It’s also worth observing, then, that researchers at the University of South Carolina’s Chernobyl Research Initiative have concluded that the offspring of 48 species of birds born in the vicinity of that vast Ukrainian accident site have smaller brain size (by 5 percent, on average) than birds born elsewhere, and that this correlates with both reduced cognitive ability and heightened mortality. This mutation seems to be occurring at relatively low doses of radiation, further correlating with the widespread difficulties of children born in the northern Ukraine since the 1986 disaster, who, the researchers’ report maintains, “have higher rates of neural tube defects and related neurological disorders than other children in uncontaminated regions of the Ukraine and Europe.” Champions of nuclear power, take note.
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Forest Ecosystems: Current Research
Regional Fire/Climate Relationships in the Pacific Northwest and Beyond
Fire exerts a strong influence on the structure and function of many terrestrial ecosystems. In forested ecosystems, the factors controlling the frequency, intensity, and size of fires are complex and operate at different spatial and temporal scales. Since climate strongly influences most of these factors (such as vegetation structure and fuel moisture), understanding the past and present relationships between climate and fire is essential to developing strategies for managing fire-prone ecosystems in an era of rapid climate change. The influence of climate change and climate variability on fire regimes and large fire events in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and beyond is the focus of this project.
There is mounting evidence that a detectable relationship exists between extreme fire years in the West and Pacific Ocean circulation anomalies. The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences fire in the Southwest (SW) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) appears to be related to fire in the PNW and Northern Rockies (NR). However, there are reasons to expect that processes driving fire in PNW, SW, and NR are not constant in their relative influence on fire through time or across space and that their differentiation is not stationary through time or across space.
- How regionally specific is the relationship between large fire events and precipitation/atmospheric anomalies associated with ENSO and PDO during the modern record?
- What do tree-ring and other paleo-records tell us about the temporal variability of the patterns of fire/climate relationships?
- How is climate change likely to influence climate/fire relationships given the demonstrated influences of climate variability?
Figure 1 A simple model of climate–fire-vegetation linkages. This project emphasizes the mechanisms and variability indicated by (1).
For publications on climate impacts on PNW forest ecosystems, please see CIG Publications.
Gedalof, Z. 2002. Links between Pacific basin climatic variability and natural systems of the Pacific Northwest. PhD dissertation, School of Forestry, University of Washington, Seattle.
Littell, J.S. 2002. Determinants of fire regime variability in lower elevation forests of the northern greater Yellowstone ecosystem. M.S. Thesis, Big Sky Institute/Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman.
Mote, P.W., W.S. Keeton, and J.F. Franklin. 1999. Decadal variations in forest fire activity in the Pacific Northwest. In Proceedings of the 11th Conference on Applied Climatology, pp. 155-156, Boston, Massachusetts: American Meteorological Society.
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by Piter Kehoma Boll
Let’s expand the universe of Friday Fellow by presenting a plant for the first time! And what could be a better choice to start than the famous Grandidier’s Baobab? Belonging to the species Adansonia grandidieri, this tree is one of the trademarks of Madagascar, being the biggest species of this genus found in the island.
Reaching up to 30 m in height and having a massive trunk only branched at the very top, it has a unique look and is found only at southwestern Madagascar. However, despite being so attractive and famous, it is classified as an endangered species by IUCN Red List, with a declining population threatened by agriculture expansion.
This tree is also heavily exploited, having vitamin C-rich fruits which can be consumed fresh and seeds used to extract oil. Its bark can also be used to make ropes and many trees are found with scars due to the extraction of part of the bark.
Having a fibrous trunk, baoabs are able to deal with drought by apparently storaging water inside them. There are no seed dispersors, which can be due to the extiction of the original dispersor by human activities.
Originally occuring close to temporary water bodies in the dry deciduous forest, today many large trees are found in always dry terrains. This probably is due to human impact that changed the local ecosystem, letting it to become drier than it was. Those areas have no or very poor ability to regenerate and probably will never go back to what they were and, once the old trees die, there will be no more baobabs there.
- – -
Baum, D. A. (1995). A Systematic Revision of Adansonia (Bombacaceae) Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 82, 440-470 DOI: 10.2307/2399893
Wikipedia. Adamsonia grandidieri. Available online at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adansonia_grandidieri>. Access on October 02, 2012.
World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. Adansonia grandidieri. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Access on October 02, 2012.
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Ki Tisa (Mitzvot)
For more teachings on this portion, see the archives to this blog, below at March 2006.
This week’s parasha is best known for the dramatic and richly meaningful story of the Golden Calf and the Divine anger, of Moses’ pleading on behalf of Israel, and the eventual reconciliation in the mysterious meeting of Moses with God in the Cleft of the Rock—subjects about which I’ve written at length, from various aspects, in previous years. Yet the first third of the reading (Exod 30:11-31:17) is concerned with various practical mitzvot, mostly focused on the ritual worship conducted in the Temple, which tend to be skimmed over in light of the intense interest of the Calf story. As this year we are concerned specifically with the mitzvot in each parasha, I shall focus on this section.
These include: the giving by each Israelite [male] of a half-shekel to the Temple; the making of the laver, from which the priests wash their hands and feet before engaging in Divine service; the compounding of the incense and of the anointing oil; and the Shabbat. I shall focus here upon the washing of the hands.
Hand-washing is a familiar Jewish ritual: it is, in fact, the first act performed by pious Jews upon awakening in the morning (some people even keep a cup of water next to their beds, so that they may wash their hands before taking even a single step); one performs a ritual washing of the hands before eating bread; before each of the daily prayers; etc. The section here dealing with the laver in the Temple (Exod 30:17-21) is also one of the four portions from the Torah recited by many each morning, as part of the section of the liturgy known as korbanot, chapters of Written and Oral Torah reminiscent of the ancient sacrificial system, that precede Pesukei de-Zimra.
Sefer ha-Hinukh, at §106, explains the washing of hands as an offshoot of the honor due to the Temple and its service—one of many laws intended to honor, magnify, and glorify the Temple. Even if the priest was pure and clean, he must wash (literally, “sanctify”) his hands before engaging in avodah. This simple gesture of purification served as a kind of separation between the Divine service and everyday life. It added a feeling of solemnity, of seriousness, a sense that one was engaged in something higher, in some way separate from the mundane activities of regular life. (One hand-washing by kohanim, in the morning, was sufficient, unless they left the Temple grounds or otherwise lost the continuity of their sacred activity.) Our own netilat yadaim, whether before prayer or breaking bread, may be seen as a kind of halakhic carryover from the Temple service, albeit on the level of Rabbinic injunction.
What is the symbolism of purifying one’s hands? Water, as a flowing element, as a solvent that washes away many of the things with which it comes in contact, is at once a natural symbol of both purity, and of the renewal of life. Mayim Hayyim—living waters—is an age old association. Torah is compared to water; water, constantly flowing, is constantly returning to its source. At the End of Days, “the land will be filled with knowledge of the Lord, like waters going down to the sea.” A small part of this is hinted in this simple, everyday gesture.
“See that this nation is Your people”
But I cannot pass over Ki Tisa without some comment on the incident of the Golden Calf and its ramifications. This week, reading through the words of the parasha in preparation for a shiur (what Ruth Calderon, founder of Alma, a secularist-oriented center for the study of Judaism in Tel Aviv, called “barefoot reading”—that is, naïve, without preconceptions), I discovered something utterly simple that I had never noticed before in quite the same way.
At the beginning of the Calf incident, God tells Moses, who has been up on the mountain with Him, “Go down, for your people have spoiled” (32:7). A few verses later, when God asks leave of Moses (!) to destroy them, Moses begs for mercy on behalf of the people with the words “Why should Your anger burn so fiercely against Your people…” (v. 11). That is, God calls them Moses’ people, while Moses refers to them as God’s people. Subsequent to this exchange, each of them refers to them repeatedly in the third person, as “the people” or “this people” (העם; העם הזה). Neither of them refers to them, as God did in the initial revelation to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:7 and passim) as “my people,” or with the dignified title, “the children of Israel”—as if both felt a certain alienation, of distance from this tumultuous, capricious bunch. Only towards the end, after God agrees not to destroy them, but still states “I will not go up with them,” but instead promises to send an angel, does Moses says “See, that this nation is Your people” (וראה כי עמך הגוי הזה; 33:13).
What does all this signify? Reading the peshat carefully, there is one inevitable conclusion: that God wished to nullify His covenant with the people Israel. It is in this that there lies the true gravity, and uniqueness, of the Golden Calf incident. We are not speaking here, as we read elsewhere in the Bible—for example, in the two great Imprecations (tokhahot) in Lev 26 and Deut 28, or in the words of the prophets during the First Temple—merely of threats of punishment, however harsh, such as drought, famine, pestilence, enemy attacks, or even exile and slavery. There, the implicit message is that, after a period of punishment, a kind of moral purgation through suffering, things will be restored as they were. Here, the very covenant itself, the very existence of an intimate connection with God, hangs in the balance. God tells Moses, “I shall make of you a people,” i.e., instead of them.
This, it seems to me, is the point of the second phase of this story. Moses breaks the tablets; he and his fellow Levites go through the camp killing all those most directly implicated in worshipping the Calf; God recants and agrees not to destroy the people. However, “My angel will go before them” but “I will not go up in your midst” (33:2, 3). This should have been of some comfort; yet this tiding is called “this bad thing,” the people mourn, and remove the ornaments they had been wearing until then. Evidently, they understood the absence of God’s presence or “face” as a grave step; His being with them was everything. That is the true importance of the Sanctuary in the desert and the Tent of Meeting, where Moses speaks with God in the pillar of cloud (33:10). God was present with them there in a tangible way, in a certain way continuing the epiphany at Sinai. All that was threatened by this new declaration.
Moses second round of appeals to God, in Exod 33:12-23, focuses on bringing God, as it were, to a full reconciliation with the people. This is the significance of the Thirteen Qualities of Mercy, of what I have called the Covenant in the Cleft of the Rock, the “faith of Yom Kippur” as opposed to that of Shavuot (see HY I: Ki Tisa; and note Prof. Jacob Milgrom’s observation that this chapter stands in the exact center, in a literary sense, of the unit known as the Hextateuch—Torah plus the Book of Joshua).
But I would add two important points. One, that this is the first place in the Torah where we read about sin followed by reconciliation. After Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the Garden, they were punished without hope of reprieve; indeed, their “punishment “ reads very much like a description of some basic aspects of the human condition itself. Cain, after murdering Abel, was banished, made to wander the face of the earth. The sin of the brothers in selling Joseph, and their own sense of guilt, is a central factor in their family dynamic from then on, but there is nary a word of God’s response or intervention. It would appear that God’s initial expectation in the covenant at Sinai was one of total loyalty and fidelity. The act of idolatry was an unforgivable breach of the covenant—much as adultery is generally perceived as a fundamental violation of the marital bond.
Moses, in persuading God to recant of His jealousy and anger, to give the faithless people another chance, is thus introducing a new concept: of a covenant that includes the possibility of even the most serious transgressions being forgiven; of the knowledge that human beings are fallible, and that teshuvah and forgiveness are essential components of any economy of men living before a demanding God.
The second, truly astonishing point is the role played by Moses in all this. Moshe Rabbenu, “the man of God,” is not only the great teacher of Israel, the channel through which they learn the Divine Torah, but also, as it were, one who teaches God Himself. It is God who “reveals His Qualities of Mercy” at the Cleft of the Rock; but without Moses cajoling, arguing, persuading (and note the numerous midrashim around this theme), “were it not for my servant Moses who stood in the breach,” all this would not have happened. It was Moses who elicited this response and who, so to speak, pushed God Himself to this new stage in his relation with Israel—to give up His expectations of perfection from His covenanted people, and to understand that living within a covenant means, not rigid adherence to a set of laws, but a living relationship with real people, taking the bad with the good. (Again, the parallel to human relationships is obvious)
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“A remote Indian village is responding to global warming-induced water shortages by creating large masses of ice, or “artificial glaciers,” to get through the dry spring months. (See a map of the region.)
Located on the western edge of the Tibetan plateau, the village of Skara in the Ladakh region of India is not a common tourist destination.
“It’s beautiful, but really remote and difficult to get to,” said Amy Higgins, a graduate student at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies who worked on the artificial glacier project.
“A lot of people, when I met them in Delhi and I said I was going to Ladakh, they looked at me like I was going to the moon,” said Higgins, who is also a National Geographic grantee.
People in Skara and surrounding villages survive by growing crops such as barley for their own consumption and for sale in neighboring towns. In the past, water for the crops came from meltwater originating in glaciers high in the Himalaya.”
Read more: National Geographic
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The list has been arranged, as possible, in reverse chronological order. I should note that the contents have been lightly edited to reduce entry length; almost all of these edits have removed references to recent sources in the outside literature which are not further identified. My apologies for this to the authors, but readers should of course consult the original sources to get the full picture, often extending well beyond Wallace studies per se.
. . . How is it that the memes of poetry remained a strong presence in the life of Wallace but disappeared from the life of Darwin even though both men were very much involved in scientific research that led both to the same revolutionary paradigm of natural selection? Perhaps the answer to this question may be found in a famous clash between the two scientific titans. For as Himmelfarb (1986) has remarked, 'Wallace not only had the distinction of being the first Darwinist; he was also the first renegade Darwinist'. And the issue on which Wallace became a 'renegade' was hardly trivial. Whereas Darwin believed that the science of evolution could completely account for the human species, Wallace had his doubts. His 'little heresy' as he called it was actually not so little, for he questioned whether the science of natural selection could account for 'the moral and higher intellectual nature of man' . . . --Bryce Christensen, October 2012. Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education 18(4): 400.
. . . The first author who expected mimicry by light was Wallace (1878) himself, who erroneously supposed click beetles for firefly mimics. Nevertheless, their light is different and they also appeared inedible too (Harvey 1956). Cockroaches are fat and tasty, so the mimic is at the place. One mimicry by light (aggressive, Batesian-Wallacian or Peckhammian) is actually known (Lloyd 1965, 1984): Predaceous fireflies Photuris (and also Bicellychonia) mimic the flash responses of females of other, up to five different (Lloyd 1983) species, attract males, and catch them, often during flight . . . --Peter Vršanský et al., September 2012. Naturwissenschaften 99(9): 748.
. . . Background matching prey coloration and its adaptive features have been recognized by biologists for a long time. The related idea that prey animals can decrease their probability of being detected through behavioural features was already discussed by Alfred Russel Wallace. . . . It has been shown experimentally that background matching effectively reduces predation risk imposed by predators, for example, in fishes and birds. Preference for backgrounds that reduce the risk of detection has thus been suggested to be an important and wide spread strategy among prey animals to decrease their predation risk. It is also a common assumption that prey animals have been selected to actively prefer visually matching backgrounds. However, considering the popularity of this idea, surprisingly few experimental studies testing it exist . . . --Karin Kjernsmo & Sami Merilaita, August 2012. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 279(1745): 4192.
. . . After planting doubts about sexual selection as the unique explanation, Wallace (1868) associated sexual dichromatism with the nesting habits of birds in relation to the risk of nest predation. He considered that, assuming that (i) incubation attendance by either sex promotes cryptic plumage in open nesters, but (ii) not in cavity or domed nesters, (iii) conspicuous sexual monochromatism should be associated with cavity or domed nesting, and (iv) sexual dichromatism with conspicuous males and cryptic females should be related to open nesting (Table 1). Wallace (1868) offered support for the two last predictions by listing 23 phylogenetically related groups of birds (i.e. families or genera) with conspicuous monochromatism nesting in cavities or domed nests and seven families with bright males and dull females with open nesting habits. Wallace (1868, 1889) also predicted that because of the higher phylogenetic lability of plumage colour, changes in nesting habits would come first and be followed by changes in coloration. Darwin (1871) disagreed with this view and forcefully argued that plumage coloration could select for changes in nesting habits while the opposite was less plausible. In nearly a century and a half elapsed since Wallace first presented his theory on avian sexual dichromatism in relation to nesting habits, few attempts have been made to empirically check its validity despite the attention that sexual dichromatism as variable reflecting the strength of sexual selection in different bird species has received during the last decades (see for instance, Amundsen & Pärn, 2006) and the huge increase in information on avian natural history and phylogeny . . . --J. J. Soler & J. Moreno, May 2012. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 25(8): 1615.
. . . In this article, we tested some assumptions and predictions of Wallace’s theory by analysing plumage conspicuousness and dichromatism, nesting habits and incubation attendance of European passerines as described in Handbook of Birds of The Western Palearctic (HBWP; Cramp & Perrins, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994a,b). We have also corrected for phylogenetic relationships in all analyses as nesting habits, and to a lesser degree sexual dichromatism, may show a marked phylogenetic component as already argued by Wallace (1889). According to the fundamental assumption of Wallace that incubation attendance by either sex promotes cryptic plumage in open nesters, but not in cavity nesters, conspicuousness in either sex should be related to incubation attendance, nest type and their interaction (Prediction 1). Moreover, the predictions by Wallace that conspicuous sexual monochromatism should be associated with cavity or domed nesting, and sexual dichromatism with conspicuous males and cryptic females should be related to open nesting, were tested by relating degree of male and female conspicuousness to nest type and sexual dichromatism. . . . --J. J. Soler & J. Moreno, May 2012. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 25(8): 1615-1616.
. . . The world 's terrestrial zoogeographical regions were originally outlined by Sclater (1858) and Wallace (1876), primarily on the basis of vertebrates, because their distribution records were the most complete at the time. Since then, the completeness of records has improved dramatically for both vertebrates and invertebrates, and although invertebrates represent a far greater proportion of total animal diversity, tetrapod vertebrates remain the best group for comparatively testing biogeographical hypotheses, with a comprehensive data set having become openly available online (WWF 2010). Specifically, where the world's biogeographical regions are concerned, it makes sense to test their accuracy using the same groups of organisms used to delimit them in the first place . . . --Şerban Procheş & Syd Ramdhani, March 2012. Bioscience 62(3): 260.
. . . During his student days, however, Meyer had also encountered the works of the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. In 1869, when Wallace published The Malay Archipelago, describing his travels and observations in the region from 1854 to 1862, Meyer produced an authorised translation, Der Malayische Archipel, within the same year. In 1870, he added two collections on the origin of species and the theory of natural selection, translated from original essays by Wallace and Darwin. On 6 July of the same year, Meyer embarked for Batavia (Jakarta) and by the end of September was stationed in Menado (Manado, North Sulawesi). Clearly, his admiration for Wallace's work influenced his decision to go abroad; indeed, Chris Ballard counts him as one among a 'wave of naturalist explorers' who travelled to the Malay Archipelago during the 1870s in Wallace’s wake, 'each bearing copies of his book and consciously emulating his earlier feats' . . . --Hilary Howes, March 2012. The Journal of Pacific History 47(1): 25.
. . . Most species remain undescribed and unknown. Recognizing and describing them is, however, just the beginning of a process. For most of the species already described, we probably know little more than some morphological characteristics and a few, if not a single, locality (as a spot distribution within an unknown range). This shortfall was named by Lomolino (2004) as the "Wallacean shortfall". Compiling good distributional data is the first stage of any systematic conservation planning exercise (Margules and Pressey, 2000). Without reasonable information of where species live, it is impossible to know which are endangered and where to concentrate efforts to preserve them . . . --Pedro Cardoso et al., November 2011. Biological Conservation 144(11): 2651.
. . .Wallace's Line demarcates the most abrupt faunal transition in the world. To a seasoned naturalist like Wallace, this unique juxtaposition of dramatically different faunas, first noted by Müller (1846), was obvious, was anomalous, and begged explanation; so it is perhaps no accident that biogeographic study effectively began in the IAA. The range limits of many terrestrial taxa are coincident with the eastern edge of the Sunda Shelf, and the taxonomic compositions of communities on either side are distinctly different. Wallace advocated geological explanations for these biological differences. He suggested, for example, that Bali and Lombok were formerly widely separated and had only recently moved to their present positions <40 km apart; he also noted that faunal discontinuities were associated with deep straits (Wallace 1860). Wallace first described the Line in an 1858 letter to H.W. Bates (Marchant 1916, p. 66) before he mapped the Line (Wallace 1863) that was later given his name by Huxley (1868) and expounded upon these observations in books on the IAA and biogeography in general (e.g., Wallace 1869). The veracity of Wallace's observations was debated because the existence of such a stark faunal divide seemed improbable, and this spurred intense study of distribution patterns in the region (e.g., Weber 1902). . .–David J. Lohman et al., August 2011. Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 42: 208.
. . . The processes governing the evolution of sexual dimorphism provided a foundation for sexual selection theory. Two alternative processes, originally proposed by Darwin and Wallace, differ primarily in the timing of events creating the dimorphism. In the process advocated by Darwin, a novel ornament arises in a single sex, with no temporal separation in the origin and sex-limitation of the novel trait. By contrast, Wallace proposed a process where novel ornaments appear simultaneously in both sexes, but are then converted into sex-limited expression by natural selection acting against showy coloration in one sex. Here, we investigate these alternative modes of sexual dimorphism evolution in a phylogenetic framework and demonstrate that both processes contribute to dimorphic wing patterns in the butterfly genera Bicyclus and Funonia . . . Our analyses support both hypotheses advocated by Darwin and Wallace for the origin of sexual dimorphism: some sexually dimorphic ornaments arise concomitantly with sex-limited expression, while others arise in both sexes but are subsequently lost in one sex. Thus both modes of evolution are applicable to the evolution of sexual dimorphism in butterflies . . . --Jeffrey C. Oliver & Antónia Monteiro, 7 July 2011. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 278(1714): 1981, 1985.
. . .Wallace (1889) was the first to propose that cuckoo-hawk resemblance was a form of mimicry, which Wyllie (1981) suggested might aid parasitic laying by frightening aggressive hosts away from the nest. In support of this idea, hawk-like plumage, with cryptic upperparts and pale, barred underparts, is more prevalent in parasitic than in nonparasitic cuckoos (Payne 1967) and most likely evolved after the evolution of brood parasitism (Krüger et al. 2007) . . . –Justin A. Welbergen & Nicholas B. Davies, May-June 2011. Behavioral Ecology 22(3): 574.
. . . While there were numerous previous philosophical treatises on the topic, stretching back to speculations about the origin of the universe in ancient times, scientific proposals are more recent. A well known one was biologist Alfred Russell Wallace, who wrote in 1904: "Such a vast and complex universe as that which we know exists around us, may have been absolutely required . . . in order to produce a world that should be precisely adapted in every detail for the orderly development of life culminating in man". But that was before modern cosmology was established; the idea of the expanding and evolving universe was yet to come . . . --George Ellis, 13 May 2011. General Relativity and Gravitation 43(11): 3213.
This brings us back to the Popp. et al. analysis of Empetrum. Their dating analysis shows quite convincingly that the relevant phylogenetic splits do not date to the Jurassic--not even close. Instead, they probably happened in the Pleistocene less than 1 Mya. We can, therefore, immediately rule out ancient vicariance, but it is not quite as easy to choose between a Darwin or a Wallace migration scenario and the long-distance dispersal favored by Popp et al. As Popp et al. point out, Empetrum is not currently known along the Andes, and its distinctive pollen grains have never been found there. However, as Wallace (1880) argued, this does not entirely rule out that they passed through the Andes and then disappeared as suitable habits shrank . . . --Michael J. Donoghue, 19 April 2011. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 108: 6341-6342.
. . . Although theories of animal colouration were developed principally in regard to terrestrial species (Wallace 1879; Poulton 1890; Cott 1940; Edmunds 1974), from early on they were applied to aquatic species too (e.g., Wallace 1889; Beddard 1895; Longley 1916, 1917). Nonetheless, colouration of aquatic organisms is subject to different selection pressures than those operating on land because scattering of light in water leads to an unchanging angular distribution of light direction; light only penetrates surface waters, the extent to which additionally depends on turbidity; light may be refracted at the surface; and species that use the water column may be viewed by prey, predators or conspecifics from almost any angle (Lythgoe 1987; Marshall 2000; Hanlon et al. 2009; Zylinski et al. 2009). These properties favour certain mechanisms of crypsis including transparency, counter illumination and countershading (Johnsen 2011; Johnsen et al. 2004; Ruxton et al. 2004) . . . –Tim Caro et al., April 2011. Evolutionary Ecology 25(6): 1232.
. . . More than 130 years on, the biogeographic scheme of Sclater and Wallace continues to form a basis for continental-scale geographic comparison of mammalian communities. Any observer of modern Africa can quickly recognize the stark ecological boundary delimited by the Sahara Desert, with the vast diversity of African-endemic taxa restricted to regions to its south. With almost no African fossil record to consult, scientists of the 19th and early 20th centuries could only speculate on the age or historical development of this continent's biogeography. In contrast, the last 100 years of paleontological exploration have provided a wealth of information that allows for an investigation into the developmental history of African endemism as a whole, and the Ethiopian biogeography realm in particular. Wallace's proposal of "long epochs" of isolating barriers can now be more precisely formulated and addressed . . . --Faysal Bibi, February 2011. PloS One 6(2): 1-10.
. . . Wallace noted the problem of incipient evolutionary stages. He argued that incipient and intermediate stages might have little selective survival advantage, as with a partially developed wing; yet evolution progressed to new forms and greater complexity as if teleologically guided. Wallace thus predicted the problem of "irreducible complexity" (Behe, 2004). A group composed of Paleo-anthropologists and Linguists similarly argued that the physical and cognitive articulations required for human speech are so sophisticated that it is difficult to imagine intermediary systems (Picq et al., 2008). They described as a Neo-Darwinian tautology the argument that if a human feature existed, then it must be adaptive, otherwise it would not have survived. This is a form of Panglossian, overly-optimistic), post-hoc reasoning . . . --Michael M. DelMonte, January 2011. The International Journal of Healing and Caring 11(1).
. . . the evolution of longer floral tubes forced the evolution of longer insect proboscides, which in turn forced the selection for even longer floral tubes. Wallace (1867) noted that this positive feedback system would continue generating longer and longer traits until it is balanced by an opposing selective pressure. Although he did not elaborate much on opposing selective pressures, Wallace (1867) implied that proboscis and tube lengthening would only be advantageous to a point, after which increased length may become a liability (e.g. Harder 1983; Kunte 2007). Insects with excessively long proboscides may have difficulty maneuvering them and inserting them accurately into the narrow gullets of flowers (e.g. Harder 1983) . . . --Allan G. Ellis & Bruce Anderson, 2011. In Sébastien Patiny, ed., Evolution of Plant-Pollinator Relationships (Cambridge University Press): 237-262.
. . . Inspired by evolutionary computation, artificial life, multi-agent systems and social cognition, we develop a more realistic distribution of environments. The basic idea is straightforward: intelligence is the result of evolution through millions of generations interacting with other live beings. Thus we define intelligence in this context, interacting with other agents of similar intelligence. We formalise the so-called Darwin-Wallace distribution for agents and environments. Despite the many options and the many sources of uncomputability, we claim that, conceptually, the notion of Darwin-Wallace distribution is useful to re-visit previous definitions of intelligence. The next step is how this notion can be used for AGI development and evaluation. We present a procedure which approximates a Darwin-Wallace distribution by using intelligence tests over environments such that 'certified' systems are incorporated into the environments, so making them socially more complex . . . --José Hernández-Orallo et al., 2011. 'On more realistic environment distributions for defining, evaluating and developing intelligence' (http://users.dsic.upv.es): 3.
Wallace's approach to cosmology shows how the consideration of the conditions necessary for the evolution of life is not wedded to any particular theory of star formation and development but must be used appropriately in any cosmology we pursue . . . --John D. Barrow, 2011. The Book of Universes: Exploring the Limits of the Cosmos (W. W. Norton).
. . . The term used to describe this type of speciation is allopatry, as opposed to sympatry, where ancestral and descendant species coexist in the same environment (or parapatry if they exist side by side, with a hybridisation zone in between). If two populations having evolved separately come back in contact later on, the intermediate phenotype of their offspring could make them unfit for either environment, and this would then provide the selective pressure for the selection of additional reproductive barriers, in a process called reinforcement, and often referred to as 'the Wallace effect'. Indeed, the earliest promoter of the view that reinforcement could occur under the pressure of natural selection was undoubtedly Alfred Wallace, who disagreed with Darwin's views that reproductive isolation could not possibly result from natural selection: "The sterility of first crosses and of their hybrid progeny has not been acquired through natural selection" (The Origin, Summary of Hybridism chapter). This point was a subject of written exchanges and arguments in private correspondence between the two around 1858 [[sic]], 10 years after their joint communication to the Linnean Society in July 1858, but Wallace formally published his views only in 1889, some twenty year later, in chapter VII of his book called Darwinism. On the subject of allopatry versus sympatry, I do take a very divergent view to that adopted by a majority of evolutionary biologists to this day. Rather, I choose to follow Wallace's path against Darwin's in thinking that natural selection plays a major role in the reproductive isolation that defines species, and I shall actually venture some steps further than Wallace, and will advocate in the following pages that natural selection can act on the very first stages of reproductive isolation, and not just on reinforcement after divergence has taken place . . . --Etienne Joly, 25 November 2010. Nature Precedings: 3.
. . . By the time he wrote Island life, Wallace (1881) knew of 21 species of Philippine mammals, most of which are either widespread species or Palawan endemics. Thus, he had virtually no knowledge of the highly endemic mammal communities in the oceanic Philippines. At the time, even less was known of amphibian and reptile diversity (Boulenger, 1894). Thus, Wallace's impression of the Philippine fauna, and his biogeographic delineations of it, were taken from a very small, biased sample of the diversity . . . --Jacob A. Esselstyn et al., November 2010. Journal of Biogeography 37(11): 2055.
. . . With growing knowledge about species distributions, updated summary information on species richness, endemism and faunistic resemblance has been assembled and analysed within the classic Wallace scheme (Chapin, 1923; Smith, 1983; Cole et al., 1994; Newton & Dale, 2001). Furthermore, various refinements have been proposed, many of them addressing delineations of subregions, districts etc. within classic Wallace regions (e.g. Chapin, 1923; Hagmeier & Stults, 1964; Hagmeier, 1966; Hershkovitz, 1969; Crowe & Crowe, 1982) or boundaries and transition zones between regions, e.g. between the Oriental and Australian realm (e.g. Mayr, 1944; Simpson, 1977; Vane-Wright, 1991; Beck et al., 2006b) . . . --Holger Kreft & Walter Jetz, November 2010. Journal of Biogeography 37(11): 2030.
. . . Few recognize, as Cronin (1991) documents, that the contemporary dominance of adaptive intersexual selection models, which assuming a controlling power of natural selection on mating preferences, represents a triumph of Wallace's view over the arguments of Darwin himself. Most contemporary researchers are the intellectual descendents of Wallace. Like Wallace, they are using the logic of Darwin's Origin to argue against Darwin's Selection in Relation to Sex. For one, Dawkins proudly embraces Cronin's label as a modern Wallacean, describing the theories of Zahavi, Hamilton, and Grafen as a "neo-Wallacean" triumph over the incomplete and muddled mate choice mechanism of Darwin and Fisher . . . --Richard O. Prum, November 2010. Evolution 64(11): 3097.
The key feedbacks that amplify change in the region are the reflectivity of the ground and the moisture in the air, factors that were discussed more than a 100 years ago by the geologist James Croll and the naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace. Wallace, for example, wrote as follows (1895, p. 157): ... the increased heat of summer could not be in any way stored up, but would be largely prevented from producing any effect, by reflection from the surface of the snow and by the intervention of clouds and fog ... Reflectivity (albedo) is now generally recognized as the dominant feedback factor. The net contributions of clouds and fog, although clearly important, are less obvious and are difficult to quantify . . . --Wolfgang H. Berger, Michael Schulz & Gerold Wefer, October 2010. International Journal of Earth Sciences 99, Supplement 1: 171-189.
For Wallace, the two processes of isolation in space and biological differentiation through time were inseparable, because one (isolation) led to the other (speciation). Wallace's view of what constituted natural--the dual criteria of biological and geological uniqueness--has some important implications for how natural biogeographical units are identified. Because Wallace was the first to suggest a geological/historical component to the identification of natural biogeographical areas. I propose to name such entities Wallacean biogeographical units . . . --Bernard Michaux, September 2010. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 101: 193-212.
. . . In my view there is a further step to take, and that is to confirm that areas of endemism are also Wallacean biogeographical units. These are the fundamental units for further biogeographical analysis because they are natural entities, not human constructs. For example, 'Sulawesi' is an area of endemism, but not a Wallacean biogeographical unit: it is a human geopolitical construct that has no biogeographical reality. Any attempt to use the area 'Sulawesi' in biogeographical analysis is doomed to failure . . . --Bernard Michaux, September 2010. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 101: 193-212.
. . . Roy Davies has assembled a convincing case that Darwin was much more cavalier with attribution, particularly with regard to Wallace, than commonly thought and in several instances failed to cite or give adequate credit to his antecedents. He concludes that Wallace has a stronger claim to the theory of evolution than commonly realized . . . --David Lloyd, Julian Wimpenny & Alfred Venables, September 2010. Journal of Biosciences 35: 339- 349.
That Wallace almost certainly solved the problem of divergence before Darwin did is, perhaps, not surprising. Wallace had much the greater experience in the field of biogeography, which was so fundamental to unravelling the relationships between species. But, even more importantly, he had the advantage that, unlike Darwin, he was looking actively for evidence of evolution while in the field, and could therefore tailor his data collection appropriately. By contrast, Sulloway has recently argued most persuasively that during the voyage on The Beagle Darwin was still a creationist in attitude; this blunted his appreciation of the evolutionary significance of the Galapagos fauna to the extent that he failed to collect a single tortoise specimen and neglected to label his finch specimens with their exact islands of origin . . . --David Lloyd, Julian Wimpenny & Alfred Venables, September 2010. Journal of Biosciences 35: 339-349.
. . . 'Muir went over to Darwinism with all the rest' (Worster, 2008, p. 204), stating 'Not that I would in any way oppose the discovered truths of evolution for I embrace them cordially' (Worster, 2008, p. 206). And so Worster (p. 207) suggests a 'glowing endorsement' of Darwinism, taking Muir 'far . . . from, the evangelical orthodoxy and towards a more liberal, science-based view of the world'. There is, then, a likely influence of Darwin in Muir's later life and reading. Moreover, books in the Muir collection at Pacific University show that he was also reading the works of Alfred Russel Wallace, whom he met, the two naturalists together visiting the Muir Woods of northern California (Wallace, 1905, p. 158) . . . --R. M. McDowall, September 2010. Journal of Biogeography 37(9): 1634.
. . .Biological barriers act throughout the lifecycle and are often classified according to the point in the life cycle that they are encountered (e.g. premating vs. postmating). Barriers at each stage can arise as byproducts of within lineage evolution as a result of natural or sexual selection or genetic drift, but natural selection against maladaptive hybridization itself can also drive evolution of reproductive isolation barriers (Wallace, 1889; Fisher, 1930; Dobzhansky, 1937). This process is usually termed reinforcement, and as the name implies, it requires the pre-existence of some degree of reproductive isolation, which is then 'reinforced' by the evolution of additional barriers. Studies of reinforcement have focused overwhelmingly on premating barriers. . . . Nevertheless, selection on postmating barriers is at least theoretically possible (Wallace, 1889; Coyne, 1974). Wallace argued that selection among demes could drive hybrid inviability by reducing the negative impact of low-quality hybrids (Wallace, 1889) . . . --E. Turner, D. J. Jacobson & J. W. Taylor, August 2010. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 23(8): 1642.
. . . He spent years living on his own in Amazonia and then in the Malay archipelago, making detailed and sympathetic observations about local peoples, practices and cultures. In the latter context his travelling companion and research assistant for many years was a young Malay man, Ali. At their parting, in 1862, Wallace commissioned a photograph of Ali to carry home to England and included it in his 1905 autobiography. Compare this to the erasure of non-white participation and assistance in other European explorers' accounts of the time . . . --Kathleen Bolling Lowrey, August 2010. Anthropology Today 26(4): 18-21.
. . . one must simply concede that during the 20th-century history of the discipline anthropologists have accumulated a huge wealth of data relating to question 3 for which no plausible explanation, general theory, or provisional hypothesis exists . . . And this is why, under present circumstances, I want to advocate for Wallace--a brilliant and unashamed crank--as an ancestor-figure for contemporary anthropology. In Wallace's articulation of the theory of evolution, he arrived at the same answers to questions 2 and 3, responding as follows: (1) common origin, endless divergence; (2) co-operation; (3) no . . . --Kathleen Bolling Lowrey, August 2010. Anthropology Today 26(4): 18-21.
Wallace quite rightly considered the lush complexity of human thought a serious mystery, one inexplicable within the necessity-driven framework of natural selection. As he put it, the human brain 'furnishes a surplusage of power--of an instrument beyond the needs of its possessor'. This sounds very much like Levi-Strauss's enchanting assertion that 'the universe is never charged with sufficient meaning [...] the mind always has more meanings available than there are objects to which to relate them' . . . --Kathleen Bolling Lowrey, August 2010. Anthropology Today 26(4): 18-21.
Wallace (1890) suggested that the primary function of egg coloration was to provide crypsis to avoid predation, although the experimental evidence supporting this hypothesis has been equivocal. One possible reason for this is that the experimental protocols typically involve painting eggs and comparing predation rates on painted versus natural eggs. With but one exception, all the egg-predation experiments cited in their review use painted eggs . . . --Michael I. Cherry & Andrew G. Gosler, August 2010. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 100: 753-762.
. . . Beatty et al. (2004) conducted another study, this time assessing the selection for mimicry using human predators and computer-generated prey. They found that when there are only 2 unprofitable prey types, selection for mimicry was weak. One reason for the results, they suggested, was that predators may not be sufficiently confused to generate selection for mimicry when just 2 different forms are involved. In an explanation for the evolution of conspicuous signals, Wallace (1889, p. 255) suggested that "not only do fewer individuals of each species need to be sacrificed in order that their enemies learn the lesson of their inedibility (in cases of mimicry), but they are more easily recognized at a distance and thus escape even pursuit. There is thus a kind of mimicry between closely allied species as well as between species of distinct genera, all tending to the same beneficial end." One explanation for Beatty et al's findings is that mimicry reduces confusion in visually complex environments. It has also been argued, in a theoretical treatment, that the mere coexistence of visually distinctive aposematic species can be mutually beneficial (Turner and Speed 1999). If predators that ingest members of one chemically defended species become risk averse with respect to further toxin ingestion, while their physiology copes with the toxins, it has been suggested that predators may heighten avoidance of species that could contain toxins, even in the absence of signal mimicry . . . –Hannah M. Rowland et al., July-August 2010. Behavioral Ecology 21(4): 851-852.
. . . Selection fundamentally acts on genes or individuals of distinct species. At the individual level, the success of a collection of interesting genes is mediated through the fitness of an individual phenotype. But what is the phenotype? What is a species? It may be worth remembering what Alfred Russel Wallace, natural selection's co- discoverer, published as species definition: 'A species . . . is a group of living organisms, separated from all other such groups by a set of distinctive character(istic)s, having relations to the environment not identical with those of any other group of organisms, and having the power of continuously reproducing its like'. Thus, it is the relation to the environment which is one of the features defining a species. The crucial role of many microbes in development demonstrates that environmental and genetic information interact . . . --Sebastian Fraune & Thoms C. G. Bosch, July 2010. BioEssays 32(7): 578.
. . . Darwin (at least, in the first edition of The origin of species) relied on selection as the main cause of evolutionary change, but saw that hybrid sterility could not be directly selected; instead, he argued that it arises as a side-effect of divergence. In contrast, Wallace's (1889) enthusiasm for selection led him to argue that not only could it strengthen prezygotic isolation, by what we now call reinforcement, but that group selection could even cause hybrid sterility. Then, as now, ecological divergence that allows distinct species to live together in sympatry received less attention than reproductive isolation . . . --N. H. Barton, 12 June 2010. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Series B, Biological Sciences 365: 1825-1840.
. . . In the present study, we use all known non-African Charaxes species to explore the history of diversification in the Oriental and Australian region, especially the 'transitional' Wallacea. Several of these Charaxes species are poorly known and/or represent recently described taxa. Indeed, the highly distinctive C. marki Lane & Müller is known only from the holotype. This work forms part of a larger study that demonstrates Wallacea is not only a transitional zone, but also comprises a very unique area, with distinct geological and biogeographic histories . . . –Chris J. Müller, Niklas Wahlberg & Luciano B. Beheregaray, 1 June 2010. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 100(2): 458.
Despite Southeast Asia's abundance of organisms and islands, however, finding a repeated signal of geological events beyond the encroachment of the Indo-Australian plate has been difficult. A hierarchy of Southeast Asian landmass associations, expressed as a single area cladogram, would be a more intriguing pattern to extrapolate and explore. Just such a hypothesis was suggested by Wallace (1863) and used as a theoretical model by Nelson & Platnick (1981). Unfortunately, a convincing area cladogram for the region has been elusive, notwithstanding proposals for certain taxa . . . --Ronald M. Clouse & Gonzalo Giribet, June 2010. Journal of Biogeography 37: 1114-1130.
. . . While the distribution of many flora and fauna conforms to Wallace's line, the seafaring capabilities of human settlers to this region undoubtedly overcame this barrier to dispersal. Indeed, Asian ancestry exceeds 50 per cent as far as east as the island of Alor, which is well within Wallacea and approximately 1000 km east of Bali, as well as on the island of Sulawesi, which is located east of Wallace's line in the north. Curiously, Wallace himself noted this difference, positing a second line in eastern Indonesia corresponding to changes in human phenotype (Wallace 1869 . . . ). Wallace's second 'phenotypic' line broadly parallels the rapid decline in Asian admixture identified here . . . --Murray P. Cox et al., 22 May 2010. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B, Biological Sciences 277: 1589-1596.
. . . Wallace was scandalized by Darwin's sexual selection theory, considering it Darwin's greatest error, because it appeared to admit a subjective factor into evolutionary theory, because it appeared to admit a subjective factor into elocutionary theory. Indeed, it appeared to elevate aesthetic appreciation to the status of a significant factor in evolution. Wallace's alternative theory to account for exaggerated display traits relied instead on explanations that invoked incidental physiological mechanisms in males and the need to suppress their effects in females, to avoid predation . . . Wallace was of course wrong in his denial of the plausibility of sexual selection, although not completely wrong to doubt that aesthetic appreciation of combative prowess were the primary factors. It took a century to recognize that the theory needed to be based instead on asymmetries of parental investment in offspring care between the sexes. Today, sexual selection theory is again considered an important adjunct to the theory of natural selection; however, its reinstatement has not resuscitated the power of Darwin's account of language origins . . . --Terrence W. Deacon, 11 May 2010. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107, Supplement 2: 9000-9006.
. . . Few scientists today accept Wallace's creationism, teleology, or spiritualism. Nonetheless it is appropriate to engage the profound puzzle he raised; namely, why do humans have the ability to pursue abstract intellectual feats such as science, mathematics, philosophy, and law, given that opportunities to exercise these talents did not exist in the foraging lifestyle in which humans evolved and would not have parlayed themselves into advantages in survival and reproduction even if they did? I suggest that the puzzle can be resolved with two hypotheses. The first is that humans evolved to fill the "cognitive niche," a mode of survival characterized by manipulating the environment through casual reasoning and social cooperation. The second is that the psychological faculties that evolved to prosper in the cognitive niche can be coopted to abstract domains by processes of metaphorical abstraction and productive combination, both vividly manifested in human language . . . --Steven Pinker, 11 May 2010. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107, Supplement 2: 8993.
. . . Toward the end of their lives, Darwin and Wallace became estranged. Darwin argued that natural selection was sufficient to explain the origin of the existing biological world. Wallace believed that natural selection alone was insufficient to explain the existence of complex structures such as the human brain. From the bioenergetic perspective, Wallace's reservations were justified, as complexity can be generated only through the information- generating power of energy flow and the cumulative information storage capacity of nucleic acids. It took more than 3.5 billion years for these systems to amass sufficient information to generate the human brain. Thus the missing concept that Wallace sought to explain the ascent of man is the interaction between energetics and information . . . --Douglas C. Wallace, 11 May 2010. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107, Supplement 2: 8952.
Wallace proposed to redefine Darwinism in a way that excluded Darwin's principle of sexual selection. The main result of the Darwin-Wallace controversy was that most Darwinian biologists avoided the subject of sexual selection until at least the 1950's, Ronald Fisher being a major exception. This controversy still deserves attention from modern evolutionary biologists, because the modern approach inherits from both Darwin and Wallace. The modern approach tends to present sexual selection as a special aspect of the theory of natural selection, although it also recognizes the big difficulties resulting from the inevitable interaction between these two natural processes of selection . . . --Jean Gayon, February 2010. Comptes Rendus Biologies 333: 134-144.
. . . Early evolutionary theories of senescence (Wallace, ca. 1865; Weismann, 1889) were group-selectionist in nature, proposing that individuals senesce and eventually die in order to make space and resources available for future generations composed of younger, more vigorous individuals. However, such arguments are circular because, if ageing is one of the reasons why individuals must be replaced, they presuppose that individuals must deteriorate over time. Moreover, they fail to explain how a population of altruistically senescing individuals would not be subject to invasion by more slowly senescing or even non-senescing invaders. Recent studies have placed group- selectionist arguments on a stronger theoretical foundation by emphasizing instances where senescence appears to be "selected for its own sake" as a result of kin- or group-level benefits including payoffs to close relatives, and reduced local extinction risk due to communicable diseases or chaotic population dynamics . . . --Robert A. Laird & Thomas N. Sherratt, February 2010. Biosystems 99(2): 130.
. . . Other questions, such as whether maternal emotions influence the fetus, have made a remarkable tour. Alfred Russel Wallace was co-originator of the theory of evolution by natural selection written in 1859 by Darwin. When Wallace (1893c) wrote the above quoted sentence in a letter entitled 'Prenatal influences on character' into Nature, the belief that a mother's emotions could affect the child she carries was seen as resting on old wives' tales. Wallace (1893a,b) was also publishing articles about the possibility of being able to study whether 'individually acquired characters are inherited'. Lamarck had incorporated this idea in his theory of directed evolution; it was seriously challenged in 1880 by Weismann's theory, on which the modern understanding of genetic inheritance became based, and since the turn of the 20th century it became widely rejected by the scientific community. However, this old question that had originated in ancient time, with Greek philosophers, recently got renewed interest with the discovery of epi-genetic variation between individuals and the finding that in some cases epigenetic variants can be inherited by the offspring, a biological inheritance that cannot be explained by changes in the DNA- sequence itself . . . --Bea R. H. Van den Bergh, January/February 2010. Infant and Child Development 19(1): 42.
The Wallace (1881) and Briggs (1966) lineage age hypothesis suggests that there are low levels of endemism in the Azores biota because the biota is of recent (post-Pleistocene) origin. Avila et al. (2008) challenged this hypothesis to explain at least mollusc diversity patterns by demonstrating that the endemic mollusc fauna of the Azores was largely unaffected by Pleistocene climatic oscillations and that the current endemic fauna is therefore not of post-Pleistocene origin. Evidence from phylogenetic relationships of Azorean plant lineages suggests that the lineage age hypothesis similarly fails to explain the distinctive patterns of Azorean endemic plant diversity . . . --Mark A. Carine & Hanno Schaefer, January 2010. Journal of Biogeography 37: 77-89.
. . . although it is sometimes argued that aposematic signalling is fundamentally about raised distinctiveness rather than heightened conspicuousness, the two often amount to the same thing (Wallace 1889). If this is generally true, the association between conspicuousness and aposematism in the primary evolution of warning signals, in our view, is not problematic . . . --Thomas J. Lee, Nicola M. Marples & Michael P. Speed, January 2010. Animal Behaviour 79(1): 70.
. . . Wallace's essay was remarkable for two reasons: First, it conveys a sophisticated understanding of the nature of selection among individuals belonging to a normal distribution of trait values. "The flowers most completely fertilized by these moths being those which had the longest nectaries, there would in each generation be on the average an increase in the length of the nectaries, and also an average increase in the length of the proboscis of the moths, and this would be a necessary result from the fact that nature ever fluctuates about a mean, or that in every generation there would be flowers with longer and shorter nectaries, and moths with longer and shorter probosces than the average" (p. 476). Second, Wallace actually mentions Xanthopan (Macrosila) morganii, the species of moth that is now considered the most likely pollinator of A. sesquipedale. Wallace was not aware of the long-tongued Malagasy race of this hawkmoth, but he had measured a specimen of the African mainland form in the British Museum and found that its tongue measured 7.5 inches [18 centimeters]. Wallace (1867) wrote "That such a moth exists in Madagascar may be safely predicted; and naturalists who visit that island should search for it with as much confidence as astronomers searched for the planet Neptune,--and they will be equally successful!" . . . --Steven D. Johnson & Bruce Anderson, 2010. Evolution, Education and Outreach 3(1): 34.
. . . In the 1890s an English linguist, S. H. Ray, pointed out that some of the languages of British New Guinea and the Solomon Islands were not Austronesian. A parallel discovery had already been made in the Moluccas by in the 1850s by the naturalist A. R. Wallace, when he collected vocabularies in these easternmost islands of the Indo- Malaysian archipelago. In a well-known book on his travels in this region Wallace proposed a distinction between 'Malay' and 'Papuan' languages in the Moluccas. Following Wallace's lead, Ray applied the name 'Papuan' to the non-Austronesian languages of Melanesia, as a convenient catch-all. Soon after, Wilhelm Schmidt observed that non-Austronesian languages were present on the north coast of the New Guinea mainland and in New Britain. What was striking about the various small groups of Papuan languages, was that, unlike the Austronesian languages, there was no evidence of common origin. Only in the last 50 years has the full extent of the diversity of the languages of Near Oceania become clear . . . --Jan Lucassen, 2010. In Migration History in World History: Multidisciplinary Approaches (Brill): 87-88.
. . . any system seeking to utilize all the energy or resources for its own purposes is bound to be challenged by other systems. The consequence of these interactions between self-organizing systems is a continuous stream of new things, or in the case of humans, new thinking. This is diversity. Bateson interpreted self-organizing systems as working together to sustain the existence of an evolving ecosystem. This approach has its roots in Alfred Russell Wallace's work. Wallace saw that the job of evolution was to maintain the constancy of something in his case, the entire ecosystem made up of all species and their environment--a process rather like the cruise control system or constant velocity transmission (CVT) on a motor car. We can also think of it in terms our bodies' ability to adapt to changes in the outside temperature, at least within a limited range. By shivering or perspiring, our body temperature remains more or less constant because we vary internal conditions in response to those changes in outside temperature . . . --Edward Moulding, 2010. In 5s: A Visual Control System for the Workplace (AuthorHouse): 129.
. . . Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is a chain of more than 17,000 islands that stretches between the continents of Asia and Australia . . . Early explorers noticed morphological differences from east to west that were dramatic enough to lead Alfred Russell Wallace to designate a human phenotypic boundary demarcating the transition between Asian and Melanesian features. Relative to his more well-known biogeographic boundary, this line lies slightly east, running between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores (Wallace 1869 . . . ). The languages of the region follow a similar pattern, with the majority belonging to the extensive Austronesian language family but with more distantly related Papuan languages occurring in the Far Eastern provinces, especially in areas where Melanesian features predominate (Wallace 1869). To explain these patterns, the prehistory of this region has often been framed as the story of two major range expansions: the initial Paleolithic colonization of Sahul ~45 ka ago and the much later Neolithic expansion of Austronesian-speaking farmers (4-6 ka ago) out of mainland Asia or Taiwan into Indonesia and the Pacific . . . --Tatiana M. Karafet et al., 2010. Molecular Biology and Evolution 27(8): 1833.
. . . Even within the technologist's definition of technology as dealing with mechanical artifacts alone, Wallace's insight has major relevance. The subject matter of technology, according to the Preface to History of Technology, is "how things are done or made"; and most students of technology, to my knowledge, agree with this. But the Wallace insight leads to a different definition: the subject matter of technology would be "how man does or makes." As to the meaning and end of technology, the same source, again presenting the general view, defines them as "mastery of his (man's) natural environment." Oh no, the Wallace insight would say (and in rather shocked tones): the purpose is to overcome man's own natural, i.e. animal, limitations. Technology enables man, a land- bound biped, without gills, fins, or wings, to be at home in the water or in the air. It enables an animal with very poor body insulation, that is, a subtropical animal, to live in all climate zones. It enables one of the weakest and slowest of the primates to add to his own strength that of elephant or ox, and to his own speed that of the horse. It enables him to push his life span from his "natural" twenty years or so to threescore years and ten; it even enables him to forget that natural death is death from predators, disease, starvation, or accident, and to call death from natural causes that which has never been observed in wild animals: death from organic decay in old age . . . --Peter Ferdinand Drucker, 2010. Technology, Management, and Society (Harvard Business Press): 41-42.
. . . What I have called here the "Wallace insight," that is, the approach from human biology, thus leads to the conclusion that technology is not about things: tools, processes, and products. It is about work: the specifically human activity by means of which man pushes back the limitations of the iron biological law which condemns all other animals to devote all their time and energy to keeping themselves alive for the next day, if not for the next hour. The same conclusion would be reached, by the way, from any approach, for instance, from that of the anthropologist's "culture," that does not mistake technology for a phenomenon of the physical universe. We might define technology as human action on physical objects or as a set of physical objects characterized by serving human purposes. Either way the realm and subject matter of the study of technology would be human work . . . --Peter Ferdinand Drucker, 2010. Technology, Management, and Society (Harvard Business Press): 42-43.
. . . By contrast, Alfred Russell Wallace, co-discoverer with Darwin of the principle of natural selection, believed that count words were essential for numerical cognition, in particular arithmetic: "if, now, we descend to those savage tribes who only count to three or five, and who find it impossible to comprehend the addition of two and three without having the objects actually before them, we feel that the chasm between them and the good mathematician is so vast, that a thousand to one will probably not fully express it" (Wallace, 1871, p. 339). The question of the role of language in arithmetic became the focus of recent experimental psychological studies in cultures with few number words, in particular the Pirahã and the Mundurukú, two cultures from the Amazon forest with an extremely limited number vocabulary . . . --Helen De Cruz, Hansjörg Neth & Dirk Schlimm, 2010. In Benedikt Löwe & Thomas Müller, eds., PhiMSAMP: Philosophy of Mathematics: Sociological Aspects and Mathematical Practice (College Publications): 74.
. . . Moreover, Alfred Wallace, co-inventor of the theory of the evolution by natural selection, doubted that evolution could produce anything like states of consciousness. This problem was later labelled the "explanatory gap". Individuals use different names for what it is that they are opposing to physical phenomena. Huxley and Romanes used "consciousness". Some use "sentience" . . . many now refer to "Phenomenal Consciousness" (PC) in contrast with "Access Consciousness" (AC), or, in the terminology of Chalmers, distinguish the so-called "Hard Problem" of consciousness from a (relatively) "Easy Problem". Such formulations presuppose a dichotomy: a binary divide between things that do and things that do not have the problematic extra feature over and above their physical features . . . –Stéphane Doncieux, 2010, in From Animals to Animats 11: 11th International Conference on Simulation and Adaptive Behavior (Springer).
One possibility is that Wallace was deliberately romanticizing his actual observations and experiences there. Nancy Stepan has noted that the popular success of The Malay Archipelago came from its fulfilment of contemporaneous readers' expectations of what an account of the tropics should be, in contrast to his 1853 account of his travels in South America, Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro, which was not only "unromantic," but "unheroic," and did not sell well . . . However, I would like to put forth another possibility: what if Wallace's portrayal of the archipelago as paradise, and more specifically, his portrayal of interracial relations and "uncivilized" society as positively pre-lapsarian, resulted not from the impulse to romanticize, but rather, a stubborn fidelity to scientific accuracy? . . . --Tiffany Tsao, 2010. Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies 15: 28-41.
. . . I will show how Wallace arrived at his surprisingly favourable and anti-scientific" assessments of the inhabitant races and communities of the Malay Archipelago by applying the principles of taxonomic classification to the human realm. Given that Wallace's primary employment in the Malay Archipelago was to collect specimens of flora and fauna and classify them according to the principles of the Linnaean taxonomic classification system, his adoption of what I will term a "taxonomic perspective" in viewing the humans whom he encountered should hardly be surprising. Using these same principles of taxonomic classification, Wallace was able to achieve a perspective on the Malay Archipelago hitherto unachieved by authoritative accounts of the region, challenging the predominant scientific views of race held at the time and unsettling even his own views of the "uncivilized" races . . . --Tiffany Tsao, 2010. Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies 15: 28-41.
. . . for Wallace, feeling "that savages were in some respects superior, would not have necessarily made it true. I would argue instead that his positive portrayals of human life in the archipelago had just as much scientific basis as his opening portrayals of the archipelago's natural environment as an otherworldly Eden. If Wallace's construction of a paradisiacal natural environment relied on his utilization of scientific precedent and natural selection theory, it was his application of taxonomic classification that enabled him to see the human individuals and communities of the archipelago as uniquely paradisiacal as well. Wallace's taxonomic perspective enabled him to break away not only from dominant perceptions of the races as different stages on a single, linear scale of sociocultural evolution, but also from the social Darwinist tendency of his day to view interracial relations as an inexorable struggle in which the white races would prevail . . . --Tiffany Tsao, 2010. Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies 15: 28-41.
. . . Cloete's poetry does not shy away from inter alia "controversial scientific subjects" in a number of poems, and he contemplates the origin of creation and the development of life on earth. The reader is led to consider Cloete's views on creation and evolution. In this article the emphasis will be on the role of evolution in Cloete's poetry and how he uses a well-known observation by one of the main exponents of evolution theory in one of his poems, "toegedig aan Alfred R. Wallace", to present a text that expresses wonderment at a natural phenomenon . . . --Johann Lodewyk Marais, Desember 2009. Tydskrif vir Geeteswetenskappe 49(4): 548.
. . . This paper is divided into three parts. In the first part I will outline the development of the reciprocal nature of biology and geology. Surprisingly reciprocality had been proposed more than 50 years before Wegener by the biogeographer Alfred Russel Wallace, co-author of the theory of evolution by means of natural selection (Wallace, 1858). I will briefly outline Wallace's biogeographic ideas as they pertain to reciprocality, before examining Wegener's reconstruction hypothesis of the Cretaceous polar region in more detail . . . --B. Michaux, December 2009. Gondwana Research 16(3-4): 656.
. . . The female limitation of mimicry is usually explained by a combination of sex-dependent predation pressure and sexual selection: (1) female butterflies carry heavy egg-loads and are therefore aerodynamically constrained in their escape flights. Thus, females are thought to be more vulnerable to predation and presumably gain a greater fitness advantage from Batesian mimicry compared to males (Wallace 1865 . . . ), and (2) wing colour patterns are assumed to be constrained by sexual selection to a much greater extent in males than in females. Thus, male mimicry is selectively disfavoured when its natural selective advantage is overwhelmed by the sexual selective advantage of nonmimetic coloration that may be more successful during inter- or intrasexual encounters. However, these hypotheses do not explain the presence of and natural variation in female-limited mimetic polymorphism . . . --Krushnamegh Kunte, November 2009. Animal Behaviour 78(5): 1029.
. . . The behavior of females in search of a mate impacts the success of males in mate competition and, hence, the force of sexual selection on male phenotypic characters. The search behavior of females is also subject to selection because the search strategy used by a female determines the likelihood that she encounters a high quality male in the search process. This latter idea is germinal in the views of Alfred R. Wallace who argued that females would, had they evolved the cognitive ability, choose mates who provide them with a fitness benefit (Wallace, 1871, 1889; reviewed by Cronin, 1991). The search strategy favored by selection, in this situation, is the strategy that provides the highest fitness return to searchers. Janetos (1980) stimulated the study of search strategies when, more than one hundred years later, he showed that a fixed sample search strategy provides a higher fitness return to females than several alternative strategies. . . . --Daniel D. Wiegmann, Steven M. Seubert & Gordon A. Wade, October 2009. Journal of Theoretical Biology 262(4): 596.
. . . More than 150 years ago, Wallace had already recognized a profound connection between geology and the distribution of plants and animals, and many of his insights were based on his observations in Southeast Asia. Our understanding of the Earth has changed considerably since Wallace's time but an understanding of the geology of Southeast Asia remains fundamental to interpreting biotic distributions in the region. However, the links between geological history and life are not simple, and a great deal of work is still required to understand the complex interrelationships and feedbacks between plate tectonics, changing distributions of land and sea, emergence of land and rise of mountains, subsidence below sea level and formation of deep ocean basins, uplift and erosion, changing ocean currents, climatic impacts of all these changes, and their effects on plants and animals and their evolution and distribution . . . --R. Hall, October 2009. Blumea 54(1-3): 148.
. . . Because most butterflies can fold their wings together, hiding the dorsal surface, a dorsal-ventral partitioning of visual signals may present one solution to accommodating potentially antagonistic selective pressures. The speculation that dorsal wing patterns are important for mate signalling, while the ventral surface may be more subject to selection by natural enemies is, in fact, not new (Darwin 1871; Wallace 1889), although no study has directly tested this hypothesis in a comparative framework. In addition to a dorsal/ventral partition, butterflies may separate signals between forewing and hindwing, given their ability to hide the forewing behind the hindwing when at rest. These two surface axes, dorsal-ventral and forewing/hindwing, offer butterflies two spatial dimensions that may be partitioned to serve different, potentially antagonistic, signal functions . . . --Jeffrey C. Oliver, Kendra A. Robertson & Antónia Monteiro, 7 July 2009. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 276(1666): 2369.
Island radiations are thought to undergo evolutionarily short 'taxon cycles' of diversification and rapid demise, before being superseded by different lineages of colonizers. The archipelagos of Wallacea (eastern Indonesia), Melanesia (including New Guinea) and Oceania have long served as a natural laboratory to study the evolutionary dynamics of such colonizations and biological radiations (Wallace 1859 . . . ). Yet, the faunal origins and mechanisms responsible for the region's diversification as well as their contribution to global diversity remain poorly understood . . . --Michael Balke et al., 7 July 2009. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 276: 2359-2367.
Darwin (1862) and Wallace (1867) provided a possible explanation for such extreme elongation, suggesting that the long nectar spur of the Malagasy star orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale) evolved in a coevolutionary race with a giant hawkmoth. According to this model, selection on the hawkmoth favours longer tongues to better reach the orchid's nectar, while selection on the orchid favours nectar spurs that are longer than hawkmoth tongues because this ensures contact with the orchid's reproductive parts (thus maximizing pollen transfer) . . . Darwin was not proposing a general mechanism for the evolution of corolla tube length, but was specifically interested in the extreme case of A. sesquipedale (Darwin 1862). Furthermore, in expounding on Darwin's idea, Wallace (1867) actually envisioned that initial stages in tube elongation would involve pollinator shifts, and suggested that a coevolutionary race would begin only when the tube length corresponded to the tongue length of the largest hawkmoth in the habitat . . . --Nathan Muchhala & James D. Thomson, 22 June 2009. Proceedings of The Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 276(1665): 2147-2148.
. . . The classical view of reinforcement is that selection can only strengthen prezygotic isolation, not postzygotic because selection cannot favor a further reduction in the fitness of hybrids (Wallace 1889; Dobzhansky 1940). (Selection can favor a reduced fitness of juveniles where these compete with siblings, but the principle is the same). This argument applies where a single allele strengthens isolation, but not when isolation is strengthened by an association between existing incompatibilities. As we show below, the two different incompatibilities then do not have to be at different stages of the life cycle: each may have the same status, and we cannot say that one evolves "to" reinforce the other. The evolution of the association itself can be seen as adaptive, in the sense that (directly or indirectly) it raises the mean fitness of the population. However, it can involve incompatibilities at any stage of hybridization . . . --Nicholas H. Barton & Maria Angeles Rodriguez de Cara, May 2009. Evolution 63(5): 1172.
Two additional attributes that make islands lasting focal points for evolutionary studies--their relative youth and geographical isolation--were clearly identified by Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-originator of the theory of evolution by natural selection, in his 1881 book Island Life. First, many islands are either volcanic in origin or have been completely under water at some point in their history. These islands emerge above the ocean surface as blank slates for colonization and subsequent evolutionary diversification, on which the development of ecological and evolutionary systems can be observed from their beginnings. Each island represents a new opportunity for living forms to appear and proliferate. The first colonists, finding untapped resources and lacking the constraints of a resident biota, often diversify in novel directions. This evolutionary idiosyncrasy is enhanced by unbalanced colonization--strong dispersal abilities are not evenly distributed across the ecological spectrum of continental biotas--with the result that some ecological niches on islands are filled by diversification rather than colonization . . . --Jonathan B. Losos & Robert E. Ricklefs, 12 February 2009. Nature 457(7231): 830-831.
Wallace, who promoted Strickland's methods, wrote that every systematic work should include diagrams,"without which it is often impossible to tell whether two families follow each other because the author thinks them allied, or merely because the exigencies of a consecutive series compels him so to place them". In essence, Wallace claims that without diagrams the reader cannot know whether information is meaningful or is simply a product of the representational medium's limitations; Darwin capitalizes on this basic ambiguity within his diagram itself . . . --Heather Brink-Roby, Winter 2009. Victorian Studies 51: 247-273.
. . . Many questions are involved in Wallace's Line, but it represents a line of major faunal break between the Oriental and the Australian regions. According to Sweet & Pianka (2003), varanid species are diversified to the east of Wallace's Line while this side lacks carnivorous placental mammals. The diversity of varanid species and that of carnivorous mammals are virtually inverted to the west of Wallace's Line, a region that harbours nearly 20 mammalian carnivores and that lacks small varanid lizards. These observations suggest that the coexistence of mammalian carnivores and varanid lizards is limited because they are too similar as predators . . . --Marc Augé & Richard Smith, January 2009. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 155: 148-170.
The little that we have learned about the likelihood of reciprocal selection operating in this system helps to explain the observation of extreme trait exaggeration. However, directional selection for trait exaggeration does not act in isolation. In addition to escalating reciprocal selection, there are a theoretically infinite number of other selective forces that simultaneously act on proboscis and tube length and some of these must serve to balance the forces that favor trait elongation (Wallace 1867). Understanding some of these forces and how they vary in strength across the landscape will be important in explaining the observation of twofold variability in proboscis and tube length. For example, one of the many costs of longer proboscis might include increased handling time. It was observed that flies feeding on windy days required several attempts before succeeding in inserting their proboscides into flowers. Possibly windier conditions in the South might lead to stronger balancing selection at this latitude . . . --Anton Pauw, Jaco Stofberg & Richard J. Waterman, January 2009. Evolution 63(1): 275.
Floral trait recognition and pollinator consistency have been extensively studied, i.e., insect pollinators tend to exhaust one floral morph for resources before moving on to other floral morphs. Indeed, A. R. Wallace (1889) may have been the first to suggest that sympatric plant species pollinated by "flower constant" pollinators will profit from having different floral recognition traits. Consequently, we would expect statistically significant correlations among the first appearances of critical floral traits and the diversification of the flowering plants and their insect pollinators. As noted, the first appearances of floral traits and the diversification of flowering plant species are significantly correlated. Likewise, the first appearances of key floral traits and insect families in the fossil record are significantly correlated . . . as are angiosperm species number and insect family number . . . --William L. Crepet & Karl J. Niklas, January 2009. American Journal of Botany 96(1): 372.
. . . Despite of their seemingly large number, aerosol particles are true trace constituents of the atmosphere, their mass fraction typically being below one part per billion and thereby much below that of any important gaseous climate agent. Nevertheless they may have a profound influence on our climate. This perception is not at all new, only 20 years after Aitken discovered the importance of aerosols as condensation nuclei, Alfred R. Wallace noted in 1898: "But in all densely-populated countries there is an enormous artificial production of dust.. This superabundance of dust . . . must almost certainly produce some effect on our climate; and the particular effect it seems calculated to produce is the increase of cloud and fog, but not necessarily any increase of rain." . . . --J. Feichter & T. Leisner, 2009. The European Physical Journal, Special Topics 176(1): 84.
. . . Non-exclusive hypotheses have traditionally been proposed to account for spectacular woodiness examples in the neo-flora of oceanic islands (Wallace, 1878 . . . ). Selection for successful pollination with large, long-lasting inflorescences, niche competition among initial colonizers, and promotion of the outbreeding ratio to overcome inbreeding depression may be related to Echium longevity and woodiness. Irrespective of the causes generating woodiness, the trait utility of this character is manifested by the large number of woody plant groups that rapidly evolved from herbaceous ancestors not only in Macaronesia (Sonchus, Isoplexis, Aeonium group, Pericallis), but also in the Hawaiian (silversword alliance, Schieda), Galápagos (Scallesia), and Juan Fernández (Dendroseris) archipelagos . . . --Federico García-Maroto, 2009. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evoution 52(3): 572.
. . . The current extinction crisis and the extent of anthropogenic alteration of natural habitats have reached alarming proportions . . . Potential hindrances to global assessment of priority list candidates have been divided into eight categories: (1) the extreme heterogeneity of existing data; (2) the restricted availability of relevant data and lack of information exchange between scientists and conservationists; (3) the uncertainty in species number and taxonomic division of the given taxon (Linnean shortfall); (4) the fragmentary knowledge of distributions (Wallacean shortfall); (5) incomplete or erroneous red-listing across the entire distribution of a given taxon; (6) the lack of homogenous and reliable population trend data; (7) the lack of exhaustive information on observed and potential threats; and finally (8) the incomplete general biological knowledge of a given taxon (e.g., its reproduction biology, genetic diversity, dispersal parameters, etc.). It has been demonstrated that Linnean and Wallacean shortfalls are among the most serious problems in modern conservation biology and biogeography, and that the majority of deficits in knowledge during any global conservation status assessment results from these two shortfalls . . . --Gregor Kozlowski et al., 2009. Biodiversity and Conservation 18(9): 2308.
It has long been recognized that Thailand is subdivided into two zoogeographic subregions with the Indochinese subregion to the north and Sundaic subregion to the south with a transition zone in the Isthmus of Kra. Distribution patterns corresponding to this division have been observed in a range of biota including rodents, insects, reptiles and plants. Initially, Wallace (1876) had placed the transition zone at 13-14ºN, whereas Wells fixed the avifaunal transition zone at about 10º30'N, in the Isthmus of Kra. Subsequently, Hughes et al., based on forest birds, found a highly significant transition zone at 11-12ºN, in the north of the peninsula. The distribution patterns of the three species [considered here] were of considerable interest since they strongly support the existing concepts of a subregional division . . . --Pipat Soisook et al., December 2008. Acta Chiropterologica 10(2): 238.
The powerful effect of clinging on the emotional behavior of infant nonhuman primates had been known for many years. It was mentioned by Van Wagenen in her recommendations and in many other naturalistic accounts of primate infants. One of my favorite quotations is from Alfred Russel Wallace, who describes an "artificial mother" of buffalo skin he devised for an orphan orangutan (1869). All of us associated with the nursery project were impressed by the strength of the infants' emotional attachment to their cloths. When I suggested to Harlow that we devise an experiment pitting our monkeys' responses to the feeding station against their attachment to a claspable object, he urged me to proceed. Accordingly, I designed an experiment around two mother surrogates that were the functional counterparts of the diaper and the feeding rack. These prototypes had the bodies of the final versions, although they lacked the famous distinctive faces, which were added later . . . --William A. Mason, December 2008. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science 42(4): 390-391.
. . . Wallace wrote that "[i]n the equable equatorial zone there is no . . . struggle against climate. Every form of vegetation has become alike adapted to its genial heat and ample moisture, which has probably changed little even throughout geological periods". We now know that lowland tropical climates have changed substantially and relentlessly ever since species-rich forests resembling modern ones first occupied the lowland wet tropics in the mid-Tertiary. Although the notion of long-term constancy of tropical climates is now universally dismissed, Wallace's view of tropical climates as benign lingers on, underlying the apparently widespread conviction that "[m]any tropical species may well be able to withstand higher temperature[s] than those in which they currently exist." . . . --Robert K. Colwell et al., 10 October 2008. Science 322(5899): 259.
. . . we must consider the possibility that hominids in general and humans in particular have partially escaped from classic Darwinian selective control of some aspects of the genome, and that humans have even escaped the final stage of Baldwinian genetic hard-wiring of long-standing species-specific learned behaviors. This might in turn help to explain the unusual degree of exaptation displayed by the human brain, presented as 'Wallace's Conundrum' in Box 6. The advantages of such novel changes are flexibility, plasticity, more rapidly developing population diversity and greater opportunities--but the disadvantages are that genomes cannot recover what has been irrevocably lost, and cultural advantages can be sensitive to the whims of history and fate . . . --Ajit Varki, Daniel H. Geschwind & Evan E. Eichler, October 2008. Nature Reviews Genetics 9(10): 758.
The importance of avian egg coloration for crypsis, once accepted as a general principle (Wallace 1890, Cott 1940, von Haartman 1957, Harrison 1968), has recently been questioned because tests of this hypothesis have often failed to support a role for egg coloration in deterring predation. As a result, more recent work has emphasized the importance of nest crypsis as the primary mediator of clutch survival . . . --David Westmoreland, September 2008. Journal of Field Ornithology 79(3): 263.
Evolved mimicry of hawks by parasitic cuckoos. Wallace (1889) suggested that the resemblance was an example of protective mimicry, which might reduce attacks from hawks, noting that cuckoos were otherwise 'an exceedingly weak and defenceless group of birds'. Prolonged periods of surveillance for host nests, sometimes from exposed perches, might make parasitic cuckoos especially vulnerable to hawk attack. In Asia, drongo-cuckoos (Surniculus lugubris) may likewise gain from protective mimicry of drongos Dicrurus spp., which are extremely aggressive to larger birds, including birds of prey and crows (Wallace 1889). Alternatively, hawk mimicry might influence host behaviour, either by frightening or luring hosts away to facilitate egg laying or by inducing mobbing to help the cuckoo locate host nests, which may be especially advantageous in open country with few secret vantage points . . . --N. B. Davies & J. A. Welbergen, August 2008. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 275(1644): 1818.
. . . It has been argued that Ostriches lay white eggs because they are powerful enough to defend their nests (Wallace 1889). However, when nests are unattended, such big eggs are quite visible on the ground to both mammalian and avian predators. In our visibility study, a naturally white egg was seen first by the observer, suggesting that the brown eggs are better concealed. Ostriches would therefore have derived a selective advantage in the face of predators by having brown eggs. Our results therefore are consistent with the prediction, and support Bertram and Burger's conclusion, that white Ostrich eggs minimise overheating, but are prone to predation . . . --Flora John Magige et al., July 2008. Journal of Ornithology 149(3): 327.
Why there are so many species in tropical rainforests is one of the most complex and debated questions in evolutionary biology. Among the mechanisms that have been proposed to explain diversification in the tropics is the idea that mode of speciation might differ with latitude. A long-standing hypothesis, first proposed by Wallace (1878) and developed by Dobzhansky and Schemske, is that biotic interactions play a greater role in the adaptation of tropical populations than do abiotic factors, whereas the converse holds for temperate-zone populations . . . --G. Léotard et al., July 2008. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 21(4): 1133.
Within each of his major biogeographical regions, Wallace (1876) distinguished between four subregions. For the Palearctic he recognized a Northern European, Southern European, Siberian, and Manchourian subregion. However, it had already been pointed out by contemporary workers that Wallace's separation of the European and Siberian subregions, for example, was based on insufficient data and that the criteria used were more geographic than faunistic. Nevertheless, in later years Wallace's boundary between the European and Siberian subregions, running along the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea, has been used to demarcate western subsections of the Palearctic Region . . . --Mansour Aliabadian et al., 2008. Contributions to Zoology 77(2): 101.
. . . Wallace writes that, among human beings, there is no evident distinction between the mental powers of the most primitive and the most advanced . . . From this manner of observation it follows, Wallace argued, that characteristic human abilities must be latent in primitive man, existing somehow as an unopened gift—the entryway to a world that primitive man himself does not possess and would not recognize. But the idea that a biological species might possess latent powers makes no sense in Darwinian terms. It suggests the forbidden doctrine that evolutionary advantages were frontloaded, far away and long ago. It is in conflict with the Darwinian principle that just as useful genes are selected for cultivation and advancement, useless genes are subject to negative selection pressure and must therefore drain away into the sands of time. Wallace identified a frank conflict between his own theory and what seemed to him to be obvious facts about the solidity and unchangeability of human nature. That conflict persists; it has not been resolved . . . --David Berlinski, April 2008. Commentary 125(4): 35.
. . . Alfred Russel Wallace (1853) was perhaps the first naturalist to write about the white-water, clear-water, and black-water river types of the Amazon basin and to relate the color of tributaries to the nature of their drainage basins. Wallace astutely linked the sediment load of white-water tributaries to erosion in their steep Andean headwaters, and identified clear-water rivers with the crystalline "mountains of Brazil" (the Guyana and Brazilian shields). He knew that black-water rivers emerged from lowland sources, and he correctly attributed their dark coloring to leaching of "decaying leaves, roots, and other vegetable matter" (Wallace 1853) . . . --Michael E. McClain & Robert J. Nainan, April 2008. BioScience 58(4): 325.
While he maintained that 'social heredity' was consistent with the theory of evolution by natural selection, Baldwin followed Wallace in claiming that humans had evolved to such a degree of conscious intelligence that they had freed themselves from the pressures of natural selection, and surmounted instinctual constraints on behavior: 'intelligence and the social life which it makes possible so far control the acquisitions of life to limit the action of natural selection as a law of evolution.' In this fashion Baldwin defended human freedom against the hereditarian determinism of Darwin's theory of evolution, by claiming that thought and will had emancipated humans from the constraints of natural selection . . . --John D. Greenwood, February 2008. History of the Human Sciences 21(1): 114.
Later behaviorists rejected the role of consciousness and purpose in human and animal psychology and behavior--with the notable exception of Edward C. Tolman--but continued to stress the critical role of plasticity and learning in adaptive behavior. They also depreciated the explanatory role of inherited instincts, which became the object of sustained critiques by behaviorist psychologists in the 1920s. Like functional psychologists (and Wallace), behaviorists came to believe that humans had developed (through evolution by natural selection) to such a degree that they could surmount the constraints of their biological inheritance, and exploit their intelligence to create a scientific psychology devoted to the further advancement and improvement of the human condition . . . --John D. Greenwood, February 2008. History of the Human Sciences 21(1): 118.
. . . In other words, as Wallace so clearly realized, human symbolic reasoning is not simply an extrapolation of this extended history, simply a little bit more of the same. It is, instead, something truly new and unpredicted by what went before—even by the increase in the mass of metabolically expensive brain tissue that seems to have independently characterized several lineages within the genus Homo, though it was clearly dependent on this development. And while Wallace was regrettably unable to profit from our modern perspective, today it is possible to see that the origin of modern human consciousness must have been an emergent event, whereby an entirely unanticipated level of complexity was achieved by a sheer chance coincidence of acquisitions . . . --Ian Tattersall, 2008. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews 3: 111.
Researchers of animal coloration have noted the perplexing nature of egg pigmentation in open-nesting birds (i.e., birds whose nests are not in cavities or enclosed by a dome). One of the founders of the theory of natural selection wrote "the colours of birds' eggs have long been a difficulty on the theory of adaptive coloration, because, in so many cases it has not been easy to see what can be the use of the particular colours, which are often so bright and conspicuous that they seem intended to attract attention rather than to be concealed" (Wallace 1890). Wallace went on to argue that bird eggs are well camouflaged when viewed from below via light penetrating the nest . . . --David Westmoreland & Richard A. Kiltie, November 2007. Journal of Avian Biology 38(6): 686-687.
Alfred Wallace, Darwin's contemporary and rival, argued that when species hybridize, natural selection favors individuals who are more fussy about whom they mate with, which therefore increases female discrimination of males from different species. Modern evolutionary genetics has questioned the importance of the "Wallace effect" (also known as "reinforcement") because genetic recombination between female discrimination and male trait genes would scramble combinations of loci that favor speciation. Several solutions to this have been proposed, including close genetic linkage of such loci. A simpler possibility is sexual imprinting, which causes a female to prefer males that resemble her father . . . --Michael G. Ritchie, 5 October 2007. Science 318: 54.
While Chamupati largely ignored Darwin, whose views of Hindu scriptures were hardly flattering, Chamupati was attracted to the ideas of Alfred Russel Wallace, codiscoverer of evolution. Chamupati noted Wallace's praise of the mind of the Vedic hymn makers who, despite the "very limited knowledge [of Nature] at this early period, . . . could not have been in any way inferior to those of the best of our religious teachers and poets—to our Miltons and our Tennysons." For Chamupati and other followers of Dayananda, Wallace was far more congenial than Darwin, for, despite Wallace's espousal of some of the most theologically challenging aspects of evolutionary theory, namely, random variation and natural selection, Wallace made considerable exceptions. He insisted on some sort of "spiritual influx" to account for the origin of life as well as of mind and morality. Accordingly, he was a much safer corroborator of Vedic insights, at least in Chamupati's views . . . --C. Mackenzie Brown, September 2007. Zygon 42(3): 718.
Using the theoretical framework of evolution by natural selection, Wallace developed Crawfurd's proposal that the two distinct aboriginal races were the Malays and Papuans. From his observations, Wallace postulated an ethnological line dividing the Malayan and Polynesian races. The position of this line east of the famous line dividing the Indo-Malayan and Austro-Malayan bioregions demonstrated Crawfurd's hypothesis that the civilized Malays were pushing the savage Papuans back from their natural border. Wallace's ethnological line functioned to support his representation of two races as radically different from each other, not only in terms of physical characteristics but also in what Wallace called 'moral characteristics' (1869: 588) . . . --Daniel P. S. Goh, September 2007. International Journal of Cultural Studies 10(3): 328.
Darwin's originality and priority are, strictly speaking, separate questions. One can be original and yet fail to achieve priority if, for example, someone else comes forward first in print with the same theory without one's knowledge. Such, in fact, is more or less the case with A. R. Wallace. No one, least of all Darwin, doubted that Wallace arrived at his theory independently of Darwin, but Darwin was proven by history to have brought the theory into print—if not exactly publication—first. Nevertheless, Darwin often conflated the two issues in his private correspondence, referring to his originality and priority almost as if they were interchangeable ideas . . . --Curtis N. Johnson, Fall 2007. Journal of the History of Biology 40(3): 533.
At a given latitude, the most striking feature of avian seasonality is the consistency with which the successive stages of reproduction, moult and migration take place each year—not only on a populational scale, but also within individuals. Day-length—the most consistent sources of temporal information about the environment—was suggested to play a role in the scheduling of avian annual cycles, in particular of migration, as early as 1876 (e.g. Palmén 1876; Wallace 1876) . . . --Timothy Coppack, 23 June 2007. Journal of Ornithology 148, Suppl. 2: S460.
[concerning the organization of a forest preserve] . . . Although Wallace's proposal is controversial and raises environmental concerns, it is important to recognize that he was focused on key ecological issues. He fought to preserve in an unsullied state the forests that had not been cleared. He also recognized that severe ecological destruction had been wrought on the state of nature. And in this, he contributed to a philosophy of ecological restoration by raising the issue of how we are to address anthropogenic environmental problems. In "Epping Forest," Wallace documented that environmental degradation had taken place, as profiteers and lords of manors had destroyed whole areas of the forest. He provided a reasoned discussion of the different temperate forests in the Northern Hemisphere and an argument that recognized how the species found in a particular location are, in part, influenced by the much longer, geological, and climate history of the earth. In this, Wallace provided important insights and helped open a realm of debate . . . --Brett Clark & Richard York, June 2007. Organization & Environment 20(2): 231.
Wallace found fault with two aspects of domestication as a heuristic for understanding adaptation in nature. He argued first that the analogy was flawed: artificial selection requires an intelligent selector, whereas no such force acts in natural systems. Additionally, he insisted that the selection itself was fundamentally different, leading to intrinsically different kinds of variation. Domesticated species, he wrote, "are abnormal, irregular, artificial; they are subject to varieties which never occur and never can occur in a state of nature: their very existence depends altogether on human care; so far are many of them removed from that just proportion of faculties, that true balance of organization, by means of which alone as an animal left to its own resources can preserve its existence and continue its race." Both Wallace's lines of argument find modern audiences, from those who see a fundamental difference between the conscious selection of humans and natural processes to those who argue that variation in domesticated species differs from that in nature . . . --Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, Peter L. Morrell & Brandon S. Gaut, 15 May 2007. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104, Suppl. 1: 8641-8642.
The coloration of this genus of weevils is among the most astonishing visual effects displayed in nature. Many animal species that are distasteful to predators have evolved aposematism (they have a distinctive, conspicuous coloration, which functions as a warning signal, advertising their inedibility to potential predators). Wallace notes in a passage on the genus Pachyrrhynchus that many weevils have excessive hard integuments, which render them inedible to most birds, and our own dissections of this species confirm their extremely tough exoskeleton. It seems likely, therefore, that the stark coloration of this species is a form of aposematism. Further evidence in support of this comes from the finding that a number of edible species, such as the longicorn beetles Doliops curculionides and Doliops geometrica and the cricket Scepastus pachyrhynchoides mimic various Pachyrrhynchus species weevils . . . --Victoria Welch et al., 30 April 2007. Physical Review E 75(4): 7.
Several features of the results give some reassurance because they support plausible notions and other evidence that most nonsynonymous mutations and many nonsynonymous polymorphisms are deleterious. Our analysis implies that some 19 of 20 new amino acid replacements are deleterious with an average fitness reduction on the order of five times the reciprocal of the effective population size. These estimates pertain only to the subset of nonsynonymous mutations whose effect are not so severe as to preclude their becoming polymorphic, but they support other evidence that selection against deleterious mutations plays in key role in shaping patterns of genetic variation in Drosophila. Likewise, we estimate that [about] 7 of 10 amino acid replacements that are polymorphic in samples are deleterious. One feature of our results that might animate some surprise is the high proportion of amino acid fixations between species that show positive selection, [about] 95% in our data. This finding seems to reflect what Wallace called the "overwhelming odds against the less fit" . . . --Stanley A. Sawyer et al., 17 April 2007. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104(16): 6509.
Given that phenomena strive for reality--that is, to become distinct--then there must by default be a process whereby constitutive elements are demarcated as 'included' and, of course, an opposite process, whereby elements become the 'excluded'. According to [Charles] Fort: "It is our expression that nothing can attempt to be, except by attempting to exclude something else: that that which is commonly called 'being' is a state that is wrought more or less definitely proportionately to the appearance of positive difference between that which is included and that which is excluded." This process leaves a trace, however, in the sense that one cannot subsequently provide a full and comprehensive description of the thing in question. Even Darwin, Fort argued, 'was never able to tell what he meant by a "species".' Echoing Wallace's (1875) earlier concerns over the close-mindedness of modern science, Fort argued that this body of knowledge was itself but one instance of localization, wherein an attempt is made to separate out those explanations which are deemed acceptable and proper from those that are not. The raw material of the world becomes organized and interpreted to fit into preconceived notions of how things should work. Slowly but surely, this drive towards explanation causes a plethora of facts and events to emerge from this chaotic landscape, each of which is seen to form part of an overarching pattern. 'A theory feels its way through surrounding ignorance,' he suggested, like 'a wagon train feels its way across a prairie.' And yet, 'Science relates to real knowledge no more than does the growth of a plant, or the organization of a department store, or the development of a nation: that all are assimilative, or organizing, or systematizing processes that represent different attempts to attain the positive state--the state commonly called heaven, I suppose I mean' . . . --Deborah Dixon, April 2007. Cultural Geographies 14(2): 193.
The conspicuous displays that warn predators of defenses carried by potential prey have been of interest to evolutionary biologists from the time of Wallace and Darwin to the present day. Although most studies implicitly assume that these "aposematic" warning signals simply indicate the presence of some repellent defense such as a toxin, it has been speculated that the intensity of the signal might reliably indicate the strength of defense so that, for example, the nastiest prey might "shout loudest" about their unprofitability. Recent phylogenetic and empirical studies of Dendrobatid frogs provide contradictory views, in one instance showing a positive correlation between toxin levels and conspicuousness, in another showing a breakdown of this relationship. In this paper we present an optimization model, which can potentially account for these divergent results . . . --Michael P. Speed & Graeme D. Ruxton, March 2007. Evolution 61(3): 623.
. . . Kantian philosophers do not have the exclusive right to transcendental arguments, which can be and are used by philosophers and scientists alike. For instance, physicists such as Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose have invoked the anthropic principle, the weak version of which was anticipated by Alfred Russel Wallace (1904, pp 256-257): "Such a vast and complex universe as that which we know exists around us, may have been absolutely required . . . in order to produce a world that should be precisely adapted in every detail for the orderly development of life culminating in man." More recently, the biologists John Bonner and Richard Lewontin have offered transcendental arguments for the modular organization of development as a requirement for evolvability . . . --Werner Callebaut, March 2007. Acta Biotheoretica 55(1): 77-78.
In his extensive monograph of the genus, Talbot, building on the earlier work of Wallace (1867), Dixey (1894) and others, originally divided Delias into twenty species-groups, according to differences in form of the androconia, male genitalia and, to a lesser extent, wing pattern. Talbot noted, however, that the Australian endemic D. aganippe, provisionally placed in the belisama group, 'seems somewhat isolated' on structural grounds and is 'placed doubtfully in this group'. Wallace (1867: 349) similarly remarked that, 'It is difficult locate this common Australian species', and placed D. aganippe in the belladonna group . . . --Michael F. Braby & Naomi E. Pierce, January 2007. Systematic Entomology 32(1): 6.
. . . In his notes, essays and correspondence from the field, Wallace consistently emphasized species and genera, and separated these descriptions from his rarer and briefer discussions of individual organisms. The first passage above, from an 1857 article describing collecting in the Aru Islands, is typical: Wallace provides an enthusiastic litany of species, families and genera. It is easy to miss his distinction at the end of the passage, between families, species and individuals, in terms of "abundance." Yet this too is characteristic of Wallace's writings from the field. At a given locality, families contain more or fewer species, and species contain more or fewer individual organisms. Wallace did not collapse or confuse these levels, but carefully distinguished between different sorts of abundance. In general, his natural history writing emphasized species, with clear distinctions between individual organisms and groups . . . --Melinda B. Fagan, 2007. Journal of the History of Biology [electronic file].
The contrast in the two naturalists' writings from the field thus has two aspects. First, Wallace emphasized groups of organisms, while Darwin described many details of individual organisms. Second, Wallace clearly distinguished between groups and individuals, while Darwin was more ambiguous. Both aspects can be explained by differences in natural history practice. Wallace and Darwin's contrasting habits and working routines in the field were shaped in turn by their different circumstances and motivations. The two naturalists went to the field with different training and social connections, different finances and responsibilities, and different theoretical interests . . . --Melinda B. Fagan, 2007. Journal of the History of Biology [electronic file].
The use of soil animals as protein source in human nutrition is still widely represented in indigenous populations in most regions of the world and was first reported by Wallace (1853, 1889) more than 100 years ago . . . --T. Decaëns et al., November 2006. European Journal of Soil Biology 42 (Suppl. 1): S26.
. . . Knowledge about biodiversity remains inadequate and plagued by the so-called Linnean and Wallacean shortfalls (Lomolino, 2004; Whittaker et al., 2005; see also Brown & Lomolino, 1998). The first refers to the fact that most species living on Earth were still not formally described, whereas the second is defined by the fact that, for the majority of taxa, geographical distributions are also poorly understood and contain many gaps. As recently pointed out by Whittaker et al. (2005), these two shortfalls are scale dependent, both on evolutionary and on ecological dimensions. Although work done since the 18th century allows us to make general predictions of broad-scale diversity gradients based on current climate effects (see Hawkins, 2004 and references therein), we are far from a predictive theory capable of predicting species diversity based on complex environmental and historical factors acting at different scales in time and space . . . --Luis Mauricio Bini et al., September 2006. Diversity and Distributions 12(5): 475.
Here I present a critical review of the literature which, when combined with the results of some comparative analyses, suggests that just a few selective agents can explain much of the variation in egg appearance. Ancestrally, bird eggs were probably white and immaculate. Ancient diversification in nest location, and hence in the clutch's vulnerability to attack by predators, can explain basic differences between bird families in egg appearance. The ancestral white egg has been retained by species whose nests are safe from attack by predators, while those that have moved to a more vulnerable nest site are now more likely to lay brown eggs, covered in speckles, just as Wallace hypothesized more than a century ago. Even blue eggs might be cryptic in a subset of nests built in vegetation. It is possible that some species have subsequently turned these ancient adaptations to new functions, for example to signal female quality, to protect eggs from damaging solar radiation, or to add structural strength to shells when calcium is in short supply. The threat of predation, together with the use of varying nest sites, appears to have increased the diversity of egg colouring seen among species within families, and among clutches within species. Brood parasites and their hosts have probably secondarily influenced the diversity of egg appearance. Each drives the evolution of the other's egg colour and patterning, as hosts attempt to avoid exploitation by rejecting odd-looking eggs from their nests, and parasites attempt to outwit their hosts by laying eggs that will escape detection . . . --R. M. Kilner, August 2006. Biological Reviews 81(3): 383.
Wallace's hypothesis for egg colouring is intuitively appealing because it can explain why so many bird eggs are white or speckled or some shade of brown in colour, and because it is consistent with observations that more cryptic offspring are less vulnerable to attack by predators. Furthermore, Lack (1958) found that a species' nest site could explain some of the variation in egg patterning and colouring amongst the Turdinae. He found that hole-nesters were more likely to lay white immaculate eggs, whereas about 80% of birds whose nests were placed in exposed sites covered their eggs in red or brown speckling, which he interpreted as an adaptation for concealment. However, experimental evidence in support of Wallace's hypothesis is rather mixed . . . --R. M. Kilner, August 2006, Biological Reviews 81(3): 385.
Why do organisms age and die? This question has long vexed biologists. Alfred Russel Wallace first suggested that ageing and death might be adaptive (Weismann 1882, Wallace 1889). In the 1860s Wallace wrote "Natural selection . . . in many cases favours such races as die almost immediately after they have left successors." Despite some early support, this adaptive view of ageing and death was soon dismissed, to such an extent that in the 1920s it was labelled a "perverse extension of the theory of natural selection" (Pearl 1922). This has remained the case since with almost all biological gerontologists believing that "longevity determination is under genetic control only indirectly," and that ". . . ageing is a product of evolutionary neglect, not evolutionary intent." Today, there are three largely competing theories used to explain ageing; mutation accumulation, antagonistic pleiotropy and disposable soma . . . --Calvin Dytham & Justin M. J. Travis, June 2006. Oikos 113(3): 531.
When you ask beginning students why we age, they usually respond that physical decay culls the old to make way for the young, says evolutionary biologist Ophélie Ronce of the University of Montpelier in France. That explanation carries a long pedigree—it dates back to Alfred Russel Wallace the co-discoverer of natural selection—but most modern evolutionists spurn it . . . --Mitch Leslie, 3 May 2006. Science of Aging Knowledge Environment 2006 No. 8: nf12.
During his collecting expedition in the Rio Negro and tributary Rio Uaupés basins (1850 to 1852), Wallace collected and sketched a specimen that was most likely Tetranematichthys wallacei. His pencil sketch of the specimen (Wallace, 2002: fig. 122) clearly illustrated the elongate dorsal-fin spine, the ossified, curved maxillary barbels, the elongation of the anterior rays of the anal fin, and the overall form of the head and body characteristic of nuptial males of Tetranematichthys (note: the orientation of the fish in the illustration is such that the mandibular barbels are not apparent). Given that T. wallacei is the only species of the genus known to occur in the Rio Negro and Rio Uaupés basins, we identify Wallace's specimen as that species . . . --Richard P. Vari & Carl J. Ferraris, Jr., May 2006. Copeia 2006(2): 176.
. . . It was not just that science was monoparadigmatic; its monoculturalism extended beyond the surveillance of the gaze to the fact that the creation of the object had to deny the subjective self and its knowledge. In relating to the other, modern western science either eliminated, assimilated, ghettoized or museumized them. Science had no place for defeated knowledges; the idea of an alternative science arose as a charter to challenge the current politics of knowledge. It was that great dissenting scientist Alfred Wallace who formulated the problem long before Thomas Kuhn. In his Wonderful Century (Wallace, 1898), a portrait of the achievements of 19th-century science, Wallace begins with a celebration of western science and then observes that a science at its moment of dominance tends to be coercive and to ignore competing theories and hypotheses. Wallace believed that the success of science made it ethically and cognitively imperative for the scientist to invent and explore alternatives . . . --Shiv Visvanathan, March-May 2006. Theory, Culture & Society 23(2-3): 166.
Wallace's field practices fit best into the survey tradition, which flourished during the shift from the 19th-century armchair to intensive ethnographic fieldwork in the early 20th century . . . Both survey and intensive ethnography were attempts to shift knowledge production into the field. Long before researchers gave field ethnography rather than armchair theorizing the highest prestige, Wallace was developing a greater role for regional survey work . . . --Jeremy Vetter, March 2006. Journal of the History of Biology 39(1): 98.
For more than a century, a debate has raged as to whether death constitutes an intentional ontogenetic program, the so-called Wallace-Weismann hypothesis, or the passive result of an inexorable accumulation of defects. By accounting for benefits to kin, the former assertion becomes more plausible. The inability to identify definable discreet mechanistic pathways for programmed death has provided a major source for criticism of this theory. Although evolutionary dynamics and pluralism may both contribute to the Darwinian value of phenoptosis, intuitive appeal persists in the notion of an oligarchy of functional hubs underpinning the many proximate mechanisms of phenoptosis. Indeed, given its processes' central roles in apoptosis, the mitochondrion may represent an ideal candidate to serve as one such hub on the level of the organelle. The induction of cellular damage by reactive oxygen species has been noted to be a mechanism of self-termination that encompasses all scales of biology. However, we believe that identification of hubs that operate on the level of systems as opposed to that of subcellular components may afford greater potential utility for modification and correction. Endocrine pathways, particularly those involving reproduction and circadian rhythms, have already been implicated in this regard . . . --Anthony J. Yun, Patrick Y. Lee & John Doux, 2006. Medical Hypotheses 67(5): 1082.
Whewell (1853) was the first to propose that the Solar System has a habitable region comparable to the modern conception of the CHZ [Circumstellar Habitable Zone]. He termed it the "Temperate Zone." In an impressive treatise for the period, Wallace (1903) enumerated several planetary habitability factors, including obliquity, mass, distance from the Sun, atmospheric composition, and proportion of water to land . . . --Guillermo Gonzalez, December 2005. Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres 35(6): 556.
. . . In this paper, we describe individual-based evolutionary model of aposematism and defense in spiny and poisonous species. We show that with spines, aposematism is easy to explain by a route in which predator biases are not out of sequence. Thus, aposematism evolves in our simulations if predators: (1) can recognize spines as dangerous (because they are common in prey populations anyway), (2) can use conspicuous markings to better notice and evaluate the significance of spines (resulting in cautious handling), and (3) can use conspicuousness as a cue for distinctiveness such that animals with colourful spines are less easily confused with nonspiny edible prey (as Wallace, , originally suggested for the general function of aposematism). . . --Michael P. Speed & Graeme D. Ruxton, December 2005. Evolution 59(12): 2501.
. . . In the past, applying the logic of adaptationism to such central and seemingly unique human capacities has often triggered strong resistance. Wallace himself, although the co-creator of natural selection theory, considered self-consciousness as too complex to be one of its outcomes (Wallace, 1889). Note that his main argument was that the sense of self seemed to constitute a radical departure from other forms of phenomenal awareness. But this argument itself relied on the assumption that there is an integral self-system. Given that assumption, it seems indeed difficult to consider the self as the result of a slow, incremental process of natural selection, each step of which is conducive to better reproductive potential. It is by contrast more tractable to evaluate the potential evolutionary background of separate self-relevant systems . . . --Pascal Boyer, Philip Robbins & Anthony I. Jack, December 2005. Consciousness and Cognition 14(4): 653.
As is often the case in evolutionary ecology, mathematical models have outpaced empirical data and the theoretical basis of the Wallace Effect has been established in more than 100 mathematical models. Supporting field data are less common, however, and are rarely unambiguous. Part of the problem is in not knowing the origin of the supposedly split populations: the only way properly to test the basis for sympatric speciation would be to experimentally manipulate a population, but the timescales of speciation are too long for such a study to observe incipient speciation within the lifespan of a single research project . . . --Jeff Ollerton, 3 August 2005. Heredity 95: 181.
In between Mill and Edgeworth, the classical economists' notion of sympathy was attacked, and was largely overcome. The co-discover of the Law of Natural Selection, A. R. Wallace, had argued in 1864 that the doctrine of natural selection did not apply to humans because of ethical concerns generated by human sympathy. Our morals do not allow us to let the infirm perish (Wallace, 1864, clxii). In response, the co-founder (with Francis Galton) of eugenics, W. R. Greg, insisted that if sympathy blocked the 'salutary' effects of the survival of the fittest, such sentiments should be suppressed. So, when the 'law' of 'natural selection' failed for humans--because of sympathy and ethics--the eugenic thinkers who so influence post-classical economics proposed to rid humanity of sympathy. --Sandra J. Peart & David M. Levy, August 2005. Canadian Journal of Economics 38(3): 950.
Another English socialist of a very different temper, Alfred Russel Wallace, co-founder of the theory of natural selection, took a different tack. The humane Wallace was a reformer but also a stout defender of Darwinian inheritance. So, although he believed that English society was increasingly dysgenic, Wallace rejected compulsory eugenics as elitist and barbarous. Wallace proposed that eugenic ends could be realized by an expansion of women's education and their political and economic freedom. Like Mill, he believed that the law could reduce women's economic dependency, which, he argued, would work to reduce the incentive for women to make dysgenic marriages. "Progress is still possible, nay, is certain," said Wallace, "by . . . that mode of selection which will inevitably come into action through the ever-increasing freedom, joined with the higher education of women" (1892). He envisioned selection as "effected through the agency of female choice in marriage" (1890). In leaving "the improvement of the race to the cultivated minds and pure instincts of the Women of the Future" (1890), the idealistic Wallace partly anticipates the eugenic feminism of Charlotte Perkins Gilman . . . --Thomas C. Leonard, July 2005. American Journal of Economics and Sociology 64(3): 782.
. . . At present, this genus of tropical and subtropical America, distributed from the central part of Mexico to the north of Argentina, including the West Indies, consists of ca. 350 species and is confined mainly to humid forests or grows along the edges of rivers. Its accumulated species diversity may be explained by gradual addition through geological time. This process was proposed by Wallace (1878) and turned out to result in greater accrual of species in tropical zones than in temperate regions. This, as explained by the "museum model," suggests that a stable tropical climate permitted the buildup of species through time . . . --L. Calvillo-Canadell & S. R. S. Cevallos-Ferriz, July 2005. International Journal of Plant Sciences 166(4): 688.
Wallace (1878) was among the first to argue that the low diversity of the polar regions is largely a reflection of past episodes of glaciations and climatic change that repeatedly drove many high-latitude taxa to extinction, leaving little opportunity for diversity to recover, and this idea has had subsequent proponents . . . --Emma E. Goldberg et al., June 2005. American Naturalist 165(6): 628.
The conditions under which aposematism, the conspicuous coloration of unpalatable or otherwise defended prey, could evolve have long been a topic of speculation (Wallace 1867; Poulton 1890). A perceived roadblock to the initial establishment of rare, aposematic mutants is the intense predation to which they would be subjected by naive predators. Conspicuous prey, albeit defended, are much more likely to be seen by predators, and if predators are unaware of their defence (and do not show neophobia), then such prey are more likely to be attacked on encounter. This means that rare conspicuous mutants of defended prey should, on average, be attacked more frequently than their cryptic conspecifics. A possible solution to this problem, first suggested by Fisher (1930), is that gregariousness could facilitate the evolution of distastefulness (and hence aposematism). Thus, if prey are warningly coloured and aggregated, then an attack on one individual by a naive predator could lead to subsequent avoidance of others in the group, often relatives, that share the same trait (this proposal was the initial inspiration for Hamilton's (1963) theory of kin selection) . . . --Christopher D. Beatty, Roderick S. Bain & Thomas N. Sherratt, 23 May 2005. Animal Behaviour 70: 199.
The Darwinian theory and Wallace's original theory can be formalized in terms of what is called today the carrying capacity of the environment, usually denoted by K; in Wallace's words, this is the level at which "the population must have reached its limits, and have become stationary." Suppose that the carrying capacity of the parental form on its own is K, and that the carrying capacities of the parental form and the advantageous variation when they coexist are K1 and K2 respectively. Under Darwin's theory K1Z0, whereas K2 is equal to or perhaps slightly greater than K, so that the parental form eventually becomes extinct even in a constant environment. Under Wallace's theory both carrying capacities are greater than zero, with K1!K2, so that both forms can coexist; if the environment deteriorates, both carrying capacities decrease, and if the deterioration is severe K1 becomes 0, so that the parental form becomes extinct. When the environment recovers, the carrying capacities return to their original values so that both types can again coexist . . . --Michael Bulmer, 22 May 2005. Notes & Records of the Royal Society 59(2): 130.
It was Wallace (1855) who was the first to recognize the correlation between geographic distribution and evolutionary relationship. Wallace (1855) in fact described how a process akin to what is now called vicariance might have produced modern faunal differences in the Galapagos Islands if these now distinct islands were once joined. In effect, Wallace (1855) was arguing that one way the geological world impinges on the biological world is through the mechanism we now refer to as allopatric speciation. If speciation is allopatric, species can disperse over geographic barriers (that have geological or climatic causes) and become isolated, or geological or climatic changes can cause populations of species to become isolated from one another by creating barriers within formerly continuous ranges; the latter is termed vicariance. In either case, the isolated populations diverge and eventually speciate . . . --Bruce S. Lieberman, 11 April 2005. Palaeogeography, Palaeocimatology, Palaeoecology 219: 25.
Although these definitions vary, the common emphasis is on the provision of a more stimulating environment. Historically Alfred Russel Wallace may have been one of the first individuals to provide enrichment to captive animals (Wallace 1869). Upon receipt of an orphan orangutan in his camp, he fashioned an artificial mother from a buffalo skin that appeared to comfort the animal, served as a surrogate mother, and thereby enriched the animal's environment. Shortly afterward, Wallace received another animal in camp, a cynomolgus monkey, and the two animals were successfully paired. Thus Wallace's earliest attempts at enriching the animal's environment included the provision of both inanimate and animate exemplars of enrichment . . . --James L. Weed & James M. Raber, March 2005. ILAR Journal 46(2): 118.
A. R. Wallace originally invented the concept now known as aposematism to describe prey that combine warning displays with secondary defences (Wallace 1867, 1889). More than a century later, the evolution of aposematism remains a remarkably fertile and controversial area of research. Warning displays are still of interest to researchers, in part, because the proximate mechanisms by which they operate tell us much about predator behaviour and predator-prey coevolution. As originally envisaged by Wallace (1867) and Poulton (1890), warning displays function to enhance discrimination, to accelerate learning and perhaps slow down forgetting . . . --Michael P. Speed & Graeme D. Ruxton, 21 February 2005. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 272: 431.
. . . aposematic displays remain the focus of considerable attention because, for many researchers, their initial origins contain at least two important evolutionary paradoxes. First, it is generally assumed that before the first aposematic traits evolved, prey were both highly cryptic and had effective secondary defences. If secondary defences are costly (and they often are), then their presence in prey already highly protected by crypsis is paradoxical: why pay for repellent secondary defences if your enemy rarely finds you? Second, there is a better-known paradox of warning signals, which also emerges from commonly held assumptions about initial conditions. Ever since the seminal theoretical model of Harvey et al. (1982), it is widely taken that aposematic mutants must emerge from defended cryptic species. When this is the case, new aposematic forms suffer combined and highly effective barriers to survival because of their rarity and their conspicuousness . . . --Michael P. Speed & Graeme D. Ruxton, 21 February 2005. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 272: 431.
. . . as Wallace originally envisaged, warning displays might be conspicuous so as to be "very distinct from the protective tints of the defenceless animals allied to them" (Wallace 1889, p. 232). Hence a good reason that aposematism may evolve initially is to prevent confusion with undefended prey. On its own, behavioural conspicuousness itself may not be a sufficiently reliable signal of non-profitability to function as an aposematic display. As we found . . . prey can evolve some heightened levels of behavioural conspicuousness even when they do not evolve adaptive secondary defences. Hence, some additional discriminative cue may be necessary for defended prey to minimize erroneous attacks by educated predators . . . --Michael P. Speed & Graeme D. Ruxton, 21 February 2005. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 272: 436.
The language faculty is one component of what the co-founder of modern evolutionary theory, Alfred Russel Wallace, called "man's intellectual and moral nature": the human capacities for creative imagination, language and symbolism generally, mathematics, interpretation and recording of natural phenomena, intricate social practices, and the like, a complex of capacities that seem to have crystallized fairly recently, perhaps a little over 50,000 years ago, among a small breeding group of which we are all descendants--a complex that sets humans apart rather sharply from other animals, including other hominids, judging by traces they have left in the archaeological record. The nature of the "human capacity," as some researchers now call it, remains a considerable mystery. It was one element of a famous disagreement between the two founders of the theory of evolution, with Wallace holding, contrary to Darwin, that evolution of these faculties cannot be accounted for in terms of variation and natural selection alone, but requires "some other influence, law, or agency," some principle of nature alongside gravitation, cohesion, and other forces without which the material universe could not exist. Although the issues are framed differently today within the core biological sciences, they have not disappeared . . . --Noam Chomsky, Winter 2005. Linguistic Inquiry 36(1): 3.
. . . Rohde (1978, 1992) expanded earlier suggestions that high-energy levels may increase speciation rates (Wallace, 1878). Relationships between speciation/extinction rates and energy may arise directly through the influence of solar energy on mutation rates, and most literature on the diversification rate mechanism focuses on this relationship. Alternatively, both solar and productive energy availability may influence speciation/extinction rates indirectly through variables such as body size and reproductive rates . . . --Karl L. Evans, Philip H. Warren & Kevin J. Gaston, February 2005. Biological Reviews 80(1): 14.
. . . adaptationism is usually traced back to Alfred R. Wallace, one of the two great biological revolutionaries, who was also one of the forefathers of modern astrobiology with his intriguing and remarkably prescient 1903 book Man's Place in the Universe. This view is the scientific foundation of Schroeder's solution to Fermi's paradox. Intelligence is an adaptive trait, like any other. Adaptive traits are bound to disappear once the environment changes sufficiently for any selective advantage which existed previously to disappear. In the long run, the intelligence is bound to disappear, as its selective advantage is temporally limited by ever-changing physical and ecological conditions . . . --Milan M. Cirkovic, January-February 2005. Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (JBIS) 58(1-2): 65.
The first report of a tool-using parrot in the wild was in 1869, by Wallace (2000). He described a black palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) in New Guinea using a piece of leaf as a wedge while feeding from kanary nuts (Canarium commune). According to the author, after starting to groove the nut with its lower mandible, the bird held it in its foot and bit off a piece of leaf. This was retained in the deep notch of the upper mandible while the bird started to seize the nut once again, fixing the edge of the lower mandible in the notch and braking off a piece of shell by a powerful nip. Wallace suggested that the nut was prevented from slipping by the elastic tissue of the leaf (Wallace 2000) . . . --Andressa Borsari & Eduardo B. Ottoni, January 2005. Animal Cognition 8(1): 48.
. . . the Wakatobi Marine National Park includes all coral reefs, islands, and communities within its boundaries and is centered around the main islands in the Wakatobi archipelago. The area is considered "a geological and biological anomaly" and is located at a zone of transition between the two distinct faunas associated with the Asian and Australian continents. Wallace (1869) postulated that the islands of Sulawesi had been isolated far longer than the surrounding islands, giving evolution a much greater opportunity to shape a unique fauna . . . --Benjamin P. Horton et al., January 2005. Journal of Foraminiferal Research 35(1): 4.
Wallace's rhetorical world was as remote from Darwin's as their social worlds--they wrote up their theories differently. Although a colonial infrastructure made much of Wallace's fieldwork possible, the solitary English collector, living alongside natives and dependent on their knowledge and skills, eschewed the rich imperial language in which Darwin depicted evolving life. Wallace thought spatially and described his theories in ways appropriate to the Welsh mapmaking enterprise from which he first learned about native habitats. He wrote with artless clarity. One searches in vain for conquering colonial imagery in his major theoretical essays between 1855 and 1864. Here "organic beings" are continually "peopling" the earth and making it a "theatre of life." New species evolve under changed "physical conditions" in "an unbroken and harmonious system." The faunas of "neighboring countries" testify to their geological past, showing that new species were "gradually introduced" as the regions became isolated. The arrival of "chance immigrants" is often followed by "natural extinction and renewal of species," and those organisms with "greater powers of dispersion" and "a greater plasticity of organization" have "extended themselves" over continents. The "regular and unceasing extinction of species, and their replacement by allied forms" is an "established fact," contingent in every case on the quantity and quality of available food . . . --James Moore, 2005. In David N. Livingstone & Charles W. J. Withers, eds., Geography and Revolution (University of Chicago Press): 121-122.
In The Malay Archipelago, Wallace's most popular and widely read book, the only "empire" is Austrian, "imperial" is a common species name, and only the Dutch, the Portuguese, and ants have "colonies." "Aborigines" are always human, "natives" are established residents (also marsupials in the Moluccas and flowers in the Himalayas), and people wage "war," "conquer," and "exterminate" one another (also the flying opossum). "Competition" too is a human prerogative, but no "invasion" crops up, nor any of its cognates. Districts may be "overrun" and indigenous populations "supplanted"; "inhabitants" and "enemies" of different species may "struggle" and "migrate." Yet Wallace is remarkably consistent--startlingly so compared to Darwin in the Origin of Species--in omitting to cast living organisms in imperial Britain's image. . . . James Moore, 2005. In David N. Livingstone & Charles W. J. Withers, eds., Geography and Revolution (University of Chicago Press): 124.
What role, if any, natural selection itself plays in reproductive isolation in the earliest stages of speciation when populations first begin to diverge has been a contentious issue since the late 19th century when Alfred Russel Wallace (1889) advocated the idea that the low fitness of hybrids should select for reproductive isolation between diverging populations. This selective mechanism has been called the Wallace effect or (more frequently) reinforcement. Support for reinforcement waxed and waned throughout the 20th century, enjoying increasing popularity after Dobzhansky elaborated the theory in the 1940s, going out of favor in the 1980s when theory discounted it, only to recover more recently when new theoretical models turned in its favour. Prezygotic isolating mechanisms have now been investigated in over 100 mathematical models, firmly establishing a theoretical basis for the evolution of reinforcement under the right conditions . . . --J. Silvertown et al., 2005. Heredity 95: 198.
Accordingly, we summarize four macroevolutionary patterns exhibited by venomous snake mimicry as the Savage-Wallace Effects: First, mimicry is more likely among closely related organisms that share a common body plan (e.g., among lepidopterans, among fishes, and thus their specific similarities (e.g., wing color patterns in butterflies) are representative of evolutionary parallelism . . . Second, mimicry spanning distantly related organisms, representative of evolutionary convergence, is more likely to involve planarians, myriapods, fishes, snakes, and other groups with relatively simple body forms . . . Third, among vertebrates, snake mimicry is unusually widespread because of (1) and (2), and because venomous species can severely injure or kill predators . . . Fourth, the origin of noxious attributes can markedly increase diversity within a clade beyond that encompassed by unpalatable species; dangerous models thereby make otherwise "unprotected niches" possible for harmless relatives, and even for lifestyles not used by the models themselves . . . --Harry W. Greene & Roy McDiarmid, 2005. In Maureen Donnelly et al., eds., Ecology and Evolution in the Tropics: A Herpetological Perspective (University of Chicago Press): 205-206.
Proposed originally by A. R. Wallace in the mid 19th century (Wallace 1852), the riverine barrier hypothesis states that major Amazonian rivers significantly reduce or prevent gene flow between populations inhabiting opposite river banks, hence promoting speciation. In a phylogeographic framework, the main prediction of the riverine barrier hypothesis is that sister intraspecific clades and species will exist across major rivers rather than within major Amazonian interfluves; furthermore, phylogeographic and population genetics data can distinguish between primary divergence across rivers (predicted by the riverine barrier hypothesis) versus secondary contact along rivers between nonsister taxa that diversified elsewhere. A second prediction of the riverine barrier hypothesis comes from the observation that the upper reaches of all major Amazonian rivers are narrower than the lower reaches; therefore, a gradual reduction of the "river-barrier effect" is expected to take place from the lower to the upper part of the river's course . . . --Alexandre Aleixo, June 2004. Evolution 58(6): 1303.
. . . the possibility that at least some instances of similarity among distasteful species may have evolved through selection to deceive predators has been frequently raised. Even before the publication of the theory of Mullerian mimicry, Wallace (1871) proposed that "distasteful secretion is not produced alike by all members of the family and that where it is deficient, protective imitation comes into play" . . . -- Thomas N. Sherratt, Michael P. Speed & Graeme D. Ruxton, May 2004. Journal of Theoretical Biology 228: 217-218.
Alfred Russel Wallace was the first to suggest that aging and death might be evolved traits. In the 1860s, he suggested that individuals are programmed to die so that they do not compete with their offspring. His idea had some early support, notably from the influential German biologist August Weismann, but by the 1920s it had been dismissed as a "perverse extension of the theory of natural selection". By the middle of the last century, the focus of evolutionary theory on senescence had shifted to other theories such as mutation accumulation and antagonistic prejotropy . . . Recent discoveries in nematodes, insects, and mammals of genes that, when mutated, increase life span, have increased interest in the evolution of aging. In this article, I show that within a spatially structured population, programmed death does evolve and suggest that it is time to reconsider the "perverse" theories of Wallace and Weismann . . . --Justin Travis, April 2004. Journal of Gerontology A: Biological Sciences 59(4): 301.
Conspicuous and simple color patterns (often red, yellow, or white in combination with black) are common among animals that are distasteful, noxious, or otherwise potentially dangerous to their predators ( . . . Wallace, 1867). The common view is that conspicuousness has evolved because it constitutes a strong visual signal that is easy for receiving predators to detect, learn, and associate with unpalatability. However, conspicuous coloration may provide protection against predators even if the prey lacks chemical or structural defense mechanisms, because coloration may elicit spontaneous avoidance behaviors in naive predators. It has been suggested that bilateral asymmetry also may play a role in communication, but this has been studied primarily within the context of mate choice . . . --Anders Forsman & Joakim Herrström, January-February 2004. Behavioral Ecology 15(1): 141.
Although we have many species from most of the major species groups and subgroups related to D. melanogaster in our analysis, speciation patterns for independent species groups and subgroups need to be examined with a number of genes to generalize these inferences. Nevertheless, if the observed correspondence between the time of species divergences and paleoclimate changes is true, it supports Wallace's hypothesis for a rapid species change resulting from climatic change (Wallace 1870a, b). In the present case, the factor is postulated to be climatic cooling in the Cenozoic. A major consequence of this cooling was an extensive increase in aridification in the middle to low latitude regions, which lead to expansions of savannas and grasslands as well as the fragmentation of forests that were primary habitats of ancestral fruit fly species and populations. The adaptation to the newly arisen dry environment and the allopatry caused by the forest fragmentation are potential causes for stimulating fruit fly speciation. The former adaptation is supported by the distribution patterns of D. teissieri and D. yakuba, which are adapted to forests and savannas, respectively . . . --Koichiro Tamura, Sankar Subranmanian & Sudhir Sumar, January 2004. Molecular Biology and Evolution 21(1): 42.
For Wallace, the mind overarched natural selection. He believed there was a more daring, vertical movement that boosts life toward higher levels of complexity and consciousness. After all, if evolution were merely a matter of survival by adaptation, we might still be a planet of hearty bacteria. Those bacteria would have their history, an eons-long series of variations and adaptations, all responsive to selection, but without movement toward greater complexity. For that matter, if complexity beyond the unicellular level were rare and episodic, coming and going over the eons, we would still have evolution as Darwin explained it. But in the only example we have of evolving life--our own Earth--we see something more dramatic. We see a steady undeterred thrust toward a net gain in complexity. The microbes continue, but life has branched out into an amazing array of new species. It has been building itself up into ever more delicate, sentient forms. To ignore that fact would be to ignore the defining feature of evolution. . . . --Theodore Roszak, 2004. In David Rothenburg & Wandee J. Pryor, eds., Writing the Future: Progress and Evolution (MIT Press): 3-4.
Steven Pinker (How the Mind Works) and Daniel Dennett (Darwin's Dangerous Idea) speak for mainstream evolutionary theory when they insist that the mind was built up incrementally by way of small, selective advantages in the same way as a bird's wing. They see the growth of intelligence as wholly a matter of problem solving and toolmaking--practical talents to which natural selection easily applies. They simply ignore Wallace's dilemma, offering no reason why the mind should ever have developed beyond simple counting, toolmaking, and enough verbal ability to coordinate a hunting expedition . . . --Theodore Roszak, 2004. In David Rothenburg & Wandee J. Pryor, eds., Writing the Future: Progress and Evolution (MIT Press): 5.
One could argue that males can survive better by being smaller and more cryptic than females. The importance of predation to the evolution of sexual dimorphism was first stressed by Wallace (1889), who suggested that crypsis in females is favoured because bright colours potentially attract nest predators. Recent comparative studies, such as that undertaken by Martin & Badyaev (1996), seem to confirm this point. In tinamous, reversed sexual roles and predation risks incurred by incubating males may explain why they are less colourful than their conspecific females. Small size and cryptic coloration are probably complementary strategies to avoid predators . . . --P. L. Tubaro & S. Bertelli, November 2003. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 80(3): 526.
To understand why small monitor species have radiated so dramatically through Australia, New Guinea, and their adjacent islands, but not elsewhere, we examined the possible role of Wallace's Line . . . In contrast to its influence on the mammals, Wallace's Line is not a barrier to monitors--or is it? That depends on the adult size of the species . . . Large monitor species (in which adults are greater than four feet long) are just as diverse on lands east of Wallace's Line as they are to the west, or for that matter in mainland Asia and Africa. Small monitor species, however, occur only to the east of the line . . . --Samuel S. Sweet & Eric R. Pianka, November 2003. Natural History 112(9): 44.
It has long been recognized that prey that possess significant defenses against predators tend to be conspicuous in some way (Wallace 1867; Darwin 1871; Poulton 1890). The contemporary explanation for this phenomenon, termed "aposematism" (Poulton 1890), is that there is "something special" about the educational properties of conspicuous traits as a signal of defense. For example, it has been repeatedly shown that predators learn to avoid unpalatable prey more quickly when they are conspicuous than when they are cryptic. This theory for the evolution of aposematism is plausible, but there is an important caveat. Whatever the underlying cause of aposematism, it is likely that predators would evolve an enhanced psychological predisposition to learn to avoid conspicuous prey precisely because such prey tend to be defended . . . --Thomas N. Sherratt & Christopher D. Beatty, October 2003. The American Naturalist 162(4): 377.
'The Darwinian theory is wrong because random variations tend to worsen performance'. Thus wrote Fred Hoyle in his famous book 'The intelligent universe'. Hoyle pointed out three important things in this book. First, that the idea of natural selection had been around for several decades before Darwin wrote The Origin. Secondly, that it was Wallace's clear letter of 1858 that really clarified Darwin's mind on the matter. Thirdly, and more important, natural selection as conceived by Darwin and Wallace just won't work mathematically. The odds are stacked hugely against random change producing even one new protein . . . --Anthony K. Campbell, July 2003. Astrophysics and Space Science 285(2): 571.
With respect to the theory of sexual selection, Darwin (1859, 1872) developed this novel concept but did not describe the function of this behaviour (for instance, the role of the male peacock's tale). As Dawkins has pointed out, it was Wallace who speculated that a male with brightly coloured tail feathers is showing that he is a high-quality individual. Subsequent studies have shown that this idea is supported by experimental evidence. Hence, with respect to the second mode of selection in nature, Wallace developed the concept originally proposed by Darwin (1859, 1872) and did draw the correct conclusions . . . --U. Kutschera, 1 May 2003. Theory in Biosciences 122(4): 357-358.
Why do we believe Wallace when he writes about evolution yet ignore him when he turns to spiritualism? Part of the reason is the context in which we receive his writings today. Spiritualism is now out of fashion, hoaxes have been exposed, and there is no longer a social context for the idea of spiritualism. The experiments, while repeatable in Wallace's day, are no longer repeatable, and thus they fail one of the hallmarks of the scientific method. But they were repeatable then! When one reads Wallace's works, one is struck by how he acted with complete warrant in exploring spiritualism scientifically. As Kuhn has demonstrated, Wallace was operating under the social constructs of his day . . . --Steven L. Peck, March 2003. Zygon 38(1): 11.
As we shall show, the concept of the diorama emerged from the construction of biogeographical zones. Moreover, the concept of biogeographical zones not only triggered the vision of the diorama as its "musee imaginaire" but, from the very beginning, theorizing on biogeographical zones was captured by visual means such as maps and illustrations. These images had a strong impact on the emergence of dioramic displays by providing two-dimensional forerunners for what were later implemented as three-dimensional museum installations. As we show in this paper, the new mode of illustration introduced by Wallace in 1876 formed a crucial influence. In The Geographical Distribution of Animals Wallace elected to illustrate different biogeographical zones by the simultaneous display of animals from different taxa against an ecologically appropriate background. By and large, each animal was itself in some way unique to its zone and could potentially have been used as a surrogate for the zone . . . --Julia Voss & Sahotra Sarkar, February 2003. Philosophy & Geography 6(1): 61.
Wallace insisted that none of these suggestions went to the heart of the problem. None of these people had suggested anything more than some 'force'--but force is a cause of motion, not a cause of organization. There must be something more than merely a force. There must be some agency that guides and coordinates the process which builds up that infinitely complex machine, the living organism. Wallace thought of the cell as being not only self-repairing, but also self-renewing, self-multiplying, self-adapting to its ever-changing environment, so as to be, potentially, everlasting . . . --Roger Steer, 2003. In his Letter to an Influential Atheist (Authentic Lifestyle): 27.
The co-inventor of evolutionary theory, Alfred Russel Wallace, was aware of the significance of Darwin's views. In his book, Darwinism, (originally published in 1890) Wallace took pains to distance himself from Darwin on the question of human capacities. He pointed to the mistake that someone might make by conjecturing that all geological changes are due to factors such as flooding, volcanic activity, the action of the wind and the sun, and so on while overlooking the special contribution made by glaciation. Glaciation is an important cause of change, but is radically different from the other causes of geological change. By analogy, Wallace argues, "Because man's physical structure has been developed from an animal form by natural selection, it does not necessarily follow that his mental nature . . . has been developed by the same causes only (Wallace 1897: xx)." Our mental capacities and our morality, Wallace suggests, may be due to something quite different from natural selection . . . --Andrew Brennan, 2003. Worldviews 7(3): 276-277.
In the second edition of Primitive Culture, Tylor's doubts about psychic phenomena were suppressed and Spiritualism roundly denounced as a survival of animistic beliefs (Tylor 1873). Yet, even the formulations used in Primitive Culture betray an ambivalence within its scheme of mental evolution that seems fundamental to contemporary scientific politics. Tylor felt forced to class modern Spiritualism with "primitive" animism--the kind of arbitrary classification that Wallace was up against in his critique of Primitive Culture and in his earliest writings on botany. But Tylor also had to acknowledge that Spiritualism was not just a survival but an extraordinary revival of animism. He even went as far as to recognize the anomalous status of Spiritualism within his progressionist scheme, because the former "is a truly remarkable case of degeneration" (1873), the possibility of which Primitive Culture was originally intended to argue out of existence . . . --Peter Pels, 2003. In Birgit Meyer & Peter Pels, eds., Magic and Modernity: Interfaces of Revolution and Concealment (Stanford Univ. Press): 258.
. . . In Miracles and Modern Spiritualism, the argument about perception was developed after Wallace denounced the theoretical fallacy of assuming that because Spiritualist phenomena ran counter to our knowledge of the laws of nature, they cannot exist. He argued that the physical phenomena that occur during a seance, can only be explained by presuming invisible intelligences, which was only "another and more striking illustration than any we have yet received of how small a portion of the great cosmos our senses give us cognisance" (1874). He compared the force exerted by these intelligences with light, heat, electricity, and magnetism (ala "modes of motion" of a space-filling "ether") to show how these "diffuse and subtle" forms of matter can act upon "ponderable bodies" and become known to us only by their effects. The fact that we do not know this higher sense is no argument, Wallace wrote, because likewise the "faculty of vision" would be "inconceivable" to a race of blind men. "It is possible and even probably that there may be modes of sensation as superior to all ours as is sight to that of touch and hearing" (1874). The subject of divination, in particular, allowed Wallace to elaborate on this? The clairvoyance that is at the basis of divination led him to suppose a "new sense" that amounts to "a kind of rudimentary perception, which can only get at the truth by degrees." . . . --Peter Pels, 2003. In Birgit Meyer & Peter Pels, eds., Magic and Modernity: Interfaces of Revolution and Concealment (Stanford Univ. Press): 262.
. . . The lesson seems to be: if you think hard about species origins, then it does not matter how you travel, you will reach the theory of natural selection in the end. On closer inspection, however, the Wallace case offers at least a few openings to those sceptical about the independence of the theory from its history. One move would be to deny that Wallace did, in fact, 'co-discover' the theory of natural selection. Rather, he came up with a theory quite different from Darwin's, and Darwin's overreaction in 1858 has misled historians ever since . . . --Gregory Radick, 2003. In Jonathan Hodge & Gregory Radick, eds., The Cambridge Companion to Darwin (Cambridge Univ. Press): 150.
Three features of Wallace's account of the evolution of human mind and morals stand out. First, he conceived the selective environment to be other proto-human groups--which would have an accelerating effect on the evolutionary process, since social environments would rapidly change through responsive competition. Second, he proposed that selection worked on the group, rather than the individual--which allowed him to explain the rise of altruistic behaviour, that is, behaviour perhaps harmful to the individual but beneficial to the group. In his original essay on the transmutation of species (1858), Wallace conceived of the struggle for existence as occurring among varieties instead of individuals. He continued to think in such group terms when considering the evolution of moral behaviour. Finally, in a note to the published version of his talk to the Anthropological Society, he mentioned that he was inspired to develop his thesis by reading Herbert Spencer's Social Statics. Spencer's own early brand of socialism had pulled Wallace to his side. In Social Statics, (1851), Spencer had envisioned a gradual and continual adjustment of human beings to the requirements of civil society, with individuals accommodating themselves to the needs of their fellows, so that eventually a classless society would emerge in which the greatest happiness for the greatest number would be realised. Spencer assumed that the inheritance of useful habits would be the means by which such evolutionary progress would occur, while Wallace believed natural selection to be the agent of that progress . . . --Robert J. Richards, 2003. In Jonathan Hodge & Gregory Radick, eds., The Cambridge Companion to Darwin (Cambridge Univ. Press): 102-103.
On the basis of personal experiments and reliable reports from other scientists, Wallace concluded that the universe is populated with a hierarchy of spirit beings, some of whom are in contact with the human population on earth, usually through mediums. According to Wallace, the spirit beings lower in the hierarchy, acting through mediums, were responsible for a variety of paranormal phenomena, including clairvoyance, miraculous healings, communications from the dead, apparitions, materializations of physical objects, levitations, etc. More powerful spirit beings may have played a role in the process of evolution, guiding it in certain directions . . . --Michael A. Cremo, 2003. In his Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Darwin's Theory. (Bhaktivedanta Book Publishing Inc.): 102.
. . . Hume appealed to uniform human experience in his refutation of miracles. For example, Hume observed "it is a miracle that a dead man should come to life; because that has never been observed in any age of any country" Wallace noted two flaws in this argument. First, the appeal to uniform human experience, granting the truly uniform nature of the experience, insures that no really new fact could ever be established. Second, Wallace questioned the veracity of Hume's version of uniform human experience. "Reputed miracles abound in all periods of history," wrote Wallace (1896, p. 8). And they continued up to the present, thus nullifying Hume's assumption. . . --Michael A. Cremo, 2003. In his Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Darwin's Theory. (Bhaktivedanta Book Publishing Inc.): 116.
. . . The space-filling ether of nineteenth century physics is no longer with us. But there are modern scientific concepts that would allow Wallace's basic system to operate. According to deterministic chaos theorists, immeasurably small random perturbances of matter can rapidly propagate into large-scale effects that are not easily predictable. Scientists sometimes give the example of a Caribbean butterfly that by its wings sets off motions of air molecules. These movements might eventually amplify to steer a hurricane from open sea into the American coast. If the butterfly had flapped its wings slightly differently, the hurricane might not have hit land. According to this idea, Wallace's spirit beings might make infinitesimal adjustments on the subatomic level that would quickly propagate into observable spiritualist effects. One might also propose that they are somehow capable of manipulating the curvature of Einstein's space-time continuum. They could thus produce gravitational effects, for gravity is said to be the result of curvature in the continuum. Or one might propose that the spirit beings induce slight changes in the quantum mechanical vacuum, which in some ways resembles an ether. Of course, this approach is limiting, and rather than straining to find ways to explain spiritualist phenomena in conformity with currently accepted physical laws, it may make more sense to come up with a new theoretical system that more naturally incorporates both the normal and paranormal phenomena . . . --Michael A. Cremo, 2003. In his Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Darwin's Theory. (Bhaktivedanta Book Publishing Inc.): 128.
. . . Wallace favored the latter course, but his system has certain puzzling features. Although a dualist, he does not appear to accept the existence of individual conscious entities before their earthly embodiment. According to Wallace, there is an original spiritual mind from which matter is generated. Individual spiritual minds, associated with spiritual bodies (souls), are only developed from and in material bodies, as they come into existence (Wallace 1885; in Smith 1991, p. 100). After death, the individual minds, as above stated, go to "the first grade of spirit life," where they experience progress or the lack of it based on their earthly habits. But if individual spirit souls can exist after earthly embodiment, why not before? And why is there any need at all for earthly embodiment, which is not an altogether pleasant experience? Why not skip that and go directly to the highest grade of spiritual life? . . . --Michael A. Cremo, 2003. In his Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Darwin's Theory. (Bhaktivedanta Book Publishing Inc.): 129.
. . . Here is another problem with Wallace's system. In his works, Wallace details reports of varied spiritualistic phenomena, such as levitation, apparitions, and clairvoyance, from his own time and throughout history. But he ignores reports of transmigration of souls, which occur widely in almost all times and places. The reports of transmigration are just as credible as any other category of evidence he considers. The existence of this phenomena requires, however, certain modifications in Wallace's system. At death, souls would pass not necessarily into the first phase of spiritual existence but perhaps into new material bodies. According to religious systems that incorporate transmigration, such as the Vedic system, some souls, because of their strong attachment to their last embodiment, do not attain new material bodies, but remain for some time as ghosts. This actually fits in quite well with the observations of Wallace and other spiritualists, who found that the spirits they contacted often desired to communicate with living friends and relatives . . . --Michael A. Cremo, 2003. In his Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Darwin's Theory. (Bhaktivedanta Book Publishing Inc.): 129.
Instead of unthinkingly placing English society at the top of the evolutionary tree, he argued that the evolutionary process had gone awry. In Wallace's hands evolutionary theory ceased to act as a rationalization of what was and became a promise of what could be. The key here was to hold up so-called savage societies as occasionally more civilized and more advanced than the West. Thus towards the end of his popular travel book The Malay Archipelago (1869), Wallace favourably contrasted primitive morality with the 'social barbarism' of Victorian England. If a savage society could attain a higher level of morality, then something must have disturbed England's evolutionary progression. The villain was laissez-faire individualism. Human evolution--the development of man's moral and intellectual faculties--depended upon the extent to which man was exempted from an individualist, physical struggle. Yet Victorian society celebrated individualism . . . --David A. Stack, 2003. In his The First Darwinian Left: Socialism and Darwinism 1859-1914 (New Clarion Press): 28.
Historians of science have raised the suggestion that Wallace's version of natural selection was not quite so Darwinian as Darwin himself believed. Wallace persistently used the word 'variety' as the level of entity at which natural selection acts. You heard an example in the long passage I have just read out. And some have suggested that Wallace, unlike Darwin who clearly saw selection as choosing among individuals, was proposing what modern theorists rightly denigrate as 'group selection'. This would be true if, by 'varieties', Wallace meant geographically separated groups or races of individuals. At first I wondered about this myself. But I believe a careful reading of Wallace's paper rules it out. I think that by 'variety' Wallace meant what we would nowadays call 'genetic type', even what a modern writer might mean by a gene. I think that, to Wallace in this paper, variety meant not local race of eagles, for example, but 'that set of individual eagles whose talons were hereditarily sharper than usual.' . . . --Richard Dawkins, October 2002. The Linnean 18(4): 20.
. . . Modern Wallaceans accept that peacocks' tails and similar bright organs are advertisements to females. But they want the males to be advertising genuine quality. A male with bright coloured tail feathers is showing that he is a high quality male . . . The late W. D. Hamilton, of Oxford University, was a prime example of a Wallacean in this sense. He believed that sexually selected ornaments were badges of good health, selected for their capacity to advertise the health of a male--bad health as well as good. One way to express Hamilton's Wallacean idea is to say that selection favours females who become skilled veterinary diagnosticians. At the same time, selection favours males who make it easy for them by, in effect, growing the equivalent of conspicuous thermometers and blood-pressure metres. The long tail of a Bird of Paradise, for Hamilton, is an adaptation to make it easy for females to diagnose the male's health, good or bad. An example of a good general diagnostic is a susceptibility to diarrhoea. A long dirty tail is a give-away of ill-health. A long clean tail is the opposite. The longer the tail, the more unmistakeable the badge of health, whether good health or poor . . . --Richard Dawkins, October 2002. The Linnean 18(4): 22-23.
. . . A significant positive correlation between the proportion of range area above 100 m and total range size for each species is used to suggest that past sea-level rises may explain smaller range sizes in low-lying regions and that riverine barriers have been important in shaping the current distribution of C. cleonus group species . . . Unfortunately, it is not clear exactly how important rivers have been or continue to be in the current distribution of C. cleonus group species because some of the central and lower Amazonian material is historical and the label data probably generalized; in such cases, uncertainty remains as to which bank specimens were really collected from, especially with the possibility of subsequent shifts in river course. Having said this, several lines of evidence do suggest that rivers have been influential in shaping the current distributions of C. cleonus group species . . . --Jason P. W. Hall & Donald J. Harvey, July 2002. Evolution 56(7): 1489, 1493-1494.
Some cosmologists, including Alfred Russel Wallace, Freeman Dyson and Paul Davies, have formed the opinion that, in the words of Fred Hoyle, "the universe is a put-up job". They are expressing their marvel that the values of its constants and the forms of its laws are just those which allow such phenomena as the formation of planets, complex chemistry, life and intelligence. Some of them--including Paul Davies--go further than this. They argue that the laws of the universe were somehow legislated with purpose so that planets, chemistry and life could develop . . . Wallace, Hoyle, Dyson and others have made the point that even slight changes in some values of fundamental or cosmological constants, or even in the laws of physics themselves, would imply a universe in which life as we know it would not exist. Here are a few examples: If the Universe were much less dense, then stars and planets might not form. If the universe were much more dense, then it would have stopped expanding and contracted back into a hot big crunch long ago, possibly before any supernovae had had time to generate the elements needed for life. What if the laws of physics were different? If the strong nuclear force were much weaker than it is, then the electrostatic repulsion between protons would prevent the formation of large nuclei--hydrogen might be the only element. If gravity were different, or if the geometry of space-time were different, then stars might not form or planets might not have stable orbits . . . --Joe Wolfe, http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/danish.html (accessed 3 March 2002).
The check that 'human nature' placed upon hopes of social improvement is illustrated by Malthusianism. This was popularly conceived of as an argument about the limits human nature--in particular the impulse to procreation--placed upon progress. Thus the transformation sought by Owen in social relations was predicated upon the malleability and educability of the individual. Human nature can be improved beyond the limits set by present-day social relations, and education and environmental reform both play a role in this. Did these ideas influence Wallace's views on nature? In one important respect they did. Wallace's views on instinct and its role in animal and human behaviour are different from those of Darwin and contradict much of what passed for Darwinian psychology after the publication of the Origin. When Wallace talks about instinct in nature, whilst not denying its existence, he tends to discount the role of preformed, inherited behaviour and to talk up the notion of learning. Moreover, he returns throughout his life to the same proposition: the role of instinctive behaviour is small, that of learning relatively greater . . . --Greta Jones, March 2002. British Journal for the History of Science 35(1): 81.
. . . Wallace saw many instances of mismatch between existing faculties and the environment. The natural world, like the social, was a site of dissonance between wants and the environment. The wants were relatively fixed points--the need for food and so on--but the behavioural responses to these were malleable. He noted a species of bird which in Africa and India 'eat only insects' whilst those in South America 'in great measure live upon fruits which they capture on the wing as they do insects. There is no difference in their structure but being in different countries surrounded by different circumstances they are led to adopt different habits'. In downgrading instinct Wallace introduced the idea there was always space for change, a potential for specialization or variability in behaviour even among individuals from the same species. Nature was not filled up with all that was possible for its full exploitation. The potential spaces in it were not necessarily occupied nor all the forms of behaviour found in natural organisms perfectly matched to their environment. Wallace constantly repeated this. In the case of the anatomy of birds wants and habits were limited by their structure, not structure by wants and habits, but even with the same structure behaviour differed. There is always room for modification and change. This contributes to the unsettled and evolving natural world . . . --Greta Jones, March 2002. British Journal for the History of Science 35(1): 83.
. . .The difference in approach between Darwin's and Wallace's views on population is discernible in their respective contributions to the Linnean Society in 1858. Darwin introduces Malthus almost immediately and proceeds to litter his text with phrases and analogies from the Essay on Population. For Darwin, nature at war is 'the doctrine of Malthus applied in most cases with tenfold force'. Along with the struggle for mates introduced in his closing paragraphs, death is a major selective factor and death is the consequence of this 'enormous multiplying power'. In contrast Wallace begins with the question of varieties and the instability of species. He does not mention Malthus in his paper but he does quickly turn to the 'struggle for existence' and to population. However, in Wallace's hands the force of population increase loses that all-encompassing ontological character it displays in Darwin's first public exegesis of his theory. Malthus is certainly present in Wallace's paper but it is Malthus read by an Owenite . . . --Greta Jones, March 2002. British Journal for the History of Science 35(1): 93.
Selection in favour of individuals that resemble the background has been invoked as the probable cause of cryptic coloration in prey species for over a century and there have been numerous demonstrations that predators preferentially feed on more conspicuous prey items. Our study is, however, the only work other than Endler's research on colour-pattern selection in guppies that has shown significant directional selection by predators over multiple successive prey generations when compared with a non-select control . . . --Alan B. Bond & Alan C. Kamil, February 2002. Nature 415(6872): 612.
The evolutionism of Darwin (1859) and Wallace (1875) is radically different from all previous lines of thought in that it uses the notion of contingency applied to living beings. Francois Jacob writing about this issue stated: "with the theory of evolution, as with statistical thermodynamics, the notion of contingency became established in the very heart of nature. Since Newton (1934), physics had been based on a rigid determinism, which extended to all sciences. Evolutionary theory and statistical thermodynamics completely transformed the way of looking at nature, mainly because they brought together and gave the same status of related and measurable quantities to order and chance--two concepts which until then had been incompatible." . . . --Bernardo Dubvrovsky, January 2002. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry 26(1): 2.
The theories he worked out during and after his travels in the East Indies dwelled essentially on spatial relationships, the reason to consider Wallace as being, fundamentally, a geographer. Consequently, geographical information was instrumental for Wallace both for his biogeographical as well as evolutionary contributions to biology. In several seminal papers and books he developed innovations in the historical reconstructions of faunas and, thus, implemented zoological geography as a biological discipline within the framework of evolutionary theory. It is, as Smith correctly stated, usually little appreciated how strongly natural processes are constrained by the necessity of having to take place in a three-dimensional space, and Wallace's skill at spatial analysis is best illustrated by his contribution to the biogeography of the Australasian region . . . --Matthias Glaubrecht, 2002. Verhandlungen zur Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie 9(2): 265.
From Darwin's publication of Origin of Species until Wallace's publication of his autobiography in 1905, Wallace was perhaps the most influential critic of the idea that the bright coloration of animals could be the outcome of female mate choice. Wallace saw no reason to invoke what to him was an unsubstantiated assumption that females of non-human animals were capable of and inclined to discriminate among males based on the quality of their ornaments (Wallace 1878, 1889). Instead, Wallace searched for explanations of colorful plumage that would allow such traits to be understood as utilitarian, not ornamental and extravagant. In his studies of bird coloration, Wallace did not focus exclusively or even primarily on gaudy plumages. Rather Wallace focused much of his research on the subtle differences among species and individuals in explicitly non-ornamental traits like the buff, brown, gray, and green plumage of birds (Wallace 1878, 1889) . . . --Geoffrey E. Hill, 2002. In his A Red Bird in a Brown Bag: The Function and Evolution of Colorful Plumage in the House Finch (Oxford University Press): 7.
. . . Far more convincingly than Darwin, Wallace showed how most plumage coloration supported the theory of evolution by natural selection. Most species, most of the time, are colored in ways that appear to enhance their survival and fecundity. Wallace provided an explanation for sexual dichromatism and drab female plumage that stands today as a triumph of the power of the comparative method in addressing evolutionary questions. Through his knowledge of the nesting biology of birds, Wallace showed that species with exposed nests in which the female alone incubates almost invariably have drab female plumage whether the male is colorful or not. Retesting and confirmation of this idea have only lately occurred. Wallace also was the first to set forth the idea that colorful plumage functions as a signal of species recognition. This became the most widespread explanation for colorful plumage for over seventy years, and it remains a too-often-ignored hypothesis in modern treatments of plumage coloration. Wallace also foreshadowed the now popular and well-supported idea that ornamental plumage could serve as a reliable signal of condition in his discussions of vital energy (Wallace 1878, 1889) . . . --Geoffrey E. Hill, 2002. In his A Red Bird in a Brown Bag: The Function and Evolution of Colorful Plumage in the House Finch (Oxford University Press): 10.
Wallace never seems to have suffered from the abstract doctrine of Philosophical Necessity. Charting his intellectual progress toward science, he notes that Robert Owen provided his introduction to "advanced views." Owen's "fundamental principle, on which all his teaching and all his practice were founded, was that the character of every individual is formed for and not by himself, first by heredity . . . and second by environment." Here, as with Martineau, Mill, Galton, and Darwin, philosophy intersects moral vocation, for this view requires restructuring the moral and legal system, which is based on the view that "all men could be good if they liked." In a determinist system, people cannot be "deterred from future aggression" unless the conditions in which they develop are changed. Hence Owen's "successful" New Lanark. For Wallace, implicitly, the vocation of science and, one might hazard, the nature of his theory, grow from this insight into hereditary and environmental determinism . . . --George Levine, 2002. In his Dying to Know: Scientific Epistemology and Narrative in Victorian England (University of Chicago Press): 110.
. . . While Wallace defers to chance in amusing ways and exhibits a Darwinian modesty in relation to his career, he sees a pattern of happy accident that implies something other than mere material causation. For himself, he can argue that: "many of the conditions and circumstances that constitute our environment, though at the time they may seem unfortunate or even unjust, yet are often more truly beneficial than those which we should consider more favourable. Sometimes they only aid in the formation of character; sometimes they also lead to action which gives scope for the use of what might have been dormant or unused faculties (as, I think has occurred in my own case)." But often, he says, those circumstances are not favorable, and if they consistently lead to bad consequences, "the system of society" is at fault. Wallace's willingness to accept inconsistency, to refuse the totalizations of a system making, marks his autobiography and his scientific life, and surely was consistent with--either as cause or effect--his own strong leanings toward socialism . . . --George Levine, 2002. In his Dying to Know: Scientific Epistemology and Narrative in Victorian England (University of Chicago Press): 111.
Abstract: An annotated facsimile of those pages of Alfred Russel Wallace's notebook recording his consignments from the Malay Archipelago to his London agent, Samuel Stevens, is provided. Records of individual consignments are linked with the stages of Wallace's and Charles Allen's itineraries to which they relate and are amplified from data provided by Wallace elsewhere; wherever possible, dates and places of the despatch of consignments and of the dates of their receipt in London are noted; and the dates of material becoming available for study are established, chiefly from British Museum accessions registers. It is intended that this should provide readier access to scattered collection data and should in particular assist in determining what specimens may properly be regarded as types or syntypes of the many taxa described by numerous contemporary authors from Wallace's material . . . --Daniel B. Baker, December 2001. Zoologische Mededelingen 75(16-25): 251.
It was precisely this latter characteristic, and the way in which Wallace's radical positions intertwined--his faith that some kind of willpower or spirit, lying outside or beyond natural selection, was responsible for moral evolution in the human species; his rejection of the more crude, social Darwinian deductions from biological theory; and his attack on the wastage of nature caused by rampant industrialism--that make him a valuable exponent of both the potentialities and the limitations of evolutionism as a philosophy. I am particularly interested here, of course, in Wallace as a tropicalist, especially the concern he articulated for the despoliation of tropical nature, a theme that emerged in his mature consideration of his tropical experiences and which, though connected to the new evolutionary outlook, was not a necessary outcome of it (Darwin, for example, did not share Wallace's concerns about the consequences of tropical destruction). This is perhaps the most overlooked aspect of Wallace's multifaceted contributions (most histories of environmentalism make no mention of him). In this chapter, then, I approach Wallace as arguably the most interesting student of tropical nature in the second half of the nineteenth century, a writer of popular natural-history books who was also a philosopher of nature, someone whose evolving representations of tropical nature take us into the post-Humboldtian, evolutionary era, and into the beginnings of the ecological era properly speaking . . . --Nancy Leys Stepan, 2001. In her Picturing Tropical Nature (Cornell University Press): 59.
. . . It was in the tropics, especially the islands of the East Indies, that Wallace first became aware of the ambiguities of the human presence in nature, the fragility of the evolutionary balance and the threat posed to it by overweening domination for purposes of commerce and gain. In his mature writings, he expressed the ideas that nature had not, in fact, been created just for human appreciation or consumption; that plants, animals and human beings formed a network of mutual interdependence; and that it was Europeans' actions that had the most profoundly negative effects on nature and culture, effects which could not be repaired easily . . . --Nancy Leys Stepan, 2001. In her Picturing Tropical Nature (Cornell University Press): 80.
Wallace's Line, essentially based on information about birds and larger mammals, with later attempts to delimit the Oriental from the Australian realm, has had enormous heuristic value and may even have triggered much of the biogeographic research which has been carried out in the region. Even today, as exemplified by the conference from which this volume arose, interest in the Wallacean region persists and may even have increased. With the availability of new data in geology and new methods, in particular for phylogeny reconstruction and for the measurement of genetic distinctiveness, the area has become even more interesting for biogeographers . . . --W. R. Erdelen, 2001. In Ian Metcalfe et al., eds., Faunal and Floral Migrations and Evolution in SE Asia-Australia (A. A. Balkema Publishers): 129.
. . . there was undeniably an 'individualist' accent to Wallace's program of interventionist egalitarianism. Wallace was not a collectivist. His socialism was never an attraction to a great and organising state. "Socialism" was to Wallace 'the use by everyone of his faculties for the common good, and the voluntary organisation of labour for the equal benefit of all' (Wallace, 1905). The use of the word 'voluntary' in his definition of socialism is surely significant. Under Wallace's socialism industry would be run by enterprises composed of capital-owning workers. Land nationalisation would not amount to a system of state farms or agricultural collectives. Rather, the state would be the sole owner of land, and would rent out its land to a throng of individual tenants . . . --William Coleman, 2001. In John Laurent & John Nightingale, eds., Darwinism and Evolutionary Economics (Edward Elgar): 42.
. . . The previous sections have used the case of Alfred Russel Wallace to scrutinise the proposition that natural selection was a projection onto nature of a political economy apologetic for a dominant class interest. This proposition is just one manifestation of a general and familiar vision of science . . . Alfred Wallace's scientific achievement, we have argued, makes for a jarring disconfirmation of this theory. Rather than seeking to inscribe norms justifying the dominance of one class, one race, one genera, Wallace sought to overturn such conventional dominance: of the wealthy, of the white race and (we may add here) of men. And, rather than being 'organically connected' to science's ruling elite, few could be less connected than Wallace to the elite and its social formations . . . --William Coleman, 2001. In John Laurent & John Nightingale, eds., Darwinism and Evolutionary Economics (Edward Elgar): 44.
Our results find that Wallace's Line is supported by the data he collected in the field and suggest that Wallace's Line does indeed demarcate a major faunal break. These results are in keeping with modern geological evidence on the origins of the region, and hence with Wallace's original contention. Wallace's data conform with his suggestion that the modern distribution of species reflects the geological history of the land masses. Modern geological knowledge indicates that the islands west of Wallace's Line comprised the single land mass of Sundaland connected to mainland Asia until the Eocene. Similarly, many islands on the Sahul shelf were also connected to New Guinea/Australia. The central islands, however, have a far more complex and isolated history. Sulawesi, for example, seems to be an amalgam of a number of different islands with different biogeographic origins. Similarly, the northern Moluccan islands seem to have been very recent arrivals for the eastern Pacific Arc which may have had closer contact with Australia and New Guinea than their present location suggests . . . --D. Clode & R. O'Brien, 2001. In Ian Metcalfe et al., eds., Faunal and Floral Migrations and Evolution in SE Asia-Australia (A. A. Balkema Publishers): 118.
. . . With the complex geological history of this region increasingly being understood, we now stand a far better chance of assessing Wallace's real legacy--the extent to which species distributions are limited by underlying geological history. This is a far more interesting question than arguing over the placement of arbitrary and illustrative lines. Different taxonomic groups (with different histories and different dispersal abilities) will undoubtedly differ in the extent to which they adhere to different biogeographic boundaries (as foreshadowed in Wallace, 1877) including Wallace's Line. Such variations merely reflect our expanding knowledge of both the species and the effect their geographical history has had on them . . . --D. Clode & R. O'Brien, 2001. In Ian Metcalfe et al., eds., Faunal and Floral Migrations and Evolution in SE Asia-Australia (A. A. Balkema Publishers): 119.
The Amazonian tropical rainforest harbors a species diversity that is vastly disproportionate to its geographic area. Numerous hypotheses have been proposed to account for this, tending to emphasize aspects of the maintenance or origins of the megadiversity. The oldest such hypothesis has its roots in the works of Alfred Russel Wallace, who observed that the ranges of some closely related neotropical vertebrate species (primates, birds) abut at major rivers. Indeed, Wallace defined distinct areas within South America, bounded by major Amazonian rivers like the Negro, Madeira, and Amazon, which differed in species composition of communities. These and similar observations have prompted the suggestion that lowland Amazonian rivers, of which there are many, may function as effective barriers to the dispersal of organisms. This may have a variety of consequences for patterns of species diversity on the Amazonian landscape. First, major Amazonian rivers may have played a significant role in species generation by impeding gene flow between populations with the eventual evolution of sister species on opposite banks. Second the expansion of species from their centers of origin may be halted by the presence of large watercourses; therefore, they may be restricted to only one bank. Finally, compared with a species distributed across landscapes without barriers, the probability of subsequent recolonization of a species that has gone locally extinct on one bank will be lower because immigration from the opposite bank is less likely . . . All of these factors might be expected to accentuate differences in species composition of opposite-bank communities . . . --Claude Gascon et al., 5 December 2000. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 97(25): 13672.
Whether the great rivers of Amazonia have something to do with species origins or are simply biogeographic sutures, the biotas of opposite banks ought to differ if the riverine barrier hypothesis is correct. Characteristically, in Wallace's monkey paper, he not only presented his data on primate distributions in relation to major rivers in the Amazon basin, but also suggested a testable, quantitative hypothesis: that the composition of species assemblages would differ in relation to the width of the river, the difference thus increasing from headwaters toward the mouth . . . --Robert K. Colwell, 5 December 2000. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 97(25): 13470.
The part that natural selection plays in the origin of species has long been debated. It is easy to see that if two populations are kept separate--by mountains or ocean, for example--they will eventually become so different that they can no longer interbreed successfully. Their differences may have evolved by natural selection, but their reproductive isolation is merely a side effect of changes that emerged for other reasons. This view seems unsatisfactory to those who emphasize the positive aspect of selection in evolution. Both Alfred Russel Wallace and Theodosius Dobzhansky argued that natural selection would reinforce reproductive barriers between diverging populations. There has been little evidence, however, that selection has in fact contributed directly to the formation of new species (speciation) in this way. Reports by Higgie et al. and Hendry et al., on pages 519 and 516 of this issue, provide examples from fruit fly and sockeye salmon populations showing that selection can produce the kind of isolation that separates species in the wild, and moreover, that it can do so within a very short time (a dozen or so generations) . . . --Nick Barton, 20 October 2000. Science 290(5491): 462.
What is less explicable is why the differences between Wallace and Darwin over the origin of distributional patterns have been confounded. Apart from a single chapter in The Origin of Species, Darwin wrote little on biogeography, yet his views on the efficacy of dispersal dominated biogeographical theory until relatively recently. I think the answer lies in Wallace being too far ahead of his time. I have often wondered what Wallace would have thought about modern geological evidence concerning the origin of Indonesia, and I am convinced it would have given him the key to understanding the distributional patterns he described in Malay Archipelago. The problem, of course, was that this evidence was not available until a century later. Given the lack of credible alternative explanations and the pressure from Darwin to conform to accepted ideas, Wallace was unable to develop his own theory fully. Over time his original thoughts were lost and his name became associated with Darwin's idea of dispersal. A reappraisal of Wallace's work on its own terms seems long overdue and would be a fitting millennial tribute to an outstanding scientist . . . --B. Michaux, January 2000. Journal of Biogeography 27(1): 221-222.
. . . Florence Clemens was the first to show how Conrad made use of Wallace's work in his fiction. She demonstrated how, in Lord Jim, Conrad used Wallace's account of his visit to the Rajah of Goa as the basis of his description of Doramin's household; how he used Wallace's account of his friend, Mr. Mesman, in describing Stein; how he drew on Wallace's own experiences for his presentation of Stein's activities as a naturalist. She argued that Conrad used The Malay Archipelago, in particular, 'for backgrounds with which he was unfamiliar'. Conrad, for example, had never visited Bali or Timor: 'all the information which Dain Maroola of Almayer's Folly gave Nina Almayer about his country on Bali could have been gleaned' from Wallace; similarly, 'all that is told in Victory of the Timor scene and government' in the account of Morrison's experiences in Delli derives from Wallace also. The Malay Archipelago was acknowledged by Conrad as one of the sources for his Malay fiction . . . --Robert Hampson, 2000. In his Cross-Cultural Encounters in Joseph Conrad's Malay Fiction (Palgrave): 73.
The lowland forests of the Amazon Basin contain a disproportionately large fraction of global species diversity. A number of vicariant speciation mechanisms have been presented to explain this high diversity. These hypotheses share the idea that historical and geographically pervasive barriers to gene flow have facilitated speciation in allopatry across much of Amazonia, but obviously differ with respect to the identity, location and duration of these barriers. The oldest of these, the riverine barrier hypothesis, derives from observations of animal distributions made by Wallace (1849, 1876). It posits a role for major Amazonian water courses in impeding gene flow between populations on opposite banks. The predictions for this hypothesis include that (i) many recently evolved sister taxa occupy opposite banks of large rivers, (ii) levels of genetic differentiation between populations on opposite river banks increases with increasing river width and flow rate and (iii) taxa of the upland terra firme forest show higher levels of differentiation across rivers than taxa of the seasonally flooded varzea forests found adjacent to the river. This last prediction assumes that the strength of the barrier to gene flow is greater for exclusively terra firme species because it consists of both the river itself plus the varzea forests of both river banks . . . --S. C. Lougheed et al., September 1999. Proceedings of The Royal Society of London B 266: 1829.
. . .the "pan-selectionist" view that variation is potentially available in all directions from any given phyletic starting-point, and that selection determines which subset of variants prevails. The alternative is the "developmental constraint" view that many of the gaps we observe between different morphologies do not arise from the non-adaptiveness of the absent forms but rather from the difficulty of making them through an ontogenetic process. The pan-selectionist view can be traced back to Wallace (1870), who considered variation to be omnipresent and available in all phenotypic directions imaginable, apparently without even a quantitative bias in any direction. He refers to "Universal variability--small in amount but in every direction", and Mayo (1983) boldly states that "The major constraint on natural selection as an agent of change is natural selection as a stabilizing force", apparently relegating any kind of developmental constraint to a minor role at best . . . --Wallace Arthur & Malcolm Farrow, June 1999. Journal of Theoretical Biology 200: 183-184.
Under Wallace's scheme, the event that concerns Romanes--the initiation of the speciation process--already has taken place. Wallace deals with events subsequent to the process of reproductive isolation. The idea that the infertility he notes might relate to what Romanes proposed does not occur to Wallace. In a separate section of his book he describes physiological selection as "another form of infertility," and then proceeds to attack the theory . . . --Donald R. Forsdyke, Spring 1999. Queen's Quarterly 106(1): 121.
Wallace's first essay on the origin of the colour sense was published simultaneously with, but independently of, Gladstone's paper. He had presented a possible evolutionary route for animal colour vision, starting with perception of degrees of brightness, ending with perception of colours according to wave length. In his view, green and blue would have been the first colours to which the eye became specially adapted, in accord with their universal presence in foliage and sky, as well as their soothing influence. Reds, yellows and violets would follow, as present in small amounts, offering great contrast, and useful to animals hunting for food and mates. This essay was revised and republished a year later, with specific response to Gladstone (and through him, to Magnus and Geiger). 'These curious facts' wrote Wallace, with regard to Gladstone's Homeric data, 'can not, however, be held to prove so recent an origin for colour-sensations as they would at first sight appear to do'. He pictured brightly coloured structures as having evolved in response to an already present and well-developed ability of animals, especially birds, to see colour, long before the arrival of man. Wallace concluded that 'Man's perception of colour in the time of Homer was little if any inferior to what it is now . . . owing to a variety of causes, no precise nomenclature of colours had become established . . . --Elizabeth Henry Bellmer, 1 January 1999. Annals of Science 56(1): 38.
As the new century ripened and imperialist rivalries increased, Wallace became convinced that a vast civilizational crisis was at hand and that the very survival of the human species demanded the rapid overthrow of capitalism. A few months before his death in 1913, he wrote (The Revolt of Democracy), "There must be no further compromise, no mere talking. To allow the present state of things to continue is a crime against humanity." How ironic to recall his warnings today when billionaire arsonists have set almost the entirety of Wallace's Malay Archipelago ablaze with their greed . . . --Mike Davis, March 1998. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism 9(1): 77.
Wallace's major contribution to the literature of reform is his corrosive criticism of nineteenth-century society, through which he offered a human vision of social reformation. He advocated recognizing racial equality, nationalizing land, giving women equal opportunity for education and employment, decreasing military expenditure, and saving the environment. His friend James Marchant wrote in Alfred Russel Wallace: Letters and Reminiscences (1916) that "his greatest ambition was to improve the cruel conditions under which thousands of his fellow-creatures suffered and died, and to make their lives sweeter and happier." . . . --Charles Blinderman, 1998. Alfred Russel Wallace. In Gary Kelly & Edd Applegate, eds., British Reform Writers, 1832-1914 (Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 190; Gale Research): 326-327.
. . . With other socialists Wallace believed that neither genetic endowment nor divine prescription was responsible for the behavior of men and women, that instead the prime agent of social discord was bad government. He argued that the state ought to provide equality of opportunity and that no one should get a head start through inheritance: "To secure equality of opportunity there must be no inequality of initial wealth. To allow one child to be born a millionaire and another a pauper is a crime against humanity." Andrew Carnegie would later share this view on the inheritance of wealth. Wallace further argued that the state ought to own and manage railways and pay the doctors. He envisioned a Ministry of Public Health, its doctors acting as servants of the state, that is, of people--and he added, perhaps mischievously, "they should be paid according as they keep people well and not ill." . . . --Charles Blinderman, 1998. Alfred Russel Wallace. In Gary Kelly & Edd Applegate, eds., British Reform Writers, 1832-1914 (Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 190; Gale Research): 330.
It is possible that the initial condition in the pheasant was plumage monomorphism, with the cryptic female-type plumage subsequently having evolved under natural selection from predators. In fact, this hypothesis, formerly defended by Wallace (1889), is generally applicable to those birds, like pheasants, with a polygynous mating system without male parental care, that nest on the ground in open habitats, and are sexually dimorphic in plumage throughout the year. Also, it has not yet been proven that maintaining a colourful and bright plumage is costly, nor that it is a handicap for survival . . . --Concha Mateos & Juan Carranza, November 1997. Animal Behaviour 54(5): 1211.
The approach taken by Gregorius for modelling and analyzing the population genetic basis of Wallace's theory of speciation will be extended to allow analysis of the opposite case, where speciation is prevented by the reinforcement of genetic coherence. In this approach, a mutant gene modifies the current mating preferences without implying any advantage or disadvantage in fitness (including mating success). The latter assumption is indispensable in order to avoid confusion of the secondary effects of mating systems on fitness with their primary recombinational effects. It also reduces the analytical problems resulting from having to disentangle effects of fitness and mating preference on the evolution of mating behaviour . . . --Wilfried Steiner & Hans-Rolf Gregorius, November 1997. BioSystems 43(2): 139.
In 1881 Wallace took the lead. He formed The Land Nationalization Society on his own lines, with himself as President. In Land Nationalization (1882) he laid out his program. The state was to assume title to all land. To meet a conservative debating ploy, he would compensate present landowners. However, he ingeniously minimized the amount in a manner that tells us he knew the nuts and bolts of his subject. Compensation was to be an annuity limited to the duration of lives in being. It was to be based only on the net income actually being derived from the land before nationalization--i.e. not from the highest and best use, and not from future higher uses. All men and women (Wallace, like Mill, was also a feminist) could bid to lease parcels from the state for actual use. In the socio-biological terms in which he thought, this would consummate the natural relation of man to nature. It would also let men alternate between industry and agriculture as Wallace, a loving gardener, himself did. Wallace's Land Nationalization was individualist, not collectivist. Individual lessees were to have secure tenure, and tenant-rights to improvements. Rents to the state would be used, not to engross the state, but to obviate taxes. These rents would be based on the assessed "inherent value" of land, dependent only on natural and social conditions. As a surveyor and a biogeographer, Wallace readily distinguished "inherent value" from man's improvements to land, which he saw as transitory. Tax assessors in most American states and other former English colonies distinguish land and improvements routinely today, and many did then, too, although in England itself the concept was somewhat novel . . . --Mason Gaffney, October 1997. American Journal of Economics & Sociology 56(4:): 613.
Wallace, on the other hand, explained evolution not in terms of competitive struggles between species and the environment, but in terms of the governor that regulates the speed of a steam engine by maintaining constancy in the angular velocity of a flywheel. As Bateson puts it, building on Wallace's idea, the job of evolution is to maintain the constancy of something--specifically, the survival of the entire system comprised of all species and the environment. Darwin, according to Bateson, focused on the wrong subject--the individual species--when in fact the real subject of evolution is the species plus environment. In fact, the species and the environment co-evolve, to use a term that is popular among management writers today. Moreover, if you add the remarkable findings reached in the past thirty years by biologist Lynn Margulis, this process of co-evolution sustains the total system through cooperative symbiotic relationships, not competitive knock-outs . . . --H. Thomas Johnson, 11 October 1997. Keynote Presentation, The Deming Institute Fall 1997 Meeting, Washington, D.C.
Perhaps the effect of Wallace's line most relevant to us is its possible role in a decisive step of human evolution. Paleontologists tend to stress Africa as the cradle of humanity, to view Cro-Magnon Europe as the site where late ice age human culture flowered, and to neglect Australia as a remote outpost occupied by supposedly primitive Aborigines. Human behavior took a Great Leap Forward sometime between 100,000 years ago, where there were still no signs of art or complex tools anywhere in the world, and the period around 40,000 to 30,000 years ago, when great art and complex tools began to abound in Europe. Paleontologists usually assume that this development began among humans in Africa or the Mideast, then spread to Europe and finally (in diluted form) to our poorer cousins in aboriginal Australia. But anatomically modern humans appeared in Australia before they did in Europe--probably by 60,000 years ago and possibly even earlier. To reach Australia, the protohumans who had reached Asia from Africa around one million years ago (as attested by the famous Java Man fossils) had to cross a dozen straits separating Australia from Asia. . . .Each next strait would have been a stimulus to improve our nascent watercraft technology; each new island, a stimulus to adapt to a new environment and to invent new technologies; each island's untapped rich resources, the basis for a new human population explosion . . . --Jared M. Diamond, August 1997. Discover 18(8): 83.
Wallace's writings of this period make free use of the contrast between 'savage' and 'civilized', he talks often of 'higher' and 'lower' races, and was clearly committed to a notion of long-run progressive change in organic evolution and in human history. Yet there is no easy or simple mapping of the higher and lower, civilized and savage onto the progressive evolutionary narrative. Social, moral and intellectual progress are differentiated from one another, and lack of harmony between them can be catastrophic in its consequences. The hierarchical ordering 'higher' and 'lower' is sometimes used by Wallace to refer to inherited differences between peoples, but is also sometimes used to denote levels of civilization, and to do so in ways which do not carry any obvious value connotation. The word 'civilization' carries a negative as often as a positive valuation in Wallace's writing. Whilst the civilized nations remain in a state of social and moral 'barbarism', uncivilized savages approach a 'perfect social state'. . . --Ted Benton, Spring 1997. Studies in Travel Writing No. 1: 109-110.
. . . It is here that we encounter the central intellectual and moral tension in Wallace's thought, a tension which was to bring about a growing gulf between his and Darwin's views on human origins and nature and which may, indeed, go some way towards explaining Wallace's later involvement in spiritualist activities. Wallace's radical political philosophy and his capacity to admire and respect the achievements, customs and social solidarity of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon and the Malay Archipelago were increasingly at odds with his version of evolutionary naturalism . . . --Ted Benton, Spring 1997. Studies in Travel Writing No. 1: 110.
It is not just Darwin's opponents who regard the analogy as evidence against the causal efficacy of selection. A. R. Wallace, the co-discoverer of natural selection, addresses the analogy in his opening comments of the Darwin-Wallace paper of 1858. "One of the strongest arguments which have been adduced to prove the original and permanent distinctness of species is, that varieties produced in a state of domesticity are more or less unstable, and often have a tendency, if left to themselves, to return to the normal form of the parent species; and this instability is considered to be a distinctive peculiarity of all varieties." For Wallace, modification by artificial selection is limited and temporary, and therefore causally inefficacious in the production of new species. If natural and artificial selection were truly similar, then the analogy suggests that natural selection is incapable of forming new species. Consequently, Wallace argues against the analogy by emphasizing the differences between domestic breeding and nature. "It will be observed that this argument rests entirely on the assumption, that varieties occurring in a state of nature are in all respects analogous to or even identical with those of domestic animals . . . But it is the object of the present paper to show that this assumption is altogether false" (emphasis added). Wallace's vow to argue against the analogy is inexplicable unless he has embraced the view that artificial selection is inefficacious in the formation of new species. Surely Darwin was aware of Wallace's views, expressed so forcefully in the Darwin-Wallace paper, as he wrote the Origin . . . --Richard A. Richards, March 1997. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 28(1): 76-77.
. . . Darwin recognized some important distinction between domestic and natural varieties, and happily agrees with Wallace on the distinction. Wallace, in the preface to his Darwinism, likewise emphasizes his agreement with Darwin, describing his views as complementary. "I have endeavoured, by means of a series of diagrams, to exhibit to the eye the actual variations as they are found to exist in a sufficient number of species . . . It will be found that, throughout the work, I have frequently to appeal to these diagrams and the facts they illustrate, just as Darwin was accustomed to appeal to the facts of variation among dogs and pigeons" (emphasis added). Wallace certainly seems to regard himself as doing something very similar to what Darwin is doing. That would be surprising if he had thought Darwin to be making an analogical argument--given his earlier rejection of the argument. Wallace argues against the analogical argument by emphasizing the negative analogy between domestic breeding and nature. Unlike natural selection, artificial selection does not maintain fitness. Consequently, domestic varieties are unfit. Wallace makes this point in the 1858 Darwin-Wallace paper . . . --Richard A. Richards, March 1997. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 28(1): 81.
One reference point, however, must be marked if Wallace's future path--to the Malthusian moment and beyond--is to be mapped. He embarked on a scientific career less a naturalist than a surveyor, less a biologist than a biogeographer, less an evolutionist than an ethnographer. For seven formative years his job had been prescriptive economic geography. Parish upon parish, field upon field, he had set limits to human livelihoods, marking boundaries, drawing lines. In later years he would become an exemplary naturalist, but always boundaries and borders, habits and habitats, concerned him. Once he even likened the "System of Nature" to a "dissected map," the pieces of which could be assembled in a "mosaic." The picture is of a crowded tithe map, where field presses on field, niche upon niche, until "all gaps have been filled". Such was a surveyor's view of evolution . . . --James Moore, 1997. In Bernard Lightman, ed., Victorian Science in Context (University of Chicago Press): 304.
To validate his inclusion of plants formerly excluded from bedded-out gardens, Robinson turned to the writings of the late nineteenth-century naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. Wallace collaborated with Darwin on his theory of evolution and published his own Contribution to the Theory of Natural Selection in 1870. Robinson was intrigued by Wallace's 1869 account of his extensive travels in the Amazon region and the Malay Archipelago, especially Wallace's statement that "during the twelve years spent amidst tropical vegetation, I have nothing comparable to the effect produced on our landscapes by Gorse, Broom, Heather, Wild Hyacinths, Hawthorn, and Buttercups." Wallace's nationalistic preference for English scenery reportedly led Robinson to plant such flowers as asters and heather, formerly considered too coarse for fashionable gardens . . . --Anne L. Helmreich, 1997, in Nature and Ideology; Natural Garden Design in the Twentieth Century (Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection).
The principles regarding relations between organisms and their environment set forth by Wallace clearly informed Robinson's gardening practices. In an early essay, "On the Law which has regulated the introduction of new species," Wallace first developed his theory governing the distribution of organisms. His fourth stipulation--that "in countries of a similar climate, but separated by a wide sea of lofty mountains, the families, genera, and species of the one are often represented by closely allied families, genera and species peculiar to the other"--underlies Robinson's theory that plants from climates similar to England's could be naturalized in the wild garden . . . --Anne L. Helmreich, 1997, in Nature and Ideology; Natural Garden Design in the Twentieth Century (Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection).
It is evident that Conrad read and assimilated Wallace's observations of the Malay natural environment. Wallace as anthropologist seems to have had an equivalent influence. In terms of religious practices, Wallace describes how 'the old juragan repeated some prayers' just before one of his more successful voyages; on the Patna voyage, the leading Arab recites a prayer in similar fashion as they cast off. In The Rescue, Lingard's dead lacar is 'wrapped up decently in a white sheet, according to Mohammedan usage', in a way highly reminiscent of Wallace's response to the death of one of his Malay men: 'As my men were all Mohammedans, I let them bury him in their own fashion, giving them some new cotton cloth for a shroud" . . . --Amy Houston, 1997. In Gene M. Moore et al., eds., Conrad: Intertexts and Appropriations: Essays in Memory of Yves Hervouet (Rodopi): 37.
Bates, Wallace and Spruce belonged to a new breed of scientist. They were not sponsored directly by the government, like Huxley or Darwin, attached to Royal Naval survey ships; they were not salaried, like the plant-hunters employed by the nurserymen, or even promised a reward on their safe return, like Richard Lander. They were scientific entrepreneurs, trading in beetles and birds and monkeys and dried plants, who needed to collect extensively even to pay their expenses, let alone secure a possible income for the future, when they might hope to work up their private collections and live off a store of knowledge and fieldwork rich enough to last the rest of their lives. The British Museum assured them there would be a good market for their collections. They made arrangements with a London agent and dealer, Samuel Stevens, who had premises in Bedford Street, just round the corner from the British Museum--an excellent choice, as it turned out . . . --Peter Raby, 1997. In his Bright Paradise: Victorian Scientific Travellers (Princeton University Press): 79.
Wallace's earlier suggestion that a connection may exist between the perennial woody habit of island species and reproductive strategy deserves closer inspection. He argued that the perennial insular woody growth form primarily reflects selection for longevity (rather than for woodiness per se) of insect-pollinated species in an environment where insects initially should be expected to be rare, noting that the resulting increase in size may have provided additional advantage in niche competition among initial colonizers. Bramwell's studies of breeding behavior are generally compatible with that view, since in Echium species studied, the woody island forms were found to be outbreeding, setting only 0-11% fertile seed in selfings, whereas their continental sisters as well as the herbaceous island inhabitant E. bonnetii were preferentially inbreeding . . . --Uta-Regina Böhle, Hartmut H. Hilger & William F. Martin, October 1996. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 93(21): 11744.
. . . If outbreeding is the primary selective factor in island colonization, pollination pressure will subsequently favor rare, large, conspicuous inflorescences among outbreeders and, as a consequence, select perennial (and therefore woody) habits capable of producing them, in agreement with Wallace's salient arguments. Under this view, diversity of contemporary woody Echium forms reflects a multiplicity of selectable developmental pathways toward longevity, rather than selection for specifically environment-adapted variants of such woody perennial habits as schematically depicted in Fig. 3. In other words, insular woodiness in Echium might simply betray "survival of the founders," and many differences between perennial woody habits could be nonadaptive . . . --Uta-Regina Böhle, Hartmut H. Hilger & William F. Martin, October 1996. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 93(21): 11744-11745.
Alfred Russel Wallace foreshadowed much of the current thinking on adaptive mate choice. To Wallace colour was merely a correlate of 'vigour', by which he implied health. A female should choose a mate adaptively by picking the most vigorous male, and it would just so happen that he would also be the most colourful. We too found colour to correlate with a variable, plasma proteins, that may be indicative of vigour. In addition, female kestrels in our colony in mate choice experiments have consistently preferred males with high display rates (vigour?), irrespective of the degree of genetic relatedness or experimentally induced parasite infection . . . --Gary R. Bortolotti et al., September 1996. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 263: 1175.
. . . The hypothesis that sexual dichromatism was nonfunctional and incidental to inherent 'physiological' differences between the sexes was proposed by Alfred Russel Wallace. Wallace (1895) recognized that whereas males of many birds are more brightly coloured than their mates, the degree of dimorphism varied greatly, with the most common case being for males 'to have the same general hue as the females, but deeper and more intensified'. Although it may be difficult to discount the role of sexual selection for extreme cases, such as house finches, the common, subtle patterns of colour variation between the sexes may be more difficult to explain except as non-functional consequences of other biochemical processes. If such processes are fundamental to avian physiology, it may explain why sexual dichromatism is so common in birds, and why reds, yellows and oranges are so pervasive . . . --Gary R. Bortolotti et al., September 1996. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 263: 1175.
A final argument, "An Additional Argument Dependent on the Theory of Evolution," was added to the 1904 edition of Wallace's book. Especially interesting because Wallace was so closely involved with the evolution arguments of his day, it is independent of the three connected scientific arguments and may be seen as another aspect leading to the same conclusion. Wallace argued that since humanity is the result of a long chain of modifications in organic life, since these modifications occur only under certain circumstances, and since the chances of the same conditions and modifications occurring elsewhere in the universe were very small, the chances of beings in human form existing on other planets was very small. Moreover, since no other animal on Earth, despite the great variety of diversity of forms, approaches the intelligent or moral nature of humanity, Wallace concluded that intelligence in any other form was also highly improbable . . . --Steven J. Dick, 1996. In his The Biological Universe: The Twentieth-century Extraterrestrial Life Debate and the Limits of Science (Cambridge University Press): 48-49.
. . . In conjunction with Barrow and Tipler's use of the Anthropic Principle, at the end of the century one could therefore choose from the full spectrum of possibilities in the context of the extra-terrestrial life debate: a positive argument, a negative argument, and the extraterrestrially neutral argument from design. But it is remarkable that just when anthropocentrism seemed irretrievably banished from the repertoire of reputable worldviews, it returned in a more sophisticated but remarkably similar form to that of A. R. Wallace, who in arguing against the plurality of worlds at the beginning of the century concluded that "the supreme end and purpose of this vast universe was the production and development of the living soul in the perishable body of man." . . . --Steven J. Dick, 1996. In his The Biological Universe: The Twentieth-century Extraterrestrial Life Debate and the Limits of Science (Cambridge University Press): 535.
. . . male-male competition was obvious to those who watched animals behaving in the field, and it coincided with the Victorian notion of how animals should behave, thus never becoming controversial. Female choice, on the other hand, was far from obvious in the field, and Darwin's contemporary, A. R. Wallace (1891), in particular, was unconvinced by it. He felt that the power of discrimination by females was too weak to distinguish subtle differences between males, and he also doubted whether female choice could be sufficiently constant over time to select for male attributes. As Geddes and Thompson (1889) put it, consistency of female taste was "scarcely verifiable in human experience." Female choice continued to be contentious until relatively recently, and although there is now abundant evidence that females often choose their partners, the way that female choice has evolved still remains a controversial area of sexual selection theory . . . --T. R. Birkhead, 1996. Current Topics in Developmental Biology 33: 104.
The colors of the Amazon brought Wallace to investigate the sediment and substrata. He found the "almost perfect flatness" of the Amazon Valley its single most striking geological fact. No mountains or even slightly elevated plateaus rise from the plain until you reach the abrupt peaks of the Andes. Wallace's impression was that "here we see the last stage of a process that has been going on, during the whole period of the elevation of the Andes"--the gradual filling in of what was once the granite bottom of the sea with sediment brought down by rivers from the Andes Mountains . . . --Jonathan Maslow, 1996. In his Footsteps in the Jungle: Adventures in the Scientific Exploration of the American Tropics (Ivan R. Dee): 99-100.
In 1873, Alfred Russel Wallace posed a fundamental, and as yet unresolved, biogeographic puzzle: why should the tropics contain a disproportionately large amount of the Earth's biodiversity? Wallace (1873) suggested that the explanation for latitudinal variation of the diversity of plant species was directly related to climate. Wallace (1873) wrote "As we approach towards regions of polar cold and desert aridity the variety of groups and species [of plants] regularly diminishes; more and more are unable to sustain the extreme climatical conditions". However, in the case of animal distributions, Wallace (1873) believed that climatic change associated with glaciation was responsible for the impoverishment of the temperate faunas. In modern terms, Wallace proposed an 'equilibrium' hypothesis for vegetation, and an 'historical' hypothesis for faunal patterns. In the latter half of this century, these two schools of thought have diverged and undergone substantial specialisation, although no consensus has emerged . . . --D. M. J. S. Bowman, 1996. Australian Journal of Botany 44(5): 571.
Borrowing a line from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," there is "nor any drop to drink" anywhere today on the surface of Mars. Not so clear is whether there has ever been water, water everywhere. As was first demonstrated by Alfred Wallace (who concurrently with, but independently of, Charles Darwin proposed the idea of evolution by natural selection), the lifetime for liquid water under present Martian atmospheric conditions is measured in minutes. The former existence of Martian rivers or seas would then imply that the planet had a warmer, more Earth-like climate in its geologic past. Interest in Martian water also stems from the fact that we, like that famous canal enthusiast Percival Lowell, cannot envision any form of life existing without it. The red planet appears lifeless now, but evidence for a warmer, wetter planet in the past might make a search for Martian fossils plausible . . . --Harry Y. McSween Jr., December 1995. Sky & Telescope 90(6): 18.
. . . the nature of information conveyed by secondary sexual traits in mate selection has been hotly debated. Darwin (1871) believed that mate choice was solely based on arbitrarily chosen features that were aesthetically appealing to the members of opposite sex, although such chosen features did not confer any survival advantage to the animal. Wallace (1889), on the other hand, argued that natural selection would not allow the selection of merely ornamental features "unless the most ornamental always coincide with the 'fittest' in every other respect". The modern interpretation of the utilitarian view of Wallace, or the so-called good gene hypothesis, has commonly been invoked to explain human mate selection. Briefly, it is proposed that women, as a rule, can assess the "mate quality" of a man by attending to his resources or high status because these are usually achieved through competition with other members of the social and economical hierarchy . . . --Devendra Singh & Robert K. Young, November 1995. Ethology and Sociobiology 16(6): 483-484.
The theory of sexual selection by female choice, on the other hand, was greeted with interest mixed with skepticism (Wallace 1889; Huxley 1938). Wallace fully accepted intermale sexual selection but had serious doubts about the efficacy of female-choice sexual selection. His doubt concerned the adequacy of the proposed mechanism. Can female choice exert a selective pressure that is consistent and strong enough to produce secondary sexual characters of adornment and display in males? The status of sexual selection by female choice is still unsettled. Modern studies have confirmed the process for some types of male characters, but legitimate questions remain as regards other types of male characters . . . --Verne Grant, October-November-December 1995. Biologisches Zentralblatt 114(4): 320.
Wallace presented a very clear interbreeding species definition, then immediately dismissed it in his treatise on speciation of the Papilionidae of Indonesia. 'Species are merely those strongly marked races or local forms which, when in contact, do not intermix, and when inhabiting distinct areas are incapable of producing a fertile hybrid offspring. But as the test of hybridity cannot be applied in one case in ten thousand, and even if it could be applied, would prove nothing, since it is founded on an assumption of the very question to be decided . . . it will be evident that we have no means whatever of distinguishing so-called "true species" from the several modes of [subspecies] variation here pointed out, and into which they so often pass by an insensible gradation'. Wallace is first saying that it is practically impossible to make all the necessary crosses to test genetic compatibility. Second, since theories of speciation involve a reduction in ability or tendency to interbreed, species cannot themselves be defined by interbreeding without confusing cause and effect . . . --James Mallet, July 1995. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 10(7): 295.
The adaptive significance of cryptic female coloration in birds is an old and hotly debated issue in animal behavior, being a source of great disagreement between A. R. Wallace and C. Darwin, the co-founders of Natural Selection Theory . . . Darwin (1871) believed that dull female coloration was a non-adaptive consequence of sex-limited inheritance. Wallace (1889) proposed the hypothesis that cryptic female coloration functions to reduce predation risk at the nest. Wallace's evidence included the observation that in many cavity-nesting species females are brightly colored, and males are more cryptic than females in species with sex role reversal. However, these results are also consistent with sexual selection theory. Field tests of the nest predation hypothesis are rare, perhaps because extensive color variation among females within a sexually dimorphic species is uncommon . . . --Bridget J. Stutchbury & Joan S. Howlett, May 1995. The Condor 97(2): 559.
Aging is notoriously hard to explain in evolutionary terms. An early insight is due to Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-founder of evolutionary theory. The gist of his argument is contained in the following quotation (Wallace, 1865): "When one or more individuals have provided a sufficient number of successors, they themselves--as consumers of nourishment in a constantly increasing degree--are an injury to those successors. Natural selection therefore weeds them out." In the following it will be shown that this basic idea allows one to arrive at a quantitative prediction of species-specific aging. It also enables a qualitatively correct prediction of sex-specific differential aging in two species. The slower aging of human females becomes understandable in evolutionary terms . . . --Reimara Rossler, Peter E. Kloeden & Otto E. Rossler, May 1995. BioSystems 36(3): 179.
In Frank Tipler's newly published book (1994), The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead, for example, the author claims "modern physics requires the God principle." By this Tipler means that the universe is structured in such a way that the laws of nature must give rise to intelligent life; and once formed, the resurrection of all intelligence--immortality--is inevitable. "Science now tells us," Tipler concludes, "how to go to heaven." While Tipler's science is modern, his argument is not. It is Wallace's argument for the necessity of a higher intelligence clothed in modern physics . . . --Michael Shermer, December 1994. Skeptic 3(1): 70.
. . . With the primary evidence missing in this historical mystery, we can only speculate on what really happened at Down. The extreme interpretation of a conspiratorial cover-up is not supported by the evidence. If Darwin were going to rig (or allow to be rigged) the editorial presentation of the papers to award him priority; or worse, plagiarize from Wallace certain needed ideas (such as the divergence of species, as Brooks suggests), why announce the arrival of Wallace's essay and submit it for publication in the first place? Why not either just take what was needed, or, if Wallace's essay added nothing new to the theory, just destroy the essay and letter and blame the loss on an inefficient postal service, or the mishandling of his mail at Down, or whatever? If one is going to accuse Darwin of such devious finagling as delicate arrangements or plagiarization, then would not the same guileful and scheming personality think of complete elimination of Wallace's essay as a successful strategy? . . . --Michael Shermer, March 1995. Skeptic 3(2): 83-84.
Several alternative explanations exist for the occurrence of symmetrical signals and symmetry preferences in nature. It has been suggested that some morphological symmetries arise inevitably from developmental processes. However, as Wallace (1889) observed, the symmetrical body markings of wild animals are often lost or degraded in their domesticated descendants. This suggests that certain symmetries are not inescapable consequences of development, but are maintained by other selection pressures in nature . . . --Magnus Enquist & Anthony Arak, 10 November 1994. Nature 372: 172.
The naturalists' concept of species as distinct reproductive units was carried over into the post-Darwin period. It was stated by Wallace (1889), Eimer (1889), and others. I will present Wallace's characterization of species in a paraphrased form. A species is an assemblage of individuals which: (1) are modified in structure, form, and constitution so as to be adapted to their particular conditions of life; (2) are differentiated from other allied assemblages; (3) reproduce their like: and (4) usually breed together (Wallace, 1889). Some students of species in the early post-Darwin period began to characterize species, not only as reproductive units, but as units of interbreeding. We see this in Wallace's fourth point above: species are individuals "which usually breed together" (Wallace, 1889). According to Poulton (1903) a species is "an interbreeding community". Karl Jordan (1905) stated that the individuals of a species occur together in an area and form an interbreeding community ("eine Paarungsgemeinschaft"). Wallace's first point listed above puts adaptation into the set of characteristics of species. This was an innovation at the time and one which did not become generally accepted until much later . . . --Verne Grant, October-November-December 1994. Biologisches Zentralblatt 113(4): 406.
In their recent TREE article, Polak and Trivers say that the study of symmetry and its fluctuations in biology was largely restricted to morphology and systematics until 1953. However, in 1889 A.R. Wallace remarked that coloration patterns of wild animals are more symmetrical than those of their domesticated descendants; he thought that symmetry would help specific recognition. In one respect Wallace's observation seems paradoxical. Domestic animals have less need to be cryptic than their wild counterparts, but, at least for humans, the presence of symmetry is a major failing of camouflage. Symmetrical patterning gives away animals that are otherwise superbly concealed. The few cryptic animals that are asymmetrically patterned maybe the exceptions that prove this rule, one example is the wryneck (Jynx torquilla), an unusual woodpecker . . . --D. Osorio, September 1994. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 9(9): 346.
. . . the Riverine Barrier Hypothesis was first advanced by Alfred Russel Wallace in 1849, when he argued that primate distributions were affected by river barriers and showed that the Basin was divisible into four major geographic areas bounded by the Amazon, Negro, and Madeira rivers. This hypothesis, although not mutually exclusive from others, has received recent attention and support. Ayres (1986) and Ayres and Clutton-Brock (1992) have confirmed Wallace's original observation by documenting the correlation between the degree of private community similarity on opposite banks of Amazonian rivers and river width, or flow rate. Additionally, Capparella has shown that the degree of genetic divergence among samples of understory bird species is related to river width. One explicit expectation of the Riverine Barrier Hypothesis is that increasing divergence should relate positively to river size (width, flow rate, etc.). Hence, differentiation should increase along both sides of a green river, from its headwaters to the mouth, as the barrier widens and the potential for cross-river gene flow diminishes. However, the expectation for any given taxon is likely to be complicated by the dynamic nature of floodplain rivers, because populations have the potential for passive transfer from one side to the other by river-bend cutoffs, or oxbow lake formation, through time . . . Consequently expectations of the potential force of riverine barriers are likely to vary among taxa that occur in the river floodplain (the seasonal flooded forest, or "várzea" of the Amazon Basin) as opposed to those that are limited to upland, nonflooded forest, or terra firme. The pattern and degree of divergence may also depend on other ecological characteristics . . . --James L. Patton et al., August 1994. Evolution 48(4): 1314.
. . . the argument has been made that aesthetic criteria in general are secondary and essentially in the service of a more fundamental process. Thus, Wallace has disputed Darwin's claim that female choices of maters reflect strictly aesthetic tastes, that is, beauty for beauty's sake (Wallace, 1889, 1892). Rather, Wallace insisted that beauty is likely to be associated with good health and vigor, which are deemed the primary bases for choice. The theoretical advantage that accrues to Wallace's position is that sexual and natural selection are parsimoniously working in unison. Within the classical Darwinian perspective, female choice of the most flamboyantly adorned or colored male can imply choice of a mate vulnerable to predators and likely to produce offspring with similar vulnerabilities. None of this is intended to imply that either Darwin or Wallace is right or wrong. After the passage of more than a century, the issue is still under debate, although new experimental studies testing predictions from the two theories offer hope of an eventual resolution of the issue . . . --Nathan Kogan, Spring 1994. Social Research 61(1): 143.
. . . in short, there are on every hand the most striking and conclusive evidences that the production and consumption of wealth have increased with even greater rapidity than the increase of population, and that, if any class obtains less, it is solely because of the greater inequality of distribution. What [Henry] George had done with this argument, Helfand argues, was to establish an economic equivalent of Wallace's theory that the human brain changed the nature of the evolutionary process by its ability to create tools and alter the environment. George had argued that labor is the source of wealth, on grounds that "the richest countries are not those where nature is the most prolific; but those where labor is the most efficient." . . . --Lamar B. Jones, April 1994. American Journal of Economics and Sociology 53(2): 252.
The earliest discovery of avian visual mimicry was Wallace's account of another case involving large aggressive models and smaller mimics that would otherwise have been expected to be among the models' victims. The models are friarbirds of the Philemon [moluccensis] superspecies which are among the largest members of a family (Meliphagidae or honey-eaters) notorious for pugnacious behavior; the models are orioles of the Oriolus [bouroensis] superspecies (family Oriolidae). Wallace was struck by parallel geographical variation in plumage between friarbirds and orioles on two Indonesian islands. Subsequent study expanded Wallace's observations in three respects . . . --Jared M. Diamond, 24 February 1994. Nature 367: 684.
The common idea that Darwin behaved like a perfect gentleman throughout the Wallace episode rests partly on the myth that he had some option other than those outlined above--that he could have rushed his theory to press without so much as mentioning Wallace. But unless Wallace was even more saintly than he seems to have been, this would have brought a scandal that left Darwin's name tainted, even to the point of endangering its connection to his theory. In other words: this option was not an option. The biographer who admiringly observes that Darwin "hated losing his priority, but he hated even more the chance of being suspected of ungentlemanly or nonsporting conduct" is creating a distinction where none existed; to have been thought unsporting would have threatened his priority . . . --Robert Wright, 1994. In his The Moral Animal (Pantheon Books): 306.
A major stumbling block for Darwinians was the absence of any fossil remains of humans in Europe during the Tertiary period. From this Wallace had argued a priori that the human species had not spread widely upon the earth and was of recent origin. Since fossil remains had been located only in the tropics, Wallace concluded that these warm climes had been the cradle of human evolution . . . --Nancy J. Christie, 1994. In Roy MacLeod & Philip J. Rehbock, eds., Darwin's Laboratory: Evolutionary Theory and Natural History in the Pacific (University of Hawai'i Press): 445.
Wallace is less well known for his lifelong insistence on the necessity for precise species distribution maps than he is for his much-disputed line. Detailed knowledge of species distribution was the basis for Wallace's efforts to formulate a general scheme of faunal regions. In one image, Wallace's map redefined and unified the various notions of biological regions current in the first half of the nineteenth century, embodied the evolutionary history of the diverse biota of the East Indian Archipelago, and participated in a genre of visual representation extending into the contemporary culture . . . Jane R. Camerini, December 1993. Isis 84(4): 727.
Fisher (1920) explains that the "essential difference" between plans such as those of Wallace and his own "is that between redeemability and irredeemability." But is there really an essential difference between always being able to "redeem" a gold certificate for a possibly varying quantity of gold, on the one hand, and always being able to purchase with irredeemable money a given quantity of gold at a possibly varying market price, on the other? So as an outsider to economics, Wallace was free from the attachment to gold and thus advocated a stabilization policy that was more in the spirit of the quantity theory. He was also explicit about what Fisher (in his definite-reserve system) left unspecified; namely, the role of the Treasury in injecting or withdrawing quantities of money from circulation. Here was a true anticipator of the Chicago School of the 1930s . . . --Don Patinkin, Summer 1993. Economic Quarterly 79(3): 18.
The second story is that the thin Martian atmosphere is but a remnant of a once much thicker atmosphere, most of which long ago escaped to space [cf., Wallace, 1907]. Other things being equal, because it is smaller, escape is easier from Mars than from Earth or Venus. Several escape mechanisms have been suggested, including some that could be operative today. A possibly important example of the latter is the nonthermal escape of nitrogen. Hydrodynamic escape and impact erosion of the atmosphere (a.k.a. atmospheric cratering) are two potentially much more effective escape mechanisms that should have been operative early . . . --Kevin J. Zahnle, 25 June 1993. Journal of Geophysical Research E 98(6): 10,889.
. . . the value of living organisms as an intellectual resource is another compelling reason for preserving biotic diversity. It provides the materials that allow us to understand the living world, whatever our reasons for doing so. Extinction is depriving us of much of the crucial evidence. Among the measures that Wallace advocated was the establishment of a system of strategically located forest reserves where a representative sample of the biota could be preserved and studied by naturalists . . . --Michael T. Ghiselin, Spring 1993. Pacific Discovery 46(2): 23.
Selection for genetic isolation has been called the Wallace Effect by Grant, in honor of A. R. Wallace who first suggested it (Wallace 1889). Control of a species' altitudinal boundary by a pathogen-environment interaction may provide an appropriate arena for the Wallace Effect. The scenario for speciation suggested above begins with a very unlikely event: establishment of a new disease-resistant population outside the normal habitat of the parent species. Though unlikely, such speciation across a "pathological barrier" requires no changes of climate, elevation of mountain chains, or other large scale phenomena. It suggests that the potential for the establishment of peripheral isolates in new ecological settings may exist at the margin of a great many species. This scenario is similar to the concept of the "upstart species" of Harper or of new species "budding off' from older species . . . --William Burger, December 1992. Biotropica 24(4): 569.
For both monochromatic and polychromatic species, pelage pigmentation would be helpful for identifying conspecifics, especially at distances where odor and vocalizations would be unreliable cues. In polychromatic species it would also narrow the range of choices within a herd when looking for the mother, particularly when her head cannot be seen clearly. Alfred Russel Wallace recognized the significance of body pigmentation when he wrote in 1889, under the subject of "Colour as a means of recognition": "If we consider the habits and life-histories of those animals which are more or less gregarious, comprising a large proportion of the herbivora, . . . we shall see that a means of ready recognition of its own kind, at a distance or during rapid motion, in dusk of twilight or in partial cover, must be of the greatest advantage and often lead to the preservation of life." Within a colour category, the young would have to rely on other cues, be they visual, auditory, or olfactory. For example, the length of pelage was one of the cues eliminated in this study by cutting the does' hair, because in a previous study I noticed that the offspring of long-haired females tended to solicit females with long hair like that of their mothers. Although cues present in the head are probably important for individual recognition, at a distance the fine detail of facial characteristics might not be as discernable as markings on parts of the body with more surface area. The specific visual cues used for recognition should depend on the characteristics of the group or species, the habitat in which the species is found, and the perceptual capabilities of the developing individuals . . . --Carlos R. Ruiz-Miranda, November 1992. Behaviour 123(1-2): 136-137.
For Paley, the epiglottis could not evolve in this manner; hence, some form of causality other than change origin is called for. Paley's answer was "an intelligent and designing Creator." Soon other thinkers followed Paley's lead concerning the impact of the argument from perfection. In one of the most amazing shifts in the history of ideas, Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) employed what may be considered an indirect use of the argument from perfection on an a fortiori basis against the very theory of natural selection that he had founded with Charles Darwin . . . --John T. Baldwin, April 1992. Harvard Theological Review 85(1): 112.
. . . On the one hand, motivated by the biological evidence discussed, but restricting themselves to a one-dimensional model of world reality, Goldschmidt and Gould (themselves standing outside the argument from perfection tradition) of necessity turn for an alternative model of origins to a refined concept of the "hopeful monster" theory wholly explainable by empirical principles within a materialistic framework. On the other hand, Paley, Wallace, Mivart, Bergson, Taylor, Kenny, Plantinga, and Polkinghorne, prompted by similar biological evidence but remaining open to a wider model of reality (one that can include a trans-empirical dimension) and to a dynamic relationship between God and the world, conclude that the evidence points more convincingly to some kind of originating causality that in the final analysis lies beyond the reach of "methodological naturalism." . . . --John T. Baldwin, April 1992. Harvard Theological Review 85(1): 119.
Alfred Russel Wallace developed a theory of evolution by natural selection at the same time that Charles Darwin did. He applied his theory to one of the earliest scenarios of human evolution. He related the split between the first human beings and the apes to the habitats in which they lived. Wallace proposed that hominids, our bipedally walking ancestors, arose on the great plains and high plateaus of Eurasia, isolated there by shrinking forests. His deduction was based on the fact that apes today live in dense forested areas. Wallace thought, therefore, that bipedally striding humans must have evolved in open, flat areas. Darwin disagreed on the geography, believing that a tropical environment with abundant fruit was our ancestral hominids' environment. He preferred an African origin for the human lineage. The chimpanzee and gorilla, he pointed out, were both African and the closest living primate relatives to humans . . . --Noel T. Boaz, March 1992. Earth 1(2): 37.
These findings show that Wallace's hypothesis can be verified for a broad category of population genetic models and that, therefore, the Wallace effect indeed deserves a central position in speciation theory. By outlining the effects of gametic phase imbalance, the findings also point at the forces which could possibly set up barriers to speciation: asymmetric gene flow between parapatric populations, and asymmetric cross-incompatibility in both parapatric and sympatric (sub-)populations. Asymmetry in cross-incompatibility describes the situation where in one population the rejection of cross-matings is markedly stronger than in the other population. However, whether these conditions actually suffice to inhibit speciation must be proven in each special case . . . --Hans-Rolf Gregorius, February 1992. Journal of Theoretical Biology 154(3): 397.
. . . Wallace's narrative eye, like Darwin's, allows him to transcend time through visual analogy, but it is the European model of cultural progress rather than biological history that flashes before the reader. The narrative motion of the European mind searching backward through its own memory is obscured, and the narrative motion of the tropical landscape advancing into the European landscape is foregrounded. Wallace's representation suggests than in looking at the trees he is not simply experiencing perceptual confusion; he is perceiving future forms in present ones. The link between trees and pillars, between tropical and European, is thus seen as a historical inevitability rather than an optical illusion or perceptual accident. Where Darwin's illusions increase formal variety, however, Wallace's limit it. Rather than a single form blossoming into multiple analogous forms, Wallace's eye perceives several different species in terms of a single European form. The distinction between Darwin's and Wallace's representational strategies roughly correlates to the differences in their evolutionary theories. Darwin believed in random competitive evolution while Wallace believed in adaptive, environmental evolution . . . --James Krasner, 1992. In his The Entangled Eye: Visual Perception and the Representation of Nature in Post-Darwinian Narrative (Oxford University Press): 114.
. . . In Wallace's nature all selection is purposeful and relatively precise; nature tends toward utility, and clears way all forms that are not useful. James's theory of vision can be seen as the perceptual corollary to Wallace's evolutionary theory. The Jamesian mind, like Wallace's evolutionary nature, establishes a formal standard that must be met, and all those forms that fail to meet that standard are eliminated; in Wallace's nature they die off, in James's vision they go unperceived. It is therefore appropriate that Wallace should use a Jamesian representational model. Where Darwin portrays visual forms mutating and multiplying as they compete for space in the reader's perceptual field, Wallace portrays the selection of forms according to an imageable standard of reference. Moreover, because this formal standard is European, the forms of nature are selected according to the standard of reference of European experience--the viewer perceives trees as pillars, and those trees that look less like pillars are ignored. Wallace's representation of evolution thus involves the reader in a more and more familiar world . . . --James Krasner, 1992. In his The Entangled Eye: Visual Perception and the Representation of Nature in Post-Darwinian Narrative (Oxford University Press): 115.
Until just before 1880 Wallace had firmly believed "that vaccination was a scientific procedure, and that Jenner was one of the great benefactors of mankind." As a young man he had voluntarily undergone vaccination and subsequent revaccination, just before leaving for South America on a naturalistic trip. He had never questioned the effectiveness of the operation until reading several anti-vaccination texts and meeting William Tebb, the 1870 successor of John and Richard Gibbs as leader of the Anti-vaccination League and founder of the Anti-vaccination Society of America. Convinced by Tebb's arguments, Wallace joined him in the battle for the new cause. Aware of his ignorance on medical matters, Wallace always based his arguments on statistic figures rather than on strictly sanitary aspects. Harry Clements, his biographer, writes: "no one was apparently able seriously to challenge him on the figures." . . . --Giacomo Scarpelli, 1992. Nuncius (Italy) 7(1): 115-116.
. . . These moral principles were also applied to another field of study, that of the so-called "Psychical Research" which caught Wallace's interest very early, in fact earlier than we might possibly think. Spiritism, in Wallace's mind, had a eudaemonist socratic meaning: ghosts were seen as moral and spiritual guides to man. Wallace then developed the idea of man as center of a pre-ordained universe, in which the pain which man is subject to being the most sensitive creature, and the evil which he must fight since he is capable of discerning, are seen as necessary steps towards the completion of moral rather than organic developments, necessary to enter into a superior spiritual sphere. We can now truly understand this sentence: "the whole purpose, the only raison d'être of the world [ . . . ] was the development of human spirit in association with the human body" . . . This conception of a pre-existing order and a synchronicity can explain the logic which backed Wallace's opinions and attitudes . . . --Giacomo Scarpelli, 1992. Nuncius (Italy) 7(1): 120-121.
. . . Wallace . . . brought forth an alternative explanation which involved totally different powers. Man has the faculty of artificially selecting vegetable and animal species; similarly a Higher Intelligence could have controlled and directed Natural Selection in the human development process, in a particular and highly ethical aim . . . Effectively, Wallace, induced by the moral ideal earlier mentioned, was trying to find a solution that would not clash with his vision of harmonia naturae and undermine the theory of Natural Selection with whatsoever extension or correction. His was not a denial of the theory but, paradoxically, the result of his excessively rigourous attitude. Wallace, the hyperselectivist, preferred to involve a Superior Intellect, in other words a deus ex machina, rather than admit that his primary theory might possibly have been less absolute . . . --Giacomo Scarpelli, 1992. Nuncius (Italy) 7(1): 126.
. . . Wallace was driven in his crusade by ethical and social issues, as well as the intention of preventing the disruption of the biological balance. This was altogether a kind of civil protest aimed towards a general reform of society, freed from imposition. Wallace believed that an improvement of the population's economic conditions would have resulted in higher hygienic standards and a richer diet, and consequently, in a decreased spread of diseases, smallpox included. He also envisaged the creation of a Ministry of Health employing teams of Doctors. These purposes, which seem so obvious today, were in his time little less than revolutionary. It can be said that Wallace foresaw the creation of National Health Service . . . --Giacomo Scarpelli, 1992. Nuncius (Italy) 7(1): 128.
Man's Place in the Universe. A. R. Wallace (McClure, Phillips, New York, 1903). A famous coauthor of Darwin's discovery anticipated in the last chapter of his book almost all versions of modern AP [the Anthropic Principle] . . . --Yuri V. Balashov, December 1991. American Journal of Physics 59(12): 1072.
Wallace did not try to explain distribution patterns by invoking the occurrence of unique events but rather by recourse to general principles. For Wallace that general principle was geological change. There are numerous passages in Wallace (1880) that confirm his appreciation of the importance of geological change in understanding distribution patterns in Indonesia. His discussion of the faunal relationship between the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Borneo, Sumatra, and Java is detailed and provides a clear statement of his position. Having noted the overall similarity of this area's flora and fauna to that of India, he continued on the greater similarity of the mammals and birds of Borneo and Sumatra than those of Borneo and Java, and on the high degree of endemism of the Javan fauna . . . --B. Michaux, September 1991. Australian Systematic Botany 4(1): 26.
. . . Although this is a rather brief summary of the distribution patterns that Wallace recognised in Indonesia, it does, I believe, accurately reflect the major patterns he observed. His interpretations of these patterns, based as they were on an incomplete understanding of the dynamic nature of the earth's surface, are only really of historical interest. Wallace's attempt to understand distributional patterns in terms of geological change was doomed from the start because neither he nor anyone else at the time realised that land could move laterally as well as vertically . . . --B. Michaux, September 1991. Australian Systematic Botany 4(1): 27.
Discrimination involves recognition in the signal receiver that a stimulus, or configuration of stimuli, belongs to some discrete category. The importance of design for discriminability has been recognized since Wallace (1867) suggested that distasteful insect larvae '. . . required some distinctive mark, something by which they may be contrasted with and separated from the agreeable larvae, in order that they might be freed from the attacks of birds' and that 'Brilliant colouration would be such a distinction as was required'. Warning colours and patterns should therefore look different from those of the prey for which predators normally hunt . . . --Tim Guilford & Marian Stamp Dawkins, July 1991. Animal Behaviour 42(1): 5.
Successive generations of evolutionary biologists, beginning with August Weismann and Alfred R. Wallace, have refined our understanding of the evolution of senescence to the point where we now have pretty good reason to believe that in a species like our own aging occurs because natural selection places higher priority on turning out progeny to carry our genes forward than on keeping individuals going; in effect, late survival is sacrificed for reproduction. Extending through a more diverse range of reproductive patterns, the burgeoning discipline of evolutionary life-history theory provides us with the intellectual framework to approach questions like why some species get only a single shot at reproduction (semelparity) while other get more (iteroparity) and why species differ in their longevities . . . --Caleb E. Finch, 28 June 1991. Science 252(5014): 1864.
. . . In Wallace there was support for the nationalization of land and for the economic emancipation of women. The latter reform he actually justified in evolutionary terms, thereby giving rise to a form of social Wallaceism. His point was that women were currently prevented, by their social and economic disadvantages, from fully exercising their selective role in the choice of mate. Although he sometimes felt that Darwin attached too great an importance to sexual selection in the mechanics of evolution, Wallace was nevertheless convinced that female emancipation could only benefit posterity . . . --John Hedley Brooke, 1991. In his Science and Religion; Some Historical Perspectives (Cambridge University Press): 294-295.
. . . The sheer improbability of the emergence of man deeply impressed Alfred Russel Wallace. Contingency had piled upon contingency with each critical stage in evolutionary divergence. In a book written late in life, Man's Place in the Universe (1903), he turned the argument against physicists and astronomers who were scouring the heavens for planets having a physical environment comparable with that of the earth and on which intelligent life might be presumed to have evolved. Properly understood, Wallace argued, the theory of evolution told against such a possibility--certainly against the emergence of intelligence akin to human. However close the physico-chemical environment to that on earth, it was inconceivable that the evolutionary process on other worlds could have followed the same nuanced path as on earth. One minor deviation at an early stage and the whole process would take an entirely different course . . . --John Hedley Brooke, 1991. In his Science and Religion; Some Historical Perspectives (Cambridge University Press): 315.
Wallace's scientific case rested on his conclusion that the human brain, including that of the most primitive peoples, was more powerful than was necessary for survival. For a large part of his early life Wallace had lived among primitive peoples in South America and Southeast Asia, an experience that convinced him that these people, simple as they have appeared in mind and action, were equal in intelligence to Europeans. As the modern anthropologist Loren Eiseley remarked, Wallace displayed "scarcely a trace of the racial superiority so frequently manifested in nineteenth-century scientific circles," in which were included Darwin and Thomas Huxley. If human beings possessed brain capacities beyond what was needed for survival, Wallace reasoned, then how could natural selection bring about its evolution? Where was the "survival value" of that capacity if that capacity was not fully used? After all, natural selection improved an organ only through its adaptation to the pressure of environment. In the case of the human brain, however, the capacity was greater than human beings really required or that the pressure of environment could account for. Wallace logically concluded on those grounds that "some higher intelligence directed the process by which the human race was developed." . . . --Carl N. Degler, 1991. In his In Search of Human Nature; The Decline and Revival of Darwinism in American Social Thought (Oxford University Press): 60.
. . . It will be recalled that Darwin could find no useful value in the physical (racial) differences among human groups. Thus he could not account for those differences through the operation of natural selection. He did, however, accept the common anthropological view of the time that the differences in levels of culture or civilization which occurred among the diverse peoples of the world derived from differences in their biological capacities. Some cultures were higher than others because the people in those societies were biologically superior. That was the opening in his theory of human evolution through which racism entered. It was that opening which Wallace closed with his conception of the intellectual equality and therefore the equal cultural capacity of all peoples. As things turned out, Wallace looked to other ways and matters in his effort to make evolution less competitive and threatening. He did not develop any further his assertion of the mental equality of all peoples, or at least few took notice of its relevance. Yet that was the precise argument, elaborated and tirelessly defended, that undermined in time the concept of racism in America. Its elaboration and defense underpinned the concept of culture, an idea that in the twentieth century became not only an alternative to a racial explanation for human behavioral differences but also a central concept in social science . . . --Carl N. Degler, 1991. In his In Search of Human Nature; The Decline and Revival of Darwinism in American Social Thought (Oxford University Press): 61.
. . . Wallace's supernatural explanation gained few followers among social scientists in the second half of the twentieth century, but his assertion of the special, indeed unique, nature of man, because of his brain, continued to influence many, directly or indirectly. The eminent modern American anthropologist Loren Eiseley, for example was among them. His sympathetic response to Wallace reflects the views of many other American social scientists today. Eiseley did not doubt that Wallace has a better understanding of the roots of human nature than Darwin. In his book Darwin's Century, Eiseley contrasted Darwin's conception with that of Wallace. "The mind of man, by indetermination, by the power of choice and cultural communication," he wrote, "is on the verge of escape from the blind control of that deterministic world with which the Darwinists had unconsciously shackled man. The inborn characteristics laid upon him by the biological extremists have crumbled away," he was relieved to report. In Eiseley's judgement, Wallace stood out among evolutionists of his own time because he recognized even then that human beings had escaped from biological evolution. "Wallace saw and saw correctly, that with the rise of man the evolution of parts was to a marked degree outmoded, that mind was now the arbiter of human destiny." . . . --Carl N. Degler, 1991. In his In Search of Human Nature; The Decline and Revival of Darwinism in American Social Thought (Oxford University Press): 330.
Wallace (1865) hypothesized that sex-limited mimicry, in which palatable females are the only sex to mimic unpalatable butterflies, arises because females fly more slowly than males and hence are more vulnerable to predation. Our results from the within-lineage analyses are in agreement with Wallace's hypothesis. Evolutionarily, palatable males have larger thoraces, maximizing flight muscle, and smaller abdomens, minimizing load on the wings, probably to maximize flight speed; whereas females have retained large abdomens, probably to maximize egg load. Counter-selection for fecundity may operate against faster flight speeds, and females may be reproductively constrained to evolve alternative means of avoiding predation, such as mimicry. If females fly more slowly, they may be predisposed to fly like an unpalatable model . . . --Robert Srygley & Peng Chai, 11 October 1990. Oecologia 84(4): 498.
. . . there simply weren't any lists of Darwinian tenets that would have been accepted by all the leading Darwinians and rejected by all the main non-Darwinians in the first decade or so following the publication of the Origin. Both the Darwinians Charles Lyell and Asa Gray and the non-Darwinians the Duke of Argyll and St. George Mivart, for example, thought that natural selection must be supplemented by some sort of "directing force" in order to account for the relevant phenomena, while Darwin consistently denied the need for such an additional mechanism (Argyll 1877; Gray 1884; Mivart 1871). Conversely, neither the Darwinians Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Lyell nor the non-Darwinians St. George Mivart and William Whewell thought that human beings could be included under the same explanatory scheme (whatever this might be) that was used to account for the history and behavior of "lower" animals, while Darwin maintained that they could . . . --Doren Recker, September 1990. Philosophy of Science 57(3): 463.
The efforts to denigrate Darwin serve only to conceal the real differences between the two naturalists' approach to transmutation. Careful reading of Wallace's paper reveals that in several important respects his theory failed to duplicate the essence of Darwin's thinking. Wallace had no interest in artificial selection and refused to treat it as analogous to the natural process even in later years. His mechanism did not even address the basic question of how selection acts on individual differences to change a population, because he was interested in how one well-marked variety (what we now call a subspecies) could replace others. Once it is recognized that in writing of natural selection acting on varieties Wallace was thinking of subspecies rather than individual variations, it can be seen that his paper does not contain a description of what Darwin saw as the basic mechanism of change. Wallace simply assumed that species split into varieties--he did not seek to explain how this all-important first step occurs. It has also been suggested that Wallace failed to appreciate the full power of selection because he treated the varieties as struggling against nature, not struggling against each other . . . --Peter J. Bowler, 1990. In his Charles Darwin; The Man and His Influence (Basil Blackwell): 113.
. . . Wallace's Darwinism of 1889 provided a clear and comprehensive survey of the theory and of the relevant areas of biology. Except in the case of the origin of the human mind, Wallace was an extreme selectionist; unlike Darwin, he would have nothing to do with any other mechanism of evolution. This position soon became known as 'neo-Darwinism' to distinguish it from the more flexible form of the theory which Darwin himself had advocated and which had gained support precisely because it allowed selection to be relegated to the status of a secondary mechanism . . . --Peter J. Bowler, 1990. In his Charles Darwin; The Man and His Influence (Basil Blackwell): 210.
The good parent process is a mechanism for the evolution of epigamic traits that is distinct from the Fisherian process and the good genes process. In the good parent process, direct selection on females to discriminate among males on the basis of male parental quality leads to the evolution of a trait that provides female with honest (accurate and precise) information regarding the non-heritable component of parental quality in a potential mate. Wallace (1891, 1901) recognized the potential of such a mechanism, but he had no way to consider rigorously the effects of inheritance. The good parent process is also different from Darwinian sexual selection (Darwin 1871), because females are not necessarily attracted by a good parent trait. A trait that evolves via the good parent process only enhances the attractiveness of high-quality males . . . --Guy A. Hoelzer, December 1989. Animal Behaviour 38(6): 1075.
Since Wallace (1889), a number of authors have argued that isolating barriers could be positively selected for their isolating property to prevent the formation of hybrids and to actively promote divergence and speciation. However, being a second order effect, the selective forces are likely to be weak, and, as Levin points out, in practice it is going to be very difficult to distinguish this effect from other forms of competition and selection . . . --Mark R. Macnair, February 1989. Genome 31(1): 204-205.
Wallace, on the other hand, insisted on the validity of the "uniform and consistent testimony of our senses". It is complete fallacy, so he argued, that only propositions could be demonstrated and phenomena could not be. "The direct testimony of the educated senses guided by reason was of higher validity than any complex results of reason alone." According to Wallace, testimony was trustworthy if the witness was in full possession of the senses and in agreement with the reports of other witnesses. Was it really true, asked Wallace rhetorically, that a member of the House of Peers like Lord Lyndsay--who had recently converted to spiritualism--"can not be trusted as a faithful witness?" If the witness were insane or deluded, Wallace argued, they would also be unable to use Carpenter's mathematical reasoning . . . --Roy J. DeCarvalho, January 1989. Journal of Religion and Psychical Research 12(1): 22.
The modern Darwinian theory of evolution is defective in that it does not even recognize the extraordinary problem that is presented by living organisms acquiring mental experiences of a non-material kind that are in another world from the world of matter-energy, which formerly was globally comprehensive. The Cartesian solution is not generally acceptable, namely, that human beings have conscious experiences that are attributable to the Divine creation of souls, and that higher animals are merely machine-like automata devoid of mental experiences. Likewise the panpsychist evasion of the problem is not acceptable. It is disturbing that evolutionists have largely ignored the tremendous enigma that is presented to their materialistic theory by the emergence of mentality in the animal evolution . . . I believe that the emergence of consciousness is a skeleton in the cupboard of orthodox evolutionism. At the same time it is recognized that, although the holistic concept gives meaning to the emergence of consciousness, it provides no explanation of this emergence. It remains just as enigmatic as it is to an orthodox evolutionist as long as it is regarded as an exclusively natural process in an exclusively materialist world . . . --John C. Eccles, 1989. In his Evolution of the Brain: Creation of the Self (Routledge): 176.
. . . Nature still presented a gory spectacle; and people of faith still had to wonder at the divine power that would use such means. Hence, Wallace comes to repeat the position Darwin flirted with above: denial of pain and suffering as a means of vindicating the goodness of nature. In his 1911 chapter "Is Nature Cruel?" he offers again the answer that nature is not cruel because most animals simply do not suffer. Wallace cautions that one must not read one's own sensations into the animal world: that "anything approaching to what we term 'pain' was unknown" to most animals. They "probably suffer nothing at all when being devoured." He goes further to assert (very strongly) that "birds, mice, squirrels, and the like, do not get limbs broken by falls, as we do," and that, in sum, "whatever pain exists is not long-continued" (Wallace 1911, 404-405) . . . --David Oates, December 1988. Zygon 23(4): 445.
Darwin's response is, on the face of it, rather puzzling. Why did he not protest Wallace's assertion that selection works principally through the elimination of unfavorable variants? Historians generally agree that the acknowledgment of selection as a negative force--removing inferior variants and thus maintaining the "type"--long predated Darwin. In this perspective, Darwin's achievement lay in his recognition that selection was "a creative process and not merely a sieve." But there is no evidence that his dissents from Wallace's essentially negative view. Perhaps historians' radical distinction between natural selection as a creative force and as executioner of the unfit--that is, as "nature's broom"--was not recognized by Darwin . . . --Diane B. Paul, Fall 1988. Journal of the History of Biology 21(3): 417-418.
The Great American Interchange was first recognized by Wallace (1876), but it has taken another hundred years of intense paleontological study by Ameghino, Matthew, Scott, Patterson, Simpson, Webb, and others to clarify patterns of dispersal. It is only during the last decade, moreover, that greater precision in dating the sediments containing interchange taxa has provided a firm time frame for various aspects of the event. It is now possible to assess the interchange in detail, and to analyze the tempo and mode of dispersal and the rates of extinction and origination in successive faunas through time. As a result, the Great American Interchange represents the best-documented example in the fossil record of the intermingling of two long-separated continental faunas . . . --Larry G. Marshall, July-August 1988. American Scientist 76(4): 380.
. . . "I should be extremely glad now to publish a sketch of general views in about a dozen pages or so; but I cannot persuade myself that I can do so honourably. Wallace says nothing about publication, and I enclose his letter. But as I had not intended to publish any sketch, can I do so honourably, because Wallace has sent me an outline of his doctrine? I would far rather burn my whole book, than that he or any other man should think that I had behaved in a paltry spirit. Do you not think his having sent me this sketch ties my hands? I do not in least believe that that [sic] he originated his views from anything which I wrote to him" [Darwin's words] . . . --Barbara G. Beddall, Spring 1988. Journal of the History of Biology 21(1): 52.
. . . In the narrow focus espoused both by the participants in the events leading up to and including the "joint papers," and by their successors, priority in this case has been treated as a "single event," a zero-sum game with winners and losers, an occasion when "editorial manipulation" and "delicate arrangements" could be invoked. But, as seen above, the matter is far more complex than this approach would indicate. It requires a broader perspective in which the enormous contributions made by both Darwin and Wallace can be recognized. In game theory this would be a non-zero-sum game, where both Darwin and Wallace benefited from the work of the other, thus becoming codiscoverers of the theory of evolution by means of natural selection. If this interpretation of the events is rejected, the status of the matter reverts to a zero-sum game, which brings back with it not only its winners and losers, but also the problems of "editorial manipulation" and "delicate arrangements," as posed by Kohn and Nelson . . . --Barbara G. Beddall, Spring 1988. Journal of the History of Biology 21(1): 62.
Strangely enough, it was A. R. Wallace, not Darwin, who suggested an explicit associative hypothesis integrating learning theory with natural selection. In a paper entitled "On the Origin of Food Aversion Paradigms," Garcia and Hankins present the case for a Darwin-Wallace conditioning theory initiated in 1866 and experimentally verified by 1887. Their theory was actively generating research 2 decades before Pavlov began his studies in classical conditioning, and 3 decades before Thorndike presented his thesis on instrumental conditioning. This pioneer effort culminated in today's research area, narrowly labeled "conditioned taste aversion." More broadly considered, this paradigm is representative of homeostatic conditioning which Tolman (1949) called "cathexis"; when responding to survival needs, organisms come to cherish one particular type of food and drink, or one given type of mate, and to abhor others . . . --Robert C. Bolles & Michael D. Beecher, eds., 1988. In their Evolution and Learning (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates): 29.
. . . Wallace had traveled widely in South America and the South Pacific as a naturalist and collector of exotic specimens. His observations of native peoples had convinced him that the intellectual and moral faculties required by the aboriginal way of life were not markedly different from those needed by mammals generally to survive in their respective ecological situations. Yet aborigines brought to England and educated there had the capacity to acquire the behavioral sophistication of modern Europeans. Thus, aborigines had moral and intellectual capacities far exceeding the immediate requirements of the environments in which they had evolved. Therefore the intellectual capacities of primitive man, and by implication modern man, could not be the result of natural selection . . . --Robert C. Bolles & Michael D. Beecher, 1988. In their Evolution and Learning (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates): 41.
The adaptive nature of warning, or 'aposematic' colour patterns seemed clear a century ago (Wallace, 1867, 1878; Poulton, 1890), but recently it has been debated whether 'individual' natural selection may explain their initial evolution. Fisher (1930) had earlier suggested a similar problem with the evolution of unpalatability. Previous explanations depend purely on selection to explain the evolution of warning colours. Here we propose that drift, combined with natural selection, may also be important . . . --James Mallet & Michael C. Singer, December 1987. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 32(4): 338.
. . . Although mimicry strongly suggests that colour patterns are used as warning signals, there is only anecdotal evidence that warning colours are easier to learn than non-warning colours. Traditionally, it has been assumed that the bright colours of unpalatable insects are more efficient signals (Wallace, 1867, 1878). Birds seem to learn to avoid conspicuous prey more easily, and humans use bright colours in warning signs. However unpalatable insects could be brightly coloured for other reasons . . . --James Mallet & Michael C. Singer, December 1987. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 32(4): 338.
. . . In the pages of the Encyclopedia Britannica, over several editions, Alfred Russel Wallace argued the case for acclimatization. He was more careful than most, at that stage, in distinguishing between domestication, naturalization and acclimatization. And yet arguing from first evolutionary principles and from plant and animal biogeography, he urged that "numerous facts in the distribution of races show that man must, in remote ages at least, have been capable of constitutional adaptation to climate". In more recent times, the migrations of the Jews, and the settlement of the Dutch in South Africa, the English-speaking peoples in America and Australia, and the Spanish in South America all demonstrated that complete acclimatization was entirely possible . . . --David N. Livingstone, December 1987. History of Science 25(4): 381.
. . . But now that the monogenist thesis had triumphed, acclimatization followed as a natural consequence. Similar deductions were drawn by A.R. Wallace: "numerous facts in the distribution of races show that man must, in remote ages at least, have been capable of constitutional adaptation to climate" he urged. Hence, "if the human race constitutes a single species, then the mere fact that man now inhabits every region, and is in each case constitutionally adapted to the climate, proves that acclimatization has occurred." . . . --David N. Livingstone, December 1987. History of Science 25(4): 386.
Wallace's view was kindred in spirit to Henry George's Progress and Poverty (1879), although Wallace had less regard for the market. Both saw man as needing land. Their mutual disapproval of Parnellism brought them together, and both submerged methodological differences to further their common concept. Wallace gave him a platform when George toured Britain. Wallace cast George as a theorist who confirmed Wallace's inductive argument, perhaps underrating George's journalistic background. For many years single tax and land nationalization were closely linked by friend and foe . . . --Mason Gaffney, 1987. In John Eatwell, Murray Milgate & Peter Newman, eds., The New Palgraves: A Dictionary of Economics (Macmillan), Volume 4: 850.
According to both Spencer and Wallace, a natural principle of evolution inexorably led to the moral perfection of man. Wallace, of course, had a different principle in mind than Spencer's device of adaptation through the inherited effects of habit. He nonetheless believed that the principle of natural selection would add further support to Spencer's primary vision, the view that man's moral character was not only a goal of evolution, but also a chief means of progress toward the perfection of human nature . . . --Robert J. Richards, 1987. In his Darwin and the Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behavior (University of Chicago Press): 165-166.
. . . Evolutionary theory, as Darwin himself admitted in the Origin, remained mute concerning how life and consciousness first arose in the universe; it could only account for subsequent transformations. Just so, Wallace now proclaimed, natural selection brought no clear perception of the origins of specifically human intellect and moral feeling. He was persuaded that these distinctive capacities must have originated under the influence of higher powers, intelligences who shepherded the progressive development of mind through the ages . . . --Robert J. Richards, 1987. In his Darwin and the Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behavior (University of Chicago Press): 178.
. . . Contemporary primitives and our ancestors thus had latent mental qualities that could not be explained by natural selection, which demanded that selected traits confer immediate advantage, not simply promise it. Wallace's contacts with the spirit world convinced him that higher intelligences rather than natural selection controlled human evolution. Wallace forthrightly claimed that a conversion to spiritualism proximately caused his rejection of natural selection as an adequate principle to explain human evolution; and virtually all historians have taken him at his word. But we need not. For after all, Wallace might well have chosen to regard natural selection as the disposing instrument of higher spiritual powers and to have held survival of the fittest as a secondary cause . . . --Robert J. Richards, 1987. In his Darwin and the Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behavior (University of Chicago Press): 181.
. . . Huxley tarried only a short while over Wallace's demur about natural selection in the case of man. He derived from Wallace's own writings about savage life descriptions of the extraordinary mental feats such life actually required--knowledge of a vast territory, reading signs of game or enemies, discovery of properties of plants and habits of animals, and so forth. "In complexity and difficulty," Huxley estimated, "the intellectual labour of a 'good hunter or warrior' considerably exceeds that of an ordinary Englishman." Wallace had simply miscalculated the brain power the savage actually needed for survival; thus neither primitive man nor modern native likely had in excess what could be delivered by natural selection or augmented by entering into civilized life. On the question of the moral sense, Huxley could "find nothing in Mr. Wallace's reasonings which has not already been met by Mr. Mill, Mr. Spencer, or Mr. Darwin." . . . --Robert J. Richards, 1987. In his Darwin and the Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behavior (University of Chicago Press): 227.
And in The Growth of Biological Thought Ernst Mayr comments: "In his letter, Wallace said that if Darwin thought his paper sufficiently novel and interesting, he should send it to Lyell and, presumably, submit it for publication (the original Wallace letter is no longer in existence)." But it is clear that Wallace did not ask Darwin to arrange for publication. Unfortunately, as Mayr notes, the letter that accompanied Wallace'1s paper is lost. However, we have Darwin's word for it that there was no such instruction. On the same day that Wallace's paper arrived, Darwin wrote an anguished letter to Lyell, in which he refers to Wallace's "MS, which he does not say he wishes me to publish". Then, a week later, he wrote to Lyell again, to express his misgivings about Lyell's and Hooker's plan. One of his reasons for worrying was that "Wallace says nothing about publication". Why should such distinguished writers as Ruse and Mayr make this particular mistake? This is the kind of error that might perhaps follow from a moral presumption. It seems wrong to publish someone's work, without consulting him, in a forum he has not approved. Thus, if we are assuming that Darwin and his friends acted properly, it will be natural to assume that Wallace must have asked that his paper be published. But in fact he did not . . . --James Rachels, Summer 1986. National Forum 66(3): 24.
The concept of r- and K-selection is intuitively reasonable and indeed there is much circumstantial evidence from both macroecology and microbial ecology that it exists. The seminal ideas were contributed largely by Dobzhansky (1950), who compared evolution in the tropics and temperate latitudes. Actually, it is usually overlooked that the great naturalist Wallace (1878), in his remarks on tropical plant and animal life, anticipated many of Dobzhansky's conclusions. Dobzhansky surmised that adaptation in the species-rich tropics is primarily to a harsh biological environment, while the fewer species in colder realms have to contend mainly with the physical environment. Put simplistically, the outcome of different evolutionary pressures between the two regions is competitiveness (high K) or productivity (high r), respectively . . . --John H. Andrews & Robin F. Harris, 1986. Advances in Microbial Ecology 9: 104.
. . . there even continued to be one or two plebeians who became recognised leaders in a field. Most famously, though A. R. Wallace . . . was of impoverished gentle family, he had something of a craftsmanly formation, during which he became a life-long Owenite (he died in 1913). Had his fellow-FRSs borne this in mind, they might have been less puzzled by his left-wing politics, his anti-vaccinationism and his plebeian-type spiritualism. A recent historian has plausibly treated him as an import into the later nineteenth century from the 1840s, and we might also see him as an import into prestigious scientific circles from the world of self-taught scientists. His particular route to eminence involved much specimen-hunting but no diploma-hunting, much jungle-fever but no exam-fever . . . --Logie Barrow, 1986. In his Independent Spirits; Spiritualism and English Plebeians, 1850-1910 (Routledge & Kegan Paul): 153.
. . . Darwin and Wallace defended a programme of theoretical research by appeal to the superior coherence and fecundity of their programme. The appeal to superior coherence took place on two levels. At a substantive level they argued that their programme promised the discovery of relevantly similar natural forces for the explanation of relevantly similar natural phenomena. At an epistemic level they claimed coherence in their use of biogeographical and geological evidence and coherence in the application of the epistemic desideratum of scrutability. As Wallace had suggested, the appeal to coherence at substantive and epistemic levels is justified by the overall aim of science to construe its subject matter as maximally accessible to investigation and as maximally decidable by acceptable argument. The appeal to superior fecundity can also be justified as instrumental to the achievement of these aims . . . --Scott A. Kleiner, December 1985. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 36(4): 391.
The allopatric model of speciation proposes that populations diverge genetically during a period of isolation either by drift, differential selection or different responses to similar selection pressures. When the barrier to dispersal is removed, this divergence may have led to premating reproductive isolation, post-mating isolation or both. Only if there is complete assortative mating, hybrid inviability or hybrid infertility will the two new taxa be able to coexist without exchanging genes and only if there is at least some premating reproductive isolation will they be able to invade on another's territory. Otherwise a hybrid zone is expected to form. Premating isolation may evolve, or be strengthened, in the hybrid zone because heterogametic matings produce unfit offspring--as first proposed by Wallace (1889) and subsequently incorporated into speciation theory by Dobzhansky (1940). However, this 'reinforcement' of premating isolating mechanisms is a contentious idea . . . --R. K. Butlin & G. M. Hewitt, November 1985. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 26(3): 269-270.
In contrast, Alfred Russel Wallace (1864), the co-discoverer of natural selection, stressed that group selection (i.e. selection not between individuals, but between groups) played an important role, at least among human beings. Describing the process of human evolution, he wrote: "In proportion as physical characteristics become of less importance, mental and moral qualities will have increasing importance to the well-being of a race. Capacity for acting in concern for the protection of food and shelter; sympathy, which leads all in turn to assist each other; the sense of right, which checks depredation upon our fellows . . . are all qualities that from earliest appearance must have been for the benefit of each community, and would therefore have become objects of natural selection." . . . --Umberto Melotti, Summer 1985. The Mankind Quarterly 25(4): 324.
This is not meant to demean Darwin. In addition to his genius, Darwin was a warm, liberal man for his times: opposed to slavery, in favor of electoral reform, and concerned for the oppressed. But he was, in some areas, of his times and not very far ahead of them. For many scientists of the day, the existent native peoples were virtual "missing links." It was only through work in Wallace's tradition that "the Negro's skull is no longer placed on the lecturer's table between that of the gorilla and the Caucasian". At the time, Wallace's belief in the ultimate intellectual potential of native peoples must have seemed bizarre beyond reason . . . --Stephen E. Glickman, 1985/1992. In Sigmund Koch & David E. Leary, eds., A Century of Psychology as Science (American Psychological Association): 750.
. . . Less than a year later he wrote the first of two papers that together presented, in brief but complete form, a theory of evolution by natural selection. While the second paper, written three years later, postulated natural selection in variable populations as the mechanism by which species originated, the first paper (Wallace 1855) analyzed the significance of extinction within evolving lineages in producing all of the known patterns of organic distribution in time and space. It must be emphasized that this paper was the first published statement to appreciate the importance of the extinction of intermediates in a species lineage in creating the oft-observed gaps in taxonomic affinities, as well as those in distribution in both space and time. This meant that the observed placement of organisms in the regions of the globe was not the result of supernatural forces and divine objectives, but of the natural phenomena of extinction and species transmutation (or evolution.) . . . --John L. Brooks, 1985. Earth Sciences History 4(2): 115.
In his discussion of the debate between Darwin and Wallace, Mayr has claimed, "they used the term 'sterility' where we would use the term 'isolating mechanisms'." If this were the case, then Darwin advocated the incidental origin of reproductive isolation mechanisms, Wallace their origin by natural selection. Grant has gone on to suggest that it would be "fitting and desirable" to call the selective origin of reproductive isolation mechanisms the "Wallace effect". There can be no question that some late nineteenth-century naturalists did use the word "sterility" where evolutionists now use "reproductive isolation mechanisms". But I would argue that in their debate Darwin and Wallace meant what we do by "sterility". The distinction Wallace drew in point 6 of his 1 March 1868 letter between "disinclination to cross-unions" and "sterility" certainly supports his view. Consequently Wallace was not proposing the selective origin of reproductive isolation mechanisms in general, but rather the selective origin of the particular post-mating mechanisms of cross- and hybrid sterility. Since, according to current theory, these forms of sterility are precisely the types of reproductive isolation that cannot be produced by selection, the Darwin-Wallace debate provides little historical justification for the term "Wallace effect". The present view on the origin of sterility is essentially Darwin's view of an incidental origin. Furthermore, during the debate it was Darwin not Wallace who recognized the possibility of the selective origin of pre-mating reproductive isolation ("disinclination to cross"), while rejecting the selective origin of cross- and hybrid sterility . . . --Malcolm Jay Kottler, 1985. In David Kohn, ed., The Darwinian Heritage (Princeton University Press): 416-417.
Our idea--and the support for it we have found thus far--points to the need for renewed examination of the effects of avian parasites and diseases on their hosts. If females are indeed choosing males that appear to be advertising their freedom from parasites, and if showy plumes and melodious voices have evolved from such a prosaic and down-to-earth cause, perhaps even Alfred Wallace might be mollified . . . --Marlene Zuk, April 1984. Natural History 93(4): 34.
"That excellent results may be obtained from a consideration of the habits and characters of the living bird is, we think, shown in Mr. Wallace's arrangement of the order Passeres. His remarks were published in 1856; but, if we mistake not, many of his suggestions have been more or less adopted in that part of Professor Owen's classification which relates to the same group. His conclusions, moreover, generally harmonize with the improvements proposed by Eyton and Nitzsch before him, and Blanchard and others after him, on anatomical groups; as also with what we consider to be the best features in Bonaparte's scheme" [passage quoted from an anonymous author] . . . --John L. Brooks, 1984. In his Before the Origin (Columbia University Press): 124.
. . .The explanation of the virtual faunal identity was revealed by the discovery of clear physiographic evidence that the sea between Aru and New Guinea had been created by recent subsidence--recent in geological time. This discovery provided Wallace with a geographic situation of the kind he had sought since his Amazonian days. According to his theory, only a slight change in the organic world should be manifest following a recent physiographic change. The species of birds, mammals, and insects he found in Aru were identical to those described for New Guinea, with the sole exception of the Ornithoptera. The Aru form was distinct, but minimally so, from O. poseidon, described from New Guinea. Observation thus confirmed the theory . . . --John L. Brooks, 1984. In his Before the Origin (Columbia University Press): 172.
Wallace's demonstration that man's tools (including language) removed his body from the realm of evolutionary specialization that operates inexorably elsewhere was recognized immediately as a turning point in the scientific study of man. His paper was intended as a vehicle for applying natural selection to a wide range of concerns--the antiquity of man, racial superiority, man's taxonomic rank--with the clear implication that human mental and moral attributes would also be subsumed under a strict evolutionary naturalism . . . --Martin Fichman, 1984. In Everett Mendelsohn, ed., Transformation and Tradition in the Sciences; Essays in Honor of I. Bernard Cohen (Cambridge University Press): 475.
A final, important difference separates Wallace from Dyson and most modern supporters of the anthropic principle. Our contemporary advocates develop their arguments and then present their conclusion--that mind designed the universe, in part so that intelligent life might evolve within it--as a necessary and logical inference. Wallace was far too good a historical scientist to indulge in such fatuous certainty; he understood only too well that ordered and complex outcomes can arise from accumulated improbabilities . . . --Stephen Jay Gould, May 1983. Natural History 92(5): 38.
Avian selection on females might be stronger than that on males for a variety of reasons. First, birds might preferentially select females if they were larger, more valuable (e.g. because they contain eggs or embryos), or more easily captured than males. Wallace originally proposed a version of this hypothesis to account for female-biased polymorphisms in butterflies. He suggested that female butterflies might be more vulnerable to predators because they are laden with eggs and fly more slowly. Recently, it has been shown that birds do preferentially select female cicadas, which are less vagile and more nutritious than males. Even if birds did not discriminate between the sexes in prey species, selection on females might still be more intense if avian predators encountered or noticed more females than males. Female-biased encounter rates could result if the sex ratios of adult prey were heavily skewed towards females, if females occurred more often in microhabitats frequented by predators, or if females engaged in behaviors that made them more conspicuous than males. The differential predation hypothesis would be supported if birds ate females more frequently than males; it can be refuted if males completely lack protective patterns but are still eaten by birds . . . --J. A. Stamps & S. M. Gon III, 1983. Annual Review of Ecology & Systematics 14: 233-234.
After collecting briefly near Singapore, Wallace went to Sarawak to meet its celebrated White Rajah, Sir James Brooke. St. John, Brooke's secretary and biographer, has written: "We had at this time the famous naturalist, traveller and philosopher, Alfred Russel Wallace, who was then elaborating in his mind the theory that was simultaneously worked out by Darwin--the theory of the origin of species; if he could not convince us that our ugly neighbours, the orang-utans, were our ancestors, he pleased, instructed and delighted us by his clever and inexhaustible flow of talk--really good talk" (Life of Sir James Brooke, 1890). So much for the quiet, shy man . . . --Ralph E. Bernstein, 3 June 1982. New Scientist 94: 653.
I believe that study of specimens and field observations in New Guinea presently warrant two conclusions. First, orioles are indeed mimics of friarbirds, as Wallace postulated over a century ago. The case for mimicry is much stronger than Wallace realized: he had seen only two of the eight sets of populations that we now know . . . --Jared M. Diamond, April 1982. The Auk 99(2): 193.
. . . Spencer, wrote Wallace, was misconceiving natural selection. It does not work by favouring 'any special bone, or muscle, or limb . . . but by the selection of the capacities or qualities.' By 'capacities or qualities' Wallace meant things like strength or speed. Wallace maintained that artificial selection works in the same way. The breeder selects for qualities such as quickness, not for particular variations of bones. 'The two modes of selection are thus strictly analogous and strictly comparable.' He further insisted that natural selection is not limited by the supply of variation because 'as a matter of fact, there is a sufficiency of useful variation always present in each succeeding generation to increase any required life-preserving quality, all theoretical objections to the contrary notwithstanding.' Artificial selection is not the 'point after point' improvement of organs; both modes of selection transform structures as a whole, by selecting for a capacity. Each step in the selection of a capacity would produce an improvement so Romanes' and Spencer's criticism would not apply . . . --Mark Ridley, March 1982. British Journal for the History of Science 15(1): 61.
Careful consideration of both theories shows quite readily their differences in emphasis. Darwin was theorizing as to why males were brightly coloured. All Wallace (1891) could offer that pertained directly to this point was the vitalistic argument that male colour was due to "great vigour and health and generally higher vitality". Wallace in his Theory of Bird's Nests, had a perfectly reasonable hypothesis as to why females are dull--not the same question Darwin was trying to answer . . . --R. B. Aiken, 1982. Quaestiones Entomologicae 18(1-4): 8.
. . . But what of Wallace? He was not as involved in the question of aesthetic taste of females as he was in the question of animal colouration. Interestingly enough, criticisms from Wallace focused on ambiguity in the argument about female aesthetic sense. The process by which female choice was effected was not made clear. Most discussion revolved around the issue of whether females were exercising some conscious choice or were being excited by and yielding to a male. Was it selecting or succumbing? Darwin (1871) originally thought it was selection. He states: "No doubt this implies powers of discrimination and taste on the part of the female . . ." Wallace (1891, 1901) objected to this notion of conscious choice, returning again and again to the admonition that female choice could not be shown in nature. Wallace stated that while female birds may be excited by a display of decorative plumage, there was no reason to suppose that this conferred a mating advantage. It is difficult to understand Wallace's reasoning in the light of his own ideas. He stated that colour and ornament are concomitant with vigour and general health and that it is the most healthy, persistent males that will mate. Differences between Darwin and Wallace seem to be a matter of mechanism rather than basic principles . . . --R. B. Aiken, 1982. Quaestiones Entomologicae 18(1-4): 10.
To Wallace, Victorian scientists' failure to consider the implications their work held for moral behavior indicated severely misplaced priorities. In Spiritualism's demonstration of the reality of the soul, he himself found a basis for belief in moral as well as material evolution. Scientists' refusal to address so important a matter, Wallace believed, revealed an amoral materialism and, as such, outright dereliction of scientific duty . . . --John J. Cerullo, 1982. In his The Secularization of the Soul; Psychical Research in Modern Britain (Institute for the Study of Human Issues): 28.
Wallace states his thesis with extraordinary clarity: "There is a general principle in nature which will cause many varieties to survive the parent species, and to give rise to successive variations, departing further and further from the original type. The language in which this observation is presented is rather typological; Wallace's conclusion, however, clearly contradicts Lyell's claim that "varieties have strict limits, and can never vary more than a small amount away from the original type." The most important aspect of Wallace's analysis is that he carefully stayed away from the quagmire of the morphological controversy on species and varieties but based his conclusion on a rather strictly ecological argument. He concluded that population size of a species is not at all determined by fertility but by natural checks on potential population increase. An enormous number of animals must die each year to keep the number constant, and "those that die must be the weakest--the very young, the aged, and the diseased--while those that prolong their existence can only be the most perfect in health and vigour--those who are best able to obtain food regularly and avoid their numerous enemies." . . . --Ernst Mayr, 1982. In his The Growth of Biological Thought: Diversity, Evolution, and Inheritance (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press): 495.
Wallace couched his new argument about evolution and man in 1869 not in terms of spiritualism, in which he was unable to interest seriously the majority of his fellow evolutionists, but in terms of utility. He used the essential principle of evolution to deny the evolution of man. To recapitulate, natural selection is a theory of usefulness--traits are selected in individuals because they confer some use to the individual in the struggle for survival. Wallace rejected sexual selection in the name of this principle. But applying now the same principle to man, Wallace argued that many of the traits characteristic of man were in fact of no use when they first arose, and therefore could not have been developed by natural selection . . . --Nancy Stepan, 1982. In her The Idea of Race in Science: Great Britain 1800-1960 (Archon Books): 71.
Interestingly, issues like these must have been a preoccupation of Alfred Russel Wallace a century ago. Wallace, the coauthor of the theory of evolution, reneged on the theory in excluding man from his rightful place on the evolutionary tree. He did so because he could not reconcile (see especially Wallace 1891) the incredible capacity for humans to process information (as evidenced by the accomplishments of a learned man of society in Victorian times) with the fact that such capacity went largely unused throughout the entire period of human evolution (extrapolation based on his observations of "primitive" peoples in what is today Eastern Indonesia.) Wallace's dilemma has never been completely resolved. . . --David F. Lancy & Andrew J. Strathern, December 1981. American Anthropologist 83(4): 790.
Lowell's books about life on Mars provoked Alfred R. Wallace, with Darwin the discoverer of the theory of evolution by natural selection, into analysing the likelihood of the evolution of an intelligent species elsewhere in the Universe. He concluded that it was essentially zero, and thus we are alone in the Universe. His arguments are worth repeating in detail, because although published in 1905 they are exactly the same as those given by modern evolutionists such as Dobzhansky, Simpson, and Mayr. Thus the biological arguments against the evolution of intelligence have not changed in 75 years. The great evolutionists have always been united against ETI. The biologists who have supported ETI have generally been biologists with the viewpoint of a physicist, and lacking the historical sense of the evolutionist. Such men often err in questions about evolutionary biology; in particular they err about questions concerning the probability of the evolution of a species with specified properties, as the recent recombinant DNA debate shows . . . --Frank J. Tipler, June 1981. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 22(2): 140.
Wallace does not show a concern for Darwin's problem with the 'swamping effect', i.e., the dilution and loss of variants from crossing back into the unvaried population. Accordingly we don't find in Wallace's writings Darwin's attempt to explain speciation by isolation. Possibly Wallace concluded swamping could be ignored because by observation permanent varieties/species exist in nature. Thus he might have concluded backcrossing is in fact not significant in nature. Also, as he viewed the line between species as something other than a barrier preventing intermixing, he would not have felt the need to explain how such barriers are effective. Another consideration that subsequently supports Wallace's attitude is implicit in his approach to the theory of natural selection. Unlike Darwin, Wallace used the knowledge of domestic animals against the claim that species are permanent and not to support evolution, as did Darwin. In domestic animals, natural selection tends to favor reversion to original unvaried forms . . . --Scott A. Kleiner, April 1981. Synthese 47(1): 146-147.
. . . To consider now the main problem of concern to Darwin and Wallace, the origin problem, not only is there lacking a decision procedure for determining whether the goal state is reached, but also, as we have argued above, the goal state for why-questions cannot be fully described in advance without actually answering the question. Although Darwin cannot and does not specify in advance the kind of explanatory mechanism he is seeking he is able to say what kind of causal process he does not want, viz., the agent--teleological process of the creationist theories. His goal state can be described only in terms of a few desiderata, viz., a theory consisting of universal laws applicable to all organisms including humans and bringing together a wide variety of previously unconnected facts, and one in which the process of evolution is "gradual" in the sense that it is in conformity with Lyellian uniformitarianism applied to living organisms. Specifically, all large evolutionary changes are to be explained in terms of persistant small incremental changes occurring over a long time, and the law governing these changes are the same throughout geological time even though varying local conditions may produce happenings in the past that are not presently occurring or rather sudden and calamitous effects on local biota . . . --Scott A. Kleiner, April 1981. Synthese 47(1): 154.
A key process in speciation among sexual organisms is the evolution of reproductive isolation. There are essentially two views on the origin of isolating mechanisms . . . The first view, championed by Darwin (1872), holds that isolating mechanisms originate as an incidental by-product of genetic divergence in geographically isolated populations. The second view, argued by Wallace (1889), holds that isolating mechanisms are established by means of natural selection in zones of overlap between incipient species . . . The contemporary view, which holds that premating reproductive barriers (often behavioral) are built up by natural selection in areas of sympatry in order to supercede postmating barriers that arose allopatrically, has come to be known as the Wallace effect. The plausibility of the Wallace effect has been demonstrated by Knight et al. (1956) and by Kessler (1966), who showed that artificial selection could be successful in enhancing premating reproductive isolation in Drosophila. In light of the important role of the Wallace effect in modern speciation theory, it is surprising that the phenomenon has not been studied quantitatively . . . --Stanley Sawyer & Daniel Hartl, April 1981. Theoretical Population Biology 19(2): 261-262.
Some zoologists, like Raven in 1935, considered the validity of Wallace's line on the basis of the proportion of mammals that had crossed the line going east compared with those that had not and came to the conclusion that Wallace's line marked a boundary which was the eastern limit of the great majority of East Indian mammals, like rhinoceroses and elephants. Others made their assessment on the proportion of western and eastern elements to be found on each island in Wallacea. Thus, Rensch in 1935, following Mertens (1934), calculated that 88 per cent of the butterflies were of western origin which was a similar proportion to that found on Lombok and more than twice as high as for the Kai Islands. Following the same line of argument for Austral-Malayan birds, Ernst Mayr calculated that 67.6 per cent of the passerines were from the west and decided that 'there is no doubt, Celebes must be included with the Oriental region' (Mayr, 1944) . . . --Wilma George, 1981. In T. C. Whitmore, ed., Wallace's Line and Plate Tectonics (Oxford University Press): 5.
The notion that islands are somehow different stems from the concerns of naturalists. The observations by Darwin and others that the existence of islands permitted the development of significant variations in plant and animal life formed an important part of the intellectual underpinning of theories of evolution. Thus Wallace, in his study of island life (1880), points out that 'some of the most remarkable and interesting facts in the distribution and affinities of organic forms are presented by islands in relation to each other and to the surrounding continents'. He refers to 'the unexpected relations or singular anomalies which are so often found to characterize the fauna and flora of islands'. More recently, there has been a growing interest in the total ecological balance of islands (already hinted at in Wallace's work) . . . --Percy Selwyn, December 1980. World Development 8(12): 945.
. . . it is interesting to note that in this disagreement there are faint echoes of the other matter which separated Darwin and Wallace at this time: sexual selection through female choice. Darwin wanted to argue that the beauty of, say, the peacock as opposed to the peahen, is a function of the females choosing beautiful males. Wallace argued that the difference is essentially a function of the females being more drab than the males, this drabness coming through the female's need for camouflage from predators as they incubate their eggs and care for their young. In arguing this way, Wallace was certainly not invoking group selection. However, unlike Darwin, who was emphasizing the individual nature of selection by seeing the main competition (at this point) as coming from within the species, Wallace was deemphasizing competition within the group by seeing the threat coming from without . . . --Michael Ruse, November 1980. Annals of Science 37(6): 625.
. . . let us offer solace to the opponents of human sociobiology. If one uncomfortable with a rather extreme individual selectionism, particularly as applied to man, and if one yet wants historical precedent to legitimize one's yearnings, then no less than the sociobiologists can one find the most respectable of intellectual ancestors. One may not be able to claim one of the fathers of evolutionism, but one can claim the other: Alfred Russel Wallace. He was a group selectionist, and moreover he was not prepared to see man treated on a par with other organisms. I certainly do not want to pretend that today's biologists would find convincing the details of Wallace's doubts about the all-sufficiency of individual selection, or that those who criticize human sociobiology grind the same metaphysical axe as did Wallace (although interestingly, politically Wallace was fairly left-wing, as are many of today's critics). But, given Wallace's conclusions, it does seem true to say that the critics of human sociobiology are no less part of the evolutionary tradition than those they criticize! . . . --Michael Ruse, November 1980. Annals of Science 37(6): 630.
. . . this letter . . . reveals in clearer outline the professional relationship between Spruce and Wallace and their mutual but competitive interests in the Palmae: their meeting in the Amazon, the discovery that they had made similar collections in this important family, Spruce's offer to collaborate on the book and Wallace's subsequent refusal. It appears that Spruce was discouraged on learning that Wallace had discovered and intended to name and describe the same palms, primarily those along the Rio Negro, that he had studied. He writes of "relaxing" his study of the palms, in view of the fact that Wallace would return to England and publish his results before Spruce left South America. Clearly, in this instance, Spruce felt botanically somewhat overshadowed by Wallace, whom he considered a distinguished zoologist and friend . . . --Michael J. Balick, September 1980. Botanical Museum Leaflets 28(3): 265.
A major misconception about this debate has become fairly widespread. According to this misconception, Darwin was for sexual selection, while Wallace was against it and for natural selection instead. It is true that from 1876 on, Wallace gave up sexual selection--he rejected female choice completely and interpreted male combat as just a form of natural selection. But the debate between Darwin and Wallace took place in 1867 and 1868, with a brief resumption in 1871 after publication of the Descent of Man. During this earlier period, Wallace fully accepted female choice and male choice, at least in birds. Wherever Darwin invoked female choice or male choice in birds, Wallace invoked it too. In other words, Darwin and Wallace agreed that, in birds, sexual selection was the cause of the coloration of the more brilliantly colored sex. Thus the debate did not come down to all sexual selection on one side and all natural selection on the other. The disagreement with respect to birds centered on the cause of the coloration of the less conspicuous sex . . . --Malcolm Jay Kottler, June 1980. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 124(3): 203-204.
. . . The basic reason for their divergence was Darwin's belief that, although the most common form of inheritance was equal inheritance by both sexes, variations first appearing in one sex were fairly often sex-limited in inheritance from the first. Thus female choice alone, in conjunction with sex-limited inheritance from the first of the variations sexually selected in the male, would produce a conspicuous male and an inconspicuous female; in such cases, natural selection for the sake of protection of the sex in greater danger was unnecessary . . . --Malcolm Jay Kottler, June 1980. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 124(3): 204.
I cannot analyze Wallace's psyche and will not comment on his deeper motives for hewing to the unbridgeable gap between human intellect and the behavior of mere animals. But I can assess the logic of his argument and recognize that the traditional account is not only incorrect, but precisely backward. Wallace did not abandon natural selection at the human threshold. Rather, it was his peculiarly rigid view of natural selection that led him, quite consistently, to reject it for the human mind. His position never varied--natural selection is the only cause of major evolutionary change. His two major debates with Darwin--sexual selection and the origin of human intellect--represent the same argument, not an inconsistent Wallace championing selection in one case and running from it in the other . . . --Stephen Jay Gould, January 1980. Natural History 89(1): 35-36.
. . . Wallace's anthropology closely paralleled his interest in natural ecology. He asked very similar questions about the peoples he encountered to those he asked about other organic forms. These were questions on how well a region could support a population; what were the natural checks on its expansion; the relationship between subsistence and size of population. His other preoccupation was with the geographical distribution of peoples. He put much greater emphasis than Darwin upon the role of geographical isolation in the evolution of species and varieties. Similarly he attributed many of the human racial differences in the Malay area to geographical isolation. Wallace was also interested in the effect on human evolution of that other major plank of natural ecology--migration. He spent some time in the classification of the languages of the Malay region partly for the clues they might reveal about the migration patterns of the peoples in the area . . . --Greta Jones, 1980. In her Social Darwinism and English Thought; The Interaction Between Biological and Social Theory (Humanities Press): 26-27.
[William] James first anticipated some of his mature opinions on race and nationality in an 1865 review of A. R. Wallace's article, "The Origins of the Human Race." Agreeing with Wallace, James held that the races of humanity developed from a common ancestor through natural selection. Race differentiation antedated all but the most rudimentary forms of social organization. But soon every race evolved more elaborate social systems. Natural selection then became more complicated. The environment supported whichever groups acted together; each group protected whichever individuals it valued. Such social selection allowed physically weak people to survive and reproduce so long as they served community ideals. Survival of the weak checked physical evolution. Further progress then had to be mental and moral . . . --Larry C. Miller, Fall 1979. American Quarterly 31(4): 539.
A widely held generalization about tropical tree species is that most occur at very low adult densities and are of relatively uniform dispersion, such that adult individuals of the tree species are thinly and evenly distributed in space. If true, this generalization has potentially profound consequences for the reproductive biology, population structure, and evolution of tropical tree species. In this article the adequacy of this generalization is judged with respect to a particular tropical forest, a large tract of which has been mapped in detail. The origins of this generalization can be traced back at least to Wallace . . . --Stephen P. Hubbell, 30 March 1979. Science 203(4387): 1299.
This distinction reflected a general tendency of Spencer and his contemporaries to distinguish higher and lower stages in all development: barbarism and civilization, status and contract, militarism and industrialism. In this instance, he also joined the controversy that developed in the late sixties between Darwin and A. Russel Wallace as to whether natural selection altered bodily structure at all stages of evolution. Darwin believed it did. Wallace maintained that, with the attainment of a certain level of intelligence, mental changes superceded physical ones. Spencer preferred the thrust of Wallace's view. He himself had earlier identified the importance of cerebral development among the races of man. But he rejected Wallace's view that such cerebral development within societies resulted from the natural selection of spontaneous variations in the brain . . . --Robert C. Bannister, 1979. In his Social Darwinism: Science and Myth in Anglo-American Social Thought (Temple University Press): 47.
. . . Fiske's philosophy was inherently conservative in that he stressed the slowness of change, which he neither wanted nor urged. However, the context was also usually religious. His system would bring no religious revolution, no attacks on existing churches, he assured readers in the conclusion of the Cosmic Philosophy. In the one section in which he discussed social evolution--published earlier in the North American Review under the title "From Brute to Man"--Fiske differed little from the speculations of A. R. Wallace, whose work he described as "one of the most brilliant contributions ever yet made to the Doctrine of Evolution." Like Wallace, he believed that natural selection ceased operating on bodily factors with the appearance of the human brain. "And hence in the future as in the recent past," he told readers of the North American Review, "the dominant fact in the career of humanity is not physical modification but civilization." . . . --Robert C. Bannister, 1979. In his Social Darwinism: Science and Myth in Anglo-American Social Thought (Temple University Press): 65.
. . . Darwinism upset such happy assumptions. Throughout his career [Henry] George harbored suspicion of the theory, a suspicion that colored his thought no less than Carey's and Bowen's. In Progress and Poverty he attempted to evade the issue. How men had originated was not his concern: "all we know of him is as man." But his hostility was plain. During the 1880s he mellowed somewhat, comforted by the views of the British biologist A. R. Wallace (who early preached the "limits of evolution as applied to man," and who also befriended George during his English crusade), and of St. George Mivart, a leading Christian evolutionist who, more firmly than Wallace, denied that natural selection has shaped human faculties. By the 1890s George could manage grudging acceptance . . . --Robert C. Bannister, 1979. In his Social Darwinism: Science and Myth in Anglo-American Social Thought (Temple University Press): 120.
. . . His view of "mental and moral progress" (which sociologists would later call cultural evolution) also led to the conclusion "that the higher--the more intellectual and moral--must displace the lower and degraded races." But his process was again not analogous to struggle and selection in nature. Certain that improvement would come, Wallace would not attribute it to survival of the fittest. Following a popular usage of the day, he equated such survival with the success of "the mediocre, if not the low, both as regards morality and intelligence." Rather, as with mind itself, mysterious forces were at work. The "glorious qualities" of men were the "surest proof" of "higher existences than ourselves." The goal was not racial imperialism but the brotherhood of man: "a single nearly homogeneous race, no individual of which will be inferior to the noblest specimens of existing humanity." . . . --Robert C. Bannister, 1979. In his Social Darwinism: Science and Myth in Anglo-American Social Thought (Temple University Press): 185-186.
But, of course, it does matter who starts the trend. If it had been Wallace instead of Darwin, we would have had a very different theory of evolution today. The whole cybernetics movement might have occurred 100 years earlier as a result of Wallace's comparison between the steam engine with a governor and the process of natural selection . . . --Gregory Bateson, 1979. In his Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity (E. P. Dutton): 43.
. . . It was Alfred Russel Wallace who remarked in 1866 that the principle of natural selection is like that of the steam engine with a governor. I shall assume that this is indeed so and that both the process of individual learning and the process of population shift under natural selection can exhibit the pathologies of all cybernetic circuits: excessive oscillation and runaway. In sum, I shall assume that evolutionary change and somatic change (including learning and thought) are fundamentally similar, that both are stochastic in nature, although surely the ideas (injunctions, descriptive propositions, and so on) on which each process works are of totally different logical typing from the typing of ideas in the other process . . . --Gregory Bateson, 1979. In his Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity (E. P. Dutton): 148.
. . . [W. R.] Greg represented those who saw competitive individualism as the logical outcome of the operation in society of the law of natural selection; for him, naturalism in sociology was equivalent to the Hobbesian vision of a continual 'war of all against all'. But equally, Wallace was representative of a considerable number of people who claimed that man was unique in nature precisely because of his ability to transcend this state of affairs; by stressing the biological advantages of intelligent cooperation, he attempted to reconcile Darwinian principles with a very different moral and political vision. Thus, the dispute involved a fundamental conflict of ideologies, even though it was fought out almost wholly within a naturalistic framework. This conflict was to be a recurrent feature of Wallace's thought; and indeed it is still with us today in 'sociobiological' discussions of the legitimacy of the theory of 'group selection.' . . . --John R. Durant, 1979. British Journal for the History of Science 12(40): 45.
Wallace, who unfortunately never wrote a book on the subject, probed deeper into the nature of man than any of the circle immediately around Darwin. Because in the end science has so thoroughly accepted them, we have not only forgotten their source but also forgotten how heretical some of his views were at the time they were uttered. First Wallace postulated an erect, small-brained bipedal stage of human development, followed by a second phase in which the human brain and cranium assumed their present size and form. Only with the present-day discovery of the Australopithecine man-apes is the early stage beginning to be documented. Second, he quickly saw that the complete fossil history of man might well be prolonged far beyond Pleistocene times, and that the big-brained men of the upper Pleistocene, who were at that time troubling the evolutionists, need not be regarded as an effective argument against the reality of the human transformation. Rather, the scientists must cease confusing living races with grades or levels on the evolutionary scale of the past--something which was at that time exceedingly common . . . --Loren Eiseley, 1979. In his Darwin and the Mysterious Mr. X; New Light on the Evolutionists (E. P. Dutton): 197.
Wallace and many later biogeographers have proposed that tropical areas support more species than temperate zones simply because they have not been glaciated and are thus ecologically older. Although evidence is very scant, under this interpretation the observed high tropical diversity is a result of long-term undisturbed speciation. If so, the latitudinal trend in species numbers is partially attributable to a strictly geographic factor (latitude) . . . --Joseph J. Schall & Eric R. Pianka, 25 August 1978. Science 201 (4357): 681.
It is likely, for instance, that Wilde would have sympathized with Grant Allen's and A. R. Wallace's eugenic plans. Allen argued in his essays for free love as part of a eugenic proposal which encouraged women to choose for child-bearing purposes temporary mates from among the finest, healthiest, and most intelligent men. Wallace, in an essay which appeared in The Fortnightly Review, four months before "The Soul of Man Under Socialism," also outlined a nonauthoritarian socialist scheme for human improvement through sexual selection. Stating that education could not lead to permanent cultural improvement, Wallace suggested that once removed from economic competition, and totally free to choose a mate, women would be attracted to men who embodied what Victorians called "the higher qualities," and the cumulative hereditary impact of that sexual selection would therefore improve the culture of the race. In February 1891, when Wilde published "The Soul of Man Under Socialism," in The Fortnightly Review, he argued that marriage and family should be abolished in favor of a freer and more beautiful love relationship between man and woman. His suggestion can be understood as one of his proposals for a socialist utopia and, indeed, as his contribution to the debate among socialists and cultural critics over the eugenic role of sexual selection in cultural improvement . . . --Michael S. Helfand & Philip E. Smith II, Summer 1978. Texas Studies in Literature and Language 20(2): 211.
Must fantasy inevitably accompany speculation on the plurality of worlds? Fortunately not, for even the history of the question contains a few indications of sober deliberation. In this respect, two nineteenth-century dissenters on plurality, William Whewell and Alfred Russel Wallace, stand out as the first post-Copernican thinkers to rein in imagination by proposing sensible rules for thinking about such a provocative but thorny issue. When Whewell's Of the Plurality of Worlds was published in 1853, it challenged what had become, since the sixteenth century, a traditional belief in the existence of life elsewhere. Fifty years later, Alfred Russel Wallace, co-discoverer of the theory of natural selection and later Percival Lowell's most tenacious opponent, extended the dissenting tradition by writing the first study that successfully synthesized biological and astronomical perspectives on life in a plurality of worlds . . . --William C. Heffernan, January-March 1978. Journal of the History of Ideas 39(1): 82-83.
. . . However unkind it became, most criticism of Man's Place in the Universe was kept within the confines of the dissenters' strictures on reasoning. There was a gratifying irony in this, for while most of Wallace's peers found fault with the book, they unwittingly based their comments on the rules which Whewell and Wallace considered necessary for careful speculation on plurality. For instance, H. H. Turner, the Savilian professor of astronomy at Oxford, captured the thrust of the many unfavorable reviews of Man's Place when he insisted that the universe is probably not bounded in the sense of having an edge; that even if it were, there would be no center; and that even if the sun were at the center, such a position would not be uniquely stable. Like other critics, Turner was able to seize on the flaws in the argument of life beyond the solar system and thus ignore the strengths of Wallace's overall position--the banishment of theology when considerations of probability were at stake, the introduction of an explicitly evolutionary perspective, and the low likelihood of life within the solar system. Wallace had created a grand and only somewhat flawed synthesis, although few people remarked on this . . . --William C. Heffernan, January-March 1978. Journal of the History of Ideas 39(1): 92-93.
. . . And what about the climate itself? Lowell had claimed that although Mars receives only half the earth's heat, the absence of an atmosphere would actually mean that the sun's radiation would have a more direct effect on it than on the earth. Wallace was appalled that a respected scientist could be responsible for such an hypothesis. The opposite would have to be the case, as Wallace showed: because of its lack of sufficient atmosphere, Mars must retain heat more poorly than the earth. There would also have to be greater variations in temperature between the ground and the air a few feet above it, and Wallace pointed out that these would impede the development of advanced organisms . . . --William C. Heffernan, January-March 1978. Journal of the History of Ideas 39(1): 95.
. . . Since both the dissenters and their "majoritarian" opponents were moved by extra-scientific convictions, could it be said that the two traditions were methodologically indistinguishable? Certainly not. Precisely because they were dissenters, Whewell and Wallace had been forced to articulate their position with a degree of care that no pluralist had ever shown. Because they were inspired by different and unusual convictions about man's status, the dissenters had to take the scientific road to plurality; for their case would not otherwise have been heard. In this way, discussion of the possibility of life in other worlds was transformed; for in later years, the metaphysical context of the debate would fall away, leaving a core of scientifically grounded speculation for which Whewell and Wallace had prepared the way . . . --William C. Heffernan, January-March 1978. Journal of the History of Ideas 39(1): 100.
The idea of surplusage seems most directly traceable to Alfred Russel Wallace (1870). His belief that savages possessed brains far in excess of their requirements was the germinal idea of surplusage; consider, he would argue, that civilized humans use the same brain as that of savages to accomplish higher mental feats such as mathematical reasoning, a kind of reasoning never required of our primitive ancestors. If the potential for higher mental processes appeared before it was evolutionarily adaptive, what caused its presence? This is the dilemma posed by the notion of surplusage. As naive as the arguments about savages might seem today, surplusage remains an interesting consideration for psychologists studying animal intelligence in the laboratory . . . --Robert Boice, June 1977. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society 9(6): 452.
Crolls' work played a critical role in the biologists' attempts to obviate the threats posed to evolutionary theory by Kelvin's argument for a shortened history of the earth. But Croll's ideas had an even broader significance for Wallace: they functioned as a catalyst for his magisterial formulation of zoogeography. The explanatory potential of glacial theory with respect to the question of the migration and distribution of animals and plants was considerably enhanced by Croll's speculations, and Wallace was alert to their implications for his work on geographical distribution . . . --Martin Fichman, Spring 1977. Journal of the History of Biology 10(1): 60-61.
. . . Wallace and Huxley disagreed about how humans evolved because they had different perceptions of non-western people and the working class. Those perceptions were informed by different social experiences. Wallace's was an unusual experience in the nineteenth century, and it led him to an interpretation of human development with which modern anthropologists generally agree, that the artifice of culture informs our perceptions. How our opinions and experiences can remain unaffected or uninvolved in a holistic theory like human evolution remains a mystery. Yet that is the working assumption of most scientists and bureaucrats of science . . . --Michael S. Helfand, Winter 1977. Victorian Studies, 20(2): 176-177.
A. R. Wallace's hypothesis that visual stimuli provided by the insect become a conditioned signal for predatory animals through association with its noxious taste was formulated 24 years before I. P. Pavlov was elected Professor of Pharmacology at the Military Medical Academy of St. Petersburg. Several years later, Pavlov was to begin his studies there on "psychic" reflexes, employing visual and auditory stimuli to signal the taste of acid or meat powder in the mouth of dogs. Poulton's summary of two decades of comparative animal research upon the positive effects of satisfying foods and the negative effects of annoying tastes was presented eleven years before E. L. Thorndike's (1897) doctoral thesis on animal intelligence and the law of effect. Pavlov and Thorndike went on to investigate conditioned responses more rigorously, and ultimately their students operationally defined a series of methodological "laws" . . . --John Garcia & Walter G. Hankins, 1977. In Lewis M. Barker et al., eds., Learning Mechanisms in Food Selection (Baylor University Press): 6.
. . . I want to suggest that the first step in any study of his contribution must be a careful analysis of how he actually presented his idea in the 1858 paper, concentrating especially on the kind of variation that was the basis of natural selection. Strangely enough, such a detailed analysis is provided neither by Beddall nor McKinney, both of whom simply assume that what Wallace eventually discovered was a straightforward equivalent of the Darwinian theory. This assumption is common to most general accounts of the history of evolutionism, and was shared by Darwin himself. But there are good reasons for suggesting that Wallace's initial concept of selection differed considerably from Darwin's, or at least was expressed in very different terms . . . --Peter J. Bowler, January 1976. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 31(1): 18.
. . . It was only at a later stage in his thought--after he had discovered the principle of divergence--that Darwin actually came to realize that varieties would at some stage have to compete with one another. The essence of Wallace's mechanism was for Darwin a secondary insight gained some time after he had worked out the primary mechanism of selection acting on individual differences. Furthermore, when Darwin discussed varieties coming into conflict, he pictured this as a geographical effect caused by one form's invading and conquering the territory of the other. Wallace on the other hand, simply wrote of species splitting into varieties as though this occurred across the whole geographical range, with members of each variety in face-to-face conflict at all points. Wallace's failure to appreciate the role of geographical factors in the formation of varieties again suggests that he may not at first have recognized natural selection as the agency that created the varieties out of individual differences. Or, if he did recognize the action of natural selection on individual differences, he had certainly failed to work out its full implications for his own theory of selection acting among the varieties . . . --Peter J. Bowler, January 1976. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 31(1): 22-23.
. . . It is clear that in the later stages of his career Wallace was fully aware of the importance of individual variation to selection. He was able to exploit both modes of representation employed by Darwin, using especially the range concept to make a notable contribution to the measurement of variation among wild populations. But all of this occurred after he had read the Origin of Species, with its clear descriptions of Darwin's primary conception of selection's acting on the individual differences first to form varieties and then species. His own first paper on natural selection had side-stepped this level of the mechanism and developed a theory of competition among the varieties after they had been formed. This was a valid Darwinian mechanism, but one which to Darwin himself represented a second level of selection which utilized the varieties formed from the selection of individual variations. It may be that from the beginning Wallace also recognized the primary action of selection upon individual differences, and simply preferred to describe the mechanism acting at the second level because he was more familiar with what he called permanent varieties. But even if this were so, there are certain points in the 1858 paper which suggest that he had at least failed to work out the consequences of the first level of selection for his own theory . . . --Peter J. Bowler, January 1976. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 31(1): 28.
At one point Wallace reasoned logically and with telling effect that even if martians existed they could not have the high intelligence with which Lowell credited them. For the "canals" they were supposed to have built in many instances ran for thousands of miles across arid deserts and beneath clear cloudless skies, thus "losing enormously from evaporation, if we assume them to contain water. The mere attempt to use open canals for irrigation purposes would argue ignorance and stupidity. Long before half of them were completed, their failure to be of any use would have led any rational being to cease constructing them." . . . --William Graves Hoyt, 1976. In his Lowell and Mars (University of Arizona Press): 215.
Many suggestions have been formulated over the years to explain the evolution of vertebrate color vision. Most have dealt with possible modifications of photoreceptors and neuronal layers of the retina (see especially Edridge-Green, 1920; Ladd-Franklin, 1929; Willmer, 1949; Pickford, 1951) and have hardly considered function. Only Wallace (1891, p. 411) and Walls (1942, p. 463) appear to have seriously asked the question, "Why color vision?" Each suggested that color detection originated to provide for the strongest contrast and, therefore, to enhance the visibility of objects against the background. We believe that this simple and prescient suggestion is correct . . . --W. N. McFarland & F. W. Munz, October 1975. Vision Research 15: 1071.
. . . a major aim of Vestiges is to show that as good Newtonians we much accept a biological evolutionary theory. Wallace, I think, whilst rejecting as inadequate Chambers' own evolutionary theory, entirely accepted Chambers' research programme, to find the biological analogue of Newtonian astronomy. Thus I would suggest that Wallace like Darwin, may have reacted favourably to Malthus' ideas because he could then start to see his way towards a biological equivalent of Newtonian astronomy. Hence, I think that Darwin and Wallace quite possibly started from similar philosophical positions, although I have no reason to believe that they drew on exactly the same immediate sources for the philosophies . . . --Michael Ruse, June 1975. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 6(2): 172-173.
. . . By combining what he considered to be the reliable features of both the calculations, the more recent date for the ice age and a consequently accelerated rate of species change, Wallace arrived at a figure of 24 million years for the time since the beginning of the Cambrian. This estimate, he concluded happily, would fit easily within Kelvin's limits and still leave a period three times as long for the slow operation of natural selection during the Precambrian. Wallace was not finished, however, for it was in the application of Croll's hypothesis to biology that he showed the true measure of his ingenuity. Neither he nor Darwin had ever completely escaped from the Lamarckian dependence upon environment as a causal factor in species change. And now he saw in the radical changes of climate a mechanism whereby the continuously "altered physical conditions would induce variation." Furthermore, in alternating from one hemisphere to the other, the successive cycles of glaciation would stimulate a constant migration of plant and animal types, thus continually bringing allied species into competition and accelerating the process of extinction . . . --Joe D. Burchfield, September 1974. Isis 65(228): 317.
. . . As early as 1876, the naturalist and zoogeographer Alfred Wallace noted that "we live in a zoologically impoverished world, from which all of the hugest, and fiercest, and strangest forms have recently disappeared." He remarked especially on the "sudden dying out of so many large Mammalia, not in only one place but over half the land surface of the globe" (Wallace 1876). At the end of the Pleistocene in North America, there was a loss of 33 genera of large mammals (>50 kg), while only 13 genera had become extinct in the preceding 1 or 2 million years. Smaller mammals (<50 kg) were not similarly affected, nor were marine mammals, which we might also expect to show high extinction rates if the cause were environmental catastrophes. Wallace (1911) observed that these sudden extinctions were not correlated with major environmental changes, such as those responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs, but seemed to coincide with the arrival, on different continents at different times, of Stone Age man . . . --Richard S. Miller & Daniel B. Botkin, March-April 1974. American Scientist 62(2): 172.
This concept of the separation of the human personality from the human body meant that Wallace considered man and the relation of science to man in a context wholly different from that of the advocates of scientific naturalism. As William Irvine once described the evolution of Huxley's mind, "He became interested in man as a physical mechanism, as an anthropoid ape, as a social unit and a citizen, as a delicate machine for the discovery of scientific truth, but never to any appreciable extent in man as a personality and a human being." Wallace's development was exactly the reverse. He was originally interested in the physical mechanism of man for the sake of the moral personality encased therein. He studied the anthropoid ape because it resembled man. He wrote on social questions in the hope that society might be so organized as to allow the moral faculties to flourish. Throughout his long and varied scientific career, Wallace was primarily concerned with what Koestler has dubbed "the ghost in the machine" rather than with the machine itself . . . --Frank M. Turner, 1974. In his Between Science and Religion; The Reaction to Scientific Naturalism in Late Victorian England (Yale University Press): 82.
. . . In the London Anthropological Society address of March 1864, Wallace continued to discuss, though in a very different kind of forum, matters that had weighted upon his mind for over twenty years. He brought into the professional scientific sphere the scientific concepts and goals that he had learned in the provincial mechanics institutes. The address was his single most important comment on man and contained the latent seeds for all his later departures from scientific naturalism. The American evolutionist John Fiske recalled that the address "seemed to open up an entirely new world of speculation." Such speculation was indeed new to men who had known little or nothing of "physical puritanism" or the "belated rationalism" of the working-class culture in which Wallace had come to maturity. For Wallace the paper was simply a continuation of his earlier thought . . . --Frank M. Turner, 1974. In his Between Science and Religion; The Reaction to Scientific Naturalism in Late Victorian England (Yale University Press): 83-84.
. . . Spiritualism furnished Wallace with a scientific explanation for the development of man's moral nature and brought man's total being under the rule of rational cosmic law. In a curious manner, the theory of spiritualism provided a law for the moral world analogous to that provided by natural selection for the organic world. Natural selection removed the necessity for an arbitrary and interfering God of Special Creation. Spiritualism banished the arbitrary God of predestination and replaced Him with a uniform law of individual moral progress and of personal moral responsibility. . . --Frank M. Turner, 1974. In his Between Science and Religion; The Reaction to Scientific Naturalism in Late Victorian England (Yale University Press): 88.
. . . "Consistency," the tract by Robert Dale Owen, Robert Owen's son, particularly interested Wallace. The younger Owen, who himself also later converted to spiritualism, argued that the doctrine of predestination led to immoral living because it rendered one's eternal reward a matter of chance rather than a function of the virtue of one's life. Concurring in these arguments, Wallace moved very quietly and painlessly from faith to skepticism. His loss of faith grew directly out of a situation succinctly described by a writer later in the century: "God, and immortality, and the Bible have been so taught as to make scepticism the only refuge for morality to flee to." Wallace later identified this rational skepticism with agnosticism. His skepticism, however, more nearly resembled deism. He did not deny the possibility of religious knowledge or of pure religion but rather the validity and morality of the Christian religion. Most important, Wallace and the Owenites did not dismiss the moral significance of the questions that Christianity had addressed. The questions of religion remained valid even if the Christian answers were false. The Owenite criticism of Christianity made Wallace, as well as genuine Owenites, highly susceptible to a rational religion, such as spiritualism, that was based on empirical evidence and that emphasized social cooperation and benevolent individualism . . . --Frank M. Turner, 1974. In his Between Science and Religion; The Reaction to Scientific Naturalism in Late Victorian England (Yale University Press): 89-90.
The notion that man's first language was primarily gestural, carried on with hand and arm signals rather than vocal sounds, has been supported by a distinguished line of scholars: Condillac (1746), Tylor (1868, 1871), Morgan (1877), Wallace (1881, 1895), Romanes (1888), Wundt (1912), Paget (1944, 1963), and Johannesson (1949, 1950). The gestural theory seems to be the most attractive of the many glottogonic hypotheses advanced so far, and receives support from recent studies of chimpanzees and other primates, such as Gardner and Gardner (1969, 1971), Premack (1970a, b, 1971), and Menzel (1971), as well as from other sources. The fact that this evidence was unavailable to earlier proponents of the gestural theory explains some of the weaknesses in its former formulations . . . --Gordon W. Hewes, February-April 1973. Current Anthropology 14(1-2): 5.
Alfred Russel Wallace was the co-founder of the theory of natural selection and one of its most tenacious defenders. It is therefore of great interest that Wallace emphatically opposed a demarcation between ethical and scientific ideas and that he also resisted the breakdown of the common intellectual milieu with his own unified world-view. He endeavoured to combine notions of value with his scientific theory of evolution, particularly in relation to man. British biologists in the first half of the nineteenth century characteristically analysed their data in terms of the teleological framework of Natural Theology. Evolutionary theory supposedly demolished this framework. Nevertheless, Wallace incorporated a fundamental teleology into all his theories. He considered that he had thereby reconciled the tensions of scientific and ethical demands in his contribution to the evolutionary debate on man's place in nature . . . --Roger Smith, December 1972. British Journal for the History of Science 6(22): 177-178.
. . . Wallace traced the 'action of some unknown higher law' in the evolution of man and also in the origin of consciousness. As he commented, 'no physiologist or philosopher has yet ventured to propound an intelligible theory of how sensation may possibly be a product of organization; while many have declared the passage from matter to mind to be inconceivable'. While other biologists tended to avoid this question, Wallace believed in a spiritual purpose behind the phenomenon of consciousness. It was not clear to him that conscious actions could have any biological utility if they were merely parallel, or epiphenomenal, to automatic physiological actions. In particular, he believed that it was not possible to assign utility to the consciousness of volition if this consciousness was deceptive . . . --Roger Smith, December 1972. British Journal for the History of Science 6(22): 183.
For Lyell the challenge was to develop the continuous process, the gradual extinction and creation of species. The intermittent process was available in the fortuitous nature of the circumstances favorable for the preservation of fossil remains. Wallace on the other hand had for some years been attempting to validate the hypothesis of gradual species transformation. Although he had been examining the relationships between geographical distribution and affinity within affinity groups (general, families), there is no evidence that he had given any thought to the question of the origin of discontinuities within such groups until a few months before he wrote the 1855 essay. During that brief period several quite unexpected patterns of distribution and affinity came to his attention. Soon thereafter grew the appreciation that extinction, interacting with species transformation, could give rise to all known patterns of organic discontinuities . . . --John L. Brooks, December 1972. Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 44: 26.
. . . A contemporary reader of Wallace's "Attempts at a natural arrangement of birds", should he be unaware of its date of publication, would probably find little to criticize in its presentation of the role of extinction in the genesis of observed patterns of diversity. So completely do we share Wallace's faith that "all gaps between species, genera, or larger groups are the result of extinctions of species during former epochs of the world's history" that this statement seems nothing unusual. It is only when it is clearly understood that this statement was published in 1856, three years before Darwin published the Origin of Species, that we appreciate that this essay carries the proclamation of a prophet's faith . . . --John L. Brooks, December 1972. Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 44: 45.
"What think you of Wallace's paper in the Ann. N. Hist.? Good! Upon the whole! But how about such forms as the Giraffe, which has typical representatives in the Siwalik tertiary deposits? Or the true Elk (= Moose)? Can we suppose a lost series of gradations connecting these general with the Deer type, & ramifying off to them paulatim [gradually]? Wallace has, I think, put the matter well; and according to his theory, the various domestic races of animals have been fairly developed into species" [quotation from Edward Blyth letter to Darwin] . . . --Barbara G. Beddall, Spring 1972. Journal of the History of Biology 5(1): 155.
Wallace, in fact, proposed the first cybernetic model. Nowadays cybernetics deals with much more complex systems of the general kind; and we know that when we talk about the processes of civilization, or evaluate human behavior, human organization, or any biological system, we are concerned with self-corrective systems. Basically these systems are always conservative of something. As in the engine with a governor, the fuel supply is changed to conserve--to keep constant--the speed of the flywheel, so always in such systems changes occur to conserve the truth of some descriptive statement, some component of the status quo. Wallace saw the matter correctly, and natural selection acts primarily to keep the species unvarying; but it may act at higher levels to keep constant that complex variable which we call "survival." . . . --Gregory Bateson, 1972. In his Steps to an Ecology of Mind (Chandler Publishing Company): 435.
The importance of larval dispersal was already recognized by Alfred Russel Wallace in his work on The Geographical Distribution of Animals (1876). Wallace knew that the univalve and bivalve Mollusca have free-swimming larval stages and recognized that "they thus have a powerful means of dispersal, and are carried by tides and currents so as ultimately to spread over every shore and shoal that offers conditions favorable for development." . . . --Rudolf S. Scheltema, April 1971. Biological Bulletin 140: 285.
. . . Darwin (1859) and later evolutionists (especially Muller 1940, 1942) proposed that reproductive isolating mechanisms develop as by-products of divergent evolution and are purely incidental features of adaptive differentiation which confer no advantage to populations at the time they develop. Conversely, Wallace (1889), Fisher (1930), and Dobzhansky (1941, 1951) contended that isolating mechanisms could arise from selection against hybrids and hybridizers. Selection for reproductive isolation in areas of sympatry would reinforce previously existing barriers and thereby reduce gametic wastage, hybridization, and disruptive gene flow. Grant (1966) has suggested the term "Wallace effect" for this process . . . --Donald A. Levin, November-December 1970. The American Naturalist 104(940): 571.
The basic answer to the question--"Why does man occupy this worldwide and universally dominant niche?"--also given by Wallace, is that by the use of his greatly superior mind, man has continually modified the environment to meet his needs, so that "he would cease to be influenced by natural selection in his physical form and structure." As Dobzhansky (1962, 1967) has pointed out, this statement is an exaggeration. Nevertheless, the general conclusion of Wallace, that in early man the action of natural selection was largely transferred from the bodily structure to the mind, is still valid . . . --George Ledyard Stebbins, March-April 1970. The American Naturalist 104(936): 112.
The next questioner said the lecturer had termed Mr. [Henry] George a poet. He then called attention to the fact that Mr. George advocated nationalisation of the land as a remedy for poverty, and asked how it was that Mr. A. Wallace, an able man, came to the same conclusion. Professor Marshall said that Mr. Wallace's proposal was much more reasonable than that of Mr. George. He did not call Mr. George a poet because he said erroneous things. He was a poet because he was poetic, and he was not a man of science because he said erroneous things [report on a lecture by Alfred Marshall] . . . --Ronald H. Coase, April 1969. Journal of Law and Economics 12(1): 199.
. . . We next come to Mr. Wallace's plan. It proposed that the inherent value of the soil should become the property of the State, but that the buildings and other improvements on it should remain private property. He would give to the landowner an annuity equal to that part of the rent which corresponds to its present inherent value, for his life and the life of any descendants born in his lifetime, or in failure of such, for the life of anyone nominated by the landlord. He calls this full compensation, but of course it is only partial compensation; the State would confiscate, independently of any rise in its inherent value, the reversion of this inherent value some years hence. If we put the probable duration of the lives at forty years, this is equal to an immediate confiscation of 30 per cent of the inherent value, if we take interest at 3 per cent, or a confiscation of 20 percent if we take interest at 4 per cent. The question whether this is just or not must be looked at straight in the face [from the words of Alfred Marshall] . . . --Ronald H. Coase, April 1969. Journal of Law and Economics 12(1): 206.
. . . The principle may be extended to the generalization that a proportionately small percentage of any fauna will be fit as invaders, since any intervening barrier, however slight, will act as a kind of "filter" to at least some of them. Simpson has developed and supplemented this argument, demonstrating that Wallace's interpretation was essentially correct. The precise differences in approach between Darwin and Wallace need some additional study, but it would seem that Darwin tended to concentrate on the effects of different dispersal mechanisms on patterns of distribution, Wallace more on the influence of barriers in restricting faunas conceived of as units. Thus, Wallace was more orientated toward historical explanation for classes of phenomena, Darwin toward reasoning from the effects of the properties of individuals upon the overall pattern of distribution . . . --Michael T. Ghiselin, 1969. In his The Triumph of the Darwinian Method (University of California Press): 41.
. . . Darwin and Wallace merit particular respect for having developed the theory of natural selection through a process of "retroduction": that is, they were aware of a phenomenon, and successfully sought out an explanation in superficially unconnected processes. The method through which this insight was obtained would seem to have been orderly and rational . . . --Michael T. Ghiselin, 1969. In his The Triumph of the Darwinian Method (University of California Press): 77.
In a modification of the quinarian system of William Sharpe Macleay, Swainson divided the earth into five regions according to what he believed to be the five major races of mankind; animal groups were likewise divided into fives. The divisions were mathematical, the reasons not only unknown but unknowable. But Wallace questioned Swainson from the first, noting that "there appears not to be the slightest reason for believing a priori that all groups of animals are divided into the same number of types of forms or divisions" . . . --Barbara G. Beddall, September 1968. Journal of the History of Biology 1(2): 270.
. . . Lamarck had interpreted them in his own light, believing them to be the result of "the permanent disuse of an organ, arising from a change of habits, [which caused] a gradual shrinkage of ultimately the disappearance and even extinction of that organ." Wallace, like Chambers, thought that rudimentary organs showed relationships, but he misinterpreted them, confusing vestigial with nascent organs. He did, however, ask the right question: "If each species has been created independently, and without any necessary relations with pre-existing species, what do these rudiments, these apparent imperfections mean?" . . . --Barbara G. Beddall, September 1968. Journal of the History of Biology 1(2): 280.
. . . The argument from design was teleological, presuming that a contrivance existed in accordance with a preconceived plan. Adaptation between structure and function was recognized, but it was thought that a structure was provided simply because a function required it. Wallace wondered, however, how an animal could have necessities before it came into existence? And how could it "continue to exist unless its structure enabled it to obtain food? He thought that the arguments brought forward as proofs of design were absurd; not only were they insulting to the intelligence of a Supreme Being, but they also placed narrow limits on His power . . .Barbara G. Beddall, September 1968. Journal of the History of Biology 1(2): 282.
. . . Looking back, it is interesting that Wallace, in 1880, thought that enough information was already at hand to make further expeditions and collecting redundant. What was needed, he said, was intensive study of selected islands, and since Britain owned most of the world's islands, the government should post naturalists on some of them to make such studies. Wallace's suggestion was good, though naturally nothing came of it, but his major premise was wrong. We still need to know a great deal more than we do about the species that make up island biotas, not merely for the sake of naming and cataloguing them, but because knowledge of the identities, relationships, distribution, behavior, and ecological roles and requirements of the species is essential for understanding both the evolution of the island biotas and the evolution and functioning of the island ecosystems . . . --Theodore H. Hubbell, May 1968. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 60(1): 22.
The hypothesis of a secondary and supplementary process of selection for reproductive isolation, considered as an advantageous situation in its own right for the species concerned, was advanced in the early period of evolutionary biology by Wallace (1889), who tried unsuccessfully to convince Darwin. It seems fitting and desirable to designate the process of selection for reproductive isolation as the Wallace effect. The Wallace hypothesis was proposed again in the modern period by Fisher (1930), Dobzhansky (1941; 1951), and Huxley (1943). The subject has been reviewed recently by Mayr (1963) and Grant (1963). It is argued that the individuals of two sympatric species populations which produce inviable or sterile hybrids will contribute fewer offspring to future generations than will sister individuals in the same parental populations which do not hybridize. Consequently the genetic factors determining some block or aversion to hybridization will tend to increase in frequency within each species over the course of generations. This process of selection is expected to lead to a reinforcement of the reproductive isolation which had developed as a by-product of divergence . . . --Verne Grant, March-April 1966. American Naturalist 100(911): 99.
Species of animals living on islands may have morphological characteristics not possessed by their mainland counterparts, a fact which was recognized by Wallace (1881). He remarked that in the Celebes: "Nearly thirty species of butterflies, belonging to three different families, have a common modification in the shape of their wings by which they can be distinguished at a glance from their allies in any other island or country whatever, and all these are larger than the representative forms inhabiting most of the adjacent islands." . . . --P. R. Grant, September 1965. Evolution 19: 355.
Wallace was one of the first to suggest that birds might build their nests on the basis of their previous experience. Although it now seems that nest building in birds is not solely a function of memory, the extent to which experience plays a role has not been determined . . . --Theodore D. Sargent, January 1965. The Auk 82(1): 48.
Wallace (1889), after summarizing the findings of Bates and Müller, proposed AN EXTENSION OF MÜLLERIAN MIMICRY WHEREBY SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE SAME UNPALATABLE GENUS LOOK ALIKE IN THE SAME LOCALITY (e.g., 4 or 5 Heliconius having a yellow-banded forewing and radiating red stripes on the hindwing.) This really is somewhat different from Müller's case of convergence of widely unrelated species. Modern speciation theory predicts that closely related species when sympatric will diverge in appearance, habits, and season due to rigorous selection for the two main speciation sequelae: anti-hybridization mechanisms and niche diversification (anti-competition). Wallace's Müllerian extension explains an important deviant. He also suggested the possibility of a still different sort of mimicry, in which A SCARCE EDIBLE SPECIES CAN MINGLE WITH AND CLOSELY RESEMBLE AN ABUNDANT EDIBLE SPECIES AND THUS GAIN SOME FREEDOM FROM PREDATION . . . --Charles L. Remington, 1963. In Proceedings of the XVI International Congress of Zoology (The Congress), Volume 4: 148.
The general patterns of the distribution of mollusks in the Pacific, particularly those of the terrestrial forms, aroused attention because of the difficulties involved in transporting such forms to small and widely scattered islands. Suggested dispersal agents have included land connections, drifting vegetation, typhoons and migratory birds. The use of islands as stepping stones, including those now buried beneath the sea, was suggested by Wallace in 1881. In Wallace's time there was little geological evidence to support the idea of submerged islands. As late as 1950 it was pointed out that complete proof for island distribution was "hopelessly buried in the geological past." . . . --Harry S. Ladd, 1960. American Journal of Science 258-A: 140.
The occurrence of a number of river-like channels running across the group and dividing it into islands is beyond doubt the most remarkable geomorphic phenomenon of the Aru Islands. Numerous branch channels are also encountered. There are several theories concerning the genesis of these channels. Wallace (1857, 1869) tried to explain them as the remainders of the Pleistocene lower courses of New Guinea rivers preserved here by subsequent uparching of the Aru region, whereas elsewhere the river courses gradually disappeared during the transgression of the shelf associated with the postglacial rise in sea level . . . --Herman Verstappen, Summer 1959. American Journal of Science 257(7): 493.
The difficulty inherent in attempting to rid biology of normative concepts incapable of definition in purely biological terms became even more evident when Darwin and others tried to find a substitute for the term natural selection. Asa Gray and Alfred Russel Wallace objected to the expression because it seemed to imply an intelligent agent selecting according to pre-established standards . . . --John C. Greene, 1959. In his The Death of Adam (Iowa State University Press): 300.
Alfred Russel Wallace had lived for many years in tropical regions, first in the Amazon basin and later in the East Indies, where he had been especially impressed by the phenomena of animal distribution. He thus had a broader and more direct and intimate acquaintance with the subject than any other naturalist traveller of his century. He was continually at work on this subject from 1860 until 1876, the date of publication of his two volumes on The Geographical Distribution of Animals. He somewhat modestly refers to this work as an extension and amplification of the two chapters on the subject in the Origin of Species, comparing it with Darwin's own two-volume expansion of the chapters on animals and plants under domestication. The two principal sections of Wallace's work on contrasted as "zoological geography," a descriptive discussion of the land animals of the different zoogeographic regions, and "geographical zoology," a review of the distribution of vertebrates and certain invertebrates, group by group. Whatever their fate in a reclassification of regions and subregions, Wallace's scheme and nomenclature are the ones that appear most widely in zoological literature . . . --Karl Patterson Schmidt, December 1954. The Quarterly Review of Biology 29(4): 323.
After Dr J. Rae, the most notable contribution to the Gesture Theory came from Charles Darwin's rival, Dr Alfred Russel Wallace, who in 1895 pointed out, in Fortnightly Review, that, in English speech, it is common to produce words by an appropriate gesture of the tongue, lips or jaw, so as 'to bring sense and sound into unison'. Thus, in UP, the jaw makes an upward movement, while in DOWN, the jaw moves down. Continuing consonants, such as F, L, M, N, etc., symbolize continuing motions, such as fly, run, swim, move. On the other hand, words for abrupt motions end with a stopped consonant--e.g., B, D, G, K, P, T, in stop, hop, pat, stab, kick, etc. Dr Wallace considered it in the highest degree probable that the pantomimic use of the various parts of the mouth constitute 'a fundamental principle which has always been at work, both in the origin and in the successive modifications of human speech'. Dr Wallace did not recognize Dickens' observation of hand and mouth as exemplified by Sam Weller; but he was, I believe, the first to point out that the pantomimic principle may be still active in man's unconscious development of his spoken language, and that modern languages may be just as gestural as the older ones . . . --R. A. S. Paget, 1951. Science News (England) 20: 87.
"He [Conrad] loved old memoirs and travels--and I think Wallace's Malay Archipelago was his favorite bedside book." Again Mr. Curle wrote that Conrad read The Malay Archipelago "over and over again . . . It was his favorite bedside companion. He had an intense admiration for those pioneer explorers--'profoundly inspired men' as he called them--who have left us a record of their work; and of Wallace, above all, he never ceased to speak in terms of enthusiasm. Even in conversation he would amplify some remark by observing, 'Wallace says so-and-so,' and The Malay Archipelago had been his intimate friend for many years." [comments by Richard Curle] . . . --Florence Clemens, July 1939. South Atlantic Quarterly 38: 305.
Though born and bred in England, no snobbishness had ever touched him, he felt that the peasant's life, being richer in experience, was more interesting than the lord's. Yet he was of the finest courtesy, kindness and generosity; he loved to relieve any want or alleviate any misery; he said once: "The sole value of riches is the joy of giving." I knew him for more than a quarter of a century and can recall no fault in him--no flaw even. His temper was as patient and quiet and fair as his mind, and his health was almost perfect even in extreme age. In writing thus of him, I feel as if I were ladling out treacle to my readers; but I can't help it; I can't go outside the Truth. Looking back, I'm inclined to think he was the wisest and best man I've ever known. Fortunately this word may be added, I've met dozens of bad men who were incomparably more interesting . . . --Frank Harris, 1920. In his Contemporary Portraits (Third Series) (published by the author): 105.
. . . The illustrious names of Myers, Sidgwick, Gurney, Wallace, Crookes, Zoellner and many other prominent men, are associated with the rebirth and the rehabilitation of the ancient belief in spirits. Even if the real nature of the observed facts be disputed, even if the explorers may be accused of errors, and sometimes of self-deception, there still belongs to them the immortal merit of having thrown the whole of their authority on to the side of non-material facts, regardlesss of public disapproval. They faced academic prejudices, and did not shrink from the cheap derision of their contemporaries; even at a time when the intellect of the educated classes was spellbound by the new dogma of materialism, they drew public attention to phenomena of an irrational nature, contrary to accepted convictions. These men typify the reaction of the human mind against the senseless and desolating materialistic view . . . --Carl Jung, May 1920. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 31(79): 76.
* * * * *
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A single application of Rootgrow will support a plant for its entire lifetime.
How do mycorrhizal fungi benefit plants?
In its simplest sense mycorrhizal fungi do everything plant roots do, just better.
When new plants are planted with Rootgrow it takes only 2-4 weeks under normal conditions for these fungi to start benefiting plants. In that time they attach themselves to the plant's root system and grow out rapidly into the soil, searching for nutrients and water. They essentially become part of the plant's own root system.
The benefits to plants are; Better nutrient uptake. These fungi are so much thinner and finer than the plant's own roots they can therefore find nutrients in the soil far more efficiently than the plant's own coarse roots. They are especially good at finding nutrients responsible for flowering and fruiting such as Phosphorus and Potassium. As they can explore a much greater amount of soil than the plant's own roots they are also far more likely to find trace elements and the rare nutrients that all plants need to grow well.
Mycorrhizal fungi are an essential part of a plant's ability to combat drought. Leaves and stems have developed mechanisms to combat drought such as silver leaves, waxy leaves and hairy leaves but these adaptations on their own aren't enough if the plant doesn't have its friendly fungal partner on its roots.
Mycorrhizal fungi hold onto water in soils like a sponge.
Establishment in difficult soils
Mycorrhizal fungi will enable plants to establish and thrive even in difficult soils. In poor sandy soils the mycorrhizal fungi will be able to find scarce nutrients and hold onto water. In clay soils these fungi will be able to unlock nutrients from the soil acting like a clay breaker.
How much do I need?
As a quick guideline, the amount of rootgrow needed usually works out to approximately 10% of the value of the plants purchased. i.e. spend £100 on plants and you will need 1x 360gram pouch to treat all of them.
For grass seed, you will approximately require 10 to 15 per cent of the volume (i.e. a 2.5kg bag of grass would required 250g-375g of rootgrow)
Available in a variety of sizes.
The 360g GEL variant is designed to treat bare rooted plants ONLY. Use on plants such as hedging, fruit canes, roses and trees.
It is a two step process, mixing sachet of powder to create the gel and then add rootgrow and dip roots into solution. One pouch will treat up to 150 bare root whips.
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Will the US Face Blackouts as Electricity Generation Suffers in Drought?
Well, its official – the U.S. government has acknowledged that the U.S. is in the worst drought in over 50 years, since December 1956, when about 58 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in moderate to extreme drought.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Climatic Data Center’s “State of the Climate Drought July 2012″ report, “Based on the Palmer Drought Index, severe to extreme drought affected about 38 percent of the contiguous United States as of the end of July 2012, an increase of about 5 percent from last month… About 57 percent of the contiguous U.S. fell in the moderate to extreme drought categories (based on the Palmer Drought Index) at the end of July… According to the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor, about 63 percent of the contiguous U.S. (about 53 percent of the U.S. including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico) was classified as experiencing moderate to exceptional (D1-D4) drought at the end of July.”
Much business writing on the effects of the drought have focused on its agricultural aspects. To give but one, the hottest, driest summer since 1936 scorching the Midwest have diminished projected corn and soybean crop yields s in the U.S. for a third straight year to their lowest levels in nine years. Accordingly, the price of a bushel of corn has jumped 62 percent since 15 June and soybeans gained 32 percent in the same period.
But as consumers fret about the inevitable rise in food prices to come, the drought is unveiling another, darker threat to the American lifestyle, as it is now threatening U.S. electricity supplies.
Because virtually all power plants, whether they are nuclear, coal, or natural gas-fired, are completely dependent on water for cooling. Hydroelectric plants require continuous water flow to operate their turbines. Given the drought, many facilities are overheating and utilities are shutting them down or running their plants at lower capacity. Few Americans know (or up to this point have cared) that the country’s power plants account for about half of all the water used in the United States. For every gallon of residential water used in the average U.S. household, five times more is used to provide that home with electricity via hydropower turbines and fossil fuel power plants, roughly 40,000 gallons each month.
Michael Webber, associate director of the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Texas at Austin, is under no such illusions, stating that the summer’s record high heat and drought have worked together to overtax the nation’s electrical grid, adding that families use more water to power their homes than they use from their tap. Webber said, “In summer you often get a double whammy. People want their air-conditioning and drought gets worse. You have more demand for electricity and less water available to produce it. That is what we are seeing in the Midwest right now, power plants on the edge.”
In July U.S. nuclear-power production hit its lowest seasonal levels in nine years as drought and heat forced Nuclear power plants from Ohio to Vermont to slow output. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman David McIntyre explained, “Heat is the main issue, because if the river is getting warmer the water going into the plant is warmer and makes it harder to cool. If the water gets too warm, you have to dial back production,” McIntyre said. “That’s for reactor safety, and also to regulate the temperature of discharge water, which affects aquatic life.”
Nuclear is the thirstiest power source. According to the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, West Virginia, the average NPP that generates 12.2 million megawatt hours of electricity requires far more water to cool its turbines than other power plants. NPPs need 2725 liters of water per megawatt hour for cooling. Coal or natural gas plants need, on average, only 1890 and 719 liters respectively to produce the same amount of energy.
And oh, the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center in its 16 August “U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook” wrote, “The Drought Outlook valid through the end of November 2012 indicates drought conditions will remain essentially unchanged in large sections of the central Mississippi Valley, the central and southwestern Great Plains, most of the High Plains, the central Rockies, the Great Basin, and parts of the Far West…” The lack of rain and the incessant heat, has also increased the need for irrigation water for farming, meaning increasing competition between the agricultural and power generation sectors for the same shrinking water “pool.”
But, every cloud has a silver lining. California’s Pacific Gas and Electric Co. utility, commonly known as PG&E, that provides natural gas and electricity to most of the northern two-thirds of California, from Bakersfield almost to the Oregon border, is on the case. PG&E has informed its customers that its “Diablo Canyon (nuclear) Power Plant, the largest source of generation in the utility’s service area, is cooled by ocean water, not by rivers that could dry up.”
Never mind the fact that by the time the Diablo Canyon NPP was completed in 1973, engineers discovered that it was several miles away from the Hosgri seismic fault, which had a 7.1 magnitude earthquake on 4 November 1927.
But ocean water as a coolant is not necessarily the answer either.
On 12 August Dominion Resources’ Millstone NPP, situated on Connecticut’s Niantic Bay on Long Island Sound, was forced to shut down one of two reactor units because seawater used to cool down the plant was too warm, averaging 1.7 degrees above the NRC limit of 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The Millstone NPP, which provides half of all power used in Connecticut and 12 percent in New England, was only restarted twelve days later.
The federal government is hardly known for its scaremongering tactics, but it would seem that Mother Nature is forcing Americans to belatedly consider making some lifestyle changes, as the choice seems to be devolving into energy conservation, turning down the air conditioner and digging deeper into the wallet for food costs.
It might also be time for serious national discussion about renewable energy, including wind and solar.
If the sun stops shining, all bets are off.
By. John C.K. Daly of Oilprice.comhome solar power, hydroelectric plants, national oceanic and atmospheric administration, palmer drought index
Short URL: http://www.solarthermalmagazine.com/?p=21120
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Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats on the ocean surface. Blanketing millions of square kilometers, sea ice forms and melts with the polar seasons, affecting both human activity and biological habitat. In the Arctic, some sea ice persists year after year, whereas almost all Southern Ocean or Antarctic sea ice is "seasonal ice," meaning it melts away and reforms annually. While both Arctic and Antarctic ice are of vital importance to the marine mammals and birds for which they are habitats, sea ice in the Arctic appears to play a more crucial role in regulating climate.
Because they are composed of ice originating from glaciers, icebergs are not considered sea ice. Most of the icebergs infesting North Atlantic shipping lanes originate from Greenland glaciers.
Global Sea Ice Extent and Concentration: What sensors on satellites are telling us about sea ice
Sea ice regulates exchanges of heat, moisture and salinity in the polar oceans. It insulates the relatively warm ocean water from the cold polar atmosphere except where cracks, or leads, in the ice allow exchange of heat and water vapor from ocean to atmosphere in winter. The number of leads determines where and how much heat and water are lost to the atmosphere, which may affect local cloud cover and precipitation.
The seasonal sea ice cycle affects both human activities and biological habitats. For example, companies shipping raw materials such as oil or coal out of the Arctic must work quickly during periods of low ice concentration, navigating their ships towards openings in the ice and away from treacherous multi-year ice that has accumulated over several years. Many arctic mammals, such as polar bears, seals, and walruses, depend on the sea ice for their habitat. These species hunt, feed, and breed on the ice. Studies of polar bear populations indicate that declining sea ice is likely to decrease polar bear numbers, perhaps substantially (Stirling and Parkinson 2006).
Ice thickness, its spatial extent, and the fraction of open water within the ice pack can vary rapidly and profoundly in response to weather and climate. Sea ice typically covers about 14 to 16 million square kilometers in late winter in the Arctic and 17 to 20 million square kilometers in the Antarctic Southern Ocean. The seasonal decrease is much larger in the Antarctic, with only about three to four million square kilometers remaining at summer's end, compared to approximately seven to nine million square kilometers in the Arctic. These maps provide examples of late winter and late summer ice cover in the two hemispheres.
Monitoring sea ice
Passive microwave satellite data represent the best method to monitor sea ice because of the ability to show data through most clouds and during darkness. Passive microwave data allow scientists to monitor the inter-annual variations and trends in sea ice cover. Observations of polar oceans derived from these instruments are essential for tracking the ice edge, estimating sea ice concentrations, and classifying sea ice types. In addition to the practical use of this information for shipping and transport, these data add to the meteorological knowledge base required for better understanding climate.
Decline in Arctic sea ice extent
Passive microwave satellite data reveal that, since 1979, winter Arctic ice extent has decreased about 3.6 percent per decade (Meier et al. 2006). Antarctic ice extent is increasing (Cavalieri et al. 2003), but the trend is small.
Satellite data from the SMMR and SSM/I instruments have been combined with earlier observations from ice charts and other sources to yield a time series of Arctic ice extent from the early 1900s onward. While the pre-satellite records are not as reliable, their trends are in good general agreement with the satellite record and indicate that Arctic sea ice extent has been declining since at least the early 1950s.
In recent years, satellite data have indicated an even more dramatic reduction in regional ice cover. In September 2002, sea ice in the Arctic reached a record minimum (Serreze et al. 2003), 4 percent lower than any previous September since 1978, and 14 percent lower than the 1979-2000 mean. In the past, a low ice year would be followed by a rebound to near-normal conditions, but 2002 was followed by two more low-ice years, both of which almost matched the 2002 record. Taking these three years into account, the September ice extent trend for 1979-2004 declined by 7.7 percent per decade (Stroeve et al. 2005). The year 2005 set a new record, dropping the estimated decline in end-of-summer Arctic sea ice to approximately 8 percent per decade. Although sea ice did not set a new record low in 2006, it did fall below normal for the fifth consecutive year. In 2007, sea ice broke all prior satellite records, reaching a record low a month before the end of melt season. Through 2007, the September decline trend is now over 10 percent per decade. (For current sea ice trends, visit NSIDC's Sea Ice Index Cryospheric Climate Indicators.)
Combined with record low summertime extent, Arctic sea ice exhibited a new pattern of poor winter recovery. In the past, a low-ice year would be followed by a rebound to near-normal conditions, but 2002 was followed by two more low-ice years, both of which almost matched the 2002 record (see Arctic Sea Ice Decline Continues). Although wintertime recovery of Arctic sea ice improved somewhat after 2006, wintertime extents have remained well below the long-term average.
Decline in Arctic Sea Ice Thickness
Sea ice thickness has likewise shown substantial decline in recent decades (Rothrock et al. 1999). Using data from submarine cruises, Rothrock and collaborators determined that the mean ice draft at the end of the melt season in the Arctic has decreased by about 1.3 meters between the 1950s and the 1990s.
Estimates based on measurements taken by NASA's ICESat laser altimeter, first-year ice that formed after the autumn of 2007 had a mean thickness of 1.6 meters. The ice formed relatively late in the autumn of 2007, and NSIDC researchers had actually anticipated this first-year ice to be thinner, but it nearly equaled the thickness of 2006 and 2007. Snow accumulation on sea ice helps insulate the ice from frigid air overhead, so sparse snowfall during the winter of 2007-2008 might have actually accelerated the sea ice's growth.
Greenhouse gases emitted through human activities and the resulting increase in global mean temperatures are the most likely underlying cause of the sea ice decline, but the direct cause is a complicated combination of factors resulting from the warming, and from climate variability. The Arctic Oscillation (AO) is a see-saw pattern of alternating atmospheric pressure at polar and mid-latitudes. The positive phase produces a strong polar vortex, with the mid-latitude jet stream shifted northward. The negative phase produces the opposite conditions. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the AO flipped between positive and negative phases, but it entered a strong positive pattern between 1989 and 1995. So the acceleration in the sea ice decline since the mid 1990s may have been partly triggered by the strongly positive AO mode during the preceding years (Rigor et al. 2002 and Rigor and Wallace 2004) that flushed older, thicker ice out of the Arctic, but other factors also played a role.
Since the mid-1990s, the AO has largely been a neutral or negative phase, and the late 1990s and early 2000s brought a weakening of the Beaufort Gyre. However, the longevity of ice in the gyre began to change as a result of warming along the Alaskan and Siberian coasts. In the past, sea ice in this gyre could remain in the Arctic for many years, thickening over time. Beginning in the late 1990s, sea ice began melting in the southern arm of the gyre, thanks to warmer air temperatures and more extensive summer melt north of Alaska and Siberia. Moreover, ice movement out of the Arctic through Fram Strait continued at a high rate despite the change in the AO. Thus warming conditions and wind patterns have been the main drivers of the steeper decline since the late 1990s. Sea ice may not be able to recover under the current persistently warm conditions, and a tipping point may have been passed where the Arctic will eventually be ice-free during at least part of the summer (Lindsay and Zhang 2005).
Examination of the long-term satellite record dating back to 1979 and earlier records dating back to the 1950s indicate that spring melt seasons have started earlier and continued for a longer period throughout the year (Serreze et al. 2007). Even more disquieting, comparison of actual Arctic sea ice decline to IPCC AR4 projections show that observed ice loss is faster than any of the IPCC AR4 models have predicted (Stroeve et al. 2007).
Disclaimer: This article is taken wholly from, or contains information that was originally published by, the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Topic editors and authors for the Encyclopedia of Earth may have edited its content or added new information. The use of information from the National Snow and Ice Data Center should not be construed as support for or endorsement by that organization for any new information added by EoE personnel, or for any editing of the original content.
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Science may have the solution: a chemical "hydrogel" coating made from chitosan, derived from the shells of crabs and shrimp. Chitosan is already sprayed on lots of other fruits and vegetables to kill bacteria and keep produce fresh. And on Wednesday, Xihong Li of Tianjin University presented data at a meeting of the American Chemical Society showing that it can work to delay banana ripening -- bad news for fruit flies, good news for you.
"We found that by spraying green bananas with a chitosan aerogel, we can keep bananas fresh for up to 12 days," Li said in a statement Wednesday. "Such a coating could be used at home by consumers, in supermarkets or during shipment of bananas."
Like other fruits, bananas don't die when they're picked. They respire through their skin, taking in oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide. Increased respiration means quicker ripening. The chitosan coating used by Li and his colleagues slowed down respiration enough to keep the fruit fresh.
Bananas also release a compound called ethylene, which encourages ripening. So leaving a bunch of bananas in a bag will trap a lot of ethylene gas in there, which makes them ripen faster. Other fruits and vegetables produce ethylene too, so keeping your banana in the same bowl as a bunch of apples will hasten its progress toward gooey oblivion.
Chitosan, with its seafood origin, could possibly pose problems for strict vegetarians and vegans, but it wouldn't be the first food additive that flew under the radar. Shellac, which you might primarily think of as something to polish furniture, is also applied to apples to replace natural waxes lost during the cleaning process. It's also made from a resin secreted by the female lac bug. Starbucks caught flak from its crunchier customers after it was revealed that the coffee giant was using crushed beetle shells to color its strawberry frappuccinos.
Still, if you're not squeamish about animal products, chitosan could be a good way to keep good bananas from going bad.
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Unfortunately, the modern buildings we live and work in rival cars and factories as sources of harm to the environment, contributing to deforestation, global warming, overuse of water and energy and carbon dioxide emissions.
Sustainable building refers to those buildings that are built to have the least impact on the natural environment, both in terms of the building itself, its immediate surroundings and the broader global setting. To construct in a sustainable way, some basic rules need to be followed: (a) minimization of non-renewable resource consumption; (b) enhancement of the natural environment; and (c) elimination or minimization of toxic emissions.
Almost every step of the green building process is heavily focused on how building elements fit together to optimize efficiency and sustainability.
Sustainable development marries two important themes:
1. Environmental protection does not preclude economic development.
2. Economic development must be ecologically viable now and in the long term.
“Sustainable design” involves the planning and development of projects in a manner that minimizes impact on natural resources, such as water and energy. There are many aspects to the sustainable process, one of which involves “LEED” principles – Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design, with standards for selecting materials and designing facilities established by the U.S. Green Building Council. Zurn strongly encourages organizations to consider including cost-effective and environmentally friendly practices in the design, construction and retrofit of buildings and facilities. In this way, your buildings and facilities not only exemplify your care for the environment and the well-being of the community that you serve, but they also decrease facility operating and maintenance costs.
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There are nearly two million known species on the planet. But many of those won't be around much longer; one out of every eight known bird species, one in four mammal species, and one in three amphibian species are at risk for extinction, according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which maintains the Red List, a catalog of the world's species classified according to their risk of extinction.
"It's supposed to inform conservation practice, to be a wake-up call for the extinctions that are happening," says Caroline Pollock, a program officer with the Red List unit. Animals that are classified as "critically endangered" are at the highest risk--their numbers in the wild may be extraordinarily low or their territories incredibly small. "It is possible to bring them back," Pollock says, "but it is quite work-intensive and financially expensive." Here, a look at five species on the brink.
Native to Spain and Portugal, there are fewer than 250 of these felines left in the wild. Habitat destruction has been a major cause of its decline as agriculture spreads through its homeland. Additionally, disease has claimed a large percentage of the region's rabbits, one of the lynx's primary food sources. Intensive captive breeding programs are currently underway to help save the lynx, Pollock says. If they do disappear, the lynx will be the first wild cat to go extinct in more than 2,000 years.
The wild population of these frogs has declined more than 80 percent in the last decade. The plummeting numbers of the frogs, which are endemic to Panama, is largely a result of chytridiomycosis, an infectious fungal disease that seems to be causing mass amphibian die-offs. The disease is still spreading, and deforestation is adding to the pressures faced by the frogs. Though there are captive-breeding programs in place for these amphibians, they will not be released into the wild until conditions improve.
Fewer than 100 of these birds, which are confined to one small island in Cape Verde, remain in the wild. The birds have been threatened by drought and increasing desertification on the island, conditions that may worsen as a result of global climate change. Because they build their nests on the ground, they also face risks from cats, dogs, and rats that have been introduced to the island.
Only 34 of these trees, native to Mexico, remain. The plants have a low rate of pollination--and don't reach maturity until they are approximately 25 years old--and are also profoundly threatened by agriculture. One tree was cut down in 2006 to expand farmland, and insecticides decrease the number of pollinators available to help the trees spread. Human-caused fires have also destroyed or damaged a number of these plants.
It could already be too late for the Yangtze River dolphin, or baiji. There has not been a documented sighting of these cetaceans, which lived in China's Yangtze River and nearby lakes, since 2002. A search for the dolphin--and the signature sounds that they make--was conducted in late 2006 but turned up no evidence of the mammals. However, further surveys are still needed to determine whether the dolphins truly have disappeared forever. The baiji's population decline is due, in large part, to the development of Chinese waterways and the expansion of commercial fishing.
Read more on helping endangered species by breeding captive animals in DISCOVER's Recall of the Wild
Emotion researcher Jaak Panksepp
Read More »
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Since 1993, RAN’s Protect-an-Acre program (PAA) has distributed more than one million dollars in grants to more than 150 frontline communities, Indigenous-led organizations, and allies, helping their efforts to secure protection for millions of acres of traditional territory in forests around the world.
Rainforest Action Network believes that Indigenous peoples are the best stewards of the world’s rainforests and that frontline communities organizing against the extraction and burning of dirty fossil fuels deserve the strongest support we can offer. RAN established the Protect-an-Acre program to protect the world’s forests and the rights of their inhabitants by providing financial aid to traditionally under-funded organizations and communities in forest regions.
Indigenous and frontline communities suffer disproportionate impacts to their health, livelihood and culture from extractive industry mega-projects and the effects of global climate change. That’s why Protect-an-Acre provides small grants to community-based organizations, Indigenous federations and small NGOs that are fighting to protect millions of acres of forest and keep millions of tons of CO2 in the ground.
Our grants support organizations and communities that are working to regain control of and sustainably manage their traditional territories through land title initiatives, community education, development of sustainable economic alternatives, and grassroots resistance to destructive industrial activities.
PAA is an alternative to “buy-an-acre” programs that seek to provide rainforest protection by buying tracts of land, but which often fail to address the needs or rights of local Indigenous peoples. Uninhabited forest areas often go unprotected, even if purchased through a buy-an-acre program. It is not uncommon for loggers, oil and gas companies, cattle ranchers, and miners to illegally extract resources from so-called “protected” areas.
Traditional forest communities are often the best stewards of the land because their way of life depends upon the health of their environment. A number of recent studies add to the growing body of evidence that Indigenous peoples are better protectors of their forests than governments or industry.
Based on the success of Protect-an-Acre, RAN launched The Climate Action Fund (CAF) in 2009 as a way to direct further resources and support to frontline communities and Indigenous peoples challenging the fossil fuel industry.
Additionally, RAN has been a Global Advisor to Global Greengrants Fund (GGF) since 1995, identifying recipients for small grants to mobilize resources for global environmental sustainability and social justice using the same priority and criteria as we use for PAA and CAF.
Through these three programs each year we support grassroots projects that result in at least:
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by Alexandra Friedman:
“It is a complete failure,” sighed Jenn Baka from her hotel room in Tamil Nadu, India.
After months of studying a unique plant on a Fulbright Scholarship, Baka has deemed it—the jatropha curcas—a flop. Just a few years ago, it was hailed as the crown jewel of Indian sustainable energy. The renewable energy industry began to explore the biofuel potential of jatropha, a plant that produces toxic, non-edible nuts. With a readily extractable 45 percent oil content and the ability to run in any diesel machine after processing, jatropha caught the attention of governments, private companies and NGOs alike.
The Indian government championed jatropha from the start, largely due to the energy needs of its burgeoning population and its dependency on foreign fuel as the fourth largest consumer of oil in the world. With over one billion people and nearly all of its fertile land allocated to food crops, India’s land shortages render most biofuel cultivation impossible.
Still, the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy pledged to achieve 20 percent biodiesel consumption by 2017 and to provide the entire Indian population with a source of renewable energy by 2015. For a while, jatropha seemed like the answer, launching to the top of the national Indian energy agenda due to its purported ability to grow anywhere.
In 2003 the Indian government began to set aside officially designated “wasteland” as jatropha test sites, where a combination of public and private investment enabled the planting of jatropha plantations. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005, which guarantees rural Indian households 100 days of employment on manual labor projects, provided the necessary workforce to plant jatropha. “It was promoted as a crop that can survive in marginal environments under rain-fed conditions, meaning no fertilizer or extra water required, so farmers took up the crop. Surprise, surprise—it doesn’t grow well in marginal conditions,” explained Baka.
At first glance an almost messianic plant, jatropha promised to bolster employment levels and turn wastelands into producers of clean, renewable energy. Researchers had estimated that one acre would yield between 200 and 400 gallons of oil, significantly more than current biofuels like soy and canola oil. But after years of trying to harvest the nut’s potential, researchers and farmers have begun to accept failure. “Jatropha is a pandemic like H1N1. It is not going to solve the energy crisis of the world, but rather take away land where large populations are growing,” said Dr. K.K. Tripathi of the Indian Department of Biotechnology, who has conducted multiple government and private studies revealing poor yields of jatropha.
Dr. Robert Bailis of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, who is currently researching the lifecycle of jatropha as a biofuel, agreed: “Unfortunately, the plant was really over-hyped if you go back four, five years. It was pitched as this miracle crop that can grow in really poor conditions and give great yields with very little input and very little attention from the farmer,” he said, “and none of that is true.”
This trend is especially apparent in the private sector, where companies are steadily decreasing investment in jatropha projects. In 2009 British Petroleum sold its rights in an estimated $12.1 million jatropha project joint venture with D1 Oils for a mere $818,900, making a timely departure before D1 Oils fell into financial woes.
Megha Rathee, chief operating officer at green consultancy firm Earth 100, commented on dwindling governmental investment: “The expected yield of jatropha never came into being, so the government lost interest.” The haphazard implementation of projects like these causes skepticism among researchers like Bailis, who questions the motives of corporations and the Indian government behind the push for jatropha. “People don’t act ethically when it comes to business,” he insisted.
Unfortunately, farmers have suffered much more than private investors. A lack of buyers and refineries means that many of these farmers cannot sell their product, even with the government’s push for jatropha. On top of that, many farmers have reported poor yields and insist that in the three-year-plus period it takes to grow, process, and sell jatropha, they could turn a higher profit by planting crops like sorghum or sugarcane.
Over a third of the 700 farmers Baka interviewed were promised loans from agricultural banks to replace their normal food crops with jatropha, many more receiving encouragement from the local government. Few have received compensation for their efforts.
Jatropha’s final redeeming quality—that it grows in fallow and otherwise unused land—also falls short. Proponents of the plant argue that regardless of yield, jatropha does not compete for valuable food crop space, especially when planted in “wasteland” areas. But Baka found discrepancies in the government terminology of “wasteland.” Baka noted that one village leader she met while doing survey work in Tamil Nadu told her that “the local state government body had forced him to plant jatropha in his village even though he said he didn’t have land. The government was trying to promote it so heavily and do these propagation schemes that they even forced him [to find land] to plant it.”
Because of this external pressure, villages that grow jatropha are often forced to cultivate it in common land areas, normally used as public space for gathering fuel wood or grazing animals. The Indian government definition of wastelands is “lands that can be put to more productive use with effort.” In many instances, “there is this whole other energy economy situated there that’s not mentioned in any of the government assessments of wastelands,” said Baka. These wastelands are often home to trees used for fuel wood, charcoal production, electricity production and tire retreading.
In some locales, jatropha has achieved success: A handful of private companies promoting the plant have implemented an effective system of jatropha production, refinement and exportation. Gold Star Biofuels, a private jatropha oil manufacturer, is one such company. Through its unique humanitarian focus on its farmers, Gold Star, “helps the economy of the country by providing jobs to unemployed farmers, keeps the families together on the farms, pays all of our farmers U.N. wages on levels projected for 2015 and pays national insurance,” explained Jack Holden, the company’s executive director.
Earth 100, part of Goldman Sachs Group’s efforts to reduce its carbon foot-print in India, has similarly achieved success as a buyer in the jatropha oil manufacturing industry. They provide companies with ‘green fleets’ of cars that are powered solely by nonedible biofuels like jatropha. Most of Earth 100’s jatropha comes from wild sources, picked and collected by villagers in an alternative, organic manner of cultivation.
Aside from the social benefits, jatropha seedcakes produced as a byproduct of oil extraction can help replenish the soil. “The technology needed for avoiding chemical fertilizer is very important and significant in reducing the carbon footprint as well as energy use and improving the scenario towards sustainability [of jatropha],” said Dr. Alok Adholeya of the Energy and Resources Institute.
Despite these small-scale successes, the overriding failure of jatropha has left many projects abandoned. The true sustainability of the plant is yet to be determined: Factors influencing the yield, the carbon balance of jatropha, and the amount of energy used to manufacture the oil and the seedcake must still be researched.
The enigma of jatropha remains unsolved. As Rathee explained, “Jatropha is not the ideal solution, but it’s the only one that we have right now.”
Alexandra Friedman ’14 is in Pierson College. Contact her at email@example.com.
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With summer just around the corner, the days are getting longer and the nights are getting shorter. This means more hours a day that the sun is in contact with your skin. With this prolonged UV exposure, it is important to keep your skin protected. Keep reading for some helpful tips on using sunscreen to effectively guard your skin during the summer months.
Choosing Your Sunscreen
Do you ever wonder how effective your sunscreen really is? Are certain types better than others? Does SPF actually mean anything? Keep reading for some tips on choosing sunscreen.
What kind is the best?
There are two main types of sunscreen: physical blockers and chemical blockers. Each one has its pros and cons. Physical blockers are made from titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, which are materials that sit on the surface of the skin and are not quickly absorbed. Because of this, physical blockers reflect UV rays. This type of sunscreen lasts longer than chemical blockers, but because it is not absorbed can be easily washed or sweated off.
Chemical blockers, on the other hand, are made up of benzophenones. These chemicals help to absorb UV radiation. Because this type of sunscreen does soak into the skin, it is much more water resistant than physical blockers. However, it wears off much faster, and therefore needs to be reapplied more frequently.
Both chemical and physical blockers are effective in protecting your skin from UV rays, but which one you use should depend on the situation. If you are going to be in water or sweating a lot, a chemical blocker would probably be the best choice. Any other sun exposure would most likely be fine with a physical blocker.
What does SPF even mean?
SPF stands for sun protection factor. A common misconception about SPF is that the higher the number, the less you have to reapply. In actuality, the SPF number is only a guide to how long you can go without reapplying. A good rule of thumb is to multiply the number of minutes it takes you to burn without sunscreen times the SPF number to find your maximum sun exposure time with sunscreen. For example, if it normally takes you 15 minutes to burn, and you use a sunscreen of 20 SPF, then you can go a maximum of 300 minutes in the sun before reapplying. This equation is not always accurate, however, because most people use less sunscreen than the amount used in testing; therefore, reapplication needs to be even more frequent.
The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using a sunscreen that is of an SPF 30 or higher, and protects against both UVA and UVB rays.
In order for sunscreen to be effective, it is important to apply it properly. Here are some tips for using sunscreen:
- Apply sunscreen 15-30 minutes before going outside so that it has time to fully absorb into your skin.
- One ounce is usually enough to cover all surfaces of your body. Typically one ounce is about 2 tablespoons.
- Reapply every two hours or after swimming or heavily sweating.
- Don’t forget your lips! Use a lip balm with an SPF of 30 or higher to protect your lips from getting burned, too.
Soothing a Burn
If you do get burned, there are some easy home remedies you can try to help ease the pain.
- Aloe vera or a cool compress to cool off the burn and reduce stinging.
- Drink water and use lotion to restore moisture back into your skin.
- Blend washed potatoes in a food processor or blender and apply the mixture to the burned area. Once it dries, wash it off. The potatoes help to relieve some of the pain accompanied by the burn.
- Taking an over-the-counter pain reliever such as aspirin may also help to relieve pain and reduce inflammation.
While one sunburn may only cause you a slight inconvenience, repeated exposure to the sun’s UV rays without protection could possibly lead to skin cancer. Because of this, it is important to use sunscreen anytime you will be in contact with the sun and to reapply often. Be sure to use enough to generously cover all exposed areas, and your skin will have a much better chance at surviving the summer.
Are you afraid of going to the dentist? Studies show that about 15% of Americans suffer from dental anxiety or phobia. There are many different factors that may contribute to this fear; however, it is important to overcome dental fears, otherwise it may have a negative effect on your health. Keep reading for some tips to help set your mind at ease at the dentist.
Fear of the Pain/Drill
If the fear of excruciating pain from the drill or other procedure is what’s keeping you from going to the dentist, there are some steps you can take to help make the idea less scary. First, do your research. Familiarize yourself with the procedure so that you know exactly what to expect every step of the way. Learn about the technology used; today’s advanced technology makes many procedures painless. Ask your dentist, too, as his technique may be different from what is normally done.
If you are still hesitant, keep your eyes closed and ask your dentist if you can put in your headphones and listen to music while he is working on your mouth. If you can’t see or hear what’s going on, it may help reduce any pain or discomfort you might otherwise experience.
Fear of Needles
The needle numbs your mouth for the procedure, but what numbs your mouth for the needle? If you’re afraid of that sharp needle piercing your soft gum tissue, talk to your dentist. Depending on the procedure, the dentist may be able to use another means of numbing, such as nitrous oxide. If not, he may be able to use a strong numbing gel to desensitize the area before the needle goes in. It may also help to close your eyes, so that you do not see the needle being put in your mouth.
In some cases, people may be avoiding the dentist because they are embarrassed by the condition of their teeth. If you are embarrassed by your teeth, talk to your dentist. It is a dentist’s job to provide you with dental care – regardless of the state of your teeth. Chances are the dentist has seen much worse, and the only way to repair your smile is to see a dentist. Voice any insecurities you have to your dentist. He or she will be able to ease your mind about getting dental care.
Effect on Overall Health
Severe dental anxiety can have negative effects on your health. Letting fear keep you from seeing the dentist can result in poor dental health, which in turn can affect your overall health. If your teeth and gums become chronically infected, this can affect speech patterns and the ability to chew and digest properly, and even lead to heart disease. Because the effect of avoiding the dentist extends beyond dental health, it is important to overcome any dental fear and go in for regular cleanings.
Dental anxiety keeps many people from visiting the dentist, but that can have detrimental effects on oral health. If fear or nervousness is keeping you from seeing the dentist, talk to your dentist about your concerns. He or she should be able to provide you with what you need to make your experience comfortable.
90% of Americans think they have a healthy diet, according to a survey by Consumer Reports. However, many foods and habits that are widely considered to be healthy may actually be causing more harm than good. Are you promoting a healthy lifestyle, or are your habits hurting you more than you know? Keep reading to find out what foods and habits are surprisingly unhealthy.
Surprisingly Unhealthy Foods
- Dried fruit and nuts: Dried fruit and nuts do have some nutritional value as an excellent source of fiber, vitamin C, and healthy fats and protein. However, the fruit and nut mixtures often have a ton of added salt and sugar. They may even include other items in the mix, such as chocolate chips. All of these things combined turn an otherwise healthy snack into a health hazard. Look for mixes without added sugar or salt, to enjoy the snack without the risk. Or buy plain nuts and dried fruit and make the mix yourself!
- Granola: Granola is a great source of potassium, fiber and protein, but it can also be high in fat and calories. In addition, many of the items eaten with or added to granola are unhealthy, such as yogurt, chocolate or sugar. Try pairing granola with low-calorie cereals to add more nutritional value, and portion control is always key.
- Bran muffin: While bran itself is very heart healthy and friendly to the digestive system, adding it to a muffin somewhat negates the nutritional value. Muffins contain a lot of sugar and fat. In fact, health expert and author Joan Salge Blake even said that a bran muffin could potentially have more calories than a donut! The best option is to head straight for the bran and skip the muffin altogether; but, if you must have the muffin, there are some recipes available for healthier muffins.
- Veggie patties: Veggie burgers certainly have a lot of healthy nutrients in them; however, the pre-made, frozen patties usually contain a lot of added ingredients such as yeast extract, cornstarch and gums which have little nutritional value. Check the label for the ingredients and nutrition information before buying veggie patties to make sure they are a healthy choice.
- Reduced fat peanut butter: You would think anything with reduced fat would be a healthier option than the fatty, regular stuff, right? While oftentimes this is the case, the fat in peanut butter is actually healthy. Removing it therefore eliminates a lot of the nutritional value. Stick with regular peanut butter, but watch your portions since peanuts tend to be high in calories.
Surprisingly Unhealthy Habits
- Using hand sanitizer: While hand sanitizer can be helpful for hand washing on the go, it really isn’t any more effective than soap and water. In addition, some hand sanitizing gels contain the ingredient triclosan, which can actually help promote the growth of bacteria. Look for brands that contain at least 60% alcohol which help kill bacteria more effectively.
- Wearing flip flops: Flip flops help keep your feet cool during the summer, but that’s about the only favor the shoes do for your feet. Flip flops have no arch support or structural support for your feet, which can lead to strained muscles. Likewise, wearing no shoes at all can have a similar effect. For your summer footwear, opt for comfortable sandals that will provide plenty of support for your feet.
- Drinking bottled water: While drinking it bottled is better than not drinking water at all, only drinking bottled water is not the healthiest option. Bottled water contains no fluoride, as opposed to tap water, which does. A fluoride deficiency can lead to tooth decay, so it is important to try to get fluoride in your water. If you are concerned about what might be in tap water, you can get a purifier such as Brita or PUR. These purifiers eliminate any impurities in the water but keep the fluoride.
- Cleaning with disinfecting products: Cleaners that claim to be disinfectant or antibacterial may seem useful in cleaning your home, but inhaling the chemicals in these cleaners can have negative effects on your health. These products contain chemicals called quaternary ammonium compounds, which can lead to asthma if inhaled. In addition, some products also contain a cancer-causing chemical called 2-butoxyethanol. Disinfectant cleaners have not been proven to be any more effective than regular cleaners, so you may want to stick with those if you are concerned about the health risk.
- Overbrushing your teeth: Brushing your teeth is definitely a good thing, but brushing them too hard or too often can be damaging to the enamel, making teeth more prone to tooth decay. Dentists recommend brushing for two minutes, 2-3 times a day with a soft bristled brush to avoid potential damage. If needed, you can rinse away any food particles left over from eating with a glass of water in between brushings.
Eating well and avoiding harmful habits is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, it is important to be aware of what could potentially have a negative influence on your health. To find out more about what you can do to be healthier, talk to your doctor.
Dental hygiene is very important to overall health. However, dental care is most effective when done properly. Many people do not realize that they are taking care of their teeth incorrectly. If you’re worried you might be one of these people, read on to discover some helpful tips on proper dental care.
The Proper Way to Brush
Brushing teeth is a daily task. However, many people are unaware that there is a right and wrong way to brush their teeth. In fact, according to a survey by Men’s Health News, 90% of people brush their teeth wrong. Here’s the proper way to brush your teeth, starting with choosing the right toothbrush.
Certain toothbrushes are better for your oral health than others. Choose a toothbrush that is comfortable for you to use, because the more comfortable it is for you, the more likely you are to brush your teeth. Many sizes and handle varieties are available, but these things are a matter of preference. The bristles, however, should be soft. Hard bristles are abrasive and can damage enamel.
In addition, your toothbrush should be stored in an environment that allows it to completely dry in between uses. Toothbrush cases and caps are great for storing your toothbrush during travel, but should not be used immediately after use as they will lock in the moisture, increasing the chance of bacterial growth. Don’t let this fact tempt you to skimp on rinsing your brush after each use, though; leaving the toothbrush un-rinsed can cause bacteria to grow, as well. In addition, you should replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months, as it becomes worn out and is no longer as effective.
How to Brush
Brushing should be done a minimum of twice daily, at morning and at night. Too much brushing, however, can wear away enamel and irritate gums. To prevent this, professionals discourage brushing more than three times a day.
Brushing should take a total of about two minutes, spending about 30 seconds on each quadrant of the mouth. When brushing, the brush should be held at a 45 degree angle, using short strokes in a circular, up and down motion. Many people move their brush horizontally, but this can wear ridges in your enamel that cause teeth to become dull and rough. Don’t forget to get the inner surfaces of your teeth and your tongue, too!
The Proper Way to Floss
Flossing is often neglected, but is an essential part of your daily oral hygiene routine. Flossing gets in the tight spaces that your toothbrush can’t fit into. In addition, flossing has also been linked to the prevention of diabetes and other diseases. However, flossing is only effective when performed correctly; otherwise, it may cause more harm than good.
Choosing the Right Floss
There are many different types of floss available. You should use either nylon floss, which is multifilament, or PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) floss with one filament. While the nylon floss is much cheaper, its many filaments make it easy for the floss to tear or shred while in use. PTFE floss is one strand and therefore can easily slide in and out of tight spaces; however, it can be very expensive.
Floss is available in either waxed or unwaxed. Both are effective, so the choice is up to you. It is better to use regular floss instead of harps or Waterpiks, however, as it is the most effective.
How to Floss
To floss, cut off about 18 inches of floss. Wrap the ends around both of your middle fingers until only about 1-2 inches remains. Place in between two teeth and begin flossing in an up and down motion. Curve the floss around the base of each tooth to get any bacteria along the gum line. When you are done, work the floss back down from in between the teeth and go to the next tooth. Be sure to always use a clean section of floss for each tooth, or else you will just be putting bacteria back in your mouth.
Flossing should be done once a day, either in the morning or at night. Some say that flossing should be done before brushing, because the bacteria and food particles removed with floss could be blocking the tooth’s exposure to fluoride if brushing is done first.
The Proper Way to Use Mouthwash
Mouthwash is probably the most overlooked part of oral hygiene with only 31% of adults claiming to use mouthwash. However, while mouthwash is not a necessary part of oral hygiene, it is very beneficial in killing extra bacteria missed from brushing and flossing. It also helps to freshen breath and strengthen teeth.
Choosing Your Mouthwash
There are many types of mouthwash available: fluoride, antiseptic, cosmetic, and more. There is no one “right” mouthwash, so you should choose the one that best fits your dental needs. However, make sure that whichever mouthwash you choose is non-alcoholic. Alcohol dries out your mouth, which can promote the growth of bacteria because saliva has anti-bacterial properties. Mouthwash that contains alcohol could actually cause more harm than good, so be sure to stay away from alcohol based products.
How to Use Mouthwash
After you’ve brushed and flossed, measure out 20mL of mouthwash and gargle the liquid for 45-60 seconds. Be careful not to swallow any of the mouthwash. After you are finished gargling, spit the mouthwash out and rinse with water, unless stated otherwise in the directions on the bottle. It is best not to eat or drink anything for 30 minutes after use for maximum effectiveness.
If you use a mouthwash, you should use it one to two times a day. It can be used at any time of day, though some say it is most effective in the afternoon so the fluoride can integrate into the tooth structure.
While brushing your incorrectly is definitely better than skipping brushing all together, it is not as effective and could potentially damage your teeth. For the best results, use the proper methods listed for brushing, flossing and using mouthwash. Talk to your dentist for more information on proper dental care.
March 20th marked the first day of spring this year, and for many people that means warmer weather, green grass and blooming flowers. For some, however, the beginning of spring is not as cheerful an event. To these people, spring only has one meaning – allergies.
Roughly 20% of the American population suffers from some sort of allergy. Because spring is the time of year when everything begins to bloom and grow, it is also the time of year when airborne allergies like pollen become most prevalent. Keep reading to find out more about seasonal allergies and what you can do to avoid them.
Cause of Allergies
Have you ever wondered how allergies develop, or why you react to a particular allergen? The exact cause of allergies is unknown, but there are many factors that are thought to play a part in the development of allergies.
- Genetics. Certain allergies can be hereditary. If one or both of your parents are allergic to something, there’s a good chance you will develop that allergy as well. However, you may not always develop the same allergy as your parents. While allergies are typically genetic, the substance you are allergic to may vary from generation to generation.
- Age. Chances of allergy development can increase after repeated exposure to a particular substance that the body does not recognize. Therefore, experts believe that the likelihood of developing allergies increases later in life due to continuous exposure to an allergen.
- Immune Response. Scientists also believe that how your immune system responds to certain intruders plays a part in the development of allergies. If the immune system identifies a substance that has entered the body as a dangerous intruder, it will fight to eliminate the substance and develop a sensitivity to it.
- Your Environment. Where you live (or are) can also have an effect on allergic reactions. If a certain allergen has a high prevalence in a particular area, it is unlikely that people who live in that area will react to that substance. Because they are exposed to it often, the immune system recognizes it as a normal substance. However, if someone from a different area is exposed to that allergen, they may develop the allergy because their immune system does not recognize it.
Allergies can be treated with prescription or over-the-counter medication. Any of the following types of medicine are commonly taken for allergies:
- Nasal steroids
- Expectorants such as guaifenesin
In addition, some non-medical treatments may be done to help relieve allergies. Some types of acupuncture have been known to treat allergies, as well as some over-the-counter saline sprays. You may also consider getting an air filter for your house to make sure the air that is coming in is pure. It is also a good idea to avoid going outside or to places where your allergies may be triggered.
If you’re prone to allergies, you may want to take extra caution during the spring months to avoid coming into contact with allergens. Try one of these helpful tips for allergy-proofing your home.
- Close your windows and doors. In both your car and at home, open windows/doors invite airborne allergens in. Keep them closed to keep out potential allergy-causing substances.
- Don’t use fans. Not only do fans help spread allergens throughout a room, they are also a common breeding ground for some common allergens, such as dust mites. Avoid fan usage during allergy season as it may worsen allergies.
- Dry clothes inside. Drying clothes on a clothes line outside may attract substances to stick to clothing, causing allergies. Keep clothes allergen-free by drying them inside.
- Wear a hat/sunglasses. If you can’t avoid going outside for the duration of allergy season, try putting on a hat or sunglasses. This will help keep allergens out of your eyes and face to avoid irritation.
If you think you may have allergies, contact your doctor. There are tests that can be taken to find out what specifically you are allergic to, and a doctor can prescribe medication as needed. While most allergies do not have a permanent cure, they are highly treatable with the proper medication and care.
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Walking and cycling have long been considered the most environmentally sound methods of getting around. They still are but some environmentalists have argued that food production has become so fossil-fuel intensive that driving could be considered greener than walking (though the analysis has been debunked as flawed).
What of other, more obviously polluting, modes of transport? The data below gives an idea of how your carbon footprint might grow depending on how you make a journey. If you were to take an average domestic flight rather than a high-speed electric train, you'd be personally responsible for 29 times as much carbon dioxide.
The data also highlights how the UK government's plans to electrify parts of the rail network could cut emissions. Diesel trains are responsible for more greenhouse gases than electric trains, even taking into account Britain's carbon-heavy electricity production.
On the roads, next-generation hybrid and electric vehicles can help those of us behind the wheel to be that little bit greener. However, no journey is completely carbon free.
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But Keller and her colleagues say their research proves otherwise.
Keller has studied the Chicxulub site and other impact-crater sites around the world for the past decade. She believes that the asteroid impact behind Chicxulub coincided with a "time of massive volcanism, which led to greenhouse warming."
Keller says those three eventsthe Chicxulub asteroid impact, volcanism, and climate change"led to high biotic stress and caused the decline of many tropical species populations," but not mass extinctions. That die-off didn't occur until later. However, Keller does believe that the initial confluence of volcanic activity, global warming, and the Chicxulub asteroid impact ultimately contributed to the mass extinction.
Key to Keller's assertions is a 20-inch-thick (50-centimeter-thick) layer of limestone found between the K-T boundary and the impact breccia, or molten lava and rocky debris, laid down when the Chicxulub asteroid collided with Earth.
Keller and her colleagues believe that the thickness of the limestone layera type of sedimentary rock characteristically formed under large bodies of water like oceans, seas, and lakesindicates that it accumulated in the crater over some 300,000 years after the impact. As proof, Keller points to fossils of microscopic organisms called foraminifera and fossil burrows present in the limestone layer.
According to Keller, those fossils indicate the sediment was deposited after the asteroid impact but before the period of mass extinction that marked the end of the Cretaceous.
Many other scientists disagree with that interpretation, however. They say the layer of fossil-rich limestone was deposited quickly as backwash and infill caused by a huge tsunami that followed the Chicxulub asteroid's impact with Earth. The layer, they say, did not take 300,000 years to accumulate.
In her defense, Keller says the quick-accumulation theory is unsupported by evidence that would have been found during her analysis of core samples gathered at Chicxulub and 45 localities in northeast Mexico.
But Alan Hildebrand, a proponent of the quick-accumulation theory, says the burrows were "made by organisms digging after the fireball layer was deposited."
Thomas R. Holtz, Jr., a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Maryland in College Park, supports the view that the limestone was quickly laid down as crater infill. He said he is not surprised that Cretaceous fossils were found in the limestone layer.
"If an asteroid clobbered the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. today, I would expect that most of the infilling would be Chevys and Hondas and shopping malls and houses and cows and McDonald's burger wrappers," Holtz said. "Only a tiny bit might be mastodons and Clovis points and Miocene whales." In other words, the crater would quickly fill with objects common on Earth at the time of impact.
So where do researchers in the Keller camp look next for the possible K-T crater? Keller says she's unsure, although "some scientists have suggested it could be a structure called Shiva, in India. We have no convincing evidence so far that this is the case."
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Physical environment is subject to continuous modification from natural causes, such as tectonic forces, temperature extremes, fire, wind and river erosion, vegetation processes, and animal action. No less than natural agents, human actions can result in widespread and irreversible environmental change. Many of these processes occur insidiously over prolonged periods. In such instances, the effects often are cumulative. Other human actions may be more sudden and concentrated, resulting in immediate and noticeable change.
Whether continuous or precipitous, these human actions frequently have degraded the affected environment. The nineteenth century, a time of British consolidation in Gangetic India, witnessed both types of phenomena. Traditional environmental alterations continued, while imported technologies introduced new, more threatening agents of change.
Agents of Continuous Change
The Banaras region, like most of the Gangetic plain, has been continuously populated for some twenty-five hundred years. In the process local residents established an important urban center, maintained its streets and buildings, connected it to other communities, supplied its industrial needs, and fed its population. Throughout this time human occupation affected the surroundings in a variety of ways.
Land Use and Resource Depletion . Over the centuries while Banaras city grew, its inhabitants exploited the adjoining terrain and its resources.
They cultivated the land to near capacity; hunted wildlife; raised livestock; and extracted timber, fuel, stone, sand, clay, and groundwater. Those materials and supplies which were unavailable locally were imported and brought in by road or stream.
As Banaras continued to grow and prosper, surrounding lands strained to supply the rising needs of the city and its visitors. By 1800 the region's resource base was becoming strained. The town itself was built on the site of the legendary Forest of Bliss. But by the nineteenth century, according to Diana Eck, townspeople retained only memories of the once luxuriant woods. One central neighborhood came to be known as the "Cut-Down Forest" (Eck 1982:29).
In the countryside, too, large tracts had been cleared for farming, leaving only isolated trees and planted groves. The extensive fields in place by 1800 blanketed what was once a natural habitat of dense forest. The original cover included stands of valuable trees, such as sal (Shorea robusta ) shisham (Dalbergia sissoo ), jaman (Eugenia jambolana ), mahua (Bassia latifolia ), ber (Ziziphus jujuba ), pipal (Ficus religiosa ), neem (Azadirachta indica ), pagun[*] (Bombax ceiba ), banyan (Ficus bengalensis ), tamarind (Tamarindus indica ), and babul (Acacia arabica ). Apart from isolated stands near villages, few of these trees remained in the nineteenth century. Grasses and shrubs, too were continuously grazed and harvested for manufacturing bricks (Troup 1921, 2:8; 3:4, 147, 231; Stebbing 1922–26: glossary; R. L. Singh 1971:204).
This large-scale devegetation of the countryside put an enormous strain on the soil resources. No longer compacted by broad root systems, topsoils were swept away by floods and blown off by winds. And depletion of leguminous trees and shrubs deprived the earth of the nitrogen-fixing action of roots, leaving soils deficient in bacterial content. The stresses of repeated cropping and traditional shallow tillage minimized soil rotation, accelerated nutrient depletion, and reduced fertility. Finally, with firewood growing scarcer owing to devegetation, manure was employed as fuel, reducing the input of fertilizer (Crooke 1897:322–34).
The familiar cycle of deforestation, reduction of biotic diversity, soil erosion, reduction of fertility, and decline in productivity certainly was manifest in the Banaras region. The responses to this process were equally common: extension of cultivation to terrains previously considered "wastelands" or "barren" lands; increased irrigation; or multiple cropping.
As was noted above, British observers asserted that Banarsi cultivators increasingly adopted irrigation and multiple cropping techniques. Reclamation of barren land also occurred but was severely limited by availability. Already by the end of the eighteenth century most such land had been plowed and sown. Although varying perceptions of what constitutes wasteland render that term ambiguous, figures confirm that little such terrain was available by the 1840s. It appears that the amount may have decreased somewhat between 1848 and 1872 (from 19 to 15 percent), but stabilized at the latter level through the rest of the century. There is some evidence, meanwhile, that farmers were simultaneously abandoning previously productive lands. In 1788 Jonathan Duncan had already noted the desertion of formerly productive fields. Nearly a hundred years later the provincial land-settlement report of 1872 estimated that 5 percent of cultivated land had been recently abandoned (Shakespear 1848: 169–70; Colvin 1872, Appendix:16; K. P. Mishra 1975:85).
In sum, despite an ostensibly stable population, pressure on farmland was demonstrably heightening. The measures taken to compensate for erosion and soil depletion aggravated the situation. Each of the three alternatives employed—reclamation, irrigation, and multiple cropping—was intensive, adding further stresses on finite resources.
Religious Activity and Environmental Pollution . The processes described above were principally rural and resulted from land use intensification. Their effects were to degrade a limited resource base. Such phenomena have been common to many societies and typical for much of agrarian north India.
Considerably less typical and far more controversial have been the alleged ecological consequences of religious activity in Banaras. As the principal focal point of Hindu pilgrimage and the leading center of Brahmin ritual observance, Banaras has drawn enormous numbers of visitors throughout the year and on special occasions. It is principally the Ganges that affords this distinction, and it is on its banks that most activity occurs.
Primarily as a result of the vast number of participants, the riparian environment has been affected. Crowding, sewage generation, and the influx of ill visitors have caused serious public health concern since the beginning of the colonial period. Other actions may have contributed in small ways to riverine pollution, but their effects have been consistently overstated. Throughout British rule, Hindu religious practices were termed responsible for the pollution of the river and the adjoining areas.
For centuries throngs of pilgrims have converged on Banaras. In addition to the daily arrival of Hindus seeking personal salvation, sea-
sonal fairs or eclipses drew occasional crowds of a hundred thousand or more. These congregants required food, drink, and other substantive needs, adding further pressure on overtaxed resources (Hamilton 1820:301; Nevill 1909a:66–67; 1909b:85; Oude and Rohilkund Railway 1875:1169; 1878:1057; K. P. Mishra 1975:67). Their contribution to local degradation has been notable, but environmental pollution due to their presence has been a lingering concern. This is particularly ironic given the religious function of Banaras: to purify and cleanse ritual pollution. Diana Eck notes the importance of running water in general, and of Ganges water in particular, in purification. But this notion, as she recognizes, is unrelated to microbial purity (Eck 1982:216–17).
To colonial observers, eager to introduce Western hygienic principles, Hindu practices appeared unclean. Perceiving a real threat to their own health and well-being, Europeans eagerly condemned certain ritual acts. With the advent of the germ theory, objections that had been merely moral were accorded scientific sanction. By the 1850s a burgeoning body of literature joined religious criticism with social outrage and fear (Calcutta Review 1848:404–36; 1851:156–230; 1864: 253–94).
Foreign observers repeatedly cited the infectious nature of practices they found deplorable. Of these, perhaps the most shocking to British sensibilities was the Hindu custom of cremating the deceased and casting the remains into the Ganges. In theory cremation itself was not objectionable. In practice, however, it was noted that scarcity of fuel often resulted in incomplete cremation. The consequences of partial consumption aroused an outpouring of righteous anger among British residents and administrators. They were appalled by "scorched trunks" thrown into the Ganges to float toward the sea "in a state of horrible decomposition, poisoning the water of narrow streams, or sickening the eye, whilst tumbled in the torrents of the Ganges" (Calcutta Review 1848:416; 1851:222). Additional concern was aroused by other aspects of cremation: decomposing corpses awaiting cremation, and burial of incompletely burned bones and dead animals.
On several occasions colonial officials attempted to intervene, citing public health considerations. In one such action in 1868 the Banaras Municipal Board asserted its right to close burning ghats or cemeteries deemed problematic. Within days, after reassessing the effective threat posed by the ghats and gauging popular feeling, the Magistrate repealed the proclamation (Bharat Jiwan [23 September] in SVN for 1912:898).
Disposal of human and animal bodies in the Ganges was another source of English consternation. Although these acts occurred, it is unlikely that their volume could have appreciably affected the quality of the water. Modern residents of Banaras, including the present Maharaja, insist that the above allegations are inaccurate and overstated (N. Kumar communication, March 1986).
But if the burning ghats were unlikely sources of pollution, other long-term human actions measurably affected the quality of the Ganges and its banks. The dumping of waste, sewage, and industrial effluent into the river; the bathing of persons and cattle; the washing of clothes and vessels; and emissions of noxious smoke represented real hazards. In addition, poor drainage allowed accumulation of stagnant waters in ponds (Bharat Jiwan [1 May] in SVN for 1893:191; Gopalkrishnan 1985:3–4). As early as 1864 the Calcutta Review noted that the "water is of deadly influence, and the vapour from which fills the air with fever-breeding and cholera-breeding miasma." The journal called for immediate steps to improve drainage in the vicinity of the ghats (Calcutta Review 1864:293).
Sensitized by the press, authorities and local residents feared the percolation of toxins and pollutants into the groundwater. In response, in 1886 concerned citizens formed a local pollution-prevention society, the Kashi Ganga Prasadini Sabha. The Sabha's primary objective was to eliminate river contamination, undertake a drainage scheme, and purify drinking water. Nevill reported that the project was completed in 1892. But in February 1893 the Bharat Jiwan of Banaras complained that drains had yet to be constructed and that wastewater continued to flow through city streets. And K. S. Muthiah, writing in 1911, confirmed the failure to implement its scheme (Nevill 1909a:262–63; Administration Report 1896–97: 167; Bharat Jiwan [6 February] in SVN for 1893:69; Muthiah 1911:164).
Perhaps the greatest immediate threat to public health was posed by the streams of crowds from throughout India, whose mere presence acted as a universal disseminator of infection. Since Banaras has been a magnet for persons wishing to die in the holy city, many visitors have been aged and generally in poor health. Accordingly, the city has been subjected to epidemics of cholera, typhus, and plague, and to chronic outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. The mortality rate from disease remained one of the province's highest through most of the century (Shola-i-Tur in SVN for 1871:704; Administration Report 1896–97: 6–7; Klein 1974:210).
One supposed factor contributing to epidemics was cited in an 1848 issue of the Calcutta Review . According to the author, sick and infirm individuals, "anxious for their rewards in the next life," were being en-
couraged to set up residence in crowded, damp, unsanitary huts by the river. The article decried this practice, which it termed "ghat murders." Certain that the custom hastened death, the author warned against the "unsalutary" effects of the vicinity (Calcutta Review 1848:404–36).
While similar issues surfaced in other cities, the status of Banaras as the country's leading pilgrimage center heightened British sensitivity to the polluting aspects of religious activity. Sentiments shared by Europeans elsewhere in India found clear expression in Banaras. Certainly, fears of contamination and deadly disease were not baseless. But many observers were unable to distinguish between the real dangers to public health resulting from unsanitary practices and assumed threats posed by certain ritual acts. The resulting mix of missionary righteousness and scientific theory directed unexpected attention to the environment, but the attendant rhetoric often obscured the nature of the problem.
Modern Agents of Change
The processes described in the preceding section resulted from ongoing practices, not from any sudden changes. Ninteenth-century improvements in transportation facilitated travel and thus increased pilgrimage to Banaras. The greater traffic placed additional stress on local resources and accelerated riverfront pollution. The modern transportation network and other newly established public works also had a more direct impact on regional environment. Roads and railways were superimposed on the rural landscape. First their construction, then their operation and maintenance, resulted in pronounced and usually permanent modifications of the terrain (Varady 1981, 1985a, 1985b).
Public Works Construction . From the 1830s to the end of the century northern India underwent a period of intense public-works construction. Cognizant of the benefits of improved communications, the ruling East India Company initiated a vigorous program for road improvement. Even earlier, in the first years of British administration, Collector Jonathan Duncan had authorized road improvements near the city. The first major project was a complete renovation of the old imperial highway connecting Bengal to the Punjab. Renamed the Grand Trunk Road, this throughfare was graded, then metaled (paved) with crushed limestone. Other provincial roads to Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Allahabad, Mirzapur, and Sasaram soon received similar attention. During the decade 1840–1850 alone the British constructed some fifty thousand kilometers of roads throughout their Indian territories (Abbott 1846:56–74; Sanyal 1930:3).
Even before the provincial road network was completed, the government turned its attention to railways. By the mid-1840s entrepreneurs
and administrators had discussed the idea in England, and soon they took the first steps to actuate their decisions. By 1854 the first train of the East Indian Railway Company (EIR) left Howrah to initiate the line that would parallel the Grand Trunk Road to Delhi and the Punjab.
For the next eight years the tracks crept toward Banaras. Construction continued northward through Bengal up to the Ganges, and then via Bhagalpur and Patna along the southern bank to Mughal Sarai, across the river from Banaras. After the completion in 1862 of the 860-kilometer route from Calcutta, construction continued on to Mirzapur, eventually to join the branch descending from Kanpur (East Indian Railways 1853–63; Bengal Past and Present 1908:55–61; Varady 1981:51).
Building roads and railway lines was both labor intensive and resource intensive. In each case, after rights of ways were secured the surface needed preparation. Gangs of thousands of beldar s[*] (laborers) from the nearby countryside were hired. Housed in meager shacks, underfed, and overworked, these laborers commonly were ill. Epidemics among road and rail gangs were frequent and destructive. There are records of camps of ten thousand losing up to a third of the workers to cholera and other diseases. Worse, the contagion often spread to nearby towns (Varady 1981:188–89; United Provinces Public Health Dept. 1903).
The work teams were employed to clear jungles of vegetation, excavate tree roots, flatten roadbeds, lay gravel or limestone, dig drainage ditches, construct embankments and berms, and bridge streams and nalla s. Additionally, railways required placement of creosoted sleepers (ties) every seventy-five centimeters (Bingham 1858:3–21; Muir 1858: 277–79).
The quantities of materials required were prodigious. To complete eighty kilometers of railway tracks in Banaras district, the contractor executed 1.2 million cubic meters of earthwork and 6,000 cubic meters of brickwork; in addition, 210,000 cubic meters of ballast were used. Limestone, gravel, and sand were obtained from neighboring floodplains and carted to the sites. The effects of such large-scale removal have not been studied, but elsewhere quarrying of stream beds has seriously affected flow and drainage patterns (Purser 1859:563; Davis 1985:1–5).
In the case of rail lines, vast amounts of timber were used for sleepers. Based on figures used by Tucker for the Rajputana Railway, tracks in Banaras district alone would have required a hundred thousand sleepers. Although some hardwood sal remained available in the region, stands were too depleted to furnish the railways's needs. Instead, the wood was imported, either from England or from the upper
Gangetic tracts northeast of Delhi, forested with deodar (Cedrus deodara ). The demand on Himalayan timber resources was thus considerable, especially since sleepers needed replacement every five years (Tucker 1983:160–61; East Indian Railways 1856:505; 1859a:531).
Although timber was not available in Banaras, local firewood and charcoal supplies were employed to make burnt-clay ballast and to bake the bricks used for bridges, stations, and culverts. In any case, as a Calcutta correspondent wrote to the Times in 1862, "the want of India is daily becoming more and more a want of wood." In the Banaras region, as in the rest of northern India, the railways clearly were agents of deforestation (East Indian Railways 1859a:531; 1862:555).
Road and Railway Operation and Maintenance . Devegetation and resource depletion were two important results of road and rail construction. Once in place, the networks continued to affect the surrounding environment. First, roads and railways, by their very presence, interrupted natural landscape. In the interest of efficiency and directness, they both sought linearity. Rather than skirting streams, it was cheaper to cross them. In nearby Son district the EIR alone constructed 240 bridges and culverts in 1860. Primary and secondary roadways also crossed rivers and streams whenever they were encountered. These interruptions interfered with drainage and flow patterns. Runoff characteristics, already altered by devegetation, were further disturbed. Instead of being stored in soils, water was lost to agriculture. Puddles and ponds were formed alongside thoroughfares, providing breeding habitats for disease vectors. Similarly, culverts silted up with lost topsoil. After heavy monsoon rains rushing waters created gullies and arroyos, further hastening soil erosion (East Indian Railways 1859b:1189–90; Colvin Gazette [15 April] in SVN for 1890:251; Hindostan [15 August] in SVN for 1902:527; Varady 1985b:2–3: Whitcombe 1972:12).
Partly from weather extremes, and partly from the relentless action of hoofed, wheeled, or rail traffic, surfaces needed constant repair and maintenance. Like the original construction, this activity required extensive labor and supplies. Metaled roads were paved smooth with ten centimeters of pounded limestone. Before long the road rutted and became impassable, demanding full resurfacing. Railbeds were similarly affected by rain, flooding, and heavy wear. Patrolling work crews added ballast and replaced broken and rotten sleepers. Upkeep of the nineteenth-century transportation network placed a continual drain on stone, sand, and timber resources.
Locomotives, moreover, required fuel. For much of the century engines burned wood, procured wherever it was sold, preferably in the vicinity of the route. So serious was the problem of supply that in the early 1860s, the Calcutta Review reported, "a great cry arose that
the Railway must soon stop for want of fuel." Though perhaps exaggerated, the concern was valid, as Indian railway operation consumed enormous amounts of firewood (50,000 kilograms per kilometer per year, according to one estimate). In some areas roots were burned as fuel. And by the mid-1860s some railway firms were calling for private fuel-wood plantations to meet growing demand. Only the advent of cheap coal enabled the EIR and other lines to continue operating (Calcutta Review 1867:262–327).
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1. Reduce our personal carbon footprint by 20 percent in the next year.
2. Stop subsidizing fossil fuels.
3. Mitigate politics and polarization.+
4. Shift towards more vegetarian diets.
5. Scientists better communicate the scientific facts underlying climate change.+
6. Scientists and engineers develop cheap alternative energy sources to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.+
7. Reduce waste water treatment costs.*
8. Reduce costs to absorb CO2 from industrial activities.*
9. Manage the timing, magnitude, and speed of reservoir drawdowns in order to mitigate methane releases to the atmosphere.^
+ http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/591970/ ...
* http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/ ...
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According to the recently released annual survey by the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), more than a third of U.S. managed honeybee colonies—those set up for intensified pollination of commercial crops—failed to survive this past winter. Since 2006, the decline of the U.S.’s estimated 2.4 million beehives—commonly referred to as colony collapse disorder (CCD)—has led to the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of colonies: Hives are found empty with honey, larvae, and the queen intact, but with no bees and no trail left behind. The cause remains unknown, but appears to be a combination of factors impacting bee health and increasing their susceptibility to disease. Heavy losses associated with CCD have been found mainly with larger migratory commercial beekeepers, some of whom have lost 50-90 percent of their colonies.
A “keystone” species—one that has a disproportionate effect on the environment relative to its biomass—bees are our key to global food security and a critical part of the food chain. Flowering plants that produce our food depend on insects for pollination. There are other pollinators—butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, and birds—but the honeybee is the most effective, pollinating over 100 commercial crops nationwide, including most fruit, vegetables, and nuts, as well as alfalfa for cattle feed and cotton, with a value estimated between $15-$20 billion annually. As much as one of every three bites of food we eat comes from food pollinated by insects. Without honeybees, our diet would be mostly meatless, consisting of rice and cereals, and we would have no cotton for textiles. The entire ecosystem and the global food economy potentially rests on their wings.
Experts now believe bees are heading for extinction and are racing to pinpoint the culprit, increasingly blaming pesticide usage. U.S. researchers have reported finding 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax, and pollen. New parasites, pathogens, fungi, and poor nutrition stemming from intensive farming methods are also part of the equation. Three years ago, U.S. scientists unraveled the genetic code of the honeybee and uncovered the DNA of a virus transmitted by the Varroa mite—Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV)—found in almost all of the hives impacted by CCD. Researchers have also found the fungus Nosema ceranae and other pathogens such as chalkbrood in some affected hives throughout the country. Other reported theories include the effects of shifting spring blooms and earlier nectar flow associated with broader global climate and temperature changes, the effects of feed supplements from genetically modified crops, such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and the effects of cell phone transmissions and radiation from power lines that may be interfering with a bee’s navigational capabilities. (Last year, a study revealed that a contaminant from heat-exposed HFCS might be killing off the bees.) However, according to a recent congressional report on CCD, contributions of these possible factors have not been substantiated.
The industrial bee business and the demands of intensified food production could also be playing a role in the bees’ demise. Widespread migratory stress brought about by increased needs for pollination could be weakening the bees’ immune systems. Most pollination services are provided by commercial migratory beekeepers who travel from state to state and provide pollination services to crop producers. These operations are able to supply a large number of bee colonies during the critical phase of a crop’s bloom cycle, when bees pollinate as they collect nectar. A hive might make five cross-country truck trips each year, chasing crops, and some beekeepers can lose up to 10 percent of their queens during one cross country trip. Bees are overworked and stressed out.
California’s almond crop is a prime example of our reliance on bees’ industriousness for our agriculture success. The state grows 80 percent of the world’s almonds, making it our largest agricultural export and bringing in a whopping $1.9 billion last year. The crop—with nearly 740,000 acres of almond trees planted—uses 1.3 million colonies of bees, approximately one half of all bees in the U.S., and is projected to grow to 1.5 million colonies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now predicting that Central Valley almond growers will produce about 1.53 billion pounds of almonds this year, up 8.5 percent last year. To meet the demand, bee colonies are trucked farther and more often than ever before and demand for bees has dramatically outstripped supply. Bee colonies, which a decade ago rented for $60, cost as much as $170 this February in California.
Few organic beekeepers have reported bee losses, suggesting that natural and organic bee keeping methods may be the solution. In addition, organic farmers who maintain wildlife habitat around their farms are helping to encourage bees to pollinate their crops. “The main difference between our farm and our conventional neighbors is the amount of wildlife and insect habitat that we have around the edge of our farm,” said Greg Massa, who manages Massa Organics, a fourth generation 90-acre certified organic rice farm near Chico. Massa started growing organic almonds six years ago, and works with a small, organic beekeeper in Oregon who brings in 30 hives to his farm. Massa’s farm has a large wildlife corridor which has been revegetated with native plants and covered in mustard, wild radish, and vetch, a favorite of bees and also a good nitrogen source for his rice crop.
Time might be running out for the bees, but there are simple actions we can take to make a difference. First, support organic farmers who don’t use pesticides and whose growing methods work in harmony with the natural life of bees. In particular, buy organic almonds. Don’t use pesticides in your home garden, especially at mid-day when bees most likely forage for nectar. You can also plant good nectar sources such as red clover, foxglove, bee balm, and other native plants to encourage bees to pollinate your garden. Provide clean water; even a simple bowl of water is beneficial. Buy local honey; it keeps small, diversified beekeepers in business, and beekeepers keep honeybees thriving. In addition, you can start keeping bees yourself. Backyard and urban beekeeping can actively help bring back our bees. Finally, you can work to preserve more open cropland and rangeland. Let’s use our political voices to support smart land use, the impact of which will not only result in cleaner water, soil, and air, but also just might help save the humble honeybee.
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This page lists climate science and climate impact claims that have either not been proven, or have had the claim modified, moved, or expanded to protect the claimant from having to admit the original claim was wrong.
This will always be a work in progress. New items will be added as they are examined and will include:
- The claim itself – what was stated as factual or predicted? A clear unambiguous statement, such as “50 million climate refugees by 2010″
- Proof of the original claim – website, documents, photos, audio, video that clearly and unambiguously show the claim being made sometime in the past.
- A test of the of the claim, and the results – website, documents, photos, audio, video that clearly and unambiguously show the claim not coming true or not meeting the claim.
- Proof of change in the claim (if applicable) – often, when the claim fails to materialize, goalposts get moved, such as we saw with the “50 million climate refugees” story that was originally set with a due date of 2010, is now set for the year 2020.
The Claim: 50 million climate refugees will be produced by climate change by the year 2010. Especially hard hit will be river delta areas, and low lying islands in the Caribbean and Pacific. The UN 62nd General assembly in July 2008 said: …it had been estimated that there would be between 50 million and 200 million environmental migrants by 2010.
The Test: Did population go down in these areas during that period, indicating climate refugees were on the move? The answer, no.
The Proof: Population actually gained in some Caribbean Island for which 2010 census figures were available. Then when challenged on these figures, the UN tried to hide the original claim from view. See: The UN “disappears” 50 million climate refugees, then botches the disappearing attempt
The Change in claim: Now it is claimed that it will be 10 years into the future, and there will be 50 million refugees by the year 2020.
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The Coca-Cola System Announces New Global Targets for Water Conservation and Climate Protection in Partnership With WWF
The Coca-Cola Company, in partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), today announced ambitious new targets to improve water efficiency and reduce carbon emissions within its system-wide operations, while promoting sustainable agricultural practices and helping to conserve the world’s most important freshwater basins.
“Our sustainability as a business demands a relentless focus on efficiency in our use of natural resources. These performance targets are one way we are engaging to improve our management of water and energy,” said Muhtar Kent, president and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.
“In this resource constrained world, successful businesses will find ways to achieve growth while using fewer resources,” said Carter Roberts, president and CEO of WWF-US. “The Coca-Cola Company’s commitment to conservation responds to the imperative to solve the global water and climate crisis.”
The partnership, announced by WWF and The Coca-Cola Company in 2007 with $20 million in funding, has now been extended an additional two years (through 2012) with the Company providing $3.75 million in new funding.
The Coca-Cola Company also joined WWF’s Climate Savers program in which leading corporations from around the world work with WWF to dramatically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. By 2010, Climate Savers companies will collectively cut carbon emissions by 14 million tons annually – the equivalent to taking more than 3 million cars off the road each year.
Water Efficiency — Saving 50 billion liters in 2012
The Coca-Cola system will improve its water efficiency 20 percent by 2012, compared to a baseline year 2004. While water use is expected to increase as the business grows, this water efficiency target will eliminate approximately 50 billion liters of that increase in 2012.
To support this efficiency target, The Coca-Cola Company and WWF have developed a Water Efficiency Toolkit to help reduce water consumption within bottling plants. This software-based instruction manual has been distributed to managers and operators throughout the Coca-Cola system, providing strategies to shrink the water footprint of their operations.
Climate Protection — Preventing 2 million tons of CO(2) emissions
The Company has set two emissions reduction targets: 1) grow the business, not the carbon system-wide and 2) a 5 percent absolute reduction in Annex 1 (developed) countries. The emissions targets apply to manufacturing operations in the year 2015 compared to a baseline year of 2004.
The Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers anticipate substantial volume growth globally during this period, thus growing the business without growing the carbon is a significant commitment. Without intervention, emissions would grow proportional to volume and reach 7.3 million metric tons in 2015. Thus, the global commitment will prevent the release of more than 2 million metric tons of CO(2) in 2015 – the equivalent of planting 600,000 acres of trees.
Supply Chain Sustainability
The Coca-Cola Company also will work with WWF to promote more sustainable agricultural practices in an effort to reduce the impact of its supply chain on water resources. This work will initially focus on sugarcane production. The Coca-Cola Company and WWF are working with the Better Sugarcane Initiative to establish standards, evaluate suppliers and set goals for the purchase of sugar. The Coca-Cola Company will identify two additional commodities on which to work in 2009.
The Coca-Cola system and WWF are working together to conserve some of the world’s most important freshwater resources, including the Yangtze, Mekong, Danube, Rio Grande/Rio Bravo, Lakes Niassa and Chiuta, the Mesoamerican Reef catchments, and the rivers and streams in the southeastern region of the United States. More than a dozen production plants and/or bottlers in the areas surrounding these rivers are developing and implementing water stewardship plans to serve as models throughout the Coca-Cola system.
“Water and energy conservation are areas where we can truly make a difference. Last year, we set a goal to return to communities and to nature an amount of water equal to what we use in our beverages and their production. These targets support our work to achieve that goal,” said Kent. “The expansion of our partnership with WWF demonstrates our shared dedication to achieving large-scale results, and a grounded understanding that collaboration is key if we are to help address the world’s water challenges.”
To learn more about the partnership, please visit www.thecoca-colacompany.com or www.worldwildlife.org.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 450 sparkling and still brands. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world’s most valuable brand, the Company’s portfolio includes 12 other billion dollar brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid and Georgia Coffee. Globally, we are the No.1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company’s beverages at a rate of 1.5 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that protect the environment, conserve resources and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. For more information about our Company, please visit our Web site at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.
About World Wildlife Fund
WWF is the world’s largest conservation organization, working in 100 countries for nearly half a century. With the support of almost 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, stop the degradation of the environment and combat climate change. Visit www.worldwildlife.org to learn more.
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A dramatic drop in the population of puffins at their main North Sea breeding site has alarmed scientists.
- Global warming blamed for decline of puffins
- Britain's oldest puffin resurfaces
- British birds face potential eco-disaster
After almost 40 years of breeding success puffin numbers on the Isle of May have plummeted by 30 per cent.
It is not known whether the sudden decline is merely a blip or whether the tiny iconic bird has joined the list of sea birds in long term decline in the North Sea.
The sudden drop in numbers was revealed in a survey carried out every five years on the island off Scotland's east coast by scientists from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
The Isle of May is home to the largest colony of puffins in the North Sea and has been the centre of the UK science community's research into the bird for over three decades.
Numbers have increased dramatically from a handful of pairs 50 years ago to more than 69,000 pairs at the time of the last count in 2003.
Scientists had expected numbers to soar to more than 100,000 pairs this year and are baffled by the loss of almost one in three birds.
Professor Mike Harris, Emeritus Research Fellow at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, who has studied puffins for 36 year, said: "Something worrying appears to have happened over last winter and probably the one before.
"Puffins appear to be joining the ranks of other seabirds in the North Sea that are suffering reduced breeding success and decline in numbers."
The puffin (Fratercula arctica) is instantly recognisable by its bright red and black eye markings and vivid orange legs and is known as the clown of seabirds. But its comical looks and endearing traits has made it one of the world's favourite birds.
Adults arrive back at their breeding colonies in the Shetland and Orkney Islands, Northumberland, Anglesey and the Isle of May in March and April and they leave again in mid-August. They nest in burrows on the cliff tops and rely mainly on sand eels to feed their young.
The disappearance of the sand eel due mainly to industrial fishing by factory ships in the North Sea is believed to be one of the main factors in the puffin's decline on May.
Bird numbers are assessed by carefully examining burrows for signs of occupation in late April after the birds have cleaned them out ready for breeding. In past surveys the occupancy rate was nearly 100 per cent, but this year it was down to only 70 per cent.
Scientists also noticed fewer birds than usual had returned to the island and those that did were underweight compared to previous years suggesting they may have had a difficult winter.
Unusually high numbers of puffins, including some ringed on the island in previous years, were washed ashore dead during the last two winters.
Professor Harris said: "We need to repeat the survey next year to check the unlikely possibility that a large numbers of puffins took a summer off from visiting the Island. We also need to widen the survey to include other colonies in the North Sea to measure to what extent the puffin population is declining in the area."
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The factors behind the calving process were not well understood
US researchers have come up with a way to predict the rate at which ice shelves break apart into icebergs.
These sometimes spectacular occurrences, called calving events, are a key step in the process by which climate change drives sea level rise.
Computer models that simulate how ice sheets might behave in a warmer world do not describe the calving process in much detail, Science journal reports.
Until now, the factors controlling this process have not been well understood.
Ice sheets, such as those in Antarctica and Greenland, spread under their own weight and flow off land over the ocean water.
Ice shelves are the thick, floating lips of ice sheets or glaciers that extend out past the coastline.
Timelapse footage of an iceberg breaking away from a glacier in July 2008. The event took approximately 15 minutes (Video: Fahnestock/UNH)
The Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica floats for as much as 800km (500 miles) over the ocean before the edges begin to break and create icebergs. But other ice shelves may only edge over the water for a few kilometres.
A team led by Richard Alley at Pennsylvania State University, US, analysed factors such as thickness, calving rate and strain rate for 20 different ice shelves.
"The problem of when things break is a really hard problem because there is so much variability," said Professor Alley.
"Anyone who has dropped a coffee cup knows this. Sometimes the coffee cup breaks and sometimes it bounces."
The team's results show that the calving rate of an ice shelf is primarily determined by the rate at which the ice shelf is spreading away from the continent.
The researchers were also able to show that narrower shelves should calve more slowly than wider ones.
Ice cracking off into the ocean from Antarctica and Greenland could play a significant role in future sea level rise.
Floating ice that melts does not of itself contribute to the height of waters (because it has already displaced its volume), but the shelf from which it comes acts as a brake to the land-ice behind. Removal of the shelf will allow glaciers heading to the ocean to accelerate - a phenomenon documented when the Larsen B shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula shattered in spectacular style in 2002. This would speed sea level rise.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its 2007 assessment forecast that seas could rise by 18 to 59 cm (7-23ins) this century. However, in giving those figures, it conceded that ice behaviour was poorly understood.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
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Water contamination – special education edition: Fracking
To view hydraulic fracturing infograghics click on toggles.
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Hydraulic fracturing is the propagation of fractures in a rock layer by a pressurized fluid. Some hydraulic fractures form naturally certain veins or dikes are examples—and can create conduits along which gas and petroleum from source rocks may migrate to reservoir rocks. Induced hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracturing, commonly known as fracing, fraccing, or fracking, is a technique used to release petroleum, natural gas (including shale gas, tight gas, and coal seam gas), or other substances for extraction. This type of fracturing creates fractures from a wellbore drilled into reservoir rock formations.
The first use of hydraulic fracturing was in 1947. However, it was only in 1998 that modern fracturing technology, referred to as horizontal slickwater fracturing, made possible the economical extraction of shale gas; this new technology was first used in the Barnett Shale in Texas. The energy from the injection of a highly pressurized hydraulic fracturing fluid creates new channels in the rock, which can increase the extraction rates and ultimate recovery of hydrocarbons.
Proponents of hydraulic fracturing point to the economic benefits from vast amounts of formerly inaccessible hydrocarbons the process can extract. Opponents point to potential environmental impacts, including contamination of ground water, risks to air quality, the migration of gases and hydraulic fracturing chemicals to the surface, surface contamination from spills and flowback and the health effects of these. For these reasons hydraulic fracturing has come under scrutiny internationally, with some countries suspending or banning it.
Fracturing as a method to stimulate shallow, hard rock oil wells dates back to the 1860s. It was applied by oil producers in the US states of Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, and West Virginia by using liquid and later also solidified nitroglycerin. Later, the same method was applied to water and gas wells. The idea to use acid as a nonexplosive fluid for well stimulation was introduced in the 1930s. Due to acid etching, fractures would not close completely and therefore productivity was enhanced. The same phenomenon was discovered with water injection and squeeze cementing operations.
The relationship between well performance and treatment pressures was studied by Floyd Farris of Stanolind Oil and Gas Corporation. This study became a basis of the first hydraulic fracturing experiment, which was conducted in 1947 at the Hugoton gas field in Grant County of southwestern Kansas by Stanolind. For the well treatment 1,000 US gallons (3,800 l; 830 imp gal) of gelled gasoline and sand from the Arkansas River was injected into the gas-producing limestone formation at 2,400 feet (730 m).
The experiment was not very successful as deliverability of the well did not change appreciably. The process was further described by J.B. Clark of Stanolind in his paper published in 1948. A patent on this process was issued in 1949 and an exclusive license was granted to the Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Company. On March 17, 1949, Halliburton performed the first two commercial hydraulic fracturing treatments in Stephens County, Oklahoma, and Archer County, Texas. Since then, hydraulic fracturing has been used to stimulate approximately a million oil and gas wells.
In the Soviet Union, the first hydraulic proppant fracturing was carried out in 1952. In Western Europe in 1977–1985, hydraulic fracturing was conducted at Rotliegend and Carboniferous gas-bearing sandstones in Germany, Netherlands onshore and offshore gas fields, and the United Kingdoms sector of the North Sea. Other countries in Europe and Northern Africa included Norway, the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, France, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Tunisia, and Algeria.
Due to shale’s high porosity and low permeability, technology research, development and demonstration were necessary before hydraulic fracturing could be commercially applied to shale gas deposits. In the 1970s the United States government initiated the Eastern Gas Shales Project, a set of dozens of public-private hydraulic fracturing pilot demonstration projects. During the same period, the Gas Research Institute, a gas industry research consortium, received approval for research and funding from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
In 1977, the Department of Energy pioneered massive hydraulic fracturing in tight sandstone formations. In 1997, based on earlier techniques used by Union Pacific Resources, now part of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Mitchell Energy, now part of Devon Energy, developed the hydraulic fracturing technique known as “slickwater fracturing” which involves adding chemicals to water to increase the fluid flow, that made the shale gas extraction economical.
Method A hydraulic fracture is formed by pumping the fracturing fluid into the wellbore at a rate sufficient to increase pressure downhole to exceed that of the fracture gradient (pressure gradient) of the rock. The fracture gradient is defined as the pressure increase per unit of the depth due to its density and it is usually measured in pounds per square inch per foot or bars per meter. The rock cracks and the fracture fluid continues further into the rock, extending the crack still further, and so on.
Operators typically try to maintain “fracture width”, or slow its decline, following treatment by introducing into the injected fluid a proppant – a material such as grains of sand, ceramic, or other particulates, that prevent the fractures from closing when the injection is stopped and the pressure of the fluid is reduced. Consideration of proppant strengths and prevention of proppant failure becomes more important at greater depths where pressure and stresses on fractures are higher. The propped fracture is permeable enough to allow the flow of formation fluids to the well. Formation fluids include gas, oil, salt water, fresh water and fluids introduced to the formation during completion of the well during fracturing.
During the process fracturing fluid leakoff, loss of fracturing fluid from the fracture channel into the surrounding permeable rock occurs. If not controlled properly, it can exceed 70% of the injected volume. This may result in formation matrix damage, adverse formation fluid interactions, or altered fracture geometry and thereby decreased production efficiency.
The location of one or more fractures along the length of the borehole is strictly controlled by various methods that create or seal off holes in the side of the wellbore. Typically, hydraulic fracturing is performed in cased wellbores and the zones to be fractured are accessed by perforating the casing at those locations.
Hydraulic-fracturing equipment used in oil and natural gas fields usually consists of a slurry blender, one or more high-pressure, high-volume fracturing pumps (typically powerful triplex or quintuplex pumps) and a monitoring unit. Associated equipment includes fracturing tanks, one or more units for storage and handling of proppant, high-pressure treating iron, a chemical additive unit (used to accurately monitor chemical addition), low-pressure flexible hoses, and many gauges and meters for flow rate, fluid density, and treating pressure. Fracturing equipment operates over a range of pressures and injection rates, and can reach up to 100 megapascals (15,000 psi) and 265 litres per second (9.4 cu ft/s) (100 barrels per minute).
Proppants and fracking fluids and List of additives for hydraulic fracturing
High-pressure fracture fluid is injected into the wellbore, with the pressure above the fracture gradient of the rock. The two main purposes of fracturing fluid is to extend fractures and to carry proppant into the formation, the purpose of which is to stay there without damaging the formation or production of the well. Two methods of transporting the proppant in the fluid are used – high-rate and high-viscosity. High-viscosity fracturing tends to cause large dominant fractures, while high-rate (slickwater) fracturing causes small spread-out micro-fractures.
This fracture fluid contains water-soluble gelling agents (such as guar gum) which increase viscosity and efficiently deliver the proppant into the formation.
The fluid injected into the rock is typically a slurry of water, proppants, and chemical additives. Additionally, gels, foams, and compressed gases, including nitrogen, carbon dioxide and air can be injected. Typically, of the fracturing fluid 90% is water and 9.5% is sand with the chemical additives accounting to about 0.5%.
A proppant is a material that will keep an induced hydraulic fracture open, during or following a fracturing treatment, and can be gel, foam, or slickwater-based. Fluids make tradeoffs in such material properties as viscosity, where more viscous fluids can carry more concentrated proppant; the energy or pressure demands to maintain a certain flux pump rate (flow velocity) that will conduct the proppant appropriately; pH, various rheological factors, among others. Types of proppant include silica sand, resin-coated sand, and man-made ceramics.
These vary depending on the type of permeability or grain strength needed. The most commonly used proppant is silica sand, though proppants of uniform size and shape, such as a ceramic proppant, is believed to be more effective. Due to a higher porosity within the fracture, a greater amount of oil and natural gas is liberated.
The fracturing fluid varies in composition depending on the type of fracturing used, the conditions of the specific well being fractured, and the water characteristics. A typical fracture treatment uses between 3 and 12 additive chemicals. Although there may be unconventional fracturing fluids, the typical used chemical additives are:
•Acids—hydrochloric acid (usually 28%-5%), or acetic acid is used in the pre-fracturing stage for cleaning the perforations and initiating fissure in the near-wellbore rock.
•Sodium chloride (salt)—delays breakdown of the gel polymer chains.
•Polyacrylamide and other friction reducers—minimizes the friction between fluid and pipe, thus allowing the pumps to pump at a higher rate without having greater pressure on the surface. Polyacrylamide are good suspension agents ensuring the proppant does not fall out.
• Ethylene glycol—prevents formation of scale deposits in the pipe.
•Borate salts—used for maintaining fluid viscosity during the temperature increase.
•Sodium and potassium carbonates—used for maintaining effectiveness of crosslinkers.
•Glutaraldehyde—used as disinfectant of the water (bacteria elimination).
•Guar gum and other water-soluble gelling agents—increases viscosity of the fracturing fluid to deliver more efficiently the proppant into the formation.
•Citric acid—used for corrosion prevention.
•Isopropanol—increases the viscosity of the fracture fluid.
The most common chemical used for hydraulic fracturing in the United States in 2005–2009 was methanol, while some other most widely used chemicals were isopropyl alcohol, 2-butoxyethanol, and ethylene glycol.
Typical fluid types.
• Conventional linear gels. These gels are cellulose derivatives (carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl hydroxyl ethyl cellulose), guar or its derivatives (hydroxypropyl guar, carboxymethyl hydroxypropyl guar) based, with other chemicals providing the necessary chemistry for the desired results.
•Borate-crosslinked fluids. These are guar-based fluids cross-linked with boron ions (from aqueous borax/boric acid solution). These gels have higher viscosity at pH 9 onwards and are used to carry proppants. After the fracturing job the pH is reduced to 3–4 so that the cross-links are broken and the gel is less viscous and can be pumped out.
•Organometallic-crosslinked fluids zirconium, chromium, antimony, titanium salts are known to crosslink the guar based gels. The crosslinking mechanism is not reversible. So once the proppant is pumped down along with the cross-linked gel, the fracturing part is done. The gels are broken down with appropriate breakers.
•Aluminium phosphate-ester oil gels. Aluminium phosphate and ester oils are slurried to form cross-linked gel. These are one of the first known gelling systems.
For slickwater it is common to include sweeps or a reduction in the proppant concentration temporarily to ensure the well is not overwhelmed with proppant causing a screen-off. As the fracturing process proceeds, viscosity reducing agents such as oxidizers and enzyme breakers are sometimes then added to the fracturing fluid to deactivate the gelling agents and encourage flowback. The oxidizer reacts with the gel to break it down, reducing the fluid’s viscosity and ensuring that no proppant is pulled from the formation.
An enzyme acts as a catalyst for the breaking down of the gel. Sometimes pH modifiers are used to break down the crosslink at the end of a hydraulic fracturing job, since many require a pH buffer system to stay viscous. At the end of the job the well is commonly flushed with water (sometimes blended with a friction reducing chemical) under pressure.
Injected fluid is to some degree recovered and is managed by several methods, such as underground injection control, treatment and discharge, recycling, or temporary storage in pits or containers while new technology is being continually being developed and improved to better handle waste water and improve re-usability.
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If you download this publication you may also be interested in these:
Facing an uncertain future
How forest and people can adapt to climate changeCenter for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)Bogor, Indonesia
The most prominent international responses to climate change focus on mitigation (reducing the accumulation of greenhouse gases) rather than adaptation (reducing the vulnerability of society and ecosystems). However, with climate change now inevitable, adaptation is gaining importance in the policy arena, and is an integral part of ongoing negotiations towards an international framework. This report presents the case for adaptation for tropical forests (reducing the impacts of climate change on forests and their ecosystem services) and tropical forests for adaptation (using forests to help local people and society in general to adapt to inevitable changes). Policies in the forest, climate change and other sectors need to address these issues and be integrated with each other—such a cross-sectoral approach is essential if the benefits derived in one area are not to be lost or counteracted in another. Moreover, the institutions involved in policy development and implementation need themselves to be flexible and able to learn in the context of dynamic human and environmental systems. And all this needs to be done at all levels from the local community to the national government and international institutions. The report includes an appendix covering climate scenarios, concepts, and international policies and funds.
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Karuk Tribe: Learning from the First Californians for the Next California
Editor's Note: This is part of series, Facing the Climate Gap, which looks at grassroots efforts in California low-income communities of color to address climate change and promote climate justice.
This article was published in collaboration with GlobalPossibilities.org.
The three sovereign entities in the United States are the federal government, the states and indigenous tribes, but according to Bill Tripp, a member of the Karuk Tribe in Northern California, many people are unaware of both the sovereign nature of tribes and the wisdom they possess when it comes to issues of climate change and natural resource management.
“A lot of people don’t realize that tribes even exist in California, but we are stakeholders too, with the rights of indigenous peoples,” says Tripp.
Tripp is an Eco-Cultural Restoration specialist at the Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resources. In 2010, the tribe drafted an Eco-Cultural Resources Management Plan, which aims to manage and restore “balanced ecological processes utilizing Traditional Ecological Knowledge supported by Western Science.” The plan addresses environmental issues that affect the health and culture of the Karuk tribe and outlines ways in which tribal practices can contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change.
Before climate change became a hot topic in the media, many indigenous and agrarian communities, because of their dependence upon and close relationship to the land, began to notice troubling shifts in the environment such as intense drought, frequent wildfires, scarcer fish flows and erratic rainfall.
There are over 100 government recognized tribes in California, which represent more than 700,000 people. The Karuk is the second largest Native American tribe in California and has over 3,200 members. Their tribal lands include over 1.48 million acres within and around the Klamath and Six Rivers National Forests in Northwest California.
Tribes like the Karuk are among the hardest hit by the effects of climate change, despite their traditionally low-carbon lifestyles. The Karuk, in particular have experienced dramatic environmental changes in their forestlands and fisheries as a result of both climate change and misguided Federal and regional policies.
The Karuk have long depended upon the forest to support their livelihood, cultural practices and nourishment. While wildfires have always been a natural aspect of the landscape, recent studies have shown that fires in northwestern California forests have risen dramatically in frequency and size due to climate related and human influences. According to the California Natural Resources Agency, fires in California are expected to increase 100 percent due to increased temperatures and longer dry seasons associated with climate change.
Some of the other most damaging human influences to the Karuk include logging activities, which have depleted old growth forests, and fire suppression policies created by the U.S. Forest Service in the 1930s that have limited cultural burning practices. Tripp says these policies have been detrimental to tribal traditions and the forest environment.
“It has been huge to just try to adapt to the past 100 years of policies that have led us to where we are today. We have already been forced to modify our traditional practices to fit the contemporary political context,” says Tripp.
Further, the construction of dams along the Klamath River by PacifiCorp (a utility company) has impeded access to salmon and other fish that are central to the Karuk diet. Fishing regulations have also had a negative impact.
Though the Karuk’s dependence on the land has left them vulnerable to the projected effects of climate change, it has also given them and other indigenous groups incredible knowledge to impart to western climate science. Historically, though, tribes have been largely left out of policy processes and decisions. The Karuk decided to challenge this historical pattern of marginalization by formulating their own Eco-Cultural Resources Management Plan.
The Plan provides over twenty “Cultural Environmental Management Practices” that are based on traditional ecological knowledge and the “World Renewal” philosophy, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of humans and the environment. Tripp says the Plan was created in the hopes that knowledge passed down from previous generations will help strengthen Karuk culture and teach the broader community to live in a more ecologically sound way.
“It is designed to be a living document…We are building a process of comparative learning, based on the principals and practices of traditional ecological knowledge to revitalize culturally relevant information as passed through oral transmission and intergenerational observations,” says Tripp.
One of the highlights of the plan is to re-establish traditional burning practices in order to decrease fuel loads and the risk for more severe wildfires when they do happen. Traditional burning was used by the Karuk to burn off specific types of vegetation and promote continued diversity in the landscape. Tripp notes that these practices are an example of how humans can play a positive role in maintaining a sound ecological cycle in the forests.
“The practice of utilizing fire to manage resources in a traditional way not only improves the use quality of forest resources, it also builds and maintains resiliency in the ecological process of entire landscapes” explains Tripp.
Another crucial aspect of the Plan is the life cycle of fish, like salmon, that are central to Karuk food traditions and ecosystem health. Traditionally, the Karuk regulated fishing schedules to allow the first salmon to pass, ensuring that those most likely to survive made it to prime spawning grounds. There were also designated fishing periods and locations to promote successful reproduction. Tripp says regulatory agencies have established practices that are harmful this cycle.
“Today, regulatory agencies permit the harvest of fish that would otherwise be protected under traditional harvest management principles and close the harvest season when the fish least likely to reach the very upper river reaches are passing through,” says Tripp.
The Karuk tribe is now working closely with researchers from universities such as University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Davis as well as public agencies so that this traditional knowledge can one day be accepted by mainstream and academic circles dealing with climate change mitigation and adaptation practices.
According to the Plan, these land management practices are more cost effective than those currently practiced by public agencies; and, if implemented, they will greatly reduce taxpayer cost burdens and create employment. The Karuk hope to create a workforce development program that will hire tribal members to implement the plan’s goals, such as multi-site cultural burning practices.
The Plan has a long way to full realization and Federal recognition. According to the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act and the National Environmental Protection Act, it must go through a formal review process. Besides that, the Karuk Tribe is still solidifying funding to pursue its goals.
The work of California’s environmental stewards will always be in demand, and the Karuk are taking the lead in showing how community wisdom can be used to generate an integrated approach to climate change. Such integrated and community engaged policy approaches are rare throughout the state but are emerging in other areas. In Oakland, for example, the Oakland Climate Action Coalition engaged community members and a diverse group of social justice, labor, environmental, and business organizations to develop an Energy and Climate Action Plan that outlines specific ways for the City to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a sustainable economy.
In the end, Tripp hopes the Karuk Plan will not only inspire others and address the global environmental plight, but also help to maintain the very core of his people. In his words: “Being adaptable to climate change is part of that, but primarily it is about enabling us to maintain our identity and the people in this place in perpetuity.”
Dr. Manuel Pastor is Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California where he also directs the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity and co-directs USC’s Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration. His most recent books include Just Growth: Inclusion and Prosperity in America’s Metropolitan Regions (Routledge 2012; co-authored with Chris Benner) Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America’s Future (W.W. Norton 2010; co-authored with Angela Glover Blackwell and Stewart Kwoh), and This Could Be the Start of Something Big: How Social Movements for Regional Equity are Transforming Metropolitan America (Cornell 2009; co-authored with Chris Benner and Martha Matsuoka).
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The Geological Perspective On Global Warming: A Debate
Dr Colin P. Summerhayes, Vice-President of the Geological Society of London
Dear Dr Peiser,
In the interest of contributing to the evidence-based debate on climate change I thought it would be constructive to draw to your attention the geological evidence regarding climate change, and what it means for the future. This evidence was published in November 2010 by the Geological Society of London in a document entitled “Climate Change: Evidence from the Geological Record”, which can be found on the Society’s web page.
A variety of techniques is now available to document past levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, past global temperatures, past sea levels, and past levels of acidity in the ocean. What the record shows is this. The Earth’s climate has been cooling for the past 50 million years from 6-7°C above today’s global average temperatures to what we see now. That cooling led to the formation of ice caps on Antarctica 34 million years ago and in the northern hemisphere around 2.6 million years ago. The cooling was directly associated with a decline in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. In effect we moved from a warm “greenhouse climate” when CO2, temperature and sea level were high, and there were no ice caps, to an “icehouse climate” in which CO2, temperature and sea level are low, and there are ice caps. The driver of that change is the balance between the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere from volcanoes, and the mopping up of CO2 from the atmosphere by the weathering of rocks, especially in mountains. There was more volcanic activity in the past and there are more mountains now.
Superimposed on this broad decline in CO2 and temperature are certain events. Around 55 million years ago there was a massive additional input of carbon into the atmosphere – about 4 times what humans have put there. It caused temperatures to rise by a further 6°C globally and 10°C at the poles. Sea level rose by some 15 metres. Deep ocean bottom waters became acid enough to dissolve carbonate sediments and kill off calcareous bottom dwelling organisms. It took over 100,000 years for the Earth to recover from this event. More recently, during the Pliocene, around 3 million years ago, CO2 rose to levels a little higher than today’s, global temperature rose to 2-3°C above today’s level, Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf melted, and sea level rose by 10-25 metres.
The icehouse climate that characterised the past 2.6 million years averaged 9°C colder in the polar regions and 5°C colder globally. It was punctuated by short warm interglacial periods. We are living in one of these warm periods now – the Holocene – which started around 11,000 years ago. The glacial to interglacial variations are responses to slight changes in solar energy meeting the Earth’s surface with changes in: our planet’s orbit from circular to elliptical and back; the position of the Earth relative to the sun around the Earth’s orbit; and the tilt of the Earth’s axis. These changes recur on time scales of tens to hundreds of thousands of years. CO2 plays a key role in these changes. As the Earth begins to warm after a cold period, sea ice melts allowing CO2 to emerge from the ocean into the atmosphere. There it acts to further warm the planet through a process known as positive feedback. The same goes for another greenhouse gas, methane, which is given off from wetlands that grow as the world warms. As a result the Earth moves much more rapidly from cold to warm than it does from warm to cold. We are currently in a cooling phase of this cycle, so the Earth should be cooling slightly. Evidently it is not.
The Geological Society deduced that by adding CO2 to the atmosphere as we are now doing, we would be likely to replicate the conditions of those past times when natural emissions of CO2 warmed the world, melted ice in the polar regions, and caused sea level to rise and the oceans to become more acid. The numerical models of the climate system that are used by the meteorological community to predict the future give much the same result by considering modern climate variation alone. Thus we arrive at the same solution by two entirely independent methods. Under the circumstances the Society concluded that “emitting further large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere over time is likely to be unwise, uncomfortable though that fact may be.”
Dr Colin P. Summerhayes
Vice-President Geological Society of London and Emeritus Associate Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge.
8 February 2013
Professor Robert Carter and Professor Vincent Courtillot respond:
Dear Dr Peiser,
Thank you for your invitation on behalf of the Foundation to reply to Dr Summerhayes’ letter about geological evidence in relation to the hypothesis of dangerous anthropogenic global warming (DAGW) that is favoured by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
We are in agreement with many of Dr Summerhayes’ preliminary remarks about the geological context of climate change. This reflects that a large measure of scientific agreement and shared interpretation exists amongst most scientists who consider the global warming issue.
Points of commonality in the climate discussion include:
* that climate has always changed and always will,
* that Earth has often been warmer than it is today, and that its present climatic condition is that of a warm interglacial during a punctuated icehouse world,
* that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and warms the lower atmosphere (though debate remains as to the magnitude and timescale of the warming),
* that a portion of human emissions are accumulating in the atmosphere,
* that a global warming of around 0.5°C occurred in the 20th century, but that there has been no global temperature rise over the last 16 years.
The first two points are rooted in geological evidence (as discussed in more detail by Dr Summerhayes), the third is based upon physical principle and the last three are mostly matters of instrumental measurement (i.e. observation). Despite the disparate scientific disciplines involved, all these points are relevant to achieving a quantitative understanding of climate change, together with several other disputed scientific matters such as those that we discuss below.
One of the disputed scientific matters is represented by Dr Summerhayes’ assertion that cooling over the last 34 million years “was directly associated with a decline in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere”.
The word “associated” is ambiguous. It may simply mean that temperature and CO2 were correlated, in the sense that their trends were parallel. But as everyone knows correlation is not causality and whether one drives the other, or the two are driven by a third forcing factor, or the correlation is the result of chance, requires careful analysis and argument. Though it may be true that a broad correlation exists between atmospheric CO2 content and global temperature, at least on some timescales, it remains unclear whether the primary effect is one of increasing CO2 causing warming (via the greenhouse effect) or of warming causing CO2 increase (via outgassing from the ocean). We are familiar with the argument that the currently decreasing carbon isotope ratio in the atmosphere is consistent with a fossil fuel source for incremental CO2 increases, and therefore with the first of these two possibilities, but do not find it compelling because other natural sources (soil carbon, vegetation) also contribute isotopically negative carbon to the atmosphere.
A second area of uncertainty, related to the point just discussed, is the rate, scope and direction of the various feedbacks that apply during a natural glacial-interglacial climatic cycle. Dr Summerhayes provides a confident, and perhaps plausible, account as to how changing insolation (controlled by orbital change), melting sea-ice and increasing CO2 and CH4 jointly drive the asymmetrical glacial-interglacial cycles that have characterised recent planetary history. However, our knowledge of the climate system and its history currently remains incomplete; some of the forcing mechanisms and feedbacks may not be known accurately, or even at all. For example, we do not yet know whether clouds exert a net warming or cooling effect on the climate. Similarly, variations in ultraviolet radiation and high-energy particle emission from the Sun, in atmospheric electricity and in galactic cosmic rays may all play larger roles in controlling climate change than is currently assumed, yet these effects are absent from most of the current generation of deterministic computer models of the future climate. The temperature projections made by these models may well be affected by our ignorance of the magnitude, the sign, or even the existence of some of the forcings and feedbacks that are actually involved.
Thirdly, Dr Summerhayes also briefly discusses the issue of sea level change. He quotes an estimated increase of 15 m in sea level associated with a temperature increase of 6–10°C 55 million years ago. He then quotes a range of 10–25 m rise for a 2–3°C warming 3 million years ago. To this we might add the further examples of the 125 m sea level rise that has accompanied the 6°C temperature rise since the last glacial maximum, and the 0.2-m rise associated with the ~0.5°C 20th century warming. It appears from these examples that a 1°C temperature rise can be associated with a sea level rise of as little as 0.4 m or as much as 8 m, and all values in between! This indicates an uncertainty in our understanding of the temperature/CO2/sea-level connection that surely lessens its value for contributing to policy formulation.
Figure 1. Temperature curve reconstructed from oxygen isotope measurements in a Greenland ice core over the last 10,000 years (Lappi 2010 after Alley,2000).
Fourth, and last, Dr Summerhayes says that because orbitally-forced climate periodicity is currently in a cooling phase “the Earth should be cooling slightly. Evidently it is not”. The statement is tendentious, because whether Earth is seen to be cooling or warming depends upon the length of climate record that is considered. Trends over 1, 10, 100 or 1000 years are not the same thing, and their differences must be taken into account carefully. We reproduce two figures that may be used to demonstrate that Earth is currently not warming on either the longer-term millennial timescale (Figure 1) or the short-term decadal/meteorological timescale (Figure 2). We note also that on the intermediate centennial timescale (1850–2010) the temperature trend has been one of a slight (0.5°C) rise. In assessing which of these timescales is the “proper” one to consider in formulating climate policy, we observe that the results conveyed in Figure 2 have little scientific (and therefore policy) meaning unless they are assessed in the context of the data in Figure 1.
Figure 2. Mean temperature of lower atmosphere: HadCRUT4 annual means 1997-2011
We acknowledge that the data in Figure 1, which are drawn from a Greenland ice core, represent regional rather than global climate. But a similar pattern of Holocene long-term cooling is seen in many other records from around the world, including from Antarctic ice cores. Also, evidence for a millenial solar cycle has been accumulating over the past years, and, representing that rhythm, the Medieval Warming (also called Medieval Climatic Optimum) appears to have been both global and also warmer than today’s climate.
Regarding Figure 2, the data demonstrate that no warming has occurred since 1997. In response, some leading IPCC scientists have already acknowledged that should the temperature plateau continue, or turn into a statistically significant cooling trend, then the mainstream IPCC view will need revision. It is noteworthy, too, that over the 16 years during which global temperature has remained unchanged (1997-2012), atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have increased by 8%, from 364 ppm to c.394 ppm. Given a mixing time for the atmosphere of about 1 year, these data would invalidate the hypothesis that human-related carbon dioxide emissions are causing dangerous global warming. In any case, observed global temperatures are currently more remote than ever from the most recent predictions set out in IPCC AR4.
The areas of uncertainty in the prevailing argument over DAGW are therefore not only geological but also instrumental and physical. Current debate, which needs to be resolved before climate policy is set, centres on the following three issues:
* whether any definite evidence exists for dangerous warming of human causation over the last 50 years,
* the amount of net warming that is, or will be, produced by human-related emissions (the climate sensitivity issue), and
* whether the IPCC’s computer models can provide accurate climate predictions 100 years into the future.
In assessing these issues, our null hypothesis is that the global climate changes that have occurred over the last 150 years (and continue to occur today) are mainly natural in origin. As summarised in the reports of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC), literally thousands of papers published in refereed journals contain facts or writings consistent with this null hypothesis, and plausible natural explanations exist for all the post-1850 global climatic changes that have been described so far. In contrast, no direct evidence exists, and nor does the Geological Society point to any, that a measurable part of the mild late 20th century warming was definitely caused by human-related carbon dioxide emissions.
The possibility of human-caused global warming nonetheless remains, because carbon dioxide is indubitably a greenhouse gas. The major unknown is the actual value of climate sensitivity, i.e. the amount of temperature increase that would result from doubling the atmospheric concentration of CO2 compared to pre-industrial levels. IPCC models estimate that water vapour increases the 1°C effect that would be seen in a dry atmosphere to 2.5-4.5°C, whereas widely cited papers by Lindzen & Choi (2011) and Spencer & Braswell (2010) both describe empirical data that is consistent with negative feedback, i.e. sensitivity less than 1°C. The conclusion that climate sensitivity is significantly less than argued by the IPCC is also supported by a range of other empirical or semi-empirical studies (e.g., Forster & Gregory, 2006; Aldrin et al., 2012; Ring et al., 2012).
Gathering these various thoughts together, we conclude that the risk of occurrence of damaging human-caused global warming is but a small one within the much greater and proven risks of dangerous natural climate-related events (not to mention earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and landslides, since we are dealing here with geological topics). Moreover, the property damage and loss of life that occurred in the floods in the UK in 2007; in the 2005 Katrina and 2012 Sandy storms in the USA; and in deadly bushfires in Australia in 2009 and 2013 all attest that even wealthy and technologically sophisticated nations are often inadequately prepared to deal with climate-related hazard.
The appropriate response to climate hazard is to treat it in the same way as other geological hazards. Which is to say that national policies are needed that are based on preparing for and adapting to all climate events as and when they happen, and irrespective of their presumed cause. Every country needs to develop its own understanding of, and plans to cope with, the unique combination of climate hazards that apply within its own boundaries. The planned responses should be based upon adaptation, with mitigation where appropriate to cushion citizens who are affected in an undesirable way.
The idea that there can be a one-size-fits-all global solution to deal with just one possible aspect of future climate hazard, as recommended by the IPCC, and apparently supported by Dr Summerhayes on behalf of the Geological Society, fails to deal with the real climate and climate-related hazards to which all parts of the world are episodically exposed.
Professor Robert (Bob) Carter
Professor Vincent Courtillot
14 February 2013
Aldrin, M. et al. 2012. Bayesian estimation of climate sensitivity based on a simple climate model fitted to observations on hemispheric temperature and global ocean heat content. Environmetrics, doi:10.1002/env.2140.
Alley, R.B. 2000. The Younger Dryas cold interval as viewed from central Greenland. Quaternary Science Reviews 19: 213–226
Forster, P.M. & Gregory, J.M. 2006. The climate sensitivity and its components diagnosed from Earth radiation budget data. Journal of Climate 19, 39-52.
Lappi, D. 2010. 65 million years of cooling
Lindzen, R.S. & Choi, Y-S. 2011. On the observational determination of climate sensitivity and its implications. Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences 47, 377-390.
Ring, M.J. et al. 2012. Causes of the global warming observed since the 19th century. Atmospheric and Climate Sciences 2, 401-415.
Spencer R. W. & Braswell, W.D. 2010. On the diagnosis of radiative feedback in the presence of unknown radiative forcing. Journal of Geophysical Research 115, D16109.
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Karst diagram courtesy of Vancouver Island University.
Although the Cowling Arboretum does not exhibit any karst topography, much of Southern Minnesota does. Karst is a geological feature formed by the dissolution of soluble bedrock such as carbonates like limestone and dolostone. Karst formations lead to the formations of caves, disappearing streams, underground streams, sinkholes and other landforms in Southern Minnesota. The longest cave system in the world, the Mammoth-Flint Ridge Cave System in Kentucky was formed through the dissolution of carbonate rocks in its karst area.
Karst country in Southern Minnesota coincides with the Driftless Area that covers Southeastern Minnesota, Northwestern Iowa and Western Wisconsin. Glacial drift no younger than 500,000 years old has been discovered in Southern Minnesota Driftless Area, meaning it has not been glaciated in that time. Other geologists believe that the Driftless Area has not been glaciated in at least 2 million years. However, the Driftless Area has been subject to glacial lake outburst floods when titanic lakes like proglacial Lake Duluth began to cataclysmically drain about 9,500 years ago.
Karst forms when slightly acidic water meets a weakly soluble carbonate rock. Rainwater acidifies ever so slightly as it passes through the atmosphere and takes up CO2. As rainwater travels through the soil it picks up more CO2 and forms a weak carbonic acid solution, which readily dissolves carbonate rocks over time. Limestone is removed from the site in the form of calcium and bicarbonate.
A good way to spot a karst sinkhole in Southern Minnesota is to look for a tree covered area in the middle of a farmer’s field that she is wise not to plow.
- Callum McCulloch '15, for the Cole Student Naturalists
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The name of the island is Lohachara not that many of us are going to remember it for long. We'll probably recall it as that little island off India, the first once inhabited island to disappear from the surface of the earth due to rising sea levels attributed to global warming.
Lohachara was a small island that supported a population of 10,000 in the Bay of Bengal near where the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers meet the sea. It is believed that other islands in the area will soon also be submerged displacing some 70,000 more islanders.
Several uninhabited islands have disappeared in recent years, notably in the South Pacific. Lohachara is unique because it was inhabited.
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PAO: Policy Activities » Briefing (November 2, 2011)
Using Science to Improve Flood Management
On November 2, 2011, ESA sponsored a congressional briefing: “Using Science to Improve Flood Management.” Emily Stanley (University of Wisconsin, Madison) and Jeff Opperman (The Nature Conservancy, Ohio Field Office) addressed the function of floodplains and managing rivers as systems and for multiple benefits.
Emily Stanley’s presentation focused on the work of rivers and the function of floodplains. Industry, transportation, and recreation all constitute work done by rivers. Less well known and valued is the work done by floodplains, responsible for such desirable services such as flood attenuation, fish production, improved water quality and groundwater recharge. Stanley noted that aging US levee and other infrastructure provide an opportunity to move beyond structural flood control and take greater advantage of the functions of floodplains.
Jeff Opperman’s presentation focused on the logic of managing rivers as a system and for multiple benefits. These include risk reduction for people and infrastructure as well as benefits such as water storage during droughts and increased fisheries production. Opperman said that because the Mississippi River is managed as a comprehensive system, the recent flood was far less damaging than that of 1927 even though a greater volume of water passed through the system in 2011. Opperman also pointed to the success story of California’s Yolo Bypass, which has reduced flood risk while increasing goods and services.
To view the complete presentations, please click on the links below:
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Click here to view an interactive map of the Northern Ireland dataset as currently collated by CEDaR.
The map is generated through the NBN Gateway using their Interactive Mapping Tool.
Coregonus autumnalis pollan Thompson
Pollan is a glacial relict of an Alaskan-Siberian whitefish species and is not found anywhere in Western Europe outside of Ireland. It is a good example of the importance of correct taxonomy in determining conservation importance. For most of the twentieth century, pollan was regarded as one or other of two coregonid species found in Britain. However, molecular studies in the 1970s showed conclusively that it was C. autumnalis, but that there were sufficient differences to regard it as a distinct subspecies C. a. pollan. In a recent revision, Kottelat has suggested that it should be designated as a full species C. pollan rather than a subspecies, which would make it an endemic Irish species. Further work is required to validate this proposal. Irrespective of its exact classification, pollan is one of the most unique elements of the Irish fauna. Pollan entered the Shannon system as a migratory fish at the end of the last Ice Age, some 14,000 years ago, and from there it spread to Loughs Erne and Neagh, all of which were interconnected in the period of glacial retreat. As the sea temperature and salinity increased, pollan lost its migratory habit and became restricted to freshwater. However, pollan have been found in the Erne estuary at Ballyshannon and downstream of Coleraine on the Lower River Bann. Since Neagh, Erne and Shannon (Ree and Derg) stocks have been isolated for over 10,000 years, undoubtedly genetic differences have evolved among them as a result of adaptation to local conditions and by genetic drift. There is also some evidence of distinct populations within Lough Neagh, presumably maintained as a result of natal homing to separate spawning areas.
Pollan is a silvery trout-shaped fish, with a dark greeny-blue back. Superficially, it resembles a herring but is easily recognised due to the presence of the diagnostic salmonid adipose fin, a small fleshy dorsal fin just in front of the tail.
Pollan spawn in December and January in shallow rocky areas of the loughs where wave action provides good oxygenation for the developing eggs. The young fish feed on animal plankton and on larger invertebrates as they grow older. $Mysis relicta$, a glacial relict crustacean, is an important food source in Lough Neagh, as are the abundant larvae of chironomid midges. Spawning takes place from about three years of age and individuals can generally live for about five years, although a seven-year-old has been recorded from Lower Lough Erne.
There are no similar freshwater species present in Ireland but two related whitefish species are found in Scotland, Cumbria, and Wales, although several populations of these have become extinct in recent decades.
How to see this species
Lough Neagh pollan are fished for commercially and can be seen as fishermen land their catches at various quays around the lough. They can be bought in some fish markets and shops during the fishing season (March to October). Pollan sometimes move down the Lower River Bann and they have been caught by anglers downstream of Coleraine.
Although still common in Lough Neagh, pollan is no longer found in Upper Lough Erne and has become very rare in Lower Lough Erne since the 1970s. It was abundant in Lough Erne in the early part of the twentieth century where it formed the subject of a substantial commercial fishery. Exploitation of Lough Neagh pollan is controlled by Fisheries Legislation, enforced by the Fisheries Conservancy Board Northern Ireland.
Why is this species a priority in Northern Ireland?
Pollan is not found anywhere else in Western Europe outside Ireland
Threats/Causes of decline
Pollan require water with a good level of oxygen and so eutrophication, due to nutrient enrichment, and climatic warming are major threats, especially in the deeper lakes where oxygenation due to wind-mixing is reduced. The other major threat is increase of non-native species such as pike, roach and zebra mussel, which have been linked to the decline in Lower Lough Erne, possibly as a result of predation and decline in zooplankton availability. The recent introduction of zebra mussel into Lough Neagh presents a serious threat to pollan in this lough.
Conservation of this species
An all-Ireland Species Action Plan was published in 2005. There is also a UK Species Action Plan which was published in 1995.
What you can do
Support the restoration of Northern Ireland lakes to high water quality status. Help prevent the further spread of zebra mussels within Lough Neagh.
Text written by:
Professor Andrew Ferguson
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Almost all of the 33 developed and developing countries surveyed in a new study had introduced or progressed with significant climate-related legislation within their own borders in the past year.
In 2012, 18 countries made significant progress, according to the report by the Grantham Research Institute at LSE and Globe International, which brings together legislators from different countries.
Only Canada had gone backwards on climate change, by repealing the Act implementing its targets under the Kyoto Protocol treaty to cut global emissions.
Despite a tough economic year for many countries, such as those in the eurozone, some progress was made by developed nations.
The EU as a whole made progress through its new directive on energy efficiency, while the US pushed forward with regulating carbon dioxide through its Clean Air Act.
Action by developing countries was more significant, with Mexico leading the way with a new climate law to cut emissions by 30% compared to "business as usual" by 2020, and major progress by countries ranging from Kenya to Pakistan.
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2. System components
(1) Redox flow battery (1 MW x 5 hours)
A redox flow battery is a storage battery that comprises a charging/discharging cell section and a tank full of metal ion electrolyte.
It charges/discharges through oxidation-reduction of vanadium or other ions.
The battery features long service life as the electrodes and electrolyte are not subject to deterioration even after repeated charge/discharge
operations and is easily maintained as its uses the same electrolyte in both the cathode and anode.
It also provides increased safety as it does not require any combustible substances and is operated at ambient temperatures. This battery is suitable for irregular,
highly fluctuating charge/discharge operations, enabling accurate monitoring and control of stored electric power.
Accordingly, it is an optimal storage battery for efficient use of renewable energy and surplus electricity supplied during the night.
(2) Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) unit (maximum power generation of a total of 28 units: 200 kW)
A CPV unit is a photovoltaic system incorporating small-size photovoltaic cells for energy conversion, directing high-intensity sunlight converged by a lens to photovoltaic cells.
The power generation efficiency of the CPV panel is about twice that of silicon solar panels currently on the market as CPV cells are made from a special compound semiconductor material.
Installed at an elevated position, concentrator panels provide usable space below them.
The newly developed CPV unit offers 7.5 times greater output power (7.5 kW/unit), and yet the CPV panels are thinner and lighter than conventional ones.
(3) Energy management system (EMS)
The EMS monitors the amounts of electric power generated by a total of 28 CPV units, provided via commercial power networks,
stored in a redox flow battery, and consumed at an office or plant to manage the electric power flow.
Obtained data is sent by optical communication networks to be collectively controlled at the central control server.
This system will be used in the demonstration test held at the Yokohama to achieve optimal supply-demand balance
(maximum demand control of 1 MW) and power demand control based on preset schedules.
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Plants flower faster than climate change models predict
Scientific models are failing to accurately predict the impact of global warming on plants, says a new report.
Researchers found in long-term studies that some are flowering up to eight times faster than models anticipate.
The authors say that poor study design and a lack of investment in experiments partly account for the difference.
They suggest that spring flowering and leafing will continue to advance at the rate of 5 to 6 days per year for every degree celsius of warming.
The results are published in the journal Nature.
For more than 20 years, scientists have been carrying out experiments to mimic the impacts of rising temperatures on the first leafing and flowering of plant species around the world.
End Quote This Rutishauser Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research
The bottom line is that the impacts might be bigger than we have believed until now”
Researchers had assumed that plants would respond in essentially the same way to experimental warming with lamps and open top chambers as they would to changes in temperatures in the real world.
Very little has been done to test the assumption until this study lead by Dr Elizabeth Wolkovich, who is now at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
With her colleagues she studied the timing of the flowering and leafing of plants in observational studies and warming experiments spanning four continents and 1,634 plant species.
According to Dr Wolkovich, the results were a surprise.
"What we found is that the experiments don't line up with the long term data, and in fact they greatly underestimate how much plants change their leafing and flowering with warming," she said.
"So for models based on experimental data, then we would expect that plants are leafing four times faster and flowering eight times faster in the long term historical record than what we're using in some of the models."'Consistent message'
Observational data have been gathered by scientific bodies for many years. In the UK, the systematic recording of flowering times dates back to 1875, when the Royal Meteorological Society established a national network of observers.
Since then, data has also been recorded by full-time biologists and part-time enthusiasts, and in recent years there have been mass-participation projects such as BBC Springwatch.
This new research suggests that these observations of flowering and leafing carried out in many different parts of the world over the past thirty years are remarkably similar according to Dr Wolkovich.
"In terms of long term observations, the records are very coherent and very consistent and they suggest for every degree celsius of warming we get we are going to get a five- to six-day change in how plants leaf and flower."
She argues that the difficulties in mimicking the impacts of nature in an artificial setting are much greater than many scientists estimate. The team found that in some cases the use of warming chambers to artificially raise temperatures can sometimes have the opposite effect.
"In the real world, we don't just see changes in temperature - we see changes in precipitation and cloud patterns and other factors - so certainly when you think about replicating changes in clouds, we are very, very far away from being able to do that.
"I guess we will never get to perfectly match nature, but I am hopeful as scientists we can do much, much better, given funding resources."
The team found that the greater investment in the design and monitoring of experiments, the more accurate the result.
"We have a very consistent message from the long-term historical records about how plants are changing, but we need to think more critically about how we fund and invest in and really design experiments," said Dr Wolkovich.
"We do need them in the future, they are the best way going forward to project how species are changing but right now what we're doing isn't working as well as I think it could."
Other researchers were equally surprised by the results.
Dr This Rutishauser is at the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Bern in Switzerland. He says that in light of this work scientists will have to rethink the impacts of global warming.
"The bottom line is that the impacts might be bigger than we have believed until now. That's going to provoke a lot of work to probably revise modelling results for estimations of what's going to happen in the future for food production especially."
Dr Wolkovich agrees that if the models are so significantly underestimating the real world observations, there could be also be impacts on water the world over.
"If a whole plant community starts growing a week earlier than we expect according to these experiments, it's going to take up a lot more water over the growing season and if you add to that many years of the model projections, you are going to see big changes in the water supply."
She appeals to people to get involved in citizen science projects and help gather data on flowering and leafing, especially in remote areas.
The National Phenology Network in the US logged its millionth observation this week, and similar programmes are underway in the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, and a pan-European database is under development.
"We have very few monitoring networks. We need many, many people out there observing this because it is changing faster and across more habitats than we are currently measuring - we need more help!"
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is the standard method used by scientists to determine the
age of certain fossilized remains. As scientists will often
claim something to be millions or billions of years old
(ages that do not conform to the Biblical account of the age
of the earth), Christians are often left wondering about the
accuracy of the carbon-14 method. The truth is, carbon-14
dating (or radiocarbon dating, as it’s also called) is not a
precise dating method in many cases, due to faulty
assumptions and other limitations on this method.
has a weight of twelve atomic mass units (AMU’s), and is the
building block of all organic matter (plants and animals).
A small percentage of carbon atoms have an atomic weight of
14 AMU’s. This is carbon-14. Carbon-14 is an unstable,
radioactive isotope of carbon 12. As with any radioactive
isotope, carbon-14 decays over time. The half-life of
carbon 14 is approximate 5,730 years. That means if you
took one pound of 100 percent carbon-14, in 5,730 years, you
would only have half a pound left.
created in the upper atmosphere as nitrogen atoms are
bombarded by cosmic radiation. For every one trillion
carbon-12 atoms, you will find one carbon-14 atoms. The
carbon-14 that results from the reaction caused by cosmic
radiation quickly changes to carbon dioxide, just like
normal carbon-12 would. Plants utilize, or “breath in”
carbon dioxide, then ultimately release oxygen for animals
to inhale. The carbon-14 dioxide is utilized by plants in
the same way normal carbon dioxide is. This carbon-14
dioxide then ends up in humans and other animals as it moves
up the food chain.
There is then a
ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in the bodies of plants,
humans, and other animals that can fluctuate, but will be
fixed at the time of death. After death, the carbon-14
would begin to decay at the rate stated above. In 1948, Dr.
W.F. Libby introduced the carbon-14 dating method at the
University of Chicago. The premise behind the method is to
determine the ratio of carbon-14 left in organic matter, and
by doing so, estimate how long ago death occurred by running
the ratio backwards. The accuracy of this method, however,
relies on several faulty assumptions.
carbon-14 dating to be accurate, one must assume the rate of
decay of carbon-14 has remained constant over the years.
However, evidence indicates that the opposite is true.
Experiments have been performed using the radioactive
isotopes of uranium-238 and iron-57, and have shown that
rates can and do vary. In fact, changing the environments
surrounding the samples can alter decay rates.
The second faulty
assumption is that the rate of carbon-14 formation has
remained constant over the years. There are a few reasons
to believe this assumption is erroneous. The industrial
revolution greatly increased the amount of carbon-12
released into the atmosphere through the burning of coal.
Also, the atomic bomb testing around 1950 caused a rise in
neutrons, which increased carbon-14 concentrations. The
great flood which Noah and family survived would have
uprooted and/or buried entire forests. This would decrease
the release of carbon-12 to the atmosphere through the decay
carbon-14 dating to be accurate, the concentrations of
carbon-14 and carbon-12 must have remained constant in the
atmosphere. In addition to the reasons mentioned in the
previous paragraph, the flood provides another evidence that
this is a faulty assumption. During the flood, subterranean
water chambers that were under great pressure would have
been breached. This would have resulted in an enormous
amount of carbon-12 being released into the oceans and
atmosphere. The effect would be not unlike opening a can of
soda and having the carbon dioxide fizzing out. The water
in these subterranean chambers would not have contained
carbon-14, as the water was shielded from cosmic radiation.
This would have upset the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12.
To make carbon-14
dating work, Dr. Libby also assumed that the amount of
carbon-14 being presently produced had equaled the amount of
carbon-12 – he assumed that they had reached a balance. The
formation of carbon-14 increases with time, and at the time
of creation was probably at or near zero. Since carbon-14
is radioactive, it begins to decay immediately as it’s
formed. If you start with no carbon-14 in the atmosphere,
it would take over 50,000 years for the amount being
produced to reach equilibrium with the amount decaying. One
of the reasons we know that the earth is less than 50,000
years old is because of the biblical record. Another reason
we can know this is because the amount of carbon-14 in the
atmosphere is only 78% what it would be if the earth were
Libby and the evolutionist crowd have assumed that all plant
and animal life utilize carbon-14 equally as they do
carbon-12. To be grammatically crass, this ain’t
necessarily so. Live mollusks off the Hawaiian coast have
had their shells dated with the carbon-14 method. These
test showed that the shells died 2000 years ago! This news
came as quite a shock to the mollusks that had been using
those shells until just recently.
We’ve listed five
faulty assumptions here that have caused overestimates of
age using the carbon-14 method. The list of non-compliant
dates from this method is endless. Most evolutionists today
would conclude that carbon-14 dating is – at best – reliable
for only the last 3000 to 3500 years. There is another
reason that carbon-14 dating has yielded questionable
results – human bias.
If you’ve ever
been part of a medical study, you’re probably familiar with
the terms “blind study” and “double-blind study”. In a
blind study, using carbon-14 dating for example, a person
would send in a few quality control samples along with the
actual sample to the laboratory. The laboratory analyst
should not know which sample is the one of interest. In
this way, the analyst could not introduce bias into the
dating of the actual sample. In a double-blind study (using
an experimental drug study as an example), some patients
will be given the experimental drug, while others will be
given a placebo (a harmless sugar pill). Neither the
patients nor the doctors while know who gets what. This
provides an added layer of protection against bias.
that do not fit a desired theory are often excluded by
alleging cross-contamination of the sample. In this manner,
an evolutionist can present a sample for analysis, and tell
the laboratory that he assumes the sample to be somewhere
between 50,000 years old and 100,000 years old. Dates that
do not conform to this estimate are thrown out. Repeated
testing of the sample may show nine tests that indicate an
age of 5000 to 10,000 years old, and one test that shows an
age of 65,000 years old. The nine results showing ages that
do not conform to the pre-supposed theory are excluded.
This is bad science, and it is practiced all the time to fit
with the evolutionary model.
The Shroud of
Turin, claimed to be the burial cloth of Christ, was
supposedly dated by a blind test. Actually, the control
specimens were so dissimilar that the technicians at the
three laboratories making the measurements could easily tell
which specimen was from the Shroud. This would be like
taking a piece of wood and two marbles and submitting them
to the lab with the instructions that “one of these is from
an ancient ponderosa pine, guess which.” The test would
have been blind if the specimens had been reduced to carbon
powder before they were given to the testing laboratories.
Humans are naturally biased. We tend to see what we want to
see, and explain away unwanted data.
Perhaps the best
description of the problem in attempting to use the
Carbon-14 dating method is to be found in the words of Dr.
Robert Lee. In 1981, he wrote an article for the
Anthropological Journal of Canada, in which stated:
troubles of the radiocarbon dating method are undeniably
deep and serious. Despite 35 years of technological
refinement and better understanding, the underlying
assumptions have been strongly challenged, and warnings
are out that radiocarbon may soon find itself in a crisis
situation. Continuing use of the method depends on a
fix-it-as-we-go approach, allowing for contamination here,
fractionation there, and calibration whenever possible. It
should be no surprise then, that fully half of the dates
are rejected. The wonder is, surely, that the remaining
half has come to be accepted…. No matter how useful it
is, though, the radiocarbon method is still not capable of
yielding accurate and reliable results. There are gross
discrepancies, the chronology is uneven and relative, and
the accepted dates are actually the selected dates.”
accuracy of carbon-14 dating relies on faulty assumptions,
and is subject to human bias. At best, radiocarbon dating
is only accurate for the past few thousand years. As we’ve
seen though, even relatively youthful samples are often
dated incorrectly. The Biblical record gives us an
indication of an earth that is relatively young. The most
reliable use of radiocarbon dating supports that position.
This method of dating, overall, tends to be as faulty and
ill conceived as the evolutionary model that is was designed
TO EVOLUTION MAIN PAGE
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"Many environmentalists believe that wind and solar power can be scaled to meet the rising demand [of billions emerging from poverty], especially if coupled with aggressive efforts to cut waste," reports Justin Gillis. "But a lot of energy analysts have crunched the numbers and concluded that today’s renewables, important as they are, cannot get us even halfway there."
Gillis discusses the most promising innovations in nuclear power, which many technologists see as the most viable option for providing a reliable source of electricity without carbon emissions. These include "a practicable type of nuclear fusion", "a fission reactor that could run on today’s nuclear waste", and "a safer reactor based on an abundant element called thorium."
"Beyond the question of whether they will work," he adds, "these ambitious schemes pose a larger issue: How much faith should we, as a society, put in the idea of a big technological fix to save the world from climate change?"
And as is appropriate for a nuclear-related news item that appeared on the two-year anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake, we offer a reminder of the twelve different nuclear power "near miss" events that occurred in the United States in 2012.
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The Bhopal disaster
was an industrial disaster
that occurred in the city of Bhopal
, Madhya Pradesh
, resulting in the immediate deaths of more than 3,000 people, according to the Indian Supreme Court. A more probable figure is that 8,000 died within two weeks, and it is estimated that the same number have since died from gas related diseases.
The incident took place in the early hours of the morning of December 3, 1984, in the heart of the city of Bhopal in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. A Union Carbide subsidiary pesticide plant released 43 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, exposing at least 520,000 people to toxic gases. The Bhopal disaster is frequently cited as the world's worst industrial disaster. The International Medical Commission on Bhopal was established in 1993 to respond to the disasters.
Background and causes, summary
The Union Carbide India, Limited
(UCIL) plant was established in 1969. 51% was owned by Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 49% by Indian authorities. It produced the pesticide carbaryl
(trade mark Sevin). Methyl isocyanate
(MIC), an intermediate in carbaryl manufacture, was used instead of less toxic but more expensive materials. In 1979, a plant for producing MIC was added. UCC was responsible for all technique and design. The plant was located close to a densely populated area, instead of on the other side of the town where UCIL was offered an area. MIC was stored in a few large tanks instead of several small tanks.
During the night of December 3rd 1984, large amounts of water entered tank 610, containing 43 tonnes of methyl isocyanate. The resulting reaction generated a major increase in the temperature of liquid inside the tank to over 400°F (200°C). The MIC holding tank then gave off a large volume of toxic gas, forcing the emergency release of pressure. The reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel pipelines.
There have been several theories on the reason for the entry of water into the tank. The workers claim that, because of the bad maintenance with leaking valves etc, it was possible for the water to climb from the point where the pipeline washing was performed to tank 610. UCC maintains that this was not possible, and that it was an act of sabotage by a "disgruntled worker" who introduced water directly into the tank. There is much confusion because the Indian government closed the plant to outsiders and would not allow interviews with the plant employees for almost a year. Much speculation arose in the meantime and much of it was not scientifically based, but based on worker accounts which may or may not have been accurate.
The deciding factors that caused the outcome were the state of the art plant design (location near a densely populated area, using hazardous chemicals instead of less dangerous, storing in large tanks, possible corroding material in pipelines etc), and the decision to close the plant which began a shut down which contributed to poor oversight by local managers (poor oversight of operators, safety systems not functioning etc), and in the aftermath, negligence on the part of the governments of India and Madhya Pradesh as well as UCC.
- The deficiencies in the Bhopal plant design can be summarised as: choosing a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides; large-scale storage of MIC prior to selling; location close to a densely populated area; under-dimensioning of the safety features; dependence on manual operations..
- Deficiencies in the management of UCIL can be summarised: lack of skilled operators because of the staffing policy; reduction of safety management because of reducing the staff; insufficient maintenance of the plant; lack of emergency response plans.
A long-term cause of the catastrophe was the location of the plant; authorities had tried and failed to persuade Carbide to build the plant away from densely-populated areas. Carbide explained their refusal on the expense that such a move would incur.
Plant production process
Union Carbide produced their pesticide, Sevin (the name of carbaryl
), using MIC as an intermediate. Until 1979, MIC was imported from USA. Other manufacturers, such as Bayer
, made Sevin without MIC, though at greater manufacturing costs.
The Bhopal route was to react methyl amine with phosgene (also a deadly gas & chemical warfare agent) to form MIC, the MIC was then reacted with 1-naphthol to form the final product. This route is different to the MIC free route used elsewhere with the same raw materials in a different manufacturing order: phosgene is reacted with the naphthol first to form a chloroformate ester which is then reacted with methyl amine.
It seems as at least some of the techniques were more or less unproven.
In the early 1980s, the demand for pesticides had fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC.
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factory’s employees and their conditions.
- Kurzman argues that “cuts... meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety rules. A pipe leaked? Don’t replace it, employees said they were told... MIC workers needed more training? They could do with less. Promotions were halted, seriously affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled... elsewhere”.
- Workers were forced to use English manuals, despite the fact that only a few had a grasp of the language.
- By 1984, only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half. No maintenance supervisor was placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours, rather than the previous and required one-hour readings.
- Workers made complaints about the cuts through their union but were ignored. One employee was fired after going on a 15-day hunger strike. 70% of the plant’s employees were fined before the disaster for refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management.
- In addition, some observers, such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database (TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University, have pointed to “serious communication problems and management gaps between Union Carbide and its Indian operation”, characterised by “the parent companies [sic] hands-off approach to its overseas operation” and “cross-cultural barriers”.
- The personnel management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs.
Equipment and safety regulations
- It emerged in 1998, during civil action suits in India, that, unlike Union Carbide plants in the USA, its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems. No action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude. This included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals used and manufactured at Bhopal.
- The MIC tank’s alarms had not worked for 4 years.
- There was only one manual back-up system, not the four-stage system used in the USA.
- The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for 5 months before the disaster. The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), which may have brought the concentration down to a safe level. Even if the scrubber had been working, according to Weir, investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the accident. Furthermore, the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984.
- To reduce energy costs, the refrigeration system, designed to inhibit the volatilization of MIC, had been left idle – the MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius, not the 4.5 degrees advised by the manual, and some of the coolant was being used elsewhere.
- The steam boiler, intended to clean the pipes, was out of action for unknown reasons.
- Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from leaking into the MIC tanks via faulty valves were not installed. Their installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist.
- Water sprays designed to “knock down” gas leaks were poorly designed – set to 13 metres and below, they could not spray high enough to reduce the concentration of escaping gas.
- The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week. Other tanks had been used for that week, rather than repairing the broken one, which was left to “stew”. The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the explosion and its intensity.
- Carbon-steel valves were used at the factory, despite the fact that they corrode when exposed to acid. On the night of the disaster, a leaking carbon-steel valve was found, allowing water to enter the MIC tanks. The pipe was not repaired because it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive.
- Themistocles D'Silva contends that the design of the MIC plant, following government guidelines, was "Indianized" by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products. It also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for the Indian plant. Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India, the Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation.
Previous warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had been ignored:
- In 1976, the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant.
- In 1981, a worker was splashed with phosgene. In panic he ripped off his mask, thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas; he died 72 hours later.
- In January 1982, there was a phosgene leak, when 24 workers were exposed and had to be admitted to hospital. None of the workers had been ordered to wear protective masks.
- In February 1982, an MIC leak affected 18 workers.
- In August 1982, a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC, resulting in burns over 30 percent of his body.
- In October 1982, there was a leak of MIC, methylcarbaryl chloride, chloroform and hydrochloric acid. In attempting to stop the leak, the MIC supervisor suffered intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the gases.
- During 1983 and 1984, leaks of the following substances regularly took place in the MIC plant: MIC, chlorine, monomethylamine, phosgene, and carbon tetrachloride, sometimes in combination.
- Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which occurred in Bhopal. The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff.
- Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981 of the potential of a “runaway reaction” in the MIC storage tank; local Indian authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979 onwards. Again, these warnings were not heeded.
- In November 1984, most of the safety systems were not functioning. Many valves and lines were in poor condition. Tank 610 contained 43 tonnes MIC, much more than allowed according to safety rules.
- During the nights of 2-3 December, large amounts of water entered tank 610. A run-away reaction started, which was accelerated by contaminants, high temperatures and other factors. The reaction generated a major increase in the temperature of liquid inside the tank to over 200°C (400°F). The MIC holding tank then gave off a large volume of toxic gases, forcing the emergency release of pressure. The reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel pipelines.
- We know that workers cleaned pipelines with water. They were not told by the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate. Because of this, and of the bad maintenance, the workers consider it possible for water to enter the MIC tank.
- UCC maintains that a "disgruntled worker" deliberately connected a hose to a pressure gauge. However, this would hardly have been possible if the safety rules had been followed.
Time line, summary
At the plant
- 21.00 Water cleaning of pipes start.
- 22.00 Water enters 610. Reaction starts.
- 22.30 Gases are coming out from the VGS-tower.
- 00.30 The large siren sounds and is turned off.
- 00.50 The siren is heard within the plant area. The workers escape.
- 22.30 First sensations felt. Suffocation, cough, eyes, vomiting.
- 1.00 Police alerted. People escaped. UC-director denied a possible leak.
- 2.00 The first people reached Hamidia hospital. Half blind, gasping for air, frothing at the mouth, vomiting.
- 2.10 The alarm was heard outside the plant.
- 4.00 The gases were reduced.
- 6.00 The police's loudspeaker said: "Everything is normal".
- Morning: Thousands of dead bodies and hundreds of dead cattle lying on the streets.
Apart from MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene
, hydrogen cyanide
, carbon monoxide
, hydrogen chloride
, nitrous oxides
, monomethyl amine
(MMA) and carbon dioxide
, either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere. All these gases, except carbon dioxide, are acutely toxic at levels well below 500 ppm
The gas cloud, composed mainly of materials more dense than the surrounding air, stayed close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community. The initial effects of gas exposure were coughing, vomiting, severe eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation. People awoken by these symptoms fled away from the plant. Those who ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle. Due to their height, children and other people of lower stature inhaled relatively higher concentrations. Many people were trampled trying to escape.
Thousands of people had succumbed to gas exposure by the morning hours. There were mass funerals and mass cremations as well as bodies being disposed of in the Narmada river. 170,000 people were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries. 2,000 buffaloes, goats, and other animals had to be collected and buried. Within a few days, leaves on trees went yellow and fell off. Supplies including food became scarce due to safety fears by the suppliers. Fishing was prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages. .
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being "gas affected", affecting a population of 520,000. In 1991, 3,928 deaths had been certified. Independent organizations recorded 8,000 dead the first days. Other estimations vary between 10,000 and 20,000. Another 100,000 to 200,000 people are estimated to have been injured.
The majority of deaths and serious injuries were related to pulmonary edema, but the gas caused a wide variety of other ailments. Signs and symptoms of methyl isocyanate exposure include coughing, dyspnea, chest pain, lacrimation, eyelid edema, and unconsciousness. These effects tend to progress over 24 to 72 hours following exposure to include acute lung injury, cardiac arrest, and death.
Long term health effects
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies. Reported and studied symptoms are eye problems, respiratory difficulties, immune and neurological disorders, cardiac failure secondary to lung injury, female reproductive difficulties, and birth defects among children born to affected women. Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed to the gas exposure, but there is no good research supporting this.. For a review of the research on the health effects of the Bhopal disaster (Dhara & Dhara, 2002), see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12641179.
Aftermath of the leakage
- The doctors and the staff were completely taken by surprise as thousands and thousands of survivors entered the gates.
- Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC gas inhalation. They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye-drops to their patients.
- The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees. Within a few days, all the leavsfelof.
- 2,000 bloated animal carcasses had to be taken care of.
- "Operation Faith" On december 16, the tanks 611 and 619 shoud be emptied of the remains of MIC. This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal.
- Complaints of a lack of information or misinformation were legion. Not even the medical doctor of the Bhopal plant had proper information about the properties of the gases. An Indian Government spokesman said that "Carbide is more interested in getting information from us than in helping our relief work."
- Up to today, UCC has not released information about the possible composition of the cloud.
- Formal statements were issued that air, water, vegetation and foodstuffs were safe everywhere in the city. At the same time, television features informed people that poultry was unaffected, but warned people not to consume fish, etc.
- The survivors lost their economic standard, lost health and gained worries about the future. Much time was spent at hospitals and clinics. The expences fore medicines could sometimes esceed expenses on food. It was difficult for girls to get married.
- Bhopal was invaded by American lawyers, radical groups and health personnel. Sometimes there was conflicts with the police.
Union Carbide’s defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company
, Union Carbide denies allegations against it on its website dedicated to the tragedy. The corporation believes that the accident was the result of sabotage, stating that safety systems were in place and operative. It also stresses that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster.
Investigation into possible sabotage
The company cites an investigation conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D. Little
, which concluded that a single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through the metering port. Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its way into the tank by accident, and safety systems were not designed to deal with intentional sabotage. UC says that the rest of the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves from the incident, and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined to prosecute the employee responsible, presumably because that would weaken its allegations of negligence against Union Carbide.
Union Carbide has never publicly named or identified the employee it claims sabotaged its Bhopal plant or attempted to prosecute. Nevertheless, on the company’s Bhopal Information Center website, Carbide claims that “the Indian authorities are well aware of the identity of the employee and the nature of the evidence against him”.
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning, claiming that “documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve close to the plant's water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight. Furthermore, process safety systems – in place and operational – would have prevented water from entering the tank by accident”. Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982 were all allayed before 1984 and “none of them had anything to do with the incident”.
The company admits that “the safety systems in place could not have prevented a chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak”. According to Carbide, “in designing the plant's safety systems, a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not factored in” because “the tank's gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system” and “process safety systems – in place and operational – would have prevented water from entering the tank by accident”. Instead, they claim that “employee sabotage – not faulty design or operation – was the cause of the tragedy”.
The company stresses the “immediate action” taken after the disaster and their continued commitment to helping the victims. On December 4th, the day following the leak, Union Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical facilities in Bhopal.
Carbide put $2 million into the Indian Prime Minister’s immediate disaster relief fund on 11th December 1984. The corporation established the Employees' Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985, which raised more than $5 million for immediate relief.
In August 1987, Carbide made an additional $4.6 million in humanitarian interim relief available.
Union Carbide also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling, including:
- The sale of its 50.9 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital. The sale was finalized in November 1994. The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was opened in 2001. The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale of its UCIL stock. In 1991, the trust had amounted approximately $100 million. The hospital caters for the treatment of heart, lung and eye problems.
- Providing "a $2.2 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a vocational-technical center in Bhopal, which was constructed and opened, but was later closed and leveled by the government”.
- Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross.
- Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis, which is designed “to help prevent such an event in the future by improving community awareness, emergency preparedness and process safety standards”.
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster. However, other issues have also continued to develop. These include the problems of ongoing contamination, criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union Carbide, and a 2004 hoax.
Time-line 1984-2004: See "Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Fact Sheet", Hindustan Times, Dec 3, 2004
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide, the US and Indian governments, the local authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe.
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14th December 1984, the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson
, addressed the US Congress, stressing the company’s “commitment to safety” and promising to ensure that a similar accident “cannot happen again”. However, the Indian Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985, allowing the Government of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster, leading to the beginning of legal wrangling.
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure, endorsed by plaintiffs’ US attorneys, of $350 million that would, according to the company, “generate a fund for Bhopal victims of between $500-600 million over 20 years”. In May, litigation was transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge. Following an appeal of this decision, the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer, judging, in January 1987, that UCIL was a “separate entity, owned, managed and operated exclusively by Indian citizens in India”. The judge in the US, Judge Keenan, granted Carbide’s forum request, thus moving the case to India. This meant that, under US federal law, the company had to submit to Indian jurisdiction.
Litigation continued in India during 1988. The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement and “start with a clean slate” in November 1988. Eventually, in an out-of-court settlement reached in 1989 , Union Carbide agreed to pay US$470 million for damages caused in the Bhopal disaster, 15% of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit. By the end of October 2003, according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, compensation had been awarded to 554,895 people for injuries received and 15,310 survivors of those killed. The average amount to families of the dead was $2,200.
Throughout 1990, the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from “activist petitions”. Nonetheless, in October 1991, the Supreme Court upheld the original $470 million, dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original decision. The decision set aside a “portion of settlement that quashed criminal prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement”. The Court ordered the Indian government “to purchase, out of settlement fund, a group medical insurance policy to cover 100,000 persons who may later develop symptoms” and cover any shortfall in the settlement fund. It also “requests” that Carbide and its subsidiary “voluntarily” fund a hospital in Bhopal, at an estimated $17 million, to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal disaster. The company agreed to this. However, the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges.
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson
, had been arrested and released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7, 1984. This caused controversy as his trip to Bhopal was conditional on an initial promise by Indian authorities not to arrest him. Anderson has since refused to return to India.
Beginning in 1991, the local authorities from Bhopal charged Warren Anderson, who had retired in 1986, with manslaughter, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons. He was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on February 1, 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case in which he was named the chief defendant. Orders were passed to the Government of India to press for an extradition from the United States, with whom India had an extradition treaty in place. He went missing for several years, until he was discovered by Greenpeace “living a life of luxury in the Hamptons”. The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that “neither the American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an extradition”. Some allege that the Indian government has hesitated to put forth a strong case of extradition to the United States, fearing backlash from foreign investors who have become more important players in the Indian economy following liberalization. A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government, which has failed to pursue the case, has also led to strong protests in the past, most notably by Greenpeace. A plea by India's Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear appeal of the decision of the lower federal courts in October 1993, meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek damages in a US court.
Meanwhile, very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide went to the survivors, and people in the area feel betrayed not only by Union Carbide (and chairman Warren Anderson), but also by their own politicians..On the anniversary of the tragedy, effigies of Anderson and politicians are burnt.
In July 2004, the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any remaining settlement funds to victims. The deadline for this release was extended by the Indian Supreme Court In April 2005, giving the Indian government until 30th April 2006 after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims. The fund is believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest “from money remaining after all claims had been paid”.
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City upheld the dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v. Union Carbide Corporation. This move blocked plaintiffs’ motions for class certification and claims for property damages and remediation. In the view of Carbide, “the ruling reaffirms UCC’s long-held positions and finally puts to rest — both procedurally and substantively – the issues raised in the class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal”. In September 2006, the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation claims and revised petitions had been “cleared".
Criminal charges are proceeding against former Union Carbide India Limited employees including: Former UCIL Chairman Shri Keshub Mahindra; presently Chairman-cum managing Director Shri Vijay Gokhale; former Vice-President Functioning In charge, Shri Kishor Kamdar; former works manager Shri J. Mukund; and former Production manager A.P. Division, Shri S.P. Choudhury.
Federal class action litigation, Sahu v. Union Carbide et al., is presently pending on appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. The litigation seeks damages for personal injury, medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant. A related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of New York.
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary, which had operated the Bhopal plant, to Eveready Industries India Limited
, in 1994.
Merger of Union Carbide and Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company
purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $10.3 billion in stock and debt. Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement payments have already fulfilled Dow's financial responsibility for the disaster.
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the merger, noting the outstanding liabilities for the Bhopal disaster. The merger has gained criticism from the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, as it is apparently “contrary to established merger law” in that “Dow denies any responsibility for Carbide’s Bhopal liabilities”. According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal, Carbide “remains liable for the environmental devastation” as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement, despite ongoing contamination issues.
Ongoing contamination from the accident
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste, which has been left untouched. Environmentalists
have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the city, and the resulting contamination
may lead to decades of slow poisoning, and diseases affecting the nervous system, liver and kidneys in humans. Studies have shown that the rates of cancer
and other ailments are higher in the region since the event. Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste, and have pressed the government of India to demand more money from Dow.
Criticisms of Clean-up Operations
Carbide states that “after the incident, UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the direction of Indian central and state government authorities”, which was continued after 1994 by the successor to UCIL, Eveready Industries, until 1998, when it was placed under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government. Critics of the clean-up undertaken by Carbide, such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal
, claim that “several internal studies” by the corporation, which evidenced “severe contamination”, were not made public; the Indian authorities were also refused access. They believe that Union Carbide “continued directing operations” in Bhopal until “at least 1995” through Hayaran, the US trained site manager, even after the sale of its UCIL stock. The successor, Eveready Industries, abruptly relinquished the site lease to one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department on an extensive clean up programme. Environmental problems resulting from lack of a proper clean-up persist today. The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that they will “pursue both Dow and Eveready” to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors.
The International Campaign view Carbide’s sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy “to escape the Indian courts, who threatened Carbide’s assets due to their non-appearance in the criminal case”. The successor, Eveready Industries India, Limited (EIIL), ended its 99 year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of the Madhya Pradesh. Currently, the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and EIIL to finance clean-up operations.
Contamination from the site itself
A large portion of the contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from the Bhopal disaster, but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the conditions under which those materials were processed. A report from Greenpeace
details the extent and persistence of this contamination, which accounts for most of the heavy metal contamination.
In 2002, an inquiry found a number of toxins, including mercury, lead, 1,3,5 trichlorobenzene, dichloromethane and chloroform, in nursing women’s breast milk. Well water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury levels to be at “20,000 and 6 million times” higher than expected levels; heavy metals and organochlorines were present in the soil. Chemicals that have been linked to various forms of cancer were also discovered, as well as trichloroethene, known to impair fetal development, at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14, 2004 , it was reported that the site is still contaminated with 'thousands' of metric tons of toxic chemicals, including benzene hexachloride and mercury, held in open containers or loose on the ground. Some areas are reportedly so polluted that anyone entering the area for more than ten minutes is likely to lose consciousness. Rainfall causes run-off, polluting local wells and boreholes, and the results of tests undertaken on behalf of the BBC by accredited water analysis laboratories in the United Kingdom reveal pollution levels in borehole water 500 times the legal maximum in that country. Statistical surveys of local residents, with a control population in a similarly poor area away from the plant, are reported to reveal higher levels of various diseases around the plant.
Additional Settlement Funds Hoax
On December 3, 2004, the twentieth anniversary of the disaster, a man claiming to be a Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on the BBC. He claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in the incident. (video) Immediately afterward, Dow's share price fell 4.2% in 23 minutes, for a loss of $2 billion in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by that name — that he was an impostor, not affiliated with Dow, and that his claims were a hoax. BBC broadcast a correction and an apology. The statement was widely carried
"Jude Finisterra" was actually Andy Bichlbaum, a member of the activist prankster group The Yes Men. In 2002, The Yes Men issued a phony press release explaining why Dow refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website, DowEthics.com, designed to look like the Dow website but give what they felt was a more accurate cast on the events. In 2004, a producer for BBC News emailed them through the website requesting an interview, which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now!, Bichlbaum explains how his fake name was derived: "Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra means the end of the Earth". He explained that he settled on this approach (taking responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US, which had largely ignored the disaster's anniversaries, when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax, Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up interview on the United Kingdom's Channel 4 news (video). During the interview he was repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal when producing the hoax. According to the interviewer, "there were many people in tears" upon having learned of the hoax. Each time, Bichlbaum said that, in comparison, what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was responsible.
- Broughton E (2005). "The Bhopal disaster and its aftermath: A review". Environmental Health 4 (1): 6. 10 May 2005
- Browning, Jackson (1993). Union Carbide: Disaster at Bhopal. Detroit:
- Cassels, J. (1993). The Uncertain Promise Of Law: Lessons From Bhopal. University Of Toronto Press.
- (1994, 2004). Bhopal: the Inside Story – Carbide Workers Speak Out on the World's Worst Industrial Disaster. USA: The Apex Press. India: Other India Press ISBN 81-85569-65-7 Main author Chouhan was an operator at the plant. Contains many technical details.
- Dhara, V. Ramana; Dhara, Rosaline The Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal: A review of health effects. Archives of Environmental Health. (2002). .
- D'Silva, Themistocles (2006). The Black Box of Bhopal: A Closer Look at the World's Deadliest Industrial Disaster. Written by an employed at UCC.
- D'Silva TDJ, Lopes A, Jones RL, Singhawangcha S, Chan JK (1986). "Studies of methyl isocyanate chemistry in the Bhopal incident". J. Org. Chem. 51 (20): 3781–3788.
- Eckerman, Ingrid Chemical Industry and Public Health - Bhopal as an example. (2001). . Essay for MPH. A short overview, 57 pages, 82 references.
- Eckerman, Ingrid (2004). The Bhopal Saga - Causes and Consequences of the World's Largest Industrial Disaster . India: Universities Press. All known facts 1960s - 2003, systematized and analysed. 283 pages, over 200 references.
- Eckerman, Ingrid The Bhopal gas leak: Analyses of causes and consequences by three different models.. Journal of Loss Prevention in the process industry. (2005). .
- Eckerman, Ingrid The Bhopal Disaster 1984 - working conditions and the role of the trade unions.. Asian Pacific Newsletter on occupational health and safety. (2006). .
- de Grazia, Alfred (1985). A Cloud over Bhopal - Causes, Consequences and Constructive Solutions.
- (2005). The Bhopal Reader. Remembering Twenty Years of the World's Worst Industrial Disaster. USA: The Apex Press. Reprinting and annotating landmark writing from across the years.
- Jasanoff, Sheila (2007). "Bhopal’s Trials of Knowledge and Ignorance". Isis 98 344–350.
- Kalelkar AS, Little AD. (1998). Investigation of Large-magnitude incidents: Bhopal as a Case Study.. London: The Institution of Chemical Engineers Conference on Preventing Major Chemical Accidents
- Kurzman, D. (1987). A Killing Wind: Inside Union Carbide and the Bhopal Catastrophe. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Kovel, J (2002). The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World?.
- Lapierre, Dominique; Moro, Javier (2001). Five Minutes Past Midnight in Bhopal. A novel, based on facts, that describes the development from the 1960s to the disaster itself. Very thrilling.
- Lepowski, W. "Ten Years Later: Bhopal". Chemical and Engineering News, 19 December 1994.
- Rice, Annie; ILO Bhopal Revisited - the tragedy of lessons ignored. Asian Pacific Newsletter on occupational health and safety. (2006). .
- Singh, Moti (2008). Unfolding the Betrayal of Bhopal Gas Tragedy. Delhi, India: B.R. Publishing Corporation. The chief coordinator of rescue operations at the district level writes rather critically on how the administration and bureaucracy functioned after the disaster.
- Stringer R, Labunska I, Brigden K, Santillo D. Chemical Stockpiles at Union Carbide India Limited in Bhopal: An investigation. Greenpeace Research Laboratories. (2002). .
- Weir, D (1987). The Bhopal Syndrome: Pesticides, Environment and Health. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books
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What Is Air Pollution?
in its great magnitude has existed in the 20th century from the
coal burning industries of the early century to the fossil burning technology in
the new century. The problems of
air pollution are a major problem for highly developed nations whose large
industrial bases and highly developed infrastructures generate much of the air
Every year, billions of tonnes of pollutants are released into the
atmosphere; the sources include power plants burning fossil fuels to the effects
of sunlight on certain natural materials. But
the air pollutants released from natural materials pose very little health
threat, only the natural radioactive gas radon poses any threat to health.
So much of the air pollutants being released into the atmosphere are all
results of man’s activities.
In the United Kingdom, traffic
is the major cause of air pollution in British cities. Eighty six percent of families own either one or two
vehicles. Because of the
high-density population of cities and towns, the number of people exposed to air
pollutants is great. This had led
to the increased number of people getting chronic diseases over these past years
since the car ownership in the UK has nearly trebled. These include asthma and respiratory complaints ranging
through the population demographic from children to elderly people who are most
at risk. Certainly those who are
suffering from asthma will notice the effects more greatly if living in the
inner city areas or industrial areas or even near by major roads.
Asthma is already the fourth biggest killer, after heart diseases and
cancers in the UK and currently, it affects more than three point four million
In the past, severe pollution in London during 1952 added with low winds
and high-pressure air had taken more than four thousand lives and another seven
hundred in 1962, in what was called the ‘Dark Years’ because of the dense
dark polluted air.
is also causing devastation for the environment; many of these causes are by man
made gases like sulphur dioxide that results from electric plants burning fossil
fuels. In the UK, industries and
utilities that use tall smokestacks by means of removing air pollutants only
boost them higher into the atmosphere, thereby only reducing the concentration
at their site.
These pollutants are often transported over the North Sea and produce
adverse effects in western Scandinavia, where sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide
from UK and central Europe are generating acid rain, especially in Norway and
Sweden. The pH level, or relative
acidity of many of Scandinavian fresh water lakes has been altered dramatically
by acid rain causing the destruction of entire fish populations.
In the UK, acid rain formed by subsequent sulphur dioxide atmospheric
emissions has lead to acidic erosion in limestone in North Western Scotland and
marble in Northern England.
In 1998, the
London Metropolitan Police launched the ‘Emissions Controlled Reduction’
scheme where by traffic police would monitor the amount of pollutants being
released into the air by vehicle exhausts.
The plan was for traffic police to stop vehicles randomly on roads
leading into the city of London, the officer would then measure the amounts of
air pollutants being released using a CO2 measuring reader fixed in
the owner's vehicle's exhaust. If the
exhaust exceeded the legal amount (based on micrograms of pollutants) the driver
would be fined at around twenty-five pounds.
The scheme proved unpopular with drivers, especially with those driving
to work and did little to help improve the city air quality.
In Edinburgh, the main causes of bad air quality were from the vast
number of vehicles going through the city centre from west to east.
In 1990, the Edinburgh council developed the city by-pass at a cost of
nearly seventy five million pounds. The
by-pass was ringed around the outskirts of the city where its main aim was to
limit the number of vehicles going through the city centre and divert vehicles
to use the by-pass in order to reach their destination without going through the
city centre. This released much of
the congestion within the city but did little very little in solving the
city’s overall air quality.
To further decrease the number of vehicles on the roads, the government
promoted public transport. Over two
hundred million pounds was devoted in developing the country's public transport
network. Much of which included the development of more bus lanes in
the city of London, which increased the pace of bus services.
Introduction of gas and electric powered buses took place in Birmingham
in order to decrease air pollutants emissions around the centre of the city.
Because children and the elderly are at most risk to chronic diseases,
such as asthma, major diversion roads were build in order to divert the vehicles
away from residential areas, schools and elderly institutions.
In some councils, trees were planted along the sides of the road in order
to decrease the amount of carbon monoxide emissions.
Other ways of improving the air quality included the restriction on the
amounts of air pollutants being released into the atmosphere by industries;
tough regulations were placed whereby if the air quality dropped below a certain
level around the industries area, a heavy penalty would be wavered against them.
© Copyright 2000, Andrew Wan.
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The Cassini probe may have already collected data that could reveal the presence of life on Saturn's moon Enceladus, a new study argues. But mission scientists say teasing out the subtle signature of life may prove difficult.
Researchers have been fascinated with Enceladus since July 2005, when Cassini revealed a dramatic plume of ice particles and water vapour shooting out from the moon's south pole.
The plume's origin is still being debated, but some models suggest the moon holds an ocean of liquid water beneath its surface. This ocean could be a potential habitat for extraterrestrial life.
Now, a team led by Christopher McKay of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, says Cassini could offer up the first evidence that life exists or once existed on the 500 km-wide moon.
Though the probe was never designed to look for life, it could do so by studying organic chemicals such as methane in the plume, the team says.
"If you think about what you need for life, you need water, energy, organic material, and you need nitrogen, and they're all coming out of the plume," McKay told New Scientist. "Here is a little world that seems to have it all."
Life could take the form of methane-producing microbes, or methanogens, similar to those that have been seen buried under kilometres of ice in Greenland.
Cassini could potentially find evidence for such life by studying the relative abundances of methane and heavier organic chemicals, such as propane and acetylene.
Organic, carbon-containing molecules, including methane, are produced in various ways.
Abiological processes include the breakup of large, complex molecules called tholins, and the chemical buildup of carbon monoxide and hydrogen into organic molecules of varying weights.
None of these abiological methods should strongly favour the formation of methane over that of heavier organic molecules, McKay's team argues. Biological processes, in contrast, should produce much higher amounts of methane than heavier organic compounds, they say.
Researchers have taken advantage of this disparity to trace the source of organic compounds on Earth. Earlier this year, it was used to rule out a biological origin for oils and gases released from the "Lost City" hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
McKay and colleagues believe a similar study could be carried out on Enceladus using data from Cassini's Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS), which can measure the concentration of different molecules in the plume.
That hints that the moon's methane was created early on, perhaps in clouds of gas that predate the solar system.
"That doesn't mean there's not a biological signal hidden under the other stuff, but we don't have any evidence to suggest that is the case," says INMS lead scientist Hunter Waite of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.
"It's not a clear-cut, hands-down winner for biology," McKay acknowledges.
To better understand what a biological signal on Enceladus might look like, McKay has reconfigured a chamber previously used to simulate conditions on Saturn's moon Titan to simulate non-biological ways of making methane and other organic molecules. The signatures could help researchers interpret Cassini's results, McKay says.
Waite says the best way to search for evidence of life may be to return to Enceladus with more sensitive instruments. In 2009, NASA will choose between two competing ideas for the next mission to the outer planets.
One mission would send two orbiters to Jupiter and its moon Europa. The other would send an orbiter to Saturn and a probe that could descend to the surface of Saturn's moon Titan. The Titan-Saturn mission would also include a number of flybys of Enceladus, Waite told New Scientist.
Journal reference: Astrobiology (vol 8, p 909)
View a slideshow of Cassini's best images, narrated by imaging team leader Carolyn Porco.
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Get To It Then
Tue Nov 04 08:39:59 GMT 2008 by Supernova
It would only be the discovery of the Century.
Not Quite Panspermia
Tue Nov 04 10:54:37 GMT 2008 by Constantino
Its Tuesday morning and im letting my imagination get carried away with itself, but what if the conditions underneath Enceladus are perfect life-starting condtions with plumes spewing out jets of "biological starter packs" that over time ended up on the friendlier earth where they were able to develop and evolve.
That's assuming that conditions on earth have never been quite right to actually start biological processes, see where I'm going with this?
Anyway I'm fairly certain my last assumption is incorrect so I will file this idea under whimsical fantasy but it is nice to think of our solar system as all connected and "one big process"
Tue Nov 04 15:32:30 GMT 2008 by Larian Lequella
I am enthralled at the innovative thinking going on here. Considering the news that I have been force-fed for nearly 2 years, and the historic events taking place at US polls, I find this to be the most awe inspiring and significant news of the day!
I've seen Dr. McKay on a few NatGeo and Discovery Channel specials as of late. Best of luck!
Constantino, no harm in that sort of speculation. I am interested in seeing what sort of actual results come through though before making any fanciful leaps of the imagination. But if your whimsical fantasy bears out, I guess we're all aliens! INS will have a heck of a time deporting us! :P
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There's big doings down there in Corvallis, Oregon as Oregon State University begins construction on an ambitious $5 million facility to test a "hot" new nuclear technology. Although a number of new tech designs incorporating small size and passive water-cooled systems - making them meltdown-proof - have been tested (and Corvallis spinoff NuScale has reportedly begun marketing such modular systems), the design this facilty will test is a new "superhot" version, cooled by helium.
Operating temperature is about 2000 degrees; three times hotter than other nuke plants, but the design precludes meltdowns while producing electricity some 50% more efficiently than current alternatives - with half the waste. Moreover, than can also produce hydrogen for fuel cells, and efficiently desalinate water.
And the apocalyptic Greenies will love this part: it produces zero "greenhouse gas" emissions. Better yet, the system's being built in Newberg, Oregon. Sort of like "farm to fork" science. Think of the reduction in "carbon footprint" achieved by buying locally!
There is one teeny problem: the planet's running out of helium, and man-made global warming aside, we're presently too cold to make more of the stuff. If this tech takes off, we may need to send robot ships off-planet to capture and return more.
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Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.
Search native plant database:
Marcus, Joseph A.
Tecoma stans (L.) Juss. ex Kunth
Yellow bells, Yellowbells, Esperanza, Yellow trumpetbush, Yellow trumpetflower, Trumpetbush, Trumpetflower, Yellow elder
USDA Symbol: test
USDA Native Status: Native to U.S.
Esperanza or Yellow bells is an irregularly shaped, deciduous shrub, normally 3-6 ft. tall in the US but more southerly varieties can reach 9 ft. It has several stems and slender, erect branches. Clusters of large, trumpet-shaped, yellow flowers are very showy against the lance-shaped, olive-green leaves. Long, thin pods are conspicuous in autumn. It has an enormous natural range, extending from south Texas west to Arizona and south through Mexico and Central America to South America as far as northern Argentina, as well as in southern Florida south through much of the Caribbean. Plants native to the southwestern US and adjacent Mexico are Tecoma stans var. angustata, which is shorter, more drought-tolerant, and more cold-tolerant than some of the tropical varieties sold in nurseries.
Anyone who has seen this plant in bloom can understand why one of its names is Yellow bells, as it produces great, attention-grabbing, yellow blossoms. In recent years, it has become a popular landscaping plant, valued as much for its drought-tolerance as for its spectacular appearance.
Bloom InformationBloom Color: Yellow
Bloom Time: Apr , May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov
AZ , FL , NM , TX Native Distribution:
South-central Texas west to Arizona, south through Mexico and Central America to South America as far as northern Argentina. Southern Florida south through the Caribbean. Native Habitat:
High elevations, hillsides, slopes, canyons USDA Native Status: L48(N), HI(I), PR(N), VI(N)
Growing ConditionsWater Use:
Low Light Requirement:
Sun , Part Shade Soil Moisture:
Dry CaCO3 Tolerance:
High Drought Tolerance:
High Cold Tolerant:
Well drained, rocky, limestone, sand, and loam soils Conditions Comments:
North American native
varieties of this species can survive winters within their natural range but may die to the ground during especially harsh winters even there. Varieties sold in nurseries may be from tropical stock and not do so well in US cold. Yellow bells is drought tolerant and Southwestern varieties are adapted to monsoon rains with dry spells between. They may flower better if such conditions are emulated in planned landscapes, so allow ground to dry out between waterings. It is tolerant of confinement if containers are at least 12 inches in diameter and thus makes a good potted specimen.
A showy, attractive, long-blooming accent shrub
for rock gardens, perennial
gardens, and other home landscapes within its range Use Wildlife:
Nectar-insects, bees, hummingbirds. Seeds-Small mammals. Leaves-browsed by mammals. Conspicuous Flowers:
Butterflies , Hummingbirds Larval Host:
Dogface butterfly Nectar Source:
Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)
is a larval host and/or nectar source for:
PropagationPropagation Material: Seeds , Softwood Cuttings
Seed Collection: Collect late summer to fall after pods are no longer green.
Seed Treatment: Air dry at room temperature to store over winter. Sow soon after harvest in loose, moist-but-not-soggy, fine soil for quick germination.
Commercially Avail: yes
Maintenance: Cut back to the ground if dies back in winter. Prune and pinch spent flowers and pods to encourage blooming and bushiness.
From the National Suppliers Directory
According to the inventory provided by Associate Suppliers, this plant is available at the following locations:
Hill Country Natives
- Leander, TX
From the National Organizations Directory
According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is either on display or available from the following:
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Austin, TXSibley Nature Center
- Midland, TXNative Plant Society of Texas
- Fredericksburg, TXTexas Parks and Wildlife Department
- Austin, TXNPSOT - Fredericksburg Chapter
- Fredericksburg, TXNPSOT - Austin Chapter
- Austin, TXNational Butterfly Center
- Mission, TXNative Seed Network
- Corvallis, ORNPSOT - Williamson County Chapter
- Georgetown, TX, TX
Herbarium Specimen(s)NPSOT 0684
Collected Nov 22, 1993 in Bexar County by Mike Fox
Recommended Species Lists
Find native plant species by state. Each list contains commercially available species suitable for gardens and planned landscapes. Once you have selected a collection, you can browse the collection or search within it using the combination search.
View Recommended Species page
Record Modified: 2010-11-08
Research By: LAL, LAS, GDG
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Forest governance and climate policies
Fred Stolle of the World Resources Institute looks at the need for REDD to address forest governance issues as well as creating market incentives.
Policy-makers are recognizing the essential role that the world’s remaining forests play in maintaining the global climate system. The political momentum generated by the Bali Action Plan under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will create a unique opportunity to put in place a framework of incentives that could curb deforestation, slow forest degradation, and improve the way forests are managed. To succeed, these incentives must strike at the main drivers of rampant deforestation and must also recognize the dependency of local communities on forest ecosystems for their livelihoods.
In the coming months, climate change negotiators have agreed to explore a mechanism for providing compensation for “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries” (REDD). Under most REDD proposals, compensation would be financed by the sale of these emission reductions as ‘carbon offsets’ to be used by regulated countries or companies to remain within their emissions limits.
However, will the promise of money for carbon alone create the conditions necessary to counteract the drivers of deforestation?
If a REDD mechanism is to succeed, competing pressures on forests will need to be managed fairly and effectively. REDD needs to strike at the heart of the drivers, which are not always directly linked to markets, but are as often factors of problems such as illegal logging, bad planning, lack of law enforcement, the absence of tenure rights, the lack of accountability, the lack of coordination and capacity of institutions that manage forest resources and the loss of revenues and other governance factors.
It seems thus apparent that REDD will need to do more than create market incentives. To make REDD effective, efficient and capable of achieving lasting impacts, these governance issues need to be addressed. However, to make these difficult governance improvements countries will need assistance, while these improvements cannot be directly translated into reduced emissions and thus cannot be paid for by carbon credits. There is thus a need for a payment mechanism phase either in parallel or prior to a market mechanism, for REDD to be successful.
Although this phase could not be measured by tons of carbon removed, it is clear that such a phase needs to be measured (and reported and verified), not to fall into the same trap of general development assistance (ODA) over the last decades that has had a low percentage of success. The concept of this governance phase is getting more attention lately and one option of such a phase has been described recently in the Norwegian government -Meridian Institute Options Assessment Report (2009), as the ‘Implementation of policies and measures phase’.
To make this governance phase measurable and successful, governance indicators (qualitative and/or quantitative) need to be developed and agreed upon to be able to identify areas of improvement and hold governments accountable (both governments that supply funds and governments that receive funds). These indicators should cover a wide range of governance topics such as institutions, management, tenure, planning, etc.
Addressing climate change and especially deforestation worldwide will depend on the right incentives and the governance capacity to effectively use these incentives. To improve governance and ensure progress and accountability of governance, we need to develop measurable and agreed upon governance indicators.
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Magic of the Canadian West
With a vast land area of almost 10 million square kilometres and a population of just over 30 million people, Canada has a lot of wide open spaces with huge tracts of uninhabited countryside. There is a great variety of different landform, ranging from the intensively farmed plains of the south to the evocatively named “Barren Grounds” of the north, which are characterised by permafrost and freezing tundra. The Yukon stretches from British Columbia in the south to beyond the Arctic Circle. To the northwest it is bordered by Alaska. The region and the state gets its name from the Yukon River, a 3000-km (1800 mile) artery that rises in BC's Coast Mountains and flows through the heart of the Yukon and Alaska to the Bering Sea. At the westernmost tip of the Yukon are located the country's highest mountains. Together with the neighbouring Wrangell National Park in Alaska, the Kluane National Park protects the St Elias Mountains, including Mount Logan (5950m) - Canada's highest point – and Mount McKinley (6193m) in Alaska, the highest point in North America. Below them, and covering half the park, is a huge basin of mile-deep glaciers and ice fields, the world's largest non-polar ice. The Canadian Rockies extend for 2000 km (1200 miles) south from the Yukon through Alberta and British Columbia. One of the most accessible parts of the range is located at the western edge of the state of Alberta, some 250 km (155 miles) west of Edmonton and closer still to the town of Calgary. Here, there are 2 adjoining national parks; Banff National Park and Jasper National Park, which together enclose more than 17,000 sq km (6,560 sq miles) of beautiful mountain scenery. Despite its ease of access, this is still a wilderness area. Endless forests, extensive tundra, powerful glaciers, and cascading rivers are overlooked by peaks almost 4000m (13,000ft) tall. The Athabasca River, which has its source in the Jasper National Park, flows for more than 1500 km (almost 1000 miles) across Canada.
The time in Alberta is GMT -7 hours
The weather in the Canadian Rocky Mountains is ever-changing and always unpredictable. Summer days are long, but the summer season is short. July is the warmest month with a mean daily maximum temperature of 22°C / 72°F. We can expect to encounter temperatures during the day ranging from 18°C / 64°F to 27°C / 80°F. Naturally, at the highest elevations, the daytime temperatures will be lower than this. At night, the temperatures will typically drop to around 10°C / 50°F or even a few degrees lower. Although the weather is relatively stable at this time of year, we can expect some rainfall.
The unit of currency in Canada is the Canadian dollar. For up to date exchange rates visit: www.xe.com.Canadian dollars can be easily obtained outside the country. The best and fastest way to obtain cash in-country is from ATMs using a credit or debit card. If you are carrying your travel money in travellers cheques you should use US or Canadian dollar denominations. Cheques can be cashed at Thomas Cook and other exchange bureaux or at major banks. Credit cards can be used to purchase most goods and services and at major restaurants.
Citizens of the US, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and nationals of countries within the EU do not need a visa.
Passengers intending to fly via the USA, please note the following:
Under the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA), all travellers, including children, from the 27 countries under the US visa waiver programme (VWP) will have to fill out an electronic travel authorization form online at www.esta.cbp.dhs.gov prior to boarding any US-bound aircraft or ship. You can also use this site to check whether your country is part of the visa waiver scheme.
You will be required to answer questions about criminal records, communicable diseases, past history of visa revocation or deportation, and basic biographical data such as name, birth date and passport information. Changes in address and itinerary can be made online after the ESTA form has been first submitted.
You will not be allowed to board any US bound aircraft if you have not completed the online ESTA form.
If you have a criminal record (including criminal driving offences), you will be required to obtain a visa in advance of entering or transiting the USA.
You should attend your own doctor and dentist for a check-up. Your doctor will have access to the most up to date information on the required vaccinations for the country you are visiting. For the USA and Canada, in general, you do not require any vaccinations other than standard travel jabs (Polio, Tetanus, and Hepatitus A etc). A very good online resource is the NHS travel website at www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk
Additional Sources of Information
Lonely Planet – Canada.
The Rough Guide to Canada.
Moon Handbooks. Canadian Rockies.
Canadian Rockies Handbook.Andrew Hempstead.
The Canadian Rockies. Douglas Leighton.
The Canadian Rockies Trail Guide. Patton and Robinson.
Canadian Whitewater – Central Rockies.
Alberta & British Colombia. 1:1,600,000 scale. ITMB Publishing.
Jasper and Maligne Lake (Topographic Map). Gem Trek Publishing.
Southwest Alberta Southeast B.C. (Explorer's Map). Gem Trek Publishing.
Lonely Planet - www.lonelyplanet.com
Rough Guides - www.roughguides.com
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The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Ecological and Economic Foundations
Human well-being relies critically on ecosystem services provided by nature. Examples include water and air quality regulation, nutrient cycling and decomposition, plant pollination and flood control, all of which are dependent on biodiversity. They are predominantly public goods with limited or no markets and do not command any price in the conventional economic system, so their loss is often not detected and continues unaddressed and unabated. This in turn not only impacts human well-being, but also seriously undermines the sustainability of the economic system.
It is against this background that TEEB: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity project was set up in 2007 and led by the United Nations Environment Programme to provide a comprehensive global assessment of economic aspects of these issues. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, written by a team of international experts, represents the scientific state of the art, providing a comprehensive assessment of the fundamental ecological and economic principles of measuring and valuing ecosystem services and biodiversity, and showing how these can be mainstreamed into public policies. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity and subsequent TEEB outputs will provide the authoritative knowledge and guidance to drive forward the biodiversity conservation agenda for the next decade.
1. Integrating the Ecological and Economic Dimensions in Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Valuation
2. Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services
3. Measuring Biophysical Quantities and the Use of Indicators
4. The Socio-cultural Context of Ecosystem and Biodiversity Valuation
5. The Economics of Valuing Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity
6. Discounting, Ethics, and Options for Maintaining Biodiversity and Ecosystem Integrity
7. Lessons Learned and Linkages with National Policies
Appendix 1: How the TEEB Framework Can be Applied: The Amazon Case
Appendix 2: Matrix Tables for Wetland and Forest Ecosystems
Appendix 3: Estimates of Monetary Values of Ecosystem Services
"A landmark study on one of the most pressing problems facing society, balancing economic growth and ecological protection to achieve a sustainable future."
- Simon Levin, Moffett Professor of Biology, Department of Ecology and Evolution Behaviour, Princeton University, USA
"TEEB brings a rigorous economic focus to bear on the problems of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss, and on their impacts on human welfare. TEEB is a very timely and useful study not only of the economic and social dimensions of the problem, but also of a set of practical solutions which deserve the attention of policy-makers around the world."
- Nicholas Stern, I.G. Patel Professor of Economics and Government at the London School of Economics and Chairman of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
"The [TEEB] project should show us all how expensive the global destruction of the natural world has become and – it is hoped – persuade us to slow down.' The Guardian 'Biodiversity is the living fabric of this planet – the quantum and the variability of all its ecosystems, species, and genes. And yet, modern economies remain largely blind to the huge value of the abundance and diversity of this web of life, and the crucial and valuable roles it plays in human health, nutrition, habitation and indeed in the health and functioning of our economies. Humanity has instead fabricated the illusion that somehow we can get by without biodiversity, or that it is somehow peripheral to our contemporary world. The truth is we need it more than ever on a planet of six billion heading to over nine billion people by 2050. This volume of 'TEEB' explores the challenges involved in addressing the economic invisibility of biodiversity, and organises the science and economics in a way decision makers would find it hard to ignore."
- Achim Steiner, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme
This volume is an output of TEEB: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity study and has been edited by Pushpam Kumar, Reader in Environmental Economics, University of Liverpool, UK. TEEB is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UENP) and supported by the European Commission, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) and the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), recently joined by Norway's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands' Ministry of Housing (VROM), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and also the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The study leader is Pavan Sukhdev, who is also Special Adviser – Green Economy Initiative, UNEP.
View other products from the same publisher
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Stopping Carbon Pollution
Whether you live in a city, on a farm, or anywhere in between, climate change is affecting your weather and damaging the natural world around you. In order to work towards a clean energy future, America needs carbon pollution controls on the largest industrial sources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking long overdue steps to limit greenhouse gas emissions from oil refineries and coal-fired power plants, but right now, these highly polluting sources are allowed to release carbon into the atmosphere without any limits.
The National Wildlife Federation’s top priority is to stop the primary cause of climate change – carbon pollution – before it’s too late. NWF is currently fighting major campaigns to:
Electricity generation is the single largest source of global warming pollution in the United States, representing 41 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions. EPA’s newly announced plan to set standards for this sector could require the clean-up of our oldest, dirtiest, least efficient coal power plants. NWF is engaged in a major effort to finalize these rules and dramatically ratchet down our carbon pollution, and we are also supporting EPA's work to address emissions from oil refineries -- the second largest "stationary source" (as opposed to mobile sources like cars and trucks) of global warming pollution in the United States. Strong controls over these big sources will begin holding polluters accountable for their contribution to the climate crisis.
Reducing Emissions in the US and Worldwide
Recognizing that this is a global problem that demands national and international leadership, NWF’s long-term goal is to adopt a national plan that rapidly cuts carbon pollution from all major sources in the US, and safeguards communities and wildlife from the mounting impacts of climate change. The last effort at national legislation – the American Clean Energy and Security Act – passed the House of Representatives in 2009 but stalled in the Senate. Since that time, the impacts of climate change have rapidly escalated. NWF is working hard to get Congress to step up and take action to solve our nation’s most urgent environmental issue.
Avoiding the worst consequences of this disaster also requires a global solution. NWF is partnering with organizations around the world to promote an international agreement that clamps down on carbon pollution, while ensuring that all countries can protect their citizens and wildlife from the impacts of climate change.
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Alphabetic Index : A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Gasoline /ˈɡæsəliːn/, or petrol /ˈpɛtrəl/ is a transparent, petroleum-derived liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain ethanol as an alternative fuel. In North America, the term gasoline is often shortened in colloquial usage to gas, but some people use the term petrol, which is the common name in the UK and elsewhere in the Commonwealth of Nations. Under normal ambient conditions, its material state is liquid, unlike liquefied petroleum gas or natural gas.
Gasoline is more volatile than diesel oil, Jet-A, or kerosene, not only because of the base constituents, but also because of additives. Volatility is often controlled by blending with butane, which boils at −0.5 °C. The volatility of petrol is determined by the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) test. The desired volatility depends on the ambient temperature. In hot weather, petrol components of higher molecular weight and thus lower volatility are used. In cold weather, too little volatility results in cars failing to start.
In hot weather, excessive volatility results in what is known as "vapor lock", where combustion fails to occur, because the liquid fuel has changed to a gaseous state in the fuel lines, rendering the fuel pump ineffective and starving the engine of fuel. This effect mainly applies to camshaft-driven (engine mounted) fuel pumps which lack a fuel return line. Vehicles with fuel injection require the fuel to be pressurized within a set range. Because the camshaft speed is nearly zero before the engine is started, an electric pump is used. It is located in the fuel tank so the fuel may also cool the high-pressure pump. Pressure regulation is achieved by returning unused fuel to the tank. Therefore, vapor lock is almost never a problem in a vehicle with fuel injection.
In the US, volatility is regulated to reduce the emission of unburned hydrocarbons by the use of so-called reformulated gasoline that is less prone to evaporation. In Australia, summer petrol volatility limits are set by state governments and vary among states. Most countries simply have a summer, winter, and perhaps intermediate limit.
Volatility standards may be relaxed (allowing more gasoline components into the atmosphere) during gasoline shortages. For example, on 31 August 2005, in response to Hurricane Katrina, the US permitted the sale of nonreformulated gasoline in some urban areas, effectively permitting an early switch from summer to winter-grade gasoline. As mandated by EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson, this "fuel waiver" was made effective until 15 September 2005.
Modern automobiles are also equipped with an evaporative emissions control system ( 'EVAP system' in automotive jargon), which collects evaporated fuel from the fuel tank in a charcoal-filled canister while the engine is stopped, and then releases the collected vapors to the engine for consumption when the engine is running (usually after it has reached normal operating temperature). The evaporative emissions control system also includes a sealed gas cap to prevent vapors from escaping via the fuel filler tube.Octane rating For more details on this topic, see octane rating.
Spark ignition engines are designed to burn gasoline in a controlled process called deflagration. But in some cases, the unburned mixture can autoignite, which results in rapid heat release and can damage the engine. This phenomenon is often referred to as engine knocking or end-gas knock. One way to reduce knock in spark ignition engines is to increase the gasoline's resistance to autoignition, which is expressed by its octane rating.
Octane rating is measured relative to a mixture of 2,2,4-Trimethylpentane (an isomer of octane) and n-heptane. There are different conventions for expressing octane ratings, so a fuel may have several different octane ratings based on the measure used. Research octane number (RON) for commercially-available gasoline varies by country. In Finland, Sweden, and Norway, 95 RON is the standard for regular unleaded petrol and 98 RON is also available as a more expensive option. In the UK, ordinary regular unleaded petrol is 91 RON (not commonly available), premium unleaded petrol is always 95 RON, and super unleaded is usually 97-98 RON. However, both Shell and BP produce fuel at 102 RON for cars with high-performance engines, and the supermarket chain Tesco began in 2006 to sell super unleaded petrol rated at 99 RON. In the US, octane ratings in unleaded fuels can vary between 86 and 87 AKI (91-92 RON) for regular, through 89-90 AKI (94-95 RON) for mid-grade (European premium), up to 90-94 AKI (95-99 RON) for premium (European super).
The octane rating became important as the military sought higher output for aircraft engines in the late 1930s and the 1940s. A higher octane rating allows a higher compression ratio or supercharger boost, and thus higher temperatures and pressures, which translate to higher power output. Some scientists even predicted that a nation with a good supply of high octane gasoline would have the advantage in air power. In 1943, the Rolls Royce Merlin aero engine produced 1,320 horsepower (984 kW) using 100 RON fuel from a modest 27 litre displacement. Towards the end of the second world war, experiments were conducted using 150 RON fuel.Stability
Quality gasoline should be stable almost indefinitely if stored properly. Such storage should be in an airtight container, to prevent oxidation or water vapors mixing, and at a stable cool temperature to reduce the chance of the container's leaking. When gasoline is not stored correctly, gums and solids may accumulate, resulting in "stale fuel". The presence of these degradation products in fuel tank, lines, and carburetor or fuel injection components, make it harder to start the engine. Upon resumption of regular vehicle usage, the buildups should eventually be cleaned out by the flow of fresh petrol. A fuel stabilizer can be used to extend the life of fuel that is not or cannot be stored properly. Fuel stabilizer is commonly used for small engines, such as lawnmower and tractor engines, to promote quicker and more reliable starting. Users have been advised to keep gasoline containers more than half full and properly capped to reduce air exposure, to avoid storage at high temperatures, to run an engine for ten minutes to circulate the stabilizer through all components prior to storage, and to run the engine at intervals to purge stale fuel from the carburetor.Energy content (high and low heating value)
Energy is obtained from the combustion of gasoline by the conversion of a hydrocarbon to carbon dioxide and water. The combustion of octane follows this reaction:2 C8H18 + 25 O2 → 16 CO2 + 18 H2O
Gasoline contains about 35 MJ/L (9.7 kW·h/L, 132 MJ/US gal, 36.6 kWh/US gal) (higher heating value) or 13 kWh/kg. Gasoline blends differ, and therefore actual energy content varies according to the season to season and producer by up to 4% more or less than the average, according to the US EPA. On average, about 19.5 US gallons (16.2 imp gal; 74 L) of gasoline are available from a 42-US-gallon (35 imp gal; 160 L) barrel of crude oil (about 46% by volume), varying due to quality of crude and grade of gasoline. The remaining residue comes off as products ranging from tar to naptha.
A high-octane-rated fuel, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has an overall lower power output at the regular compression ratio of an engine run at on gasoline. However, with an engine tuned to the use of LPG (i.e. via higher compression ratios, such as 12:1 instead of 8:1), this lower power output can be overcome. This is because higher-octane fuels allow for a higher compression ratio, hence a higher cylinder temperature, which improves efficiency. Also, increased mechanical efficiency is created by a higher compression ratio through the concomitant higher expansion ratio on the power stroke, which is by far the greater effect. The higher expansion ratio extracts more work from the high-pressure gas created by the combustion process. The applicable formula is . An Atkinson cycle engine uses the timing of the valve events to produce the benefits of a high expansion ratio without the disadvantages, chiefly detonation, of a high compression ratio. A high expansion ratio is also one of the two key reasons for the efficiency of Diesel engines, along with the elimination of pumping losses due to throttling of the intake air flow. A high compression ratio can be viewed as a necessary evil to have a high expansion ratio.
The lower energy content (per litre) of LPG in comparison to gasoline is due mainly to its lower density. Energy content per kilogram is higher than for gasoline (higher hydrogen to carbon ratio, see for example Standard_enthalpy_of_formation#Examples:_Inorganic_compounds_.28at_25_.C2.B0C.29).Density
The specific gravity (or relative density) of gasoline ranges from 0.71–0.77 kg/l (719.7 kg/m3 ; 0.026 lb/in3; 6.073 lb/US gal; 7.29 lb/imp gal), higher densities having a greater volume of aromatics. Gasoline floats on water; water cannot generally be used to extinguish a gasoline fire, unless used in a fine mist.Chemical analysis and productionA pumpjack in the United StatesAn oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico
Gasoline is produced in oil refineries. Material that is separated from crude oil via distillation, called virgin or straight-run gasoline, does not meet the required specifications for modern engines (in particular octane rating; see below), but will comprise part of the blend.Some of the main components of gasoline: isooctane, butane, 3-ethyltoluene, and the octane enhancer MTBE.
The bulk of a typical gasoline consists of hydrocarbons with between four and 12 carbon atoms per molecule (commonly referred to as C4-C12).
The various refinery streams blended to make gasoline have different characteristics. Some important streams are:
The terms above are the jargon used in the oil industry, but terminology varies.
Overall, a typical gasoline is predominantly a mixture of paraffins (alkanes), naphthenes (cycloalkanes), and olefins (alkenes). The actual ratio depends on:
Currently, many countries set limits on gasoline aromatics in general, benzene in particular, and olefin (alkene) content. Such regulations led to increasing preference for high octane pure paraffin (alkane) components, such as alkylate, and is forcing refineries to add processing units to reduce benzene content.
Gasoline can also contain other organic compounds, such as organic ethers (deliberately added), plus small levels of contaminants, in particular organosulfur compounds, but these are usually removed at the refinery.Additives See also: List of gasoline additives Antiknock additivesA plastic container for storing gasoline used in Germany
Most countries have phased out leaded fuel. Different additives have replaced the lead compounds. The most popular additives include aromatic hydrocarbons, ethers and alcohol (usually ethanol or methanol).Tetraethyl lead
Gasoline, when used in high-compression internal combustion engines, has a tendency to autoignite (detonate) causing damaging "engine knocking" (also called "pinging" or "pinking") noise. Early research into this effect was led by A.H. Gibson and Harry Ricardo in England and Thomas Midgley and Thomas Boyd in the United States. The discovery that lead additives modified this behavior led to the widespread adoption of their use in the 1920s, and therefore more powerful, higher compression engines. The most popular additive was tetra-ethyl lead. With the discovery of the extent of environmental and health damage caused by the lead, however, and the incompatibility of lead with catalytic converters found on virtually all newly sold US automobiles since 1975, this practice began to wane (encouraged by many governments introducing differential tax rates) in the 1980s.In the US, where lead had been blended with gasoline (primarily to boost octane levels) since the early 1920s, standards to phase out leaded gasoline were first implemented in 1973 — due in great part to studies conducted by Philip J. Landrigan. In 1995, leaded fuel accounted for only 0.6% of total gasoline sales and less than 2000 short tons (1814 t) of lead per year. From 1 January 1996, the Clean Air Act banned the sale of leaded fuel for use in on-road vehicles. Possession and use of leaded gasoline in a regular on-road vehicle now carries a maximum $10,000 fine in the US. However, fuel containing lead may continue to be sold for off-road uses, including aircraft, racing cars, farm equipment, and marine engines. Similar bans in other countries have resulted in lowering levels of lead in people's bloodstreams.
Gasolines are also treated with metal deactivators, which are compounds that sequester (deactivate) metal salts that otherwise accelerate the formation of gummy residues. The metal impurities might arise from the engine itself or as contaminants in the fuel.Detergents
Gasoline, as delivered at the pump, also contains additives to reduce internal engine carbon buildups, improve combustion, and to allow easier starting in cold climates. High levels of detergent can be found in Top Tier Detergent Gasolines. These gasolines exceed the U.S. EPA's minimum requirement for detergent content. The specification for Top Tier Detergent Gasolines was developed by four automakers: GM, Honda, Toyota and BMW. According to the bulletin, the minimal EPA requirement is not sufficient to keep engines clean. Typical detergents include alkylamines and alkyl phosphates at the level of 50-100 ppm.Ethanol European Union
In the EU, 5% ethanol can be added within the common gasoline spec (EN 228). Discussions are ongoing to allow 10% blending of ethanol (available in Finnish and French gas stations). Most gasoline sold in Sweden has 5-15% ethanol added.Brazil
In Brazil, the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) requires gasoline for automobile use to have from 18 to 25% of ethanol added to its composition.Australia
Legislation requires retailers to label fuels containing ethanol on the dispenser, and limits ethanol use to 10% of petrol in Australia. Such petrol is commonly called E10 by major brands, and its price per litre is less than that of regular unleaded petrol.United States
In most states, ethanol is added by law to a minimum level which is currently 5.9%. Most fuel pumps display a sticker stating the fuel may contain up to 10% ethanol, an intentional disparity which allows the minimum level to be raised over time without requiring modification of the literature/labelling. Until late 2010, fuels retailers were only authorized to sell fuel containing up to 10 percent ethanol (E10), and most vehicle warranties (except for flexible fuel vehicles) authorize fuels that contain no more than 10 percent ethanol. In parts of the United States, ethanol is sometimes added to gasoline without an indication that it is a component.India
The government of India in October 2007 decided to make 5% ethanol blending (with petrol) mandatory. Discussions are ongoing to increase the blending of ethanol to 10%.Dye Main article: Fuel dyes
In Australia, petrol tends to be dyed a light shade of purple.
In India petrol is dyed red.
In the United States, aviation gasoline (avgas) is dyed to identify its octane rating and to distinguish it from kerosene-based jet fuel, which is clear.
In the U.S., many rural states offer 'off road diesel' that contains a red dye. It is chemically the same as undyed diesel but can be purchased without paying a road tax. Its use is for off road vehicles, such as tractors. However, if the fuel is used in on road vehicles, the dye will be transferred to fuel filters and other components. Offenders with marked components are liable for tax evasion.
Oxygenate blending adds oxygen-bearing compounds such as MTBE, ETBE and ethanol. The presence of these oxygenates reduces the amount of carbon monoxide and unburned fuel in the exhaust gas. In many areas throughout the US, oxygenate blending is mandated by EPA regulations to reduce smog and other airborne pollutants. For example, in Southern California, fuel must contain 2% oxygen by weight, resulting in a mixture of 5.6% ethanol in gasoline. The resulting fuel is often known as reformulated gasoline (RFG) or oxygenated gasoline, or in the case of California, California reformulated gasoline. The federal requirement that RFG contain oxygen was dropped on 6 May 2006 because the industry had developed VOC-controlled RFG that did not need additional oxygen.
MTBE use is being phased out in some states due to issues with contamination of ground water. In some places, such as California, it is already banned. Ethanol and, to a lesser extent, the ethanol-derived ETBE are common replacements. Since most ethanol is derived from biomass, such as corn, sugar cane or grain, it is referred to as bioethanol. A common ethanol-gasoline mix of 10% ethanol mixed with gasoline is called gasohol or E10, and an ethanol-gasoline mix of 85% ethanol mixed with gasoline is called E85. The most extensive use of ethanol takes place in Brazil, where the ethanol is derived from sugarcane. In 2004, over 3.4 billion US gallons (2.8 billion imp gal/13 million m³) of ethanol was produced in the United States for fuel use, mostly from corn, and E85 is slowly becoming available in much of the United States, though many of the relatively few stations vending E85 are not open to the general public. The use of bioethanol, either directly or indirectly by conversion of such ethanol to bio-ETBE, is encouraged by the European Union Directive on the Promotion of the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels for transport. Since producing bioethanol from fermented sugars and starches involves distillation, though, ordinary people in much of Europe cannot legally ferment and distill their own bioethanol at present (unlike in the US, where getting a BATF distillation permit has been easy since the 1973 oil crisis).Safety Environmental considerations
Combustion of 1 US gallon (3.8 L) of gasoline produces 8,788 grams (19.37 lb) of carbon dioxide (2.3 kg/l), a greenhouse gas.
The main concern with gasoline on the environment, aside from the complications of its extraction and refining, is the potential effect on the climate. Unburnt gasoline and evaporation from the tank, when in the atmosphere, react in sunlight to produce photochemical smog. Addition of ethanol increases the volatility of gasoline, potentially worsening the problem.
The chief risks of such leaks come not from vehicles, but from gasoline delivery truck accidents and leaks from storage tanks. Because of this risk, most (underground) storage tanks now have extensive measures in place to detect and prevent any such leaks, such as monitoring systems (Veeder-Root, Franklin Fueling).Toxicity
The material safety data sheet for unleaded gasoline shows at least 15 hazardous chemicals occurring in various amounts, including benzene (up to 5% by volume), toluene (up to 35% by volume), naphthalene (up to 1% by volume), trimethylbenzene (up to 7% by volume), methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) (up to 18% by volume, in some states) and about ten others. Hydrocarbons in gasoline generally exhibit low acute toxicities, with LD50 of 700 – 2700 mg/kg for simple aromatic compounds. Benzene and many antiknocking additives are carcinogenic.Inhalation
Huffed gasoline is a common intoxicant that has become epidemic in some poorer communities and indigenous groups in Australia, Canada, New Zealand,and some Pacific Islands. In response, Opal fuel has been developed by the BP Kwinana Refinery in Australia, and contains only 5% aromatics (unlike the usual 25%) which weakens the effects of inhalation.FlammabilityUncontrolled burning of gasoline produces large quantities of soot.
Like other alkanes, gasoline burns in a limited range of its vapor phase and, coupled with its volatility, this makes leaks highly dangerous when sources of ignition are present. Gasoline has a lower explosion limit of 1.4% by volume and an upper explosion limit of 7.6%. If the concentration is below 1.4% the air-gasoline mixture is too lean and will not ignite. If the concentration is above 7.6% the mixture is too rich and also will not ignite. However, gasoline vapor rapidly mixes and spreads with air, making unconstrained gasoline quickly flammable. Many accidents involve gasoline being used in an attempt to light bonfires; the gasoline readily vaporizes after being poured and mixes with the surrounding air.Usage and pricing Main articles: Gasoline usage and pricing and Peak oilUK petrol prices
The United States account for about 44% of the world’s gasoline consumption. In 2003 The US consumed 476.474 gigalitres (1.25871×1011 US gal; 1.04810×1011 imp gal), which equates to 1.3 gigalitres of gasoline each day (about 360 million US or 300 million imperial gallons). The US used about 510 billion litres (138 billion US gal/115 billion imp gal) of gasoline in 2006, of which 5.6% was mid-grade and 9.5% was premium grade.
Western countries have the highest usage rates per person.Europe
Unlike the US, countries in Europe impose substantial taxes on fuels such as gasoline. The price of gasoline in Europe is typically more than twice that in the US. In Italy, due to the amendments imposed by Monti's Government in December 2011, the price of gasoline has passed, in the period of two weeks, from 1.50 €/l (7.48 US$/gal) to 1.75 €/l (8.72 US$/gal); on March, 17th, in a Gasoline Station located near Ancona, has reached the psychological threshold of 2 €/l: the price was € 2.001/l (this means 9.97 US$/gal) This chart needs to be compared to the USA national average price of gasoline of 0.71 €/l .
From 1998 to 2004, the price of gasoline fluctuated between $1 and $2 USD per U.S. gallon. After 2004, the price increased until the average gas price reached a high of $4.11 per U.S. gallon in mid-2008, but receded to approximately $2.60 per U.S. gallon by September 2009. More recently, the U.S. experienced an upswing in gas prices through 2011, and by 1 March 2012, the national average was $3.74 per gal.
Unlike most consumer goods, the prices of which are listed before tax, in the United States, gasoline prices are posted with taxes included. Taxes are added by federal, state and local governments. As of 2009, the federal tax is 18.4¢ per gallon for gasoline and 24.4¢ per gallon for diesel (excluding red diesel). Among states, the highest gasoline tax rates, including the federal taxes as of 2005, are New York (62.9¢/gal), Hawaii (60.1¢/gal), and California (60¢/gal). However, many states' taxes are a percentage and thus vary in amount depending on the cost of the gasoline.
About 9% of all gasoline sold in the US in May 2009 was premium grade, according to the Energy Information Administration. Consumer Reports magazine says, “If says to use regular fuel, do so—there’s no advantage to a higher grade.” The Associated Press said premium gas—which is a higher octane and costs several cents a gallon more than regular unleaded—should be used only if the manufacturer says it is “required”. Cars with turbocharged engines and high compression ratios often specify premium gas because higher octane fuels reduce the incidence of "knock", or fuel pre-detonation. If regular fuel is used the engine computer will usually switch to a less aggressive fuel map in order to protect the engine, and performance is decreased.History
The first automotive combustion engines, so-called Otto engines, were developed in the last quarter of the 19th century in Germany. The fuel was a relatively volatile hydrocarbon obtained from coal gas. With a boiling point near 85 °C (octanes boil about 40 °C higher), it was well suited for early carburetors (evaporators). The development of a "spray nozzle" carburetors enabled the use of less volatile fuels. Further improvements in engine efficiency were attempted at higher compression ratios, but early attempts were blocked by knocking (premature explosion of fuel). In the 1920s, antiknock compounds were introduced by Migley and Boyd, specifically tetraethyl lead (TEL). This innovation started a cycle of improvements in fuel efficiency that coincided with the large-scale development of oil refining to provide more products in the boiling range of gasolines. In the 1950s oil refineries started to focus on high octane fuels, and then detergents were added to gasoline to clean the jets and carburetors. The 1970s witnessed greater attention to the environmental consequences of burning gasoline. These considerations led to the phasing out of TEL and its replacement by other antiknock compounds. Subsequently, low-sulfur gasoline was introduced, in part to preserve the catalysts in modern exhaust systems.Etymology and terminology
"Gasoline" is cited (under the spelling "gasolene") from 1863 in the Oxford English Dictionary. It was never a trademark, although it may have been derived from older trademarks such as "Cazeline" and "Gazeline".
Variant spellings of "petrol" have been used to refer to raw petroleum since the 16th century. "Petrol" was first used as the name of a refined petroleum product around 1870 by British wholesaler Carless, Capel & Leonard, who marketed it as a solvent. When the product later found a new use as a motor fuel, Frederick Simms, an associate of Gottlieb Daimler, suggested to Carless that they register the trade mark "Petrol", but by this time the word was already in general use, possibly inspired by the French pétrole, and the registration was not allowed. Carless registered a number of alternative names for the product, while their competitors used the term "motor spirit" until the 1930s.
In many countries, gasoline has a colloquial name derived from that of the chemical benzene (e.g., German Benzin, Dutch Benzine, Italian benzina, Chile bencina, Thai เบนซิน). Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay use the colloquial name nafta derived from that of the chemical naphtha.
The terms "mogas", short for motor gasoline, or "autogas", short for automobile gasoline, are used to distinguish automobile fuel from aviation gasoline, or "avgas". In British English, gasoline can refer to a different petroleum derivative historically used in lamps, but this usage is relatively uncommon.See also
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By Dasha Afanasieva
LONDON (Reuters) - An ambitious British plan to search for minute forms of life in an ancient lake beneath Antarctica's ice has been suspended because of technical problems, the scientist leading the project said on Thursday.
In a move that clears the way for U.S. and Russian teams to take the lead, Professor Martin Siegert said technical problems and a lack of fuel had forced the closure on Christmas Day of the 7-million-pound ($11 million) project, which was looking for life forms and climate change clues in the lake-bed sediment.
"This is of course, hugely frustrating for us, but we have learned a lot this year," said Siegert of the University of Bristol, principal investigator for the mission, which was headed by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
"By the end, the equipment was working well, and much of it has now been fully field-tested," he said on the BAS website.
Experts from Britain's Lake Ellsworth mission had expected to find minute forms of life in the lake three km (two miles) under Antarctica's ice, the most remote and extreme environment known on Earth.
They had also hoped that by dating bits of seashell found in the water they would have been able to ascertain when the ice sheet last broke up and to better understand the risks of it happening again.
Scientists from the United States and Russia are hot on Britain's heels when it comes to drilling through Antarctic ice to lakes that have been hidden for thousands of years.
The U.S. team is aiming to start drilling in Lake Whillans, one of 360 known sub-glacial lakes in Antarctica, in January or February 2013.
Russia was the first to pierce 3,769 meters (12,365 ft) of solid ice to reach Lake Vostok early in 2012. But some scientists believe their samples may have been contaminated by drilling fluids.
The British scientists decided to abandon the mission after trying for 20 hours to connect two holes in the ice that were needed for the hot-water drill to work, said a BAS spokeswoman.
Without a connection between the two holes, the hot water would seep into the porous surface layers of ice and be lost, reducing the pressure and rendering the drill ineffective.
The team tried to melt and dig more snow to compensate for the water loss, but without success.
As a result of the extra time taken to fix the problem, fuel stocks had been depleted to such a level as to make the operation unviable.
Asked how long the delay might be before the project could be resumed, Siegert told the BBC: "It will take a season or two to get all our equipment out of Antarctica and back to the UK, so at a minimum we're looking at three to four, maybe five years I would have thought."
However, he said he felt this year's mission had not been a complete loss.
The BAS spokeswoman said: "It's very possible that either the U.S. or Russia may take the lead but I think the one thing we've learned here is that anything can go wrong."
"We've never depicted this as a race. All sub-glacial lakes would give different information," she said.
(Editing by Andrew Osborn)
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What determines how much coverage a climate study gets?
It probably goes without saying that it isn’t strongly related to the quality of the actual science, nor to the clarity of the writing. Appearing in one of the top journals does help (Nature, Science, PNAS and occasionally GRL), though that in itself is no guarantee. Instead, it most often depends on the ‘news’ value of the bottom line. Journalists and editors like stories that surprise, that give something ‘new’ to the subject and are therefore likely to be interesting enough to readers to make them read past the headline. It particularly helps if a new study runs counter to some generally perceived notion (whether that is rooted in fact or not). In such cases, the ‘news peg’ is clear.
And so it was for the Steig et al “Antarctic warming” study that appeared last week. Mainstream media coverage was widespread and generally did a good job of covering the essentials. The most prevalent peg was the fact that the study appeared to reverse the “Antarctic cooling” meme that has been a staple of disinformation efforts for a while now.
It’s worth remembering where that idea actually came from. Back in 2001, Peter Doran and colleagues wrote a paper about the Dry Valleys long term ecosystem responses to climate change, in which they had a section discussing temperature trends over the previous couple of decades (not the 50 years time scale being discussed this week). The “Antarctic cooling” was in their title and (unsurprisingly) dominated the media coverage of their paper as a counterpoint to “global warming”. (By the way, this is a great example to indicate that the biggest bias in the media is towards news, not any particular side of a story). Subsequent work indicated that the polar ozone hole (starting in the early 80s) was having an effect on polar winds and temperature patterns (Thompson and Solomon, 2002; Shindell and Schmidt, 2004), showing clearly that regional climate changes can sometimes be decoupled from the global picture. However, even then both the extent of any cooling and the longer term picture were more difficult to discern due to the sparse nature of the observations in the continental interior. In fact we discussed this way back in one of the first posts on RealClimate back in 2004.
This ambiguity was of course a gift to the propagandists. Thus for years the Doran et al study was trotted out whenever global warming was being questioned. It was of course a classic ‘cherry pick’ – find a region or time period when there is a cooling trend and imply that this contradicts warming trends on global scales over longer time periods. Given a complex dynamic system, such periods and regions will always be found, and so as a tactic it can always be relied on. However, judging from the take-no-prisoners response to the Steig et al paper from the contrarians, this important fact seems to have been forgotten (hey guys, don’t worry you’ll come up with something new soon!).
Actually, some of the pushback has been hilarious. It’s been a great example for showing how incoherent and opportunistic the ‘antis’ really are. Exhibit A is an email (and blog post) sent out by Senator Inhofe’s press staff (i.e. Marc Morano). Within this single email there are misrepresentations, untruths, unashamedly contradictory claims and a couple of absolutely classic quotes. Some highlights:
Dr. John Christy of the University of Alabama in Huntsville slams new Antarctic study for using [the] “best estimate of the continent’s temperature”
Perhaps he’d prefer it if they used the worst estimate? ;)
[Update: It should go without saying that this is simply Morano making up stuff and doesn't reflect Christy's actual quotes or thinking. No-one is safe from Morano's misrepresentations!]
[Further update: They've now clarified it. Sigh....]
Morano has his ear to the ground of course, and in his blog piece dramatically highlights the words “estimated” and “deduced” as if that was some sign of nefarious purpose, rather than a fundamental component of scientific investigation.
Internal contradictions are par for the course. Morano has previously been convinced that “… the vast majority of Antarctica has cooled over the past 50 years.”, yet he now approvingly quotes Kevin Trenberth who says “It is hard to make data where none exist.” (It is indeed, which is why you need to combine as much data as you can find in order to produce a synthesis like this study). So which is it? If you think the data are clear enough to demonstrate strong cooling, you can’t also believe there is no data (on this side of the looking glass anyway).
It’s even more humourous, since even the more limited analysis available before this paper showed pretty much the same amount of Antarctic warming. Compare the IPCC report, with the same values from the new analysis (under various assumptions about the methodology).
(The different versions are the full reconstruction, a version that uses detrended satellite data for the co-variance, a version that uses AWS data instead of satelltes and one that use PCA instead of RegEM. All show positive trends over the last 50 years).
Further contradictions abound: Morano, who clearly wants it to have been cooling, hedges his bets with a “Volcano, Not Global Warming Effects, May be Melting an Antarctic Glacier” Hail Mary pass. Good luck with that!
It always helps if you haven’t actually read the study in question. That way you can just make up conclusions:
Scientist adjusts data — presto, Antarctic cooling disappears
Nope. It’s still there (as anyone reading the paper will see) – it’s just put into a larger scale and longer term context (see figure 3b).
Inappropriate personalisation is always good fodder. Many contrarians seemed disappointed that Mike was only the fourth author (the study would have been much easier to demonise if he’d been the lead). Some pretended he was anyway, and just for good measure accused him of being a ‘modeller’ as well (heaven forbid!).
Others also got in on the fun. A chap called Ross Hays posted a letter to Eric on multiple websites and on many comment threads. On Joe D’Aleo’s site, this letter was accompanied with this little bit of snark:
Icecap Note: Ross shown here with Antarctica’s Mount Erebus volcano in the background was a CNN forecast Meteorologist (a student of mine when I was a professor) who has spent numerous years with boots on the ground working for NASA in Antarctica, not sitting at a computer in an ivory tower in Pennsylvania or Washington State
This is meant as a slur against academics of course, but is particularly ironic, since the authors of the paper have collectively spent over 8 seasons on the ice in Antarctica, 6 seasons in Greenland and one on Baffin Island in support of multiple ice coring and climate measurement projects. Hays’ one or two summers there, his personal anecdotes and misreadings of the temperature record, don’t really cut it.
Neither do rather lame attempts to link these results with the evils of “computer modelling”. According to Booker (for it is he!) because a data analysis uses a computer, it must be a computer model – and probably the same one that the “hockey stick” was based on. Bad computer, bad!
The proprietor of the recently named “Best Science Blog”, also had a couple of choice comments:
In my opinion, this press release and subsequent media interviews were done for media attention.
This remarkable conclusion is followed by some conspiratorial gossip implying that a paper that was submitted over a year ago was deliberately timed to coincide with a speech in Congress from Al Gore that was announced last week. Gosh these scientists are good.
All in all, the critical commentary about this paper has been remarkably weak. Time will tell of course – confirming studies from ice cores and independent analyses are already published, with more rumoured to be on their way. In the meantime, floating ice shelves in the region continue to collapse (the Wilkins will be the tenth in the last decade or so) – each of them with their own unique volcano no doubt – and gravity measurements continue to show net ice loss over the Western part of the ice sheet.
Nonetheless, the loss of the Antarctic cooling meme is clearly bothering the contrarians much more than the loss of 10,000 year old ice. The poor level of their response is not surprising, but it does exemplify the tactics of the whole ‘bury ones head in the sand” movement – they’d much rather make noise than actually work out what is happening. It would be nice if this demonstration of intellectual bankruptcy got some media attention itself.
That’s unlikely though. It’s just not news.
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DENVER – Put on your poodle skirts and tune in Elvis on the transistor radio, because it’s starting to look a lot like the 1950s.
Unfortunately, this won’t be the nostalgic ’50s of big cars and pop music.
The 1950s that could be on the way to Colorado is the decade of drought.
So says Brian Bledsoe, a Colorado Springs meteorologist who studies the history of ocean currents and uses what he learns to make long-term weather forecasts.
“I think we’re reliving the ’50s, bottom line,” Bledsoe said Friday morning at the annual meeting of the Colorado Water Congress.
Bledsoe studies the famous El Niño and La Niña ocean currents. But he also looks at other, less well-known cycles, including long-term temperature cycles in the oceans.
In the 1950s, water in the Pacific Ocean was colder than normal, but it was warmer than usual in the Atlantic. That combination caused a drought in Colorado that was just as bad as the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
The ocean currents slipped back into their 1950s pattern in the last five years, Bledsoe said. The cycles can last a decade or more, meaning bad news for farmers, ranchers, skiers and forest residents.
“Drought feeds on drought. The longer it goes, the harder it is to break,” Bledsoe said.
The outlook is worst for Eastern Colorado, where Bledsoe grew up and his parents still own a ranch. They recently had to sell half their herd when their pasture couldn’t provide enough feed.
“They’ve spent the last 15 years grooming that herd for organic beef stock,” he said.
Bledsoe looks for monsoon rains to return to the Four Corners and Western Slope in July. But there’s still a danger in the mountains in the summer.
“Initially, dry lightning could be a concern, so obviously, the fire season is looking not so great right now,” he said.
Weather data showed the last year’s conditions were extreme.
Nolan Doesken, Colorado’s state climatologist, said the summer of 2012 was the hottest on record in Colorado. And it was the fifth-driest winter since record-keeping began more than 100 years ago.
Despite recent storms in the San Juan Mountains, this winter hasn’t been much better.
“We’ve had a wimpy winter so far,” Doesken said. “The past week has been a good week for Colorado precipitation.”
However, the next week’s forecast shows dryness returning to much of the state.
Reservoir levels are higher than they were in 2002 – the driest year since Coloradans started keeping track of moisture – but the state is entering 2013 with reservoirs that were depleted last year.
“You don’t want to start a year at this level if you’re about to head into another drought,” Doesken said.
It was hard to find good news in Friday morning’s presentations, but Bledsoe is happy that technology helps forecasters understand the weather better than they did during past droughts. That allows people to plan for what’s on the way.
“I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy,” he said.
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In an era when almost every energy technology is unpopular with somebody, the people who don’t want wind turbines, generating stations or new transmission lines installed in their neighborhoods often raise the idea of improving energy efficiency as an alternative.
That argument is particularly common in New York State and in Vermont, where state governments are trying to close nuclear reactors within their borders. So, how effectively can efficiency replace a reactor, making up for the loss of this zero-carbon energy source?
Not very, according to a new study of carbon dioxide output in Japan in the months around the Fukushima disaster.
Figures collected by the Breakthrough Institute, a group that often presents contrarian views on environmentalism and energy conservation, found that despite stringent efforts to use less energy, Japan emitted 4 percent more carbon dioxide in November 2011 than it did in the same month the previous year. After a quake and tsunami in March 2011 led to three meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant, Japan began closing other plants as well, one because it appeared vulnerable to tsunami and others because local officials did not want them running.
Energy consumption dropped sharply and was nearly 10 percent lower last November than in November 2010, the institute’s figures show. But with natural gas, oil and coal substituting for about 46 reactors, the production of carbon dioxide per unit of energy produced ran about 15 percent higher.
The pattern was the same all year after the March 11 tsunami and quake: consumption dropped but fuel burn increased. This was true even though Japan ran office air-conditioners at far reduced levels last summer and some demand had disappeared because of damage from the disaster.
What analogy can be drawn at Indian Point, 30 miles north of New York City, or Vermont Yankee, near Brattleboro? This month, a New York State Assembly committee concluded that Indian Point was replaceable, an assertion sharply disputed by a business consumer group.
Jason Grumet, an air pollution expert and founder of the Bipartisan Policy Center, said it was hard to draw direct parallels. “The circumstances in the United States are obviously different from Japan,’’ he said. For one thing, Japan was parsimonious in its use of electricity even before Fukushima, and American consumers probably have more fat to cut.
But in either country, he said, it is true that “a decrease in nuclear production in favor of fossil fuels will increase carbon intensity of the power sector, and total carbon dioxide emissions.’’
“It’s an incredibly difficult public policy challenge’’ for the United States, Mr. Grumet said, with different imperatives colliding. “One is to ensure that the aging fleet of nuclear plants is held to the highest safety standards, and the second is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,’’ he said. “And the third is to keep the lights on.”
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When Pablo Picasso presented his first cubist paintings to the world, even most educated people thought them hideous and irrational, yet his peers saw them to be ingenious.
Likewise, Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity was equally baffling to the uninitiated.
But to those who were knowledgeable about both art and physics, parallels would have been recognized between Einstein’s new visions of reality and Picasso’s paintings that could be viewed from multiple points of view in simultaneous space and time. They also would have guessed correctly that Picasso’s revolutionary paintings were influenced by Einstein’s visionary physics.
And it has become evident to me, after working with science and art students for two years on collaborative projects, that the humanities and sciences must be united – for our collective future success.
At the highest levels of innovative thought, art and physics share one common goal: the investigation of reality.
Art tends to communicate through metaphor and poetics. Science communicates through logic and mathematics. Both disciplines seek to foster and produce creative and innovative problem solvers.
One way students of the arts and sciences can communicate with one another to enhance opportunities for success and educational enrichment is through collaborative activities.
Two almost overlapping events in Orlando – a UCF/National Science Foundation-sponsored art exhibition and a national physics-students convention – serve as examples where both disciplines were enhanced by the other.
One event is a STEAM Exhibition, “Searching for Ultimate Truth in Science and Art,” to be held Thursday, Nov. 15, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at UCF’s Center for Emerging Media in downtown Orlando. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, and the exhibition of paintings, posters and sculptures responds to and attempts to interpret current breakthroughs and issues in science.
The posters are a result of collaborations between science and art students. The works attempt to visually illustrate the complex concepts behind cutting-edge scientific research, some literally and others abstractly.
The paintings and sculptures are inspired by various presentations in science and engineering by UCF scientists and their students. In these pieces the art students have attempted to communicate their own imaginative conceptions of reality through visual metaphor. Some serve as commentaries on the potentials for both good and harm to humanity and the earth.
The other event was the Quadrennial Physics Congress, “Connecting Worlds through Science and Service,” this past weekend in Orlando. The theme was “Scientific Citizenship.”
As a brochure announced: “From global warming to Facebook to the International Space Station, we’re realizing now, more than ever, how connected we all are – as physicists, as scientists, as members of society, as humans, and as part of a vast universe.”
At the congress, it was repeatedly acknowledged that as scientific research and knowledge become increasingly more specialized and complex, outreach and education becomes more important.
Two popular sessions during the gathering highlighted that one way to communicate complex ideas is through art and emerging media.
An example of a professional who has crossed both disciplines is Henry Reich, the creator and animator of a popular YouTube video series called “MinutePhysics” that explains “cool topics in physics.” Another example in which science and the humanities converge in contemporary pop culture is the TV sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.” At the Physics Congress we met David Saltzberg, who is the science consultant to the show. His contribution is to work with the artists – the script writers, art directors, prop designers and actors – to make sure the science behind the show is correct.
University undergraduate and graduate arts programs across the country are encouraging and teaching students to reach out into their communities to initiate and facilitate public art and collaborative art-related activities among citizens.
Like scientists, artists realize their discipline is in no way isolated.
Jordan Guzman, a Bachelor of Fine Arts painting major, won a first-place award in the art contest at the Physics Congress in the category of “Connecting Worlds.” She and many other art students at UCF are becoming increasingly intrigued with science, especially physics, because of educational collaborations between the arts and sciences through UCF’s 2-year-old STEAM project.
The first UCF STEAM exhibition of science-themed artworks was last spring. More than 500 visitors attended the two-day exhibition, many of whom were K-12 students.
The artworks provided a visual doorway to the science behind the images, sparking enthusiasm and conversation about both the science and the art. The show illustrated how images that emerge from collaborations between science and art students can provide provocative points of view to contemplate and discuss outside the traditional science classroom.
As Florida and other states wrestle with current pressing issues of how best to fund and facilitate effective educational preparedness for future students, perhaps legislators could take a larger view of the long-term issues facing our young people.
A solid education offers opportunities for students to become innovative problem solvers by encouraging them to seek out unanticipated interdisciplinary connectedness and by exposing students to more – not less – diversity.
UCF Forum columnist Carla Poindexter is an associate professor of fine art at the University of Central Florida and can be reached at Carla.Poindexter@ucf.edu.
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There is a "quick" method of estimating time to harvest a drought damaged corn field: the "squeeze test".
- Select a few stalks (like described in the previous paragraph) and chop them into pieces about the same size that the silage chopper would using a heavy knife or cleaver. Also, you could chop a round of the field with a silage chopper and sample the chopped material. Grab a hand full of the chopped material and squeeze it for 30 seconds.
- If the juices drip easily from the material, then it is too wet. In this situation, wait to chop in a couple of days or test again in a couple of days.
- If the sample doesn't drip any juices from the squeezed material, then slowly open your hand.
- If the stalk material remains compacted and doesn't fall apart or quickly expand back , the moisture level is acceptable for ensiling.
- If your hand is not wet and the stalk material falls apart when you open your hand, the material is too dry to ensile.
If the chopped silage is too wet:
- Stop chopping and allow the field to dry.
- OR -
- Add whole corn, dried distillers grains, or ground dry forage.
To avoid the nitrates, the chopper head could be set to leave an 8 inch stubble. This will result in a reduction in yield. The ensiling process will reduce nitrate 30 to 60 percent, so a compromise is leaving a 6 inch stubble.
Droughted corn silage will be 85% to 95% the energy value of regular corn silage depending on the number of ears on the stalk. The protein content can be slightly greater than regular corn silage.
Before feeding, sample and test for moisture, energy (TDN), crude protein, and nitrates.
Pricing drought corn silage is a bit of a challenge. Rule of thumb has been that each ton of 65% moisture corn silage in the bunker is priced at 9 to 10 times price of a bushel of corn (normal, well-eared corn). Pricing the standing crop is a little more difficult to determine. Below are two ways some have priced it in the field.
- Ton price is 5 times price of a bushel of corn (earless corn)
- Ton price is 6 to 7 times price of a bushel of corn (low grain corn - less than 100 bu/A).
It is hard to estimate the amount of silage that will be produced in a corn field that has been droughted out. The National Corn Handbook estimates the tonnage of a drought damaged corn field is related to the corn yield if the field were allowed to be harvested. For each 5 bu/acre corn yield results in a ton of corn silage per acre. If the droughted corn field were going to yield 15 bu/acre it would produce 3 tons of corn silage per acre.
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Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012
Order of importance: Study finds prioritizing rather than canvassing entire plant genome may lead to improved crops
MANHATTAN -- A new study may help scientists produce better climate-resistant corn and other food production plants by putting a spin on the notion that we are what we eat.
Kansas State University geneticists and colleagues found that by applying a genetic-analysis method used to study and prioritize the genes in humans, it improved the likelihood of finding critical genes in food production plants. These genes control quantitate traits in plants, such as how the plants grow and when they flower.
Additionally, this method can be used to study how food production plants respond to drought, heat and other factors -- giving scientists a greater chance at improving crops' resistances to harsh weather and environments.
"Right now we know most of the genes that make up several of these food production plants, but finding the right genes to increase food yield or heat tolerance is like finding a needle in a haystack," said Jianming Yu, associate professor of agronomy at Kansas State University and the study's senior author.
Yu made the finding with Xianran Li and Chengsong Zhu, both agronomy research associates at Kansas State University; Patrick Schnable, Baker professor of agronomy at Iowa State University, and colleagues at Cornell University; the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; the University of Minnesota; and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service.
Their study, "Genic and non-genic contributions to natural variation of quantitative traits in maize," was recently published in the journal Genome Research. The National Science Foundation funded the research.
For the study, researchers looked at the sequenced genome of corn. A genome is the genetic blueprint of an organism and contains all of the DNA and genes that give the organism its traits, like height and color. Staple food crops like corn, wheat, barley and oats have comparable and sometimes larger, more complex genomes than humans and mammals. That poses a challenge for scientists attempting to modify the plant and improve aspects like production and heat tolerance.
"Like humans, plants have complex traits and complex diseases," said Li, the study's first author. "In plants, those are things like drought tolerance and grain yield. Sometimes one specific gene can make a big change. Frequently, though, it involves multiple genes. Each gene has a small, modest effect on the trait and many genes are involved. This makes it really difficult to study."
Historically, scientists have analyzed an isolated region of a plant genome -- often taking a trial-and-error approach at finding what genes control what traits.
Instead, researchers approached the corn genome with a relatively new analysis method that is used to study the genome of humans. The method, called genome-wide associate studies -- or GWAS -- searches the entire genome for small, frequent variations that may influence the risk of a certain disease. This helps researchers pinpoint genes that are potentially problematic and may be the key in abnormal traits and diseases.
"Conducting routine, full-scale, genome-wide studies in crop plants remains challenging due to cost and genome complexity," said Schnable, the other senior author. "What we tried to get out of this study is a broad view of which regions of crop genomes should be examined in detail."
Using the GWAS method for multiple analyses and complementary methods in identifying genetic variants, researchers were able to find that, on average, 79 percent of detectable genetic signals are concentrated at previously defined genes and their promoter regions.
According to Yu, the percentage is a significant increase compared to looking at the gene regions alone."We used to think that genes are the only search priority and there were just many other less important or useless DNA sequences," Yu said. "But now we are starting to see that these other regions harbor some important genetic codes in them. Canvassing without prioritizing can be cost prohibitive, however, and efficient GWAS in crops with complex genomes still need to be carried out by taking advantage of a combination of genome technologies available."
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Bold and beautiful, the mesmerizing Arctotis hirsuta is one of the most captivating species in an annual spring display.
This robust annual species grows to 450 mm in height and diameter. It is slightly fleshy with a branched stem. The thinly hairy, lyrate (lyre-shaped) to pinnatifid (divided feather-like) leaves are up to 200 mm long and often auriculate (with ear-like lobes at the base).
There are various flowerheads of about 40 mm in diameter, borne on leafy stalks. The rayflorets are orange, yellow or cream-coloured, sometimes with purplish markings at the base. The disc florets are often black.The involucral bracts surrounding the flower heads are finely woolly and arranged in three rows. The innermost bracts have a transparent tip. Flowering is from July to October.
Arctotis hirsuta is not threatened and has a status of Least Concern (LC) (Raimondo et al . 2009).
Distribution and habitat
The gousblom is found on sandy slopes and flats, often along the coast, in the Western Cape from Elandsbaai to the Agulhas Plain.
Derivation of name and historical aspects
The genus name Arctotis is derived from Greek arktos, which means a bear, and otos an ear. This implies that the scales of the pappus (appendages of the fruit) look like the ears of a bear.
The specificepithet, hirsuta, means hairy in Latin. This refers to the hairs present on the leaves and stem. Arctotis species are often referred to as African daisies. Some species were previously placed under Venidium.
There are currently more than fifty species known from southern Africa to Angola.
As a spring annual species, the gousblom completes its entire lifecycle in a single season. This ranges from germination, flowering, the production of seed and until it eventually dies off. The process starts in autumn with the first cool air and the season's first rain. These are favourable conditions and significant growth will take place. From the middle of winter to the middle of spring, blooming occurs and the game is on to attract possible pollinators. Thus the large, colourful flower heads come into play.
Bees and beetles have been noticed to regularly visit the flowers of Artotis hirsuta . It is not certain, though, which ones are responsible for doing the pollination.
Seeds are light in weight which aids wind-dispersal and thus ensures that seeds get scattered over a larger area.
This entire process is normally completed by the time summer arrives. This adaptation allows this species to cope with the harsh summer conditions. The next generation— the seed— slightly buried in the soil, like its predecessors, is ready to germinate, but only under favourable conditions that will ensure the survival of the species.
Uses and cultural aspects
No medicinal or cultural uses of the gousblom have been recorded.
This species is an ornamental winner with it its bright display of colour and somewhat robust habit during late winter and early spring. The large yellow, orange or cream -coloured flower heads are simply bold and beautiful and it rightfully demands inclusion in the spring annual garden.
Growing Arctotis hirsuta
The gousblom grows easily. Sow seed during March in seed beds or seed trays using a light, well-draining medium which is placed in a sunny position.
The medium could be a light, sandy soil or a mixture of bark, compost or river sand. There is no restriction on what materials to use for a perfect medium. The most important requirement is good drainage.
The medium needs levelling and a good watering beforehand. If the medium has been used before, it is advisable to dig the soil over first.
Sow the light seeds evenly on a windless day, water gently and cover with a thin layer of sand or bark. The seed will germinate within the first two weeks. Prick seedlings out from the beds or trays as soon as they are large enough to be handled. Seed can also be sown directly into garden beds, but germination could be irregular. Fast growing weeds could also provide fierce competition. The transplanting stage is vital and care needs to be taken that the young seedlings are regularly watered. Plant this sun-loving species close together.
Preparing flowering beds often requires the loosening up and aeration of the compacted soil. Add organic fertilizer and well-rotted compost and use the rotovator to work it into the soil. Level the soil out by using an iron rake. To help suppress the development and growth of weeds or other unwanted plants, it could be beneficial to apply an additional mulch-layer of compost. If using summer annuals in an area not receiving summer rainfall, this could also have the advantage of retaining soil moisture. The lack of compost for a season or two need not deter one from planting, as good well-drained soil will suffice. In time though, it would be advisable to add compost. The transplanting stage is vital and care needs to be taken that the young seedlings are regularly watered. Plant plants of this sun-loving species close together.
Flowering normally starts sometime during July right through towards the end of September/ October. Seed will be ready for harvesting from September onwards.
Arctotis hirsuta is equally suitable for en masse mixed plantings of its various colour-forms or for mixed plantings with other annual species in small or larger flower beds. There are various other annuals which either occur with this species in its natural habitat or which have been found to complement it rather well. These include: Ursinia anthemoides (marigold), U. speciosa (Namaqua-ursinia) and U. cakilefolia, Heliophila coronopifolia (blue flax), Senecio elegans (wild cineraria), Dorotheanthus bellidiformis (Livingstone daisy), Dimorphotheca sinuata (Namaqualand daisy), D. pluvialis (white Namaqualand daisy), Felicia dubia (dwarf felicia) and blue F. heterophylla .
References and further reading
- Cowling, R. & Pierce, S. 1999. Namaqualand: A succulent desert . Fernwood Press, Cape Town.
- Goldblatt, P. & Manning, J. 2000. Cape plants. A conspectus of the Cape flora of South Africa . Strelitzia 9. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria & Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri.
- Le Roux, A. 2005. Namaqualand : South African Wild Flower Guide 1. Botanical Society of South Africa, Cape Town.
- Manning, J. & Goldblatt, P. 1996. West Coast : South African Wild Flower Guide 7. Botanical Society of South Africa, Cape Town.
- Powrie, F. 1998. Grow South African plants . A gardener's companion to indigenous plants. National Botanical Institute, Cape Town.
- Raimondo, D., Von Staden, L., Foden, W., Victor, J.E., Helme, N.A., Turner, R.C., Kamundi, D.A. & Manyama, P.A. (eds) 2009. Red list of South African plants 2009. Strelitzia 25. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
- Stearn, W. 2002. Stearn's dictionary of plant names for gardeners. Timber Press. Portland, Oregon.
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
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This phenomena has been explained by the Zetas and is thoroughly documented on this blog.
While the "official" cause of such massive fish kills is often attributed to hypoxia (lack of oxygen), what is conveniently excluded in these opaque explanations is that high concentrations of dissolved methane essentially expels oxygen, thus rendering water and air uninhabitable for the fish and birds encountering it."Dead fish and birds falling from the sky are being reported worldwide, suddenly. This is not a local affair, obviously. Dead birds have been reported in Sweden and N America, and dead fish in N America, Brazil, and New Zealand. Methane is known to cause bird dead, and as methane rises when released during Earth shifting, will float upward through the flocks of birds above. But can this be the cause of dead fish? If birds are more sensitive than humans to methane release, fish are likewise sensitive to changes in the water, as anyone with an aquarium will attest. Those schools of fish caught in rising methane bubbles during sifting of rock layers beneath them will inevitably be affected. Fish cannot, for instance, hold their breath until the emergency passes! Nor do birds have such a mechanism." ZetaTalk
Click on Map below for interactive version:
yellow=2011, blue=2012, red=2013
Some of the Evidence:
Youtube video up to Jan 30, 2011
5000+ Black Birds
500+ Black Birds
100,000 Drum Fish
Tens of Thousands - Fish
Thousands of Fish
Thousands of Fish
Dozens of fish in just 50 feet
50 - 100 Birds - Jackdaws
100 Tons of Fish
Hundreds of Snapper
10 Tons of fish
Hundreds of fish
Thousands of fish
Hundreds of Fish
Hundreds of Fish
Scores of Fish
Hundreds of Fish
150 Tons of Red Tilapias
Thousands of Fish
Scores of dead fish
Hundreds of Starfish, Jellyfish
Main source: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...bca25af104a22b
DEAD FISH IN 36 LAKES IN CONNECTICUT!
MASS FISH DIE-OFF IN MICHIGAN!
HEAPS OF DEAD FISH AT BAY STATE PONDS!
DOZENS OF DEAD FISH FOUND IN MADISON POND!
RED SAND LAKE FISH DIE-OFF!
MELTING LAKES REVEAL HUNDREDS OF DEAD FISH!
HUNDREDS OF DEAD FISH IN MEADOWS RIVER
DEAD BIRDS FALL FROM THE SKY IN KANSAS!
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DEAD FISH IN INDIA!
LAKE MAARDU WITHOUT FISH!
MASSIVE FISH MOR IN THE LIPETSK REGION!
100 TONNES OF DEAD FISH IN UKRAINE!
PENGUINS LOSING THEIR FEATHERS TO UNKNOWN ILLNESS!
DEAD TURTLES FOUND ON AUSTRALIAN BEACH!
Animal Death List
4th June 2011 - 800 Tons of fish dead in a lake near the Taal Volcano in the Philippines.
13th May 2011 - Dozens of Sharks washing up dead in California.
13th May 2011 - Thousands of fish wash up dead on shores of Lake Erie in Ohio.
6th May 2011 - Record number of wildlife die-offs in The Rockies during the winter.
1st May 2011 - Two giant Whales wash ashore and die on Waiinu Beach in New Zealand.
22nd April 2011 - Leopard Sharks dying in San Francisco Bay.
20th April 2011 - 6 Tons of dead Sardines found in Ventura Harbour in Southern California.
20th April 2011 - Hundreds of Dead Abalone and a Marlin wash up dead on Melkbos Beach near Cape Town.
18th April 2011 - Hundreds of dead fish found in Ventura Harbour in Southern California.
29th March 2011 - Over 1300 ducks die in Houston Minnesota.
28th March 2011 - Sei Whale washes up dead on beach in Virginia.
26th March 2011 - Hundreds of fish dead in Gulf Shores.
8th March 2011 - Millions of dead fish in King Harbor Marina in California.
3rd March 2011 - 80 baby Dolphins now dead in Gulf Region.
25th February 2011 - Avian Flu - Hundreds of Chickens die suddenly in North Sumatra Indonesia.
23rd February 2011 - 28 baby Dolphins wash up dead in Alabama and Mississippi.
21st February 2011 - Big Freeze kills hundreds of thousands of fish along coast in Texas.
21st February 2011 - Bird Flu? 16 Swans die over 6 weeks in Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK.
20th February 2011 - Over 100 whales dead in Mason Bay, New Zealand.
20th February 2011 - 120 Cows found dead in Banting, Malaysia.
19th February 2011 - Many Blackbirds found dead in Ukraine.
16th February 2011 - 5 Million dead fish in Mara River, Kenya.
16th February 2011 - Thousands of fish and several dozen ducks dead in Ontario, Canada.
16th February 2011 - Mass fish death in Black Sea Region in Turkey.
11th February 2011 - 20,000 Bees died suddenly in a biodiversity exhibit in Ontario, Canada.
11th February 2011 - Hundreds of dead birds found in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
9th February 2011 - Thousands of dead fish wash ashore in Florida.
8th February 2011 - Hundreds of Sparrows fall dead in Rotorua, New Zealand.
5th February 2011 - 14 Whales die after being beached in New Zealand.
4th February 2011 - Thousands of various fish float dead in Amazon River and in Florida.
2nd February 2011 - Hundreds of Pigeons dying in Geneva, Switzerland.
31st January 2011 - Hundreds of thousands of Horse Mussell Shells wash up dead on beaches in Waiheke Island, New Zealand.
27th January 2011 - 200 Pelicans wash up dead on Topsail Beach in North Carolina.
27th January 2011 - 2000 Fish dead in Bogota, Columbia.
23rd January 2011 - Hundreds of dead fish in Dublin, Ireland.
22nd January 2011 - Thousands of dead Herring wash ashore in Vancouver Island, Canada.
21st January 2011 - Thousands of fish dead in Detroit River, Michigan.
20th January 2011 - 55 dead Buffalo in Cayuga County, New York.
18th January 2011 - Thousands of Octopus was up in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
17th January 2011 - 10,000 Buffalos and Cows died in Vietnam.
17th January 2011 - Hundreds of dead seals washing up on shore in Labrador, Canada.
15th January 2011 - 200 dead Cows found in Portage County, Wisconsin.
14th January 2011 - Massive fish death in Baku, Azerbaijan.
14th January 2011 - 300 Blackbirds found dead on highway I-65 south of Athens in Alabama.
7th January 2011 - 8,000 Turtle Doves reign down dead in Faenza, Italy.
6th January 2011 - Hundreds of dead Grackles, Sparrows & Pigeons were found dead in Upshur County, Texas.
5th January 2011 - Hundreds of Dead Snapper with no eyes washed up on Coromandel beaches in New Zealand.
5th January 2011 - 40,000+ crabs wash up dead in Kent, England.
4th January 2011 - 100 Tons of Sardines, Croaker & Catfish wash up dead on the Parana region shores in Brazil.
4th January 2011 - 3,000+ dead Blackbirds found in Louisville, Kentucky.
4th January 2011 - 500 Dead Red-winged blackbirds & Starlings in Louisiana.
4th January 2011 - Thousands of dead fish consisting of Mullet, Ladyfish, Catfish & Snook in Volusia County, Florida.
3rd January 2011 - 2,000,000 (2 Million) Dead fish consisting of Menhayden, spots & Croakers wash up in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland & Virginia.
1st January 2011 - 200,000+ Dead fish wash up on the shores of Arkansas River, Arkansas.
1st January 2011 - 5,000+ Red-winged blackbirds & Starlings fall out of the sky dead in Beebe, Arkansas.
20th December 2010 (est. date) - Thousands of Crows, Pigeons, Wattles & Honeyeaters fell out of the sky in Esperance, Western Australia.
2nd November 2010 - Thousands of sea birds found dead in Tasmania, Australia.
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|Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza|
|Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List|
|Criteria||i, ii, iii|
|UNESCO region||Latin America and the Caribbean|
|Inscription||1988 (12th Session)|
Chichen Itza (pron.: / /, Spanish: Chichén Itzá [tʃiˈtʃen iˈtsa], from Yucatec Maya: Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha' [tɕʰɨɪʼtɕʼeːn˧˩ iː˧˩tsʰaʲ]; "at the mouth of the well of the Itza") was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya civilization. The archaeological site is located in the municipality of Tinum, in the Mexican state of Yucatán.
Chichen Itza was a major focal point in the northern Maya lowlands from the Late Classic (c. AD 600–900) through the Terminal Classic (c.AD 800–900) and into the early portion of the Early Postclassic period (c. AD 900–1200). The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, reminiscent of styles seen in central Mexico and of the Puuc and Chenes styles of the northern Maya lowlands. The presence of central Mexican styles was once thought to have been representative of direct migration or even conquest from central Mexico, but most contemporary interpretations view the presence of these non-Maya styles more as the result of cultural diffusion.
Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities and it was likely to have been one of the mythical great cities, or Tollans, referred to in later Mesoamerican literature. The city may have had the most diverse population in the Maya world, a factor that could have contributed to the variety of architectural styles at the site.
The ruins of Chichen Itza are federal property, and the site’s stewardship is maintained by Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History). The land under the monuments had been privately owned until 29 March 2010, when it was purchased by the state of Yucatán.[nb 1]
Chichen Itza is one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico; an estimated 1.2 million tourists visit the ruins every year.
Name and orthography
The Maya name "Chichen Itza" means "At the mouth of the well of the Itza." This derives from chi', meaning "mouth" or "edge", and ch'en or ch'e'en, meaning "well." Itzá is the name of an ethnic-lineage group that gained political and economic dominance of the northern peninsula. One possible translation for Itza is "enchanter (or enchantment) of the water", from its, "sorcerer", and ha, "water".
The name is spelled Chichén Itzá in Spanish, and the accents are sometimes maintained in other languages to show that both parts of the name are stressed on their final syllable. Other references prefer the Maya orthography, Chichen Itza' (pronounced [tʃitʃʼen itsáʔ]). This form preserves the phonemic distinction between ch' and ch, since the base word ch'e'en (which, however, is not stressed in Maya) begins with a postalveolar ejective africate consonant. The word "Itza'" has a high tone on the "a" followed by a glottal stop (indicated by the apostrophe).
Evidence in the Chilam Balam books indicates another, earlier name for this city prior to the arrival of the Itza hegemony in northern Yucatán. While most sources agree the first word means seven, there is considerable debate as to the correct translation of the rest. This earlier name is difficult to define because of the absence of a single standard of orthography, but it is represented variously as Uuc Yabnal ("Seven Great House"), Uuc Hab Nal ("Seven Bushy Places"), Uucyabnal ("Seven Great Rulers") or Uc Abnal ("Seven Lines of Abnal").[nb 2] This name, dating to the Late Classic Period, is recorded both in the book of Chilam Balam de Chumayel and in hieroglyphic texts in the ruins.
Chichen Itza is located in the eastern portion of Yucatán state in Mexico. The northern Yucatán Peninsula is arid, and the rivers in the interior all run underground. There are two large, natural sink holes, called cenotes, that could have provided plentiful water year round at Chichen, making it attractive for settlement. Of the two cenotes, the "Cenote Sagrado" or Sacred Cenote (also variously known as the Sacred Well or Well of Sacrifice), is the most famous. According to post-Conquest sources (Maya and Spanish), pre-Columbian Maya sacrificed objects and human beings into the cenote as a form of worship to the Maya rain god Chaac. Edward Herbert Thompson dredged the Cenote Sagrado from 1904 to 1910, and recovered artifacts of gold, jade, pottery and incense, as well as human remains. A study of human remains taken from the Cenote Sagrado found that they had wounds consistent with human sacrifice.
Political organization
Several archaeologists in late 1980s suggested that unlike previous Maya polities of the Early Classic, Chichen Itza may not have been governed by an individual ruler or a single dynastic lineage. Instead, the city’s political organization could have been structured by a "multepal" system, which is characterized as rulership through council composed of members of elite ruling lineages. This theory was popular in the 1990s, but in recent years, the research that supported the concept of the "multepal" system has been called into question, if not discredited. The current belief trend in Maya scholarship is toward the more traditional model of the Maya kingdoms of the Classic Period southern lowlands in Mexico.
Chichen Itza was a major economic power in the northern Maya lowlands during its apogee. Participating in the water-borne circum-peninsular trade route through its port site of Isla Cerritos on the north coast, Chichen Itza was able to obtain locally unavailable resources from distant areas such as obsidian from central Mexico and gold from southern Central America.
Between AD 900 and 1050 Chichen Itza expanded to become a powerful regional capital controlling north and central Yucatán. It established Isla Cerritos as a trading port.
The layout of Chichen Itza site core developed during its earlier phase of occupation, between 750 and 900 AD. Its final layout was developed after 900 AD, and the 10th century saw the rise of the city as a regional capital controlling the area from central Yucatán to the north coast, with its power extending down the east and west coasts of the peninsula. The earliest hieroglyphic date discovered at Chichen Itza is equivalent to 832 AD, while the last known date was recorded in the Osario temple in 998.
The Late Classic city was centred upon the area to the southwest of the Xtoloc cenote, with the main architecture represented by the substructures now underlying the Las Monjas and Observatorio and the basal platform upon which they were built.
Chichen Itza rose to regional prominence towards the end of the Early Classic period (roughly 600 AD). It was, however, towards the end of the Late Classic and into the early part of the Terminal Classic that the site became a major regional capital, centralizing and dominating political, sociocultural, economic, and ideological life in the northern Maya lowlands. The ascension of Chichen Itza roughly correlates with the decline and fragmentation of the major centers of the southern Maya lowlands.
As Chichen Itza rose to prominence, the cities of Yaxuna (to the south) and Coba (to the east) were suffering decline. These two cities had been mutual allies, with Yaxuna dependent upon Coba. At some point in the 10th century Coba lost a significant portion of its territory, isolating Yaxuna, and Chichen Itza may have directly contributed to the collapse of both cities.
|Classic Maya collapse|
|Spanish conquest of Yucatán|
|Spanish conquest of Guatemala|
|Spanish conquest of Petén|
According to Maya chronicles (e.g., the Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel), Hunac Ceel, ruler of Mayapan, conquered Chichen Itza in the 13th century. Hunac Ceel supposedly prophesied his own rise to power. According to custom at the time, individuals thrown into the Cenote Sagrado were believed to have the power of prophecy if they survived. During one such ceremony, the chronicles state, there were no survivors, so Hunac Ceel leaped into the Cenote Sagrado, and when removed, prophesied his own ascension.
While there is some archaeological evidence that indicates Chichén Itzá was at one time looted and sacked, there appears to be greater evidence that it could not have been by Mayapan, at least not when Chichén Itzá was an active urban center. Archaeological data now indicates that Chichen Itza declined as a regional center by 1250 CE, before the rise of Mayapan.[nb 3] Ongoing research at the site of Mayapan may help resolve this chronological conundrum.
While Chichén Itzá "collapsed" or fell (meaning elite activities ceased) it may not have been abandoned. When the Spanish arrived, they found a thriving local population, although it is not clear from Spanish sources if Maya were living in Chichen Itza or nearby. The relatively high density of population in the region was one of the factors behind the conquistadors' decision to locate a capital there. According to post-Conquest sources, both Spanish and Maya, the Cenote Sagrado remained a place of pilgrimage.
Spanish conquest
In 1526 Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Montejo (a veteran of the Grijalva and Cortés expeditions) successfully petitioned the King of Spain for a charter to conquer Yucatán. His first campaign in 1527, which covered much of the Yucatán peninsula, decimated his forces but ended with the establishment of a small fort at Xaman Ha', south of what is today Cancún. Montejo returned to Yucatán in 1531 with reinforcements and established his main base at Campeche on the west coast. He sent his son, Francisco Montejo The Younger, in late 1532 to conquer the interior of the Yucatán Peninsula from the north. The objective from the beginning was to go to Chichén Itzá and establish a capital.
Montejo the Younger eventually arrived at Chichen Itza, which he renamed Ciudad Real. At first he encountered no resistance, and set about dividing the lands around the city and awarding them to his soldiers. The Maya became more hostile over time, and eventually they laid siege to the Spanish, cutting off their supply line to the coast, and forcing them to barricade themselves among the ruins of the ancient city. Months passed, but no reinforcements arrived. Montejo the Younger attempted an all out assault against the Maya and lost 150 of his remaining troops. He was forced to abandon Chichén Itzá in 1534 under cover of darkness. By 1535, all Spanish had been driven from the Yucatán Peninsula.
Montejo eventually returned to Yucatán and, by recruiting Maya from Campeche and Champoton, built a large Indio-Spanish army and conquered the peninsula. The Spanish crown later issued a land grant that included Chichen Itza and by 1588 it was a working cattle ranch.
Modern history
Chichen Itza entered the popular imagination in 1843 with the book Incidents of Travel in Yucatan by John Lloyd Stephens (with illustrations by Frederick Catherwood). The book recounted Stephens’ visit to Yucatán and his tour of Maya cities, including Chichén Itzá. The book prompted other explorations of the city. In 1860, Desire Charnay surveyed Chichén Itzá and took numerous photographs that he published in Cités et ruines américaines (1863).
In 1875, Augustus Le Plongeon and his wife Alice Dixon Le Plongeon visited Chichén, and excavated a statue of a figure on its back, knees drawn up, upper torso raised on its elbows with a plate on its stomach. Augustus Le Plongeon called it “Chaacmol” (later renamed “Chac Mool”, which has been the term to describe all types of this statuary found in Mesoamerica). Teobert Maler and Alfred Maudslay explored Chichén in the 1880s and both spent several weeks at the site and took extensive photographs. Maudslay published the first long-form description of Chichen Itza in his book, Biologia Centrali-Americana.
In 1894 the United States Consul to Yucatán, Edward Herbert Thompson purchased the Hacienda Chichén, which included the ruins of Chichen Itza. For 30 years, Thompson explored the ancient city. His discoveries included the earliest dated carving upon a lintel in the Temple of the Initial Series and the excavation of several graves in the Osario (High Priest’s Temple). Thompson is most famous for dredging the Cenote Sagrado (Sacred Cenote) from 1904 to 1910, where he recovered artifacts of gold, copper and carved jade, as well as the first-ever examples of what were believed to be pre-Columbian Maya cloth and wooden weapons. Thompson shipped the bulk of the artifacts to the Peabody Museum at Harvard University.
In 1913, the Carnegie Institution accepted the proposal of archaeologist Sylvanus G. Morley and committed to conduct long-term archaeological research at Chichen Itza. The Mexican Revolution and the following government instability, as well as World War I, delayed the project by a decade.
In 1923, the Mexican government awarded the Carnegie Institution a 10-year permit (later extended another 10 years) to allow U.S. archaeologists to conduct extensive excavation and restoration of Chichen Itza. Carnegie researchers excavated and restored the Temple of Warriors and the Caracol, among other major buildings. At the same time, the Mexican government excavated and restored El Castillo and the Great Ball Court.
In 1926, the Mexican government charged Edward Thompson with theft, claiming he stole the artifacts from the Cenote Sagrado and smuggled them out of the country. The government seized the Hacienda Chichén. Thompson, who was in the United States at the time, never returned to Yucatán. He wrote about his research and investigations of the Maya culture in a book People of the Serpent published in 1932. He died in New Jersey in 1935. In 1944 the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that Thompson had broken no laws and returned Chichen Itza to his heirs. The Thompsons sold the hacienda to tourism pioneer Fernando Barbachano Peon.
There have been two later expeditions to recover artifacts from the Cenote Sagrado, in 1961 and 1967. The first was sponsored by the National Geographic, and the second by private interests. Both projects were supervised by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). INAH has conducted an ongoing effort to excavate and restore other monuments in the archaeological zone, including the Osario, Akab D’zib, and several buildings in Chichén Viejo (Old Chichen).
In 2009, to investigate construction that predated El Castillo, Yucatec archaeologists began excavations adjacent to El Castillo under the direction of Rafael (Rach) Cobos.
Site description
Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities, with the relatively densely clustered architecture of the site core covering an area of at least 5 square kilometres (1.9 sq mi). Smaller scale residential architecture extends for an unknown distance beyond this. The city was built upon broken terrain, which was artificially levelled in order to build the major architectural groups, with the greatest effort being expended in the levelling of the areas for the Castillo pyramid, and the Las Monjas, Osario and Main Southwest groups. The site contains many fine stone buildings in various states of preservation, and many have been restored. The buildings were connected by a dense network of paved causeways, called sacbeob.[nb 4] Archaeologists have identified over 80 sacbeob criss-crossing the site, and extending in all directions from the city.
The architecture encompasses a number of styles, including the Puuc and Chenes styles of the northern Yucatán Peninsula. The buildings of Chichen Itza are grouped in a series of architectonic sets, and each set was at one time separated from the other by a series of low walls. The three best known of these complexes are the Great North Platform, which includes the monuments of El Castillo, Temple of Warriors and the Great Ball Court; The Osario Group, which includes the pyramid of the same name as well as the Temple of Xtoloc; and the Central Group, which includes the Caracol, Las Monjas, and Akab Dzib.
South of Las Monjas, in an area known as Chichén Viejo (Old Chichén) and only open to archaeologists, are several other complexes, such as the Group of the Initial Series, Group of the Lintels, and Group of the Old Castle.
Architectural styles
The Puuc-style architecture is concentrated in the Old Chichen area, and also the earlier structures in the Nunnery Group (including the Las Monjas, Annex and La Iglesia buildings); it is also represented in the Akab Dzib structure. The Puuc-style building feature the usual mosaic-decorated upper façades characteristic of the style but differ from the architecture of the Puuc heartland in their block masonry walls, as opposed to the fine veneers of the Puuc region proper.
At least one structure in the Las Monjas Group features an ornate façade and masked doorway that are typical examples of Chenes-style architecture, a style centred upon a region in the north of Campeche state, lying between the Puuc and Río Bec regions.
Those structures with sculpted hieroglyphic script are concentrated in certain areas of the site, with the most important being the Las Monjas group.
Architectural groups
Great North Platform
El Castillo
Dominating the North Platform of Chichen Itza is the Temple of Kukulkan (a Maya feathered serpent deity similar to the Aztec Quetzalcoatl), usually referred to as El Castillo ("the castle"). This step pyramid stands about 30 metres (98 ft) high and consists of a series of nine square terraces, each approximately 2.57 metres (8.4 ft) high, with a 6-metre (20 ft) high temple upon the summit. The sides of the pyramid are approximately 55.3 metres (181 ft) at the base and rise at an angle of 53°, although that varies slightly for each side. The four faces of the pyramid have protruding stairways that rise at an angle of 45°. The talud walls of each terrace slant at an angle of between 72° and 74°. At the base of the balustrades of the northeastern staircase are carved heads of a serpent.
Mesoamerican cultures periodically superimposed larger structures over older ones, and El Castillo is one such example. In the mid-1930s, the Mexican government sponsored an excavation of El Castillo. After several false starts, they discovered a staircase under the north side of the pyramid. By digging from the top, they found another temple buried below the current one. Inside the temple chamber was a Chac Mool statue and a throne in the shape of Jaguar, painted red and with spots made of inlaid jade. The Mexican government excavated a tunnel from the base of the north staircase, up the earlier pyramid’s stairway to the hidden temple, and opened it to tourists. In 2006, INAH closed the throne room to the public.
On the Spring and Autumn equinoxes, in the late afternoon, the northwest corner of the pyramid casts a series of triangular shadows against the western balustrade on the north side that evokes the appearance of a serpent wriggling down the staircase. Some have suggested the effect was an intentional design by the Maya builders to represent the feathered-serpent god Kukulcan. Archaeologists have found no evidence to support such an assertion.
Great Ball Court
Archaeologists have identified thirteen ballcourts for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame in Chichen Itza, but the Great Ball Court about 150 metres (490 ft) to the north-west of the Castillo is by far the most impressive. It is the largest and best preserved ball court in ancient Mesoamerica. It measures 168 by 70 metres (551 by 230 ft). The parallel platforms flanking the main playing area are each 95 metres (312 ft) long. The walls of these platforms stand 8 metres (26 ft) high; set high up in the centre of each of these walls are rings carved with intertwined feathered serpents.[nb 5]
At the base of the high interior walls are slanted benches with sculpted panels of teams of ball players. In one panel, one of the players has been decapitated; the wound emits streams of blood in the form of wriggling snakes.
At one end of the Great Ball Court is the North Temple, also known as the Temple of the Bearded Man (Templo del Hombre Barbado). This small masonry building has detailed bas relief carving on the inner walls, including a center figure that has carving under his chin that resembles facial hair. At the south end is another, much bigger temple, but in ruins.
Built into the east wall are the Temples of the Jaguar. The Upper Temple of the Jaguar overlooks the ball court and has an entrance guarded by two, large columns carved in the familiar feathered serpent motif. Inside there is a large mural, much destroyed, which depicts a battle scene.
In the entrance to the Lower Temple of the Jaguar, which opens behind the ball court, is another Jaguar throne, similar to the one in the inner temple of El Castillo, except that it is well worn and missing paint or other decoration. The outer columns and the walls inside the temple are covered with elaborate bas-relief carvings.
Additional structures
The Tzompantli, or Skull Platform (Plataforma de los Cráneos), shows the clear cultural influence of the central Mexican Plateau. Unlike the tzompantli of the highlands, however, the skulls were impaled vertically rather than horizontally as at Tenochtitlan.
The Platform of the Eagles and the Jaguars (Plataforma de Águilas y Jaguares) is immediately to the east of the Great Ballcourt. It is built in a combination Maya and Toltec styles, with a staircase ascending each of its four sides. The sides are decorated with panels depicting eagles and jaguars consuming human hearts.
This Platform of Venus is dedicated to the planet Venus. In its interior archaeologists discovered a collection of large cones carved out of stone, the purpose of which is unknown. This platform is located north of El Castillo, between it and the Cenote Sagrado.
The Temple of the Tables is the northernmost of a series of buildings to the east of El Castillo. Its name comes from a series of altars at the top of the structure that are supported by small carved figures of men with upraised arms, called “atlantes.”
The Steam Bath is a unique building with three parts: a waiting gallery, a water bath, and a steam chamber that operated by means of heated stones.
Sacbe Number One is a causeway that leads to the Cenote Sagrado, is the largest and most elaborate at Chichen Itza. This “white road” is 270 metres (890 ft) long with an average width of 9 metres (30 ft). It begins at a low wall a few metres from the Platform of Venus. According to archaeologists there once was an extensive building with columns at the beginning of the road.
Cenote Sagrado
The Yucatán Peninsula is a limestone plain, with no rivers or streams. The region is pockmarked with natural sinkholes, called cenotes, which expose the water table to the surface. One of the most impressive of these is the Cenote Sagrado, which is 60 metres (200 ft) in diameter, and sheer cliffs that drop to the water table some 27 metres (89 ft) below.
The Cenote Sagrado was a place of pilgrimage for ancient Maya people who, according to ethnohistoric sources, would conduct sacrifices during times of drought. Archaeological investigations support this as thousands of objects have been removed from the bottom of the cenote, including material such as gold, carved jade, copal, pottery, flint, obsidian, shell, wood, rubber, cloth, as well as skeletons of children and men.
Temple of the Warriors
The Temple of the Warriors complex consists of a large stepped pyramid fronted and flanked by rows of carved columns depicting warriors. This complex is analogous to Temple B at the Toltec capital of Tula, and indicates some form of cultural contact between the two regions. The one at Chichen Itza, however, was constructed on a larger scale. At the top of the stairway on the pyramid’s summit (and leading towards the entrance of the pyramid’s temple) is a Chac Mool. This temple encases or entombs a former structure called The Temple of the Chac Mool. The archeological expedition and restoration of this building was done by the Carnegie Institute of Washington from 1925 to 1928. A key member of this restoration was Earl H. Morris who published the work from this expedition in two volumes entitled Temple of the Warriors.
Group of a Thousand Columns
Along the south wall of the Temple of Warriors are a series of what are today exposed columns, although when the city was inhabited these would have supported an extensive roof system. The columns are in three distinct sections: a west group, that extends the lines of the front of the Temple of Warriors; a north group, which runs along the south wall of the Temple of Warriors and contains pillars with carvings of soldiers in bas-relief; and a northeast group, which apparently formed a small temple at the southeast corner of the Temple of Warriors, which contains a rectangular decorated with carvings of people or gods, as well as animals and serpents. The northeast column temple also covers a small marvel of engineering, a channel that funnels all the rainwater from the complex some 40 metres (130 ft) away to a rejollada, a former cenote.
To the south of the Group of a Thousand Columns is a group of three, smaller, interconnected buildings. The Temple of the Carved Columns is a small elegant building that consists of a front gallery with an inner corridor that leads to an altar with a Chac Mool. There are also numerous columns with rich, bas-relief carvings of some 40 personages. A section of the upper façade with a motif of x’s and o’s is displayed in front of the structure. The Temple of the Small Tables which is an unrestored mound. And the Thompson’s Temple (referred to in some sources as Palace of Ahau Balam Kauil ), a small building with two levels that has friezes depicting Jaguars (balam in Maya) as well as glyphs of the Maya god Kahuil.
El Mercado
This square structure anchors the southern end of the Temple of Warriors complex. It is so named for the shelf of stone that surrounds a large gallery and patio that early explorers theorized was used to display wares as in a marketplace. Today, archaeologists believe that its purpose was more ceremonial than commerce.
Osario Group
South of the North Group is a smaller platform that has many important structures, several of which appear to be oriented toward the second largest cenote at Chichen Itza, Xtoloc.
The Osario itself, like El Castillo, is a step-pyramid temple dominating its platform, only on a smaller scale. Like its larger neighbor, it has four sides with staircases on each side. There is a temple on top, but unlike El Castillo, at the center is an opening into the pyramid which leads to a natural cave 12 metres (39 ft) below. Edward H. Thompson excavated this cave in the late 19th century, and because he found several skeletons and artifacts such as jade beads, he named the structure The High Priests' Temple. Archaeologists today believe the structure was neither a tomb nor that the personages buried in it were priests.
The Temple of Xtoloc is a recently restored temple outside the Osario Platform is. It overlooks the other large cenote at Chichen Itza, named after the Maya word for iguana, "Xtoloc." The temple contains a series of pilasters carved with images of people, as well as representations of plants, birds and mythological scenes.
Between the Xtoloc temple and the Osario are several aligned structures: The Platform of Venus (which is similar in design to the structure of the same name next to El Castillo), the Platform of the Tombs, and a small, round structure that is unnamed. These three structures were constructed in a row extending from the Osario. Beyond them the Osario platform terminates in a wall, which contains an opening to a sacbe that runs several hundred feet to the Xtoloc temple.
South of the Osario, at the boundary of the platform, there are two small buildings that archaeologists believe were residences for important personages. These have been named as the House of the Metates and the House of the Mestizas.
Casa Colorada Group
South of the Osario Group is another small platform that has several structures that are among the oldest in the Chichen Itza archaeological zone.
The Casa Colorada (Spanish for "Red House"), is one of the best preserved buildings at Chichen Itza. Its Maya name is Chichanchob, which according to INAH may mean "small holes". In one chamber there are extensive carved hieroglyphs that mention rulers of Chichen Itza and possibly of the nearby city of Ek Balam, and contain a Maya date inscribed which correlates to 869 AD, one of the oldest such dates found in all of Chichen Itza.
In 2009, INAH restored a small ball court that adjoined the back wall of the Casa Colorada.
While the Casa Colorada is in a good state of preservation, other buildings in the group, with one exception, are decrepit mounds. One building is half standing, named Casa del Venado (House of the Deer). The origin of the name is unknown, as there are no representations of deer or other animals on the building.
Central Group
Las Monjas is one of the more notable structures at Chichen Itza. It is a complex of Terminal Classic buildings constructed in the Puuc architectural style. The Spanish named this complex Las Monjas ("The Nuns" or "The Nunnery") but it was actually a governmental palace. Just to the east is a small temple (known as the La Iglesia, "The Church") decorated with elaborate masks.
El Caracol ("The Snail") is located to the north of Las Monjas. It is a round building on a large square platform. It gets its name from the stone spiral staircase inside. The structure, with its unusual placement on the platform and its round shape (the others are rectangular, in keeping with Maya practice), is theorized to have been a proto-observatory with doors and windows aligned to astronomical events, specifically around the path of Venus as it traverses the heavens.
Akab Dzib is located to the east of the Caracol. The name means, in Yucatec Mayan, "Dark Writing"; "dark" in the sense of "mysterious". An earlier name of the building, according to a translation of glyphs in the Casa Colorada, is Wa(k)wak Puh Ak Na, "the flat house with the excessive number of chambers,” and it was the home of the administrator of Chichén Itzá, kokom Yahawal Cho' K’ak’. INAH completed a restoration of the building in 2007. It is relatively short, only 6 metres (20 ft) high, and is 50 metres (160 ft) in length and 15 metres (49 ft) wide. The long, western-facing façade has seven doorways. The eastern façade has only four doorways, broken by a large staircase that leads to the roof. This apparently was the front of the structure, and looks out over what is today a steep, but dry, cenote. The southern end of the building has one entrance. The door opens into a small chamber and on the opposite wall is another doorway, above which on the lintel are intricately carved glyphs—the “mysterious” or “obscure” writing that gives the building its name today. Under the lintel in the door jamb is another carved panel of a seated figure surrounded by more glyphs. Inside one of the chambers, near the ceiling, is a painted hand print.
Old Chichen
Old Chichen (or Chichén Viejo in Spanish) is the name given to a group of structures to the south of the central site, where most of the Puuc-style architecture of the city is concentrated. It includes the Initial Series Group, the Phallic Temple, the Platform of the Great Turtle, the Temple of the Owls, and the Temple of the Monkeys.
Other structures
Chichen Itza also has a variety of other structures densely packed in the ceremonial center of about 5 square kilometres (1.9 sq mi) and several outlying subsidiary sites.
Caves of Balankanche
Approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) south east of the Chichen Itza archaeological zone are a network of sacred caves known as Balankanche (Spanish: Gruta de Balankanche), Balamka'anche' in Yucatec Maya). In the caves, a large selection of ancient pottery and idols may be seen still in the positions where they were left in pre-Columbian times.
The location of the cave has been well known in modern times. Edward Thompson and Alfred Tozzer visited it in 1905. A.S. Pearse and a team of biologists explored the cave in 1932 and 1936. E. Wyllys Andrews IV also explored the cave in the 1930s. Edwin Shook and R.E. Smith explored the cave on behalf of the Carnegie Institution in 1954, and dug several trenches to recover potsherds and other artifacts. Shook determined that the cave had been inhabited over a long period, at least from the Preclassic to the post-conquest era.
On 15 September 1959, José Humberto Gómez, a local guide, discovered a false wall in the cave. Behind it he found an extended network of caves with significant quantities of undisturbed archaeological remains, including pottery and stone-carved censers, stone implements and jewelry. INAH converted the cave into an underground museum, and the objects after being catalogued were returned to their original place so visitors can see them in situ.
Chichen Itza is one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico; in 2007 it was estimated to receive an average of 1.2 million visitors every year.
Tourism has been a factor at Chichen Itza for more than a century. John Lloyd Stephens, who popularized the Maya Yucatán in the public’s imagination with his book Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, inspired many to make a pilgrimage to Chichén Itzá. Even before the book was published, Benjamin Norman and Baron Emanuel von Friedrichsthal traveled to Chichen after meeting Stephens, and both published the results of what they found. Friedrichsthal was the first to photograph Chichen Itza, using the recently invented daguerreotype.
After Edward Thompson in 1894 purchased the Hacienda Chichén, which included Chichen Itza, he received a constant stream of visitors. In 1910 he announced his intention to construct a hotel on his property, but abandoned those plans, probably because of the Mexican Revolution.
In the early 1920s, a group of Yucatecans, led by writer/photographer Francisco Gomez Rul, began working toward expanding tourism to Yucatán. They urged Governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto to build roads to the more famous monuments, including Chichen Itza. In 1923, Governor Carrillo Puerto officially opened the highway to Chichen Itza. Gomez Rul published one of the first guidebooks to Yucatán and the ruins.
Gomez Rul's son-in-law, Fernando Barbachano Peon (a grandnephew of former Yucatán Governor Miguel Barbachano), started Yucatán’s first official tourism business in the early 1920s. He began by meeting passengers that arrived by steamship to Progreso, the port north of Mérida, and persuading them to spend a week in Yucatán, after which they would catch the next steamship to their next destination. In his first year Barbachano Peon reportedly was only able to convince seven passengers to leave the ship and join him on a tour. In the mid-1920s Barbachano Peon persuaded Edward Thompson to sell 5 acres (20,000 m2) next to Chichen for a hotel. In 1930, the Mayaland Hotel opened, just north of the Hacienda Chichén, which had been taken over by the Carnegie Institution.
In 1944, Barbachano Peon purchased all of the Hacienda Chichén, including Chichen Itza, from the heirs of Edward Thompson. Around that same time the Carnegie Institution completed its work at Chichen Itza and abandoned the Hacienda Chichén, which Barbachano turned into another seasonal hotel.
In 1972, Mexico enacted the Ley Federal Sobre Monumentos y Zonas Arqueológicas, Artísticas e Históricas (Federal Law over Monuments and Archeological, Artistic and Historic Sites) that put all the nation's pre-Columbian monuments, including those at Chichen Itza, under federal ownership. There were now hundreds, if not thousands, of visitors every year to Chichen Itza, and more were expected with the development of the Cancún resort area to the east.
In the 1980s, Chichen Itza began to receive an influx of visitors on the day of the spring equinox. Today several thousand show up to see the light-and-shadow effect on the Temple of Kukulcan in which the feathered serpent god supposedly can be seen to crawl down the side of the pyramid.[nb 6] Tourists are also wondered by the acoustics at Chicen Itza. For instance a handclap in front of the staircase of the El Castillo pyramid is followed by an echo that resembles the chirp of a quetzal as investigated by Declercq.
Chichen Itza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the second-most visited of Mexico's archaeological sites. The archaeological site draws many visitors from the popular tourist resort of Cancún, who make a day trip on tour buses. In 2007, Chichen Itza's El Castillo was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World after a worldwide vote. Despite the fact that the vote was sponsored by a commercial enterprise, and that its methodology was criticized, the vote was embraced by government and tourism officials in Mexico who project that as a result of the publicity the number of tourists expected to visit Chichen will double by 2012.[nb 7]
The ensuing publicity re-ignited debate in Mexico over the ownership of the site, which culminated on 29 March 2010 when the state of Yucatán purchased the land upon which the most recognized monuments rest from owner Hans Juergen Thies Barbachano.
Over the past several years, INAH, which manages the site, has been closing monuments to public access. While visitors can walk around them, they can no longer climb them or go inside their chambers. The most recent was El Castillo, which was closed after a San Diego, California, woman fell to her death in 2006.
Photo gallery
Photo of the great limestone column in the Cave of Balankanche, surrounded by Tlaloc-themed incense burners
See also
- Concerning the legal basis of the ownership of Chichen and other sites of patrimony, see Breglia (2006), in particular Chapter 3, "Chichen Itza, a Century of Privatization". Regarding ongoing conflicts over the ownership of Chichen Itza, see Castañeda (2005). Regarding purchase, see "Yucatán: paga gobierno 220 mdp por terrenos de Chichén Itzá," La Jornada, 30 March 2010, retrieved 30 March 2010 from jornada.unam.mx
- Uuc Yabnal becomes Uc Abnal, meaning the “Seven Abnals” or “Seven Lines of Abnal” where Abnal is a family name, according to Ralph L. Roys (Roys 1967, p.133n7).
- For summation of this re-dating proposal, see in particular Andrews et al. 2003.
- From Mayan: sakb'e, meaning "white way/road”. Plural form is sacbeob (or in modern Maya orthography, sakb'eob').
- A popular explanation is that the objective of the game was to pass a ball through one of the rings, however in other, smaller ball courts there is no ring, only a post.
- See Quetzil Castaneda (1996) In The Museum of Maya Culture (University of Minnesota Press) for a book length study of tourism at Chichen, including a chapter on the equinox ritual. For a 90-minute ethnographic documentary of new age spiritualism at the Equinox see Jeff Himpele and Castaneda (1997)[Incidents of Travel in Chichen Itza] (Documentary Educational Resources).
- Figure is attributed to Francisco López Mena, director of the Consejo de Promoción Turística de México (CPTM - Council for the Promotion of Mexican Tourism).
- See also "Chichén Itzá". English Pronunciation Guide to the Names of People, Places, and Stuff. inogolo.com. Retrieved 21 November 2007.
- Barrera Vásquez et al, 1980.
- Gobierno del Estado de Yucatán 2007.
- Miller 1999, p.26.
- Boot 2005, p.37.
- Piña Chan 1980, 1993, p.13.
- Luxton 1996, p.141.
- Koch 2006, p.19.
- Osorio León 2006, p.458.
- Osorio León 2006, p.456.
- Coggins 1992.
- Anda Alanís 2007.
- Freidel, p.6. Sharer and Traxler 2006, p.581.
- Schmidt 2007, pp.166–167.
- Cobos Plama 2004, 2005, pp.539-540.
- Cobos Palma 2004, 2005, p.540.
- Cobos Palma 2004, 2005, pp.537-541.
- Cobos Palma 2004, 2005, p.531.
- Cobos Palma 2004, 2005, pp.531-533.
- Osorio León 2006, p.457.
- Osorio León 2006, p.461.
- Cobos Palama, 2004, 2005, p.541.
- Thompson 1954, 1966, p.137.
- Chamberlain 1948, pp.136, 138.
- Restall 1998, pp.81, 149; Landa 1937, p.90.
- Clendinnen 2003, p.23.
- Chamberlain 1948, pp.19–20, 64, 97, 134–135.
- Chamberlain 1948, pp.132–149.
- Clendinnen 2003, p.41.
- Breglia 2006, p.67.
- Morley 1913, pp.61–91.
- Brunhouse 1971, pp.74-75.
- Brunhouse 1971, pp.195-196; Weeks and Hill 2006, p.111.
- Brunhouse 1971, pp.195-196; Weeks and Hill 2006, pp.577–653.
- Usborne (2007).
- Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp.562-563.
- Sharer and Traxler 2006, p.562. Coe 1999, pp.100, 139.
- Cano 2002, p.84.
- García Salgado 2010, p.118.
- García Salgado 2010, pp.119, 122.
- Phillips 2006, 2007, p.264.
- Willard 1941.
- Diario de Yucatan, 3 March 2006.
- García Salgado 2010, pp.121-122.
- Kurjack et al 1991, p.150.
- Piña Chan 1980, 1993, p.42.
- Piña Chan 1980, 1993, p.44.
- Cano 2002, p.83.
- Cirerol Sansores 1948, pp.94–96.
- Cano 2002, p.85.
- Coggins 1984, pp. 26-7
- Fry 2009.
- Cano 2002, pp.84, 87.
- Osorio León 2006, pp.457, 460.
- Aveni 1997, pp.135–138.
- Voss and Kremer 2000.
- Andrews 1961, pp.28–31.
- Andrews 1970.
- SECTUR 2007.
- Palmquist and Kailbourn 2000, p.252.
- Madeira 1931, pp. 108–109,
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Further reading
- Coggins & Shane, "Cenote Of Sacrifice", (U. of Texas, 1984).
- Holmes, Archæological Studies in Ancient Cities of Mexico, (Chicago, 1895)
- Spinden, Maya Art, (Cambridge, 1912)
- Stephens, John Lloyd in Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, (two volumes, 1843)
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chichén Itzá|
- Chichen Itza on Mesoweb.com
- Chichen Itza Digital Media Archive (creative commons-licensed photos, laser scans, panoramas), with particularly detailed information on El Caracol and el Castillo, using data from a National Science Foundation/CyArk research partnership
- UNESCO page about Chichen Itza World Heritage site
- Ancient Observatories page on Chichen Itza
- Chichen Itza reconstructed in 3D
- Archaeological documentation for Chichen Itza created by non-profit group INSIGHT and funded by the National Science Foundation and Chabot Space and Science Center
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Greenland ice a benchmark for warming
Core data Greenland was about eight degrees warmer 130,000 years ago than it is today, an analysis of an almost three-kilometre-long ice core in Greenland has revealed.
The finding by an international team of 38 institutions from 14 nations provides an important benchmark for climate change modelling and gives an insight into how the natural world will respond to global warming in the future.
The study, which involves CSIRO researchers, also suggests Antarctica's ice sheets may be more vulnerable to warming than previously thought.
Published in today's Nature journal, the results flow out of a four-year expedition known as the North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling operation (NEEM).
Dr David Etheridge, principal research scientist with CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research who has worked on the project, says the NEEM program is the first to successfully reach down into Greenland's ice core into the Eemian period, which stretched from 130,000 years to 115,000 years ago.
"It has been something of a holy grail for Greenland work to achieve this … we are getting to ice close to the bedrock where you get melting and mixing of the ice layers."
Etheridge says in a process similar to assembling a jigsaw puzzle, scientists used comparisons with gas elements in Antarctica's deep ice core records to re-assemble the layers in their original sequence. Deep ice drilling in the Antarctic has reached as far back as 800,000 years.
Past and future
It is important to understand what happened in Greenland during the Eemian period because the temperatures experienced then are "within the realms of where we are heading", says Etheridge.
However, he says the previous warming was due to the Earth receiving more of the Sun's radiation due to its orbit at the time, while today's warming is being driven by increases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Nature paper co-author Dr Mauro Rubino, of CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, says it had been previously estimated that Greenland's temperature was about 4°C warmer during the Eemian than now.
But this latest work used analysis of water-stable isotopes to estimate "the temperature 130,000 years ago was up to 8°C warmer [in Greenland] than what it is today", says Rubino.
It also shows sea levels were on average 6 metres higher.
The results provide "important benchmarks for future climate change projections" in temperature and the contribution of the two main ice sheets to sea level rises, Rubino says.
He says the study also reveals the Greenland ice sheet did not melt as much as previously thought so was not the major contributor to sea level at that time.
"It shows the major contribution to sea level rises was not coming from the Greenland ice shelf," he says.
"It was previously believed that Greenland melted entirely [during the Eemian], but in fact the ice sheet was not that much different from what it is now.
"Most of the contribution to sea level rise comes from these two big ice reserves [in Greenland and the Antarctica] so one of the possible interpretations is Antarctica is more susceptible to climate change than we thought."
Etheridge agrees. He says the work shows the Greenland ice sheet survived during the Eemian - although it was about 400 metres thinner.
"From that figure you can deduce how much it contributed to the sea level rise and it is not as much as was thought.
"That throws things back to Antarctica ... previously the thought was Antarctica was too cold and too stable to be impacted."
Etheridge says CSIRO was invited by lead institution, the University of Copenhagen, to be involved in NEEM at its formation because of its expertise in analysing air composition in air bubbles trapped in deep ice.
Rubino says their team began analysis of gas bubbles from the first 80 to 100 metres of ice core down to the final 2540 metre depth.
This helped track changes in climate and temperature on a year-by-year basis.
He says the concentration of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the air bubbles from the Eemian was much lower than what it is today.
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Carbon With That Latte?
Sonia Narang 07.03.07, 6:00 AM ET
How Starbucks hopes to trim its emissions footprint.
In its shop in downtown San Mateo, Calif., for instance, baristas serve up about 40,000 cups of coffee drinks every month. Just based on utility bills alone, that means Starbucks is serving up about 4,900 pounds of carbon with its drinks--or about two ounces per cup.
Starbucks executives say they are looking for ways to trim those carbon emissions. But they are reluctant to say just how much Starbucks' worldwide carbon footprint is--and how it has changed over the past few years. Starbucks has calculated the carbon footprint of its North American locations only once, in 2003. Since then, its number of U.S. company-owned stores has almost doubled to 6,281. Its international company-owned locations, also left out of the calculation, now number more than 1,500.
"Although we have grown in size, the nature of our business remains the same--the operation of retail stores and roasting coffee," says Jim Hanna, environmental affairs manager at Starbucks in Seattle. While Starbucks chooses not to calculate its carbon footprint every year, the company does conduct annual progress checks, but these numbers are not publicly reported.
Other eco-friendly companies are also surprisingly coy. Last month, for instance, Google
) led a group of 40 other companies (including Starbucks) in kicking off the "Climate Savers Computing Initiative," a project aimed at building and buying more energy-efficient PCs.
Google is nonetheless keeping a watch on the size of its carbon footprint and hopes to achieve carbon neutrality by the end of this year by using non-carbon energy sources for much of its power needs and purchasing carbon offsets for the rest. Recently, Google flipped the switch on 1.6 megawatts of solar power modules on the roof of its Mountain View headquarters.
Starbucks was early among eco-sensitive companies. Executives became convinced early in this decade that atmospheric carbon could wreak havoc on the global climate--and so on the supply and price of coffee beans. "We're facing environmental risks posed by climate change that could negatively affect many aspects of our company, including our ability to procure coffee," Hanna says.
Temperature and rainfall dictate how much coffee comes out of regions including Latin America and Asia. "As we hope to increase to 40,000 stores worldwide in the next 10 years, we're going to need a larger supply," Hanna says.
In 2003, Starbucks hired Denver-based engineering firm CH2M Hill to calculate the carbon footprint of the approximately 3,700 stores it then had in North America. CH2M Hill began measuring corporate footprints in the late 1990s and has done comparable calculations for a few dozen companies, including Nike (nyse: NKE - news - people ), 3M (nyse: MMM - news - people ), SC Johnson and energy firm Kinder Morgan (nyse: KMI - news - people ).
Doing such calculations is still something of a black art. CH2M Hill's Lisa Grice, who worked on the coffee company's carbon footprint, says the final number primarily includes electricity used in retail stores. Carbon calculators take into account stores' geographic locations. That's because electricity generated at power plants in one state may come from a different source than a power plant in another state. Some stores may get electricity from coal-fired plants, which results in greater carbon emissions, while others may depend on hydroelectric power, which has a lower carbon byproduct.
Starbucks decided to leave out the additional 81,000 tons of carbon dioxide it emitted through transporting coffee materials and disposing solid waste. According to Starbucks Environmental Affairs Manager Ben Packard, the company can only control and manage carbon emissions from energy used in retail stores and coffee-roasting plants.
It took about half a year of data collection and complex calculations to figure out that Starbucks emitted 295,000 tons of carbon into the atmosphere in 2003. Starbucks decided to leave out an additional 81,000 tons of carbon dioxide it emitted by transporting coffee materials and disposing of solid waste. According to Starbucks Environmental Affairs Manager Ben Packard, the company can only control and manage carbon emissions from energy used in retail stores and coffee-roasting plants.
Starbucks attributes 81% of its greenhouse gas emissions to purchased electricity and 18% to coffee roasting at its three North American plants and natural gas usage in stores.
That 295,000-ton figure gives Starbucks a small carbon footprint, among a list of about 1,000 companies compiled by the Carbon Disclosure Project, a London-based nonprofit. Near the top of the list is energy giant American Electric Power (nyse: AEP - news - people ) with 146.5 million tons of carbon emissions. Next in line are oil and gas companies Royal Dutch/Shell and British Petroleum (nyse: BP - news - people ) with 105 million tons and 92 million tons.
Comparatively, General Electric's (nyse: GE - news - people ) 12.4 million ton footprint makes it a medium-size emitter. The smallest carbon emitters weighed in at a few thousand tons. Most of the lower footprints belong to insurance companies, retailers and banks.
Starbucks execs say that even as they've been growing the number of outlets, they've been trying to be more energy efficient. In 2005, Starbucks joined the World Research Institute's Green Power Market Development Group, a consortium of 15 companies ranging from Staples (nasdaq: SPLS - news - people ) to Google. The group helps its members purchase renewable energy at lower prices. Last year, the coffee company increased its wind power to 20% of the total energy usage in North American stores. This offset 62,000 tons of carbon dioxide.
But to track progress in reducing carbon emissions accurately, companies need to update those footprints frequently, says Marcus Peacock of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "We've asked companies to check their numbers annually," he says.
A number of companies are doing just that. Both Intel (nasdaq: INTC - news - people ) and Sun Microsystems (nasdaq: SUNW - news - people ), which are also part of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, report their carbon footprints annually. Intel's carbon footprint added up to 4 million tons in 2006, a number that includes worldwide operations. Sun first calculated its footprint at 255,000 tons last year, and used past data to figure out carbon emissions dating back four years. The company also reports up-to-date carbon numbers on its Web site.
"We calculate this monthly so that we can make sure we're on track with improving emissions," says Sun's VP of Eco Responsibility Dave Douglas.
Both Intel and Sun are part of the EPA's Climate Leaders Program, a group of companies that sets tangible carbon reduction goals. Climate Leaders began five years ago, when few companies even knew the meaning of carbon footprint. Now, the program boasts 132 members.
In the meantime, Starbucks executives insist they are looking for ways to improve energy efficiency and encourage their customers to do the same. This summer, Starbucks told its customers to go green through a number of high-profile campaigns, including "Green Umbrellas for a Green Cause" and the online Planet Green Game (planetgreengame.com). Starbucks will also start monitoring the energy usage of specific equipment at some stores later this year. "We'll install individual meters on espresso machines, refrigerators, water filtration systems and other components," Hanna says.
This doesn't necessarily mean you'll see a green espresso maker at a Starbucks near you anytime soon. "Quality and performance come first," Hanna says.
'); //--> News Headlines | More From Forbes.com | Special Reports
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The “presidi” translates as “garrisons” (from the French word, “to equip”), as protectors of traditional food production practices
Monday, March 23, 2009
The “presidi” translates as “garrisons” (from the French word, “to equip”), as protectors of traditional food production practices
This past year, I have had rewarding opportunities to observe traditional food cultures in varied regions of the world. These are:
Athabascan Indian in the interior of Alaska (the traditional Tanana Chiefs Conference tribal lands) in July, 2008 (for more, read below);
Swahili coastal tribes in the area of Munje village (population about 300), near Msambweni, close to the Tanzania border in December, 2008-January, 2009 (for more, read below); and,Laikipia region of Kenya (January, 2009), a German canton of Switzerland (March, 2009), and the Piemonte-Toscana region of northern/central Italy (images only, February-March, 2009).
In Fort Yukon, Alaska, salmon is a mainstay of the diet. Yet, among the Athabascan Indians, threats to subsistence foods and stresses on household economics abound. In particular, high prices for external energy sources (as of July, 2008, almost $8 for a gallon of gasoline and $6.50 for a gallon of diesel, which is essential for home heating), as well as low Chinook salmon runs for information click here, and moose numbers.
Additional resource management issues pose threats to sustaining village life – for example, stream bank erosion along the Yukon River, as well as uneven management in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge. People are worried about ever-rising prices for fuels and store-bought staples, and fewer and fewer sources of wage income. The result? Villagers are moving out from outlying areas into “hub” communities like Fort Yukon -- or another example, Bethel in Southwest Alaska – even when offered additional subsidies, such as for home heating. But, in reality, “hubs” often offer neither much employment nor relief from high prices.
In Munje village in Kenya, the Digo, a Bantu-speaking, mostly Islamic tribe in the southern coastal area of Kenya, enjoy the possibilities of a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and fish/oils.
Breakfast in the village typically consists of mandazi (a fried bread similar to a doughnut), and tea with sugar. Lunch and dinner is typically ugali and samaki (fish), maybe with some dried cassava or chickpeas.
On individual shambas (small farms), tomatoes, cassava, maize, cowpeas, bananas, mangos, and coconut are typically grown. Ugali is consumed every day, as are cassava, beans, oil, fish -- and rice, coconut, and chicken, depending on availability.
Even with their own crops, villagers today want very much to enter the market economy and will sell products from their shambas to buy staples and the flour needed to make mandazis, which they in turn sell. Sales of mandazis (and mango and coconut, to a lesser extent) bring in some cash for villagers.
A treasured food is, in fact, the coconut. This set of pictures show how coconut is used in the village. True, coconut oil now is reserved only for frying mandazi. But it also is used as a hair conditioner, and the coconut meat is eaten between meals. I noted also that dental hygiene and health were good in the village. Perhaps the coconut and fish oils influence this (as per the work of Dr. Weston A. Price).
Photos L-R: Using a traditional conical basket (kikatu), coconut milk is pressed from the grated meat; Straining coconut milk from the grated meat, which is then heated to make oil; Common breakfast food (and the main source of cash income), the mandazi, is still cooked in coconut oil
Note: All photos were taken by G. Berardi
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Despite maize in the fields, it is widely known that farmers are hoarding stocks in many districts. Farmers are refusing the NCPB/government price of Sh1,950 per 90-kg bag. They are waiting to be offered at least the same amount of money as that which was being assigned to imports (Bii, 2009b). “The country will continue to experience food shortages unless the Government addresses the high cost of farm inputs to motivate farmers to increase production,” said Mr. Jonathan Bii of Uasin Gish (Bartoo & Lucheli, 2009; Bii, 2009a, 2009b; Bungee, 2009).
Pride and politics, racism and corruption are to blame for food deficits (Kihara & Marete, 2009; KNA, 2009; Muluka, 2009; Siele, 2009). Clearly, what are needed in Kenya are food system planning, disaster management planning, and protection and development of agricultural and rural economies.
Click here for the full text.
Photos taken by G. Berardi
Cabbage, an imported food (originally), and susceptible to much pest damage.
Camps still remain for Kenya’s Internally Displaced Persons resulting from post-election violence forced migrations. Food security is poor.
Lack of sustained recent short rains have resulted in failed maize harvests.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Today I went to a lunch time discussion of sustainability. This concept promoted development with an equitable eye to the triple bottom line - financial, social, and ecological costs. We discussed the how it seemed relatively easier to discuss the connections between financial and ecological costs, than between social costs and other costs. Sustainable development often comes down to "green" designs that consider environmental impacts or critiques of the capitalist model of financing.
As I thought about sustainable development, or sustainable community management if you are a bit queasy with the feasibility of continuous expansion, I considered its corollaries in the field of disaster risk reduction. It struck me again that it is somewhat easier to focus on some components of the triple bottom line in relation to disasters.
The vulnerability approach to disasters has rightly brought into focus the fact that not all people are equally exposed to or impacted by disasters. Rather, it is often the poor or socially marginalized most at risk and least able to recover. This approach certainly brings into focus the social aspects of disasters.
The disaster trap theory, likewise, brings into focus the financial bottom line. This perspective is most often discussed in international development and disaster reduction circles. It argues that disasters destroy development gains and cause communities to de-develop unless both disaster reduction and development occur in tandem. Building a cheaper, non-earthquake resistant school in an earthquake zone, may make short-term financial sense. However,over the long term, this approach is likely to result in loss of physical infrastructure, human life, and learning opportunities when an earthquake does occur.
What seems least developed to me, though I would enjoy being rebutted, is the ecological bottom line of disasters. Perhaps it is an oxymoron to discuss the ecological costs of disasters, given that many disasters are triggered natural ecological processes like cyclones, forest fires, and floods. It might also be an oxymoron simply because a natural hazard disaster is really looking at an ecological event from an almost exclusively human perspective. Its not a disaster if it doesn't destroy human lives and human infrastructure. But, the lunch-time discussion made me wonder if there wasn't something of an ecological bottom line to disasters in there somewhere. Perhaps it is in the difference between an ecological process heavily or lightly impacted by human ecological modification. Is a forest fire in a heavily managed forest different from that in an unmanaged forest? Certainly logging can heighten the impacts of heavy rains by inducing landslides, resulting in a landscape heavily rather than lightly impacted by the rains. Similar processes might also be true in the case of heavily managed floodplains. Flooding is concentrated and increased in areas outside of levee systems. What does that mean for the ecology of these locations? Does a marsh manage just as well in low as high flooding? My guess would be no.
And of course, there is the big, looming disaster of climate change. This is a human-induced change that may prove quite disasterous to many an ecological system, everything from our pine forests here, to arctic wildlife, and tropical coral reefs.
Perhaps, we disaster researchers, need to also consider a triple bottom line when making arguments for the benefits of disaster risk reduction.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
This past week the Northwest experienced a severe barrage of weather systems back to back. Everyone seemed to be affected. Folks were re-routed on detours, got soaked, slipped on ice, or had to spend money to stay a little warmer. In Whatcom and Skagit Counties, there are hundreds to thousands of people currently in the process of recovering and cleaning-up after the floods. These people live in the rural areas throughout the county, with fewer people knowing about their devastation and having greater vulnerability to flood hazards.
Luckily, there are local agencies and non-profits who are ready at a moment’s call to help anyone in need. The primary organization that came to the aid of the flood victims was the American Red Cross.
The last week I began interning and volunteering with one of these non-profits, the Mt. Baker American Red Cross (ARC) Chapter. While I am still in the process of getting screened and officially trained, I received first-hand experience and saw how important this organization is to the community.
With the flood waters rising throughout the week, people were flooded out of their homes and rescued from the overflowing rivers and creeks. As the needs for help increased, hundreds of ARC volunteers were called to service. Throughout the floods there have been several shelters opened to accommodate the needs of these flood victims. On Saturday I was asked to help staff one of these shelters overnight in Ferndale.
While I talked with parents and children, I became more aware of the stark reality of how these people have to recover from having all their possessions covered in sewage and mud and damaged by flood waters. In the meantime, these flood victims have all their privacy exposed to others in a public shelter, while they work to find stability in the middle of all the traumas of the events. As I sat talking and playing with the children, another thought struck me. Children are young and resilient, but it must be very difficult when they connect with a volunteer and then lose that connection soon after. Sharing a shelter with the folks over the weekend showed a higher degree of reality and humanity to the situation than the news coverage ever could.
I posted this bit about my volunteer experience because it made me realize something about my education and degree track in disaster reduction and emergency planning. We look at ways to create a more sustainable community, and we need to remember that community service is an important part of creating this ideal. Underlying sustainable development is the triple bottom line (social, economy, and environment). Volunteers and non-profits are a major part of this social line of sustainability. Organizations like the American Red Cross only exist because of volunteers. So embrace President-elect Obama’s call for a culture of civil service this coming week and make a commitment to the organization of your choice with your actions or even your pocketbook. Know that sustainable development cannot exist with out social responsibility.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Its been two days now that schools have been closed in Whatcom County, not for snow, but for rain and flooding. This unusual event coincides with record flooding throughout Western Washington, just a year after record flooding closed I5 for three days and Lewis County businesses experienced what they then called an unprecedented 500 year flood. I guess not.
There are many strange things about flood risk notation, and this idea that a 500 year flood often trips people up. They often believe a flood of that size will happen only once in 500 years. On a probabilistic level, this is inaccurate. A 500 year flood simply has a .2% probability of happening each year. A more useful analogy might be to tell people they are rolling a 500 sided die every year and hoping that it doesn’t come up with a 1. Next year they’ll be forced to roll again.
But, this focus on misunderstandings of probability often hides an even larger societal misunderstanding . Flood risk changes when we change the environment in which it occurs. If a flood map tells you that you are not in the flood plain, better check the date of the map. Most maps are utterly out of date and many vastly underestimate present flood risk. There are several reasons this happens. Urban development, especially development with a lot of parking lots and buildings that don’t let water seep into the ground, will cause rainwater to move quickly into rivers rather than seep into the ground and slowly release. Developers might complain that they are required to create runoff catchment wetlands when they do build. They do, but these requirements may very well be based upon outdated data on flood risk. Thus, each new development never fully compensates for its runoff, a small problem for each site but a mammoth problem when compounded downstream.
Deforesting can have the same effect, with the added potential for house-crushing and river-clogging mudslides. Timber harvesting is certainly an important industry in our neck of the woods. Not only is commercial logging an important source of jobs for many rural and small towns, logging on state Department of Natural Resource land is the major source of funding for K-12 education. Yet, commercial logging, like other industries, suffers from a problem of cost externalization. When massive mudslides occurred during last year’s storm, Weyerhaeuser complained that it wasn’t it’s logging practices, but the fact that it was an unprecedented, out of the blue, 500 year storm that caused it. While it is doubtful the slides would have occurred uncut land, that isn’t the only fallacy. When the slide did occur, the costs of repairing roads, treatment plants, and bridges went to the county and often was passed on to the nation’s tax payers through state and federal recovery grants. Thus, what should have been paid by Weyerhaeuser, 500 year probability or not, was paid by someone else.
Finally, there is local government. Various folks within local governments set regulations for zoning, deciding what will be built and where. Here is the real crux of the problem. Local government also gets an increase in revenue in the form of property, sales, and business income taxes. Suppress the updating of flood plain maps, and you get a short term profit and often, a steady supply of happy voters. You might think these local governments will have to pay when the next big flood comes, but often that can be avoided. Certainly, they must comply with federal regulations on flood plain management to be part of the National Flood Insurance program, but that plan has significant leeway and little monitoring. Like the commercial logging, disaster-stricken local governments can often push the recovery costs off to individual homeowners through the FEMA homeowner’s assistance program, and off to state and federal agencies by receiving disaster recovery and community development grants and loans. Certainly, some communities are so regularly devastated, and are so few resources, that disasters simply knock them down before they can given stand up again. But others have found loopholes and can profit by continuing to use old food maps and failing to aggressively control flood plain development.
What is it going to take to really change this system and make it unprofitable to profit from bad land use management?
Here’s a good in-depth article on last year’s landslides in Lewis County. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008048848_logging13m.html
An interesting article on the failure of best management practices in development catchment basins can be found here: Hur, J. et al (2008) Does current management of storm water runoff adequately protect water resources in developing catchments? Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 63 (2) pp. 77-90.
Monday, December 29, 2008
It’s difficult to imagine a more colorful book, celebrating locally-grown and –marketed foods, than David Westerlund’s Simone Goes to the Market: A Children’s Book of Colors Connecting Face and Food. This book is aimed at families and the foods they eat. Who doesn’t want to know where their food is coming from – the terroir, the kind of microclimate it’s produced in, as well as who’s selling it? Gretchen sells her pole beans (purple), Maria her Serrano peppers (green), Dana and Matt sell their freshly-roasted coffee (black), Katie her carrots (orange), a blue poem from Matthew, brown potatoes from Roslyn, yellow patty pan squash from Jed, red tomatoes (soft and ripe) from Diana, and golden honey from Bill (and his bees). This is a book perfect for children of any age who want to connect to and with the food systems that sustain community. Order from firstname.lastname@example.org.
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Cost of Solar Energy In today’s highly technological world, many people are turning to more affordable sources of energy. This includes renewable energy such as water, wind, and solar powered sources. If you want to receive the same great energy services at half the cost, consider investing in solar energy.
Solar energy is heat and light energy harnessed from the sun. But what are the costs of solar energy and how much can it actually save you? When considering any alternative energy project, you should think about the cost of the materials and initial installation as well as the energy savings.
As far as materials are concerned, you will probably be paying about $6-$9 per watt. The size of your house doesn’t matter, but you should examine your current electric bill to decide how much energy you use each month. You also need to see how much direct sunlight your home receives.
If you do decide to install solar panels, you will be saving yourself thousands of dollars in the long run. You can even save up to 80% on your initial overall cost. Tax rebates and other incentives often cover the cost of solar energy panel installation. You will also be adding value to your home by installing solar panels. If you plan on living in your house for more than five to eight years, your investment will start paying you.
By installing your solar panels, you will also be able to guard yourself against increased energy costs in the upcoming years. You will also be able to have the security of an efficient energy source even during the times that the grid is down. Your savings in electricity bills will probably pay for your system in less than ten years and you’ll most likely end up recouping your investment three times over during the lifetime of your solar panel system.
Taking this all into consideration, why would you not invest in solar power? The initial investment may be a bit costly, but you will be saving thousands upon thousands of dollars by using solar energy.
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Photograph courtesy NASA
The Jules Verne ATV burns up over the Pacific Ocean in 2008. Photograph courtesy Jesse Carpenter and Bill Moede, ESA/NASA.
Published June 21, 2011
A spacecraft stuffed with garbage—including astronaut urine—will tumble back to Earth Tuesday, becoming a fireball over a remote section of the Pacific Ocean.
The European Space Agency launched the unmanned craft, called the Johannes Kepler automated transport vehicle (ATV), in February to deliver several tons of cargo to the International Space Station, including food, supplies, fuel, and oxygen.
The glorified space freighter isn't designed to safely return to Earth, so during the past four months space fliers on the ISS have crammed the 450-million-euro (640-million-dollar) canister with 1.3 tons of junk.
"They pretty much filled it to the brim, mostly with packing material from inside modules recently delivered to the space station," said Kelly Humphries, a NASA spokesperson at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Other garbage inside the ATV includes dirty clothes, food containers, broken equipment, and pretty much anything else the crew no longer wants on board.
"There's also containers of processed urine from the water-recycling system. It's nasty stuff," Humphries said.
Spaceship to Become Dazzling Fireball
The Johannes Kepler ATV successfully undocked from the ISS Monday around 10:50 a.m. ET (16:50 CEST).
If all goes as planned, two burns of propellant will slow the Johannes Kepler until it drops toward Earth, ultimately disintegrating somewhere northeast of New Zealand around 4:50 p.m. ET (22:50 CEST) on Tuesday.
Upon reentry, the craft should put on a dazzling display like that of the Jules Verne ATV, Kepler's older brother, which exploded into a shimmer on September 29, 2008.
But, as with the Jules Verne, no one except maybe a few unlucky fish should be in harm's way of the debris shower.
A black, cone-shaped device called the reentry breakup recorder will monitor the stresses endured during the spacecraft's demise. At about 60,000 feet (18,288 meters) above the surface, the recorded will beam data to land before smacking into the ocean—a fall it probably won't survive.
"That information will help us learn more about how spacecraft break up in general and develop better ones in the future," Humphries said.
Kepler Gave ISS a Needed Boost
ESA's ATV is the roomiest disposable spacecraft design in existence, at 1,700 cubic feet (48 cubic meters). Russia's expendable Progress spacecraft, by comparison, has only 233 cubic feet (6.6 cubic meters) of pressurized cargo space.
(See a picture of Progress 41 undocking.)
The next ATV, to be named after physicist Edoardo Amaldi, is currently scheduled to launch in February 2012.
Humphries added that the Johannes Kepler did more than deliver crucial supplies and serve as an 11-ton garbage can for the space station.
As the ISS moves in low-Earth orbit, the thin outer wisps of our planet's atmosphere drag on the 460-ton orbital laboratory and gradually slow it down.
With gentle thrusts of its boosters June 3, 12, and 15, the docked ATV lofted the nearly 440-ton ISS into an orbit 237 miles (381 kilometers) above Earth—about 20 miles (32 kilometers) higher up than it had been before.
"Kind of like a car, the space station has a sweet spot," Humphries said. "This [added boost] puts it right into that sweet spot so we don't need to use as much fuel to keep it in orbit."
A new species of dinosaur-era reptile is rewriting the books on the evolution of so-called sea monsters, a new study claims.
The world's highest peak has been shedding snow and ice for the past 50 years, possibly due in part to global warming, new research shows.
Detailed scans capture transformation.
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- Hungary’s Kecskemét College: Boosting Power, But Keeping Light
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News15 Million in U.S. Have COPD, a Lung Disease
Breo Ellipta Approved for COPD
Pediatric Diseases and ConditionsAcute Bronchitis in Children
Lower Respiratory Disorders
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the breathing tubes (airways) that are called bronchi, which causes increased production of mucus and other changes. Although there are several different types of bronchitis, the two most common are acute and chronic.
Acute bronchitis is usually caused by infectious agents such as bacteria or viruses. It may also be caused by physical or chemical agents--dusts, allergens, and strong fumes, including those from chemical cleaning compounds or tobacco smoke. Acute asthmatic bronchitis may happen as the result of an asthma attack, or it may be the cause of an asthma attack.
Acute bronchitis is usually a mild, and self-limiting condition with complete resolution of symptoms and return of normal lung function.
Acute bronchitis may follow the common cold or other viral infections in the upper respiratory tract. It may also occur in people with chronic sinusitis, allergies, or those with enlarged tonsils and adenoids. It can be serious in people with pulmonary or cardiac diseases. Pneumonia is a complication that can follow bronchitis.
The following are the most common symptoms for acute bronchitis. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
Back and muscle pain
Early--dry, nonproductive cough
Later--abundant mucus-filled cough
Shortness of breath
The symptoms of acute bronchitis may resemble other conditions or medical problems. Consult your doctor for a diagnosis.
Acute bronchitis is usually diagnosed by completing a medical history and physical examination. Many tests may be ordered to rule out other diseases, such as pneumonia or asthma. The following tests may be ordered to help confirm a diagnosis:
Chest X-rays. Diagnostic tests that use invisible electromagnetic energy beams to produce images of internal tissues, bones, and organs onto film.
Arterial blood gas. This test is used to analyze the amount of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood.
Pulse oximetry. An oximeter is a small machine that measures the amount of oxygen in the blood. To obtain this measurement, a small sensor (like a Band-Aid) is taped onto a finger or toe. When the machine is on, a small red light can be seen in the sensor. The sensor is painless and the red light does not get hot.
Cultures of nasal discharge and sputum. Tests used to find and identify the microorganism causing an infection.
Lung (pulmonary function) tests. Diagnostic tests that help to measure the ability of the lungs to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide appropriately. The tests are usually performed with special machines that a person must breathe into.
Specific treatment for acute bronchitis will be determined by your doctor based on:
Your age, overall health, and medical history
Extent of the disease
Your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
Expectations for the course of the disease
Your opinion or preference
In most cases, antibiotic treatment is not necessary to treat acute bronchitis, since most of the infections are caused by viruses. If the condition has progressed to pneumonia, then antibiotics may be appropriate. Most of the treatment is designed to address the symptoms, and may include:
Analgesics, such as acetaminophen, for fever and discomfort
Increased fluid intake
Increase in humidity
Avoidance of exposure to secondhand smoke
Antihistamines should be avoided in most cases because they dry up the secretions and can make the cough worse.
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Grassland in Mabi County destroyed by glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF). This area used to be farmland, now it's covered with black glacial deposits after the glacial lake burst. Global warming causes Himalayan glaciers to melt at an unprecedented rate, making GLOF more frequent. Latest research (2009) indicates that in the Chinese Himalayas region, there are currently 143 glacial lakes and 44 of them are very high risk of bursting.
© © Greenpeace / Du Jiang
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Electric vehicles have been touted as the dream technology to solve our suburban transport challenges and rescue us from oil dependence and environmental threats. Yet technology use occurs in a social context. Almost no discussion of electric vehicles has addressed the uneven suburban social patterns among which electric vehicles might be adopted.
The evidence that my colleagues Neil Sipe, Terry Li and I have assembled suggests the socio-economic structure of Australian suburbia, in combination with the distribution of public transport infrastructure, constitutes a major barrier to the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, especially among the most car-dependent households.
Relying on electric vehicles as a solution to energy and environmental problems may perpetuate suburban social disadvantage in a period of economic and resource insecurity.
Australia’s five largest cities are the most car-dependent national set outside the United States. Our previous studies (Dodson and Sipe 2007; 2008 have shown that outer suburban residents, especially those with lower socio-economic capacity, are among those most exposed to the pressures of higher transport fuel prices.
Future transport fuel costs are likely to be even higher (currently oil is approximately US$100 per barrel). Unconventional oil sources such as shale or tar sands may be abundant, but they have much higher production costs than conventional light crude. Their current production boom is underpinned by expectations that global oil prices will remain high or increase further over the long term.
Higher oil prices and the need to constrain carbon emissions will likely lead to much higher transport fuel costs than have prevailed in the past decade.
Electric vehicles are often presented as the most likely way to resolve this transport conundrum. Australia’s 2012 Energy White Paper alludes to a transition to electric vehicles as the economy of conventional fuels wanes.
Much of the Energy White Paper and the rhetoric around electric vehicles assumes an unproblematic transition – consumers will change their behaviour in response to price pressures. There is little discussion of potential barriers and impediments to this comforting, convenient narrative.
It makes sense that households who are most car dependent and least able to afford higher fuel prices would be the most eager to switch to an electric car. But, it turns out, the social structure of Australian suburbia means these groups are poorly placed to lead such a transition.
In our study of Brisbane we created datasets linking vehicle fuel efficiency with household socio-economic status. In our analysis, high vehicle fuel efficiency, including hybrids, serves as a proxy for future electric vehicles. We linked motor vehicle registration data with the Green Vehicle dataset on fuel efficiency, plus travel and socio-economic data from the ABS Census.
Our analysis builds a rich picture of how the spatial distribution of vehicle efficiency intersects with suburban socio-spatial patterns, using Brisbane and Sydney as case studies.
We found that the average commuting distance increases with distance from the CBD while average fuel efficiency of vehicles declines. So outer suburban residents travel further, in less efficient vehicles, than more centrally situated households. Outer suburban residents are also likely to be on relatively lower incomes than those closer in.
The result is those living in the outer suburbs have relatively weaker socio-economic status but are paying more for transport. For example, one-third of the most disadvantaged suburbs in greater Brisbane also have the most energy-intensive motor vehicle use.
A socially equitable transition to highly fuel efficient or electric vehicles ought to favour those with the highest current exposure to high fuel prices. Yet our research finds it’s not likely to happen.
Outer suburban groups also own the oldest vehicles in the fleet – they can’t afford newer ones – and this also contributes to poor fuel efficiency and big transport bills. The newest most fuel efficient vehicles are more commonly purchased by wealthier inner-urban households. They can afford the car, but have less need of the efficiency because they don’t travel as far. If such patterns are applied to electric vehicles, their high cost and novelty status means they’re likely to also be taken up by this more advantaged group. Any subsidies offered to spur their uptake will be largely captured by the wealthy.
The implication of our analysis is that the intersection of new fuel and vehicle technology costs with the social and travel patterns in Australian cities mean that suburban households face continued socio-economic stress even as these new vehicles become more widely adopted in Australian cities.
So if new technologies such as electric cars aren’t the solution, how can we secure suburban households against higher fuel prices?
We need a sustained strategy to redress the grossly inequitable supply of public transport to our suburbs. We also need to decentralise our cities, getting jobs and services out into the suburbs and reducing the distances people need to travel by car.
Electric vehicles may be fantastic technology but they risk heading up a cul-de-sac of real suburban vulnerability.
The full paper on which this article is based can be downloaded for free until 6 March 2013.
Jago Dodson receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Logan City Council, Springfield Land Corporation and Lend Lease Communities.
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WFP's office in Kathmandu is leading the way towards carbon neutrality with an ambitious solar project that will cut down its greenhouse emissions by over a third. Copyright: WFP/Meghbar Chemjong
Frequent power outages and melting glaciers are a constant reminder in Nepal of the shortcomings of fossil fuels. In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint and become more energy-efficient, WFP's office there is looking to solar power as a sustainable alternative.
by Deepesh Shrestha, Public Information Officer and Tyler McMahon, Solar Project Coordinator
KATHMANDU -- For much of the world, climate change is still an abstract concept. But in Nepal it is a visible and ominous reality — just ask WFP Nepal Country Director Richard Ragan. A mountaineer who first came to Nepal in the early 1990s to climb the Himalayas, Ragan saw first-hand how much had changed when he came back with WFP in 2006.
On World Environment Day 2007, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
called on all agencies and programmes to “go green” and become climate neutral. See how far we’ve come at the new Greening the Blue website.
“Twenty years ago, when I first came here climbing, there was no lake at the bottom of Mt. Imja Tse,” he says. But there is now. Runoff from a melting glacier has created a body of water over one kilometre wide in less than 16 years.
One of many examples of climate change in Nepal, the country also struggles with major energy shortages that leave much of the country without electricity for long stretches of time.
“Nepal is a country with abundant energy potential yet most people still live without power for 50% of the day. This just didn't make sense to me so I felt we needed to demonstrate that there were alternatives,” said Ragan.
In an effort to shrink its carbon footprint and become less reliant on the national energy grid, the Kathmandu office launched an ambitious project to cut greenhouse emissions by 30% using solar energy. This will eliminate at least 25 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year and will ultimately pay for itself through reduced electricity costs.
The project got off the ground in late May with the installation of a 10 kilowatt peak grid-interactive power system and stand-alone solar-powered security lights. This alone will power the office’s server room, satellite and telephone communication systems, and 11 computers, saving around 30,000 watt-hours per day.
The second phase, to be completed by mid-August, will raise the peak to 22 kilowatts, providing enough solar energy to power all of the lights, computers and printers for more than 80 staff. At this point, WFP Nepal will be able to do without its generator all together in addition to the 11,000 litres of fuel it consumes ever year.
The system is being installed by Solar Solutions Nepal, whose managing Director Raj Thapa said it was the “biggest urban grid-interactive project in the country”.
Reducing our footprint
In order to meet the UN-wide goal of climate neutrality, WFP has launched a wide range of initiatives intended to reduce our carbon footprint and protect the environment in the countries where we work. Here are a few examples:
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Huffington Post released an article today that looks at the impact of sewage overflow from Superstorm Sandy in New York and New Jersey. The article points out how storm surge will result in overflow events and how rising sea levels will only exacerbate these events resulting in more severe discharges.
The 11 billion gallons of untreated or partially treated sewage spilled due to storm surge in New York and New Jersey must be seen as a warning for all coastal cities. We must consider this warning as we rebuild Miami-Dade’s sewage system. As sea levels rise storm surges will increase in intensity and frequency. Miami-Dade’s facilities must be built to withstand these storm surges to avoid the kind of spills seen in the northeast.
“Princeton, N.J.-based Climate Central said that future sewage leaks are a major risk because rising sea levels can make coastal flooding more severe…The collective overflows – almost all in New York and New Jersey and due to storm surges – would be enough to cover New York City’s Central Park with a pile of sewage 41 feet high, Climate Central said.”
Read More Here:
Sandy Sewage Report: 11 Billion Gallons Of Untreated or Partially Treated Waste Was Released. www.huffingtonpost.org
On April 9, 2013 Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper, along with 131 other organizations, undersigned a letter to the United States Senate urging them to oppose advancing the Water Resources Development Act of 2013 (S. 601). This letter, put together by the Water Protection Network, points out significant problems in this bill:
“Particularly troubling are the streamlining provisions (Sections 2033 and 2032) which will force agency staff to make uninformed decisions, to rubber stamp unacceptable projects, and prioritize deadline compliance over effective review. They do this by:
Requiring the Corps of Engineers to carry out the shortest review possible; Establishing arbitrary and unreasonably short deadlines for the public and resource agencies to comment;
Establishing arbitrary deadlines for resource agency decisions and recommendations;
Allowing the Corps to elevate multiple technical and substantive disagreements all the way to the President; and
Directing the Corps to impose multiple and ongoing fines on resource agencies that miss deadlines or disagree with the Corps on issues fully within the expertise of the resource agencies.
These provisions also could give the Corps control over reviews that are clearly outside of its jurisdiction, including consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, review under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and reviews under laws governing activities in coastal areas and public lands.
Additionally, the bill threatens to exacerbate our nation’s fiscal deficits by rolling back long- established cost-sharing rules and expanding federal responsibilities into areas that have been the financial responsibility of non-federal project sponsors. If enacted as reported, the bill will result in overspending, overcapacity, and substantial and unnecessary damage to the nation’s major estuaries and harbors. Title VIII of the bill would immediately more than double spending on harbor maintenance without assurance of the cost-effectiveness or true need for the dredging. In addition, the Title eliminates the current 50 percent non-federal cost share for maintaining deep draft harbors from 45 to 50 feet of depth, making these costs 100 percent federal responsibility. The provision also makes dredging and maintenance of all approach channels to berths along federal navigation channels and all upland confined disposal of contaminated dredged sediments a 100 percent federal responsibility, rather than the current 100 percent non-federal responsibility. No one has ever even estimated the costs of such an expansion. This would likely cause increases in dredging of contaminated areas that otherwise never would have been contemplated, increasing toxic releases into the nation’s bays and estuaries. We strongly urge rejection of this title as representing a major setback for the nation’s water policy that will be both environmentally-damaging and represents an improper shift of spending and water project responsibility to the taxpayers.”
For more information on the 2013 WRDA see: http://www.waterprotectionnetwork.org/sitepages/downloads/WRDA_2013_NWF_Memo_EPW_Committee_3-18-13_Final.pdf
It is difficult to consider ourselves surrounded by nature in Miami, FL. In the city, on the interstate, or in the supermarket it is easy to think of ourselves removed from the nature of Muir’s Yosemite or Thoreau’s Walden pond. An essay called “Thirteen Ways of Seeing Nature” by Jenny Price, suggests that we reconsider how we think about nature in our city. She writes about nature in L.A., but her message applies to all cities.
Miami is confronted with a decrepit sewage system and the problems that this system is causing for the health of our environment. Our connection to nature is real whether we recognize it or not. We must consider difficult questions like “how are we connected to the nature around us?”, “how do we affect the health of the nature around us?”, and “how do we depend on the nature around us?”. As we move into a future full of challenges like Climate Change these questions are going to become more and more important.
I would encourage everyone to read this article by Jenny Price:
As Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper reflects on a successful clean-up this past week-end, it seems appropriate to consider another clean-up that happened two weeks ago.
On Sunday, March 3rd, Sean Bignami, was jogging on Virginia Key and came across an enormous pile of trash left over from the 9 mile music festival the night before.
Sean spoke with staff who where standing around the festival site who said they could not pick up the trash because the wind was blowing it around. Sean took pictures and videos of the scene with his phone and posted them online along with a request that people join him the next day to help clean up the area.
Four graduate students joined Sean the following morning and picked up enough trash to fill 25 garbage bags!
Sean was unable to get a satisfactory response from the festival supervisor or the Miami parks department regarding accountability for this trash or penalties for the negligence on the part of the festival organizers.
The systems in place that are designed to prevent the festival from leaving piles of trash failed, and it is unclear if the festival will be held accountable. Regardless of this failure, the immediate response from concerned residents must be seen as a message to institutions who ignore the sanctity of our Bay. Biscayne Bay is home to concerned stewards, like Sean Bignami, who will not stand quietly while polluters leave trash on our shores.
Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper wishes to celebrate the stewardship shown in this story. Thank you Sean, and all who came out to help clean up after the 9 mile festival left their trash to be blown into the Bay!
See the article Miami Newtimes blog posted about this story here:
On Sunday, March 17, 2013, Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper and Sierra Club put on a clean-up at Peacock Park in the Grove. Volunteers paddled nearby waters and gathered a huge amount of trash. Thank you to the stewards of Biscayne Bay who volunteered their time to put a dent in the amount of trash in our waters.
Thank you for a successful clean-up!
There is plenty of trash to pick up in Biscayne Bay.
Join Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper and the Sierra Club this Sunday, March 17th, for a paddle clean up at Peacock Park in the Grove (2820 Mcfarland Road, Miami, FL 33133). The clean up will start at 9 am and end at 2 pm. We will launch next to the boardwalk. Please bring your own gloves and trash bags. The Sierra club has a limited number of canoes, so we are encouraging attendees to bring their own kayaks, canoes, or paddle boards. If you do not have a boat, please contact Mark at Sierra Club to reserve a canoe. (contact Mark with any questions: email@example.com/ 305 632 7514)
(Miami, February 28, 2013) - Samples of beach water collected at Dog Beach on Virginia Key did not meet the recreational water quality standard for enterococci. By state regulation, the Florida Department of Health is required to issue an advisory to inform the public in a specific area when this standard is not met.
An advisory for Dog Beach on Virginia Key has been issued because two consecutive samples collected at the beach exceeded the federal and State recommended standard for enterococci (greater than 104 colony forming units per 100ml for a single sample).
Additional beach water samples at the Dog Beach on Virginia Key have been collected and further results are pending.
The advisory issued recommends not swimming at this location at this time. The results of the sampling indicate that water contact may pose an increased risk of illness, particularly for susceptible individuals.
The Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County has been conducting marine beach water quality monitoring at 17 sites, including Dog Beach on Virginia Key, weekly since August 2002, through the Florida Healthy Beaches Program. The sampling sites are selected based on the frequency and intensity of recreational water use and the proximity to pollution sources. The water samples are being analyzed for enteric bacteria enterococci that normally inhabit the intestinal track of humans and animals, and which may cause human disease, infections, or illness. The prevalence of enteric bacteria is an indicator of fecal pollution, which may come from storm water run-off, wildlife, pets and human sewage. The purpose of the Florida Healthy Beaches program is to determine whether Florida has significant beach water quality concerns.
For more information please visit the Florida Healthy Beaches Program Website: http://www.doh.state.fl.us and Select “Beach Water Quality”, from the A-Z Topics List.
We just posted the second edition of the Paddle Out Guide. We are excited to be able to provide you with this updated material. Keep this guide close to your kayak or canoe as an aid in your exploration of our beautiful Biscayne Bay. We have posted the guide below for your convenience, but you can always find the Paddle Out Guide at bbwk.org/paddle-out. Go out and enjoy our Bay!
Thank you Julie for speaking at the Grassroots festival on behalf of BBWK
Thank you to everyone who came out to see Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper (BBWK) speak at the Sustainability Fair this weekend at the Grassroots festival!
Julie Dick, a BBWK representative, spoke about our current projects and initiatives, helping connect the festival to some of the issues that face the Bay that surrounded the event.
BBWK was invited to speak alongside the Center for Biological Diversity, Surfrider Miami, and the United States Green Building Council Florida Chapter. We are honored to have shared the stage with such great organizations.
Thousands of people attended the festival, many of whom camped along the water. We are happy such a festive event took place amidst the beauty of our Bay.
Virginia Key and Key Biscayne are barrier islands which are, by their nature, exposed to the elements.
On February 15, 2013 the Village of Key Biscayne sent Carlos Gimenez, Mayor of Miami, a letter asking Miami-Dade County to take another look at the plans to improve the central wastewater treatment plant located on Virginia Key. Key Biscayne is concerned that the plans do not adequately consider the impacts of climate change, such as increased sea levels and stronger storm surges, and do not include funding for flood mitigation. Considering Virginia Key is a barrier island, and therefor more vulnerable to weather and flooding, makes these oversights in planning for a wastewater treatment plant on this Key particularly alarming.
Key Biscayne supports the County’s immediate plans to address Clean Water Act outflow violations, deteriorated conditions at the Virginia Key facility, and of sewer lines identified as being at risk of rupturing, including the 54 inch under-bay line from Miami Beach to Fisher Island to Virginia Key. At the same time, the Village of Key Biscayne, situated just south of Virginia Key, is relying on the County to protect their natural environment. As long as infrastructure improvement plans do not address these long-term issues the residents of the adjacent island community of Key Biscayne will be understandably concerned for their quality of life. Key Biscayne is already plagued by foul odors from the central wastewater facility and occasional sewage spills.
Community voices like key Biscayne, calling for better sewage infrastructure, are the impetus for Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper’s legal initiatives for this issue. If the County will not address the concerns of local residential and business communities, or the needs of our fragile natural resources, then legal action may be the only way we can ensure that the County properly address these issues.
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13 Solar Companies awarded DOE funds for Concentrating Solar Power
DOE announced today that it has awarded $62 million in grants to various research projects to develop specific aspects involving development of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems to improve and accelerate solar technology. This five year program will study the feasibility of creating utility-scale solar power plants capable of operating 18 hours a day, which is the only way solar will ever be able to replace traditional coal-fired energy stations. The projects range from exploring ways to collect solar energy after the sun sets to developing thermal storage systems to trap solar energy in molten salt.
Thirteen different companies have been selected to receive grants. Six are located in California - Solar, Inc. ($10.8M), Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne ($10.2M), General Atomics ($2.1M), SENER Engineering and Systems Inc. ($3.1M), SunTrough Energy, Inc. ($4.5M) and Terrafore, Inc. ($1.4M). Other companies receiving research funding include SkyFuel, Inc. in New Mexico ($4.3M), Abengoa Solar, Inc. in Colorado ($10.6M), PPG Industries, Inc in Pennsylvania ($3M), Infinia Corporation in Washington ($3M) and HiTech Services, Inc. in Alabama ($3M). DOE Secretary Steven Chu believes the programs will "create new jobs and pave the way towards a clean-energy future."
More on Concentrating Solar Power:
Stirling Engine Concentrating Solar Power plant uses new Suncatcher System
Gossamer Solar Troughs for Concentrated Solar Power offer better performance and lower cost
Amonix concentrating solar PV cells achieve 39% efficiency
Utility solar plant uses molten salt for heat storage
Stirling Energy Systems intros new Suncatcher Concentrating Solar Power System using Stirling Engine
Patriot Solar Group concentrated solar thermal and PV
image credit: Geri Kodey (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
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[
"climate"
] |
{
"climate": [
"renewable energy"
],
"nature": []
}
|
{
"strong": 1,
"weak": 0,
"total": 1,
"decision": "accepted_strong"
}
|