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Raven Plans to Build Biorefinery to Produce Cellulosic Ethanol From Wood Waste
Raven Biofuels International Corporation plans to build a cellulosic ethanol Biorefinery in Washington State, using a two stage diluted acid hydrolysis. The plant will convert 500 tons per day of wood waste, such as construction and demolition wood or wood chips, and is planned to have a production capacity of almost 11 million gallon per year of ethanol and specialty chemicals (furfural and its derivatives).
The proprietary technology has been developed during the past 10 years and has its origins with the Tennessee Valley Authority, who have been extensively involved in testing programs. Pure Energy Corporation has further developed the technology and protected key elements through patents spending over $20 Million during development. (Raven and Pure Energy have announced their intention to merge on March 13, 2008.)
John Sams, Chief Operating Officer of Raven explains, "The technology is based on simple and proven pulp and paper mill technology, used in the industry for many years successfully. This reduces the risk of commercial deployment and will facilitate a fast roll out of multiple sites in North America."
Raven has chosen Washington State for its substantial availability of feedstock. Both demolition and construction wood and wood waste are available. Moreover, the region is known for its pulp and paper industry. We plan to engage engineering and construction firms that have experience designing and constructing plants using similar technologies.
Recently Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington State has proposed greater investment by the state in the biofuel industry, calling it "the largest industry of the 21st century and one Washington is well positioned to lead."
The investment in this plant is projected to be $30 Million and construction is expected to take approximately 14 months. Our biorefineries will be financed by equity infusion from Raven and its partners and project finance debt from reputable industry lenders. We assume a project debt financing of $20 Million per plant. The company will likely be eligible to receive additional financial support from grants, loan guarantees, and subsidies from the various programs at the state and federal level.
Revenues of this plant are estimated to be $35 Million when in full production. The payback period is projected to be just over three years from the start of production.
Raven Biofuels International Corporation intends to become a global renewable energy company whose principal focus is converting waste biomass in the low cost production of cellulosic ethanol, and derivative chemicals.
Source: Raven Biofuels International Corp. Press Release
Website: www.ravenbiofuelsinternational.com
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Nanowires May Boost Solar Cell Efficiency
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Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of n-type InP nanowire growth on indium tin oxide (ITO) taken at a 45 degree tilt with scale bar of 500 nanometers. Photo credit: UC San Diego
San Diego, CA, -- University of California, San Diego electrical engineers have created experimental solar cells spiked with nanowires that could lead to highly efficient thin-film solar cells of the future.
Indium phosphide (InP) nanowires can serve as electron superhighways that carry electrons kicked loose by photons of light directly to the device’s electron-attracting electrode – and this scenario could boost thin-film solar cell efficiency, according to research recently published in NanoLetters.
The new design increases the number of electrons that make it from the light-absorbing polymer to an electrode. By reducing electron-hole recombination, the UC San Diego engineers have demonstrated a way to increases the efficiency with which sunlight can be converted to electricity in thin-film photovoltaics.
Including nanowires in the experimental solar cell increased the “forward bias current” – which is a measure of electrical current – by six to seven orders of magnitude as compared to their polymer-only control device, the engineers found.
The online journal NanoLetters published this new work on polymer/nanowire hybrid photovoltaics in February 2008.
“If you provide electrons with a defined pathway to the electrode, you can reduce some of the inefficiencies that currently plague thin-film solar cells made from polymer mixtures. More efficient transport of electrons and holes – collectively known as carriers – is critical for creating more efficient solar cells,” said Clint Novotny the first author of the NanoLetters paper, and a recent electrical engineering Ph.D. from UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering. Novotny is now working on solar technologies at BAE Systems.
Simplified Nanowire Growth
The engineers devised a way to grow nanowires directly on the electrode. This advance allowed them to create the electron superhighways that deliver electrons from the polymer-nanowire interface directly to an electrode.
“If nanowires are going to be used massively in photovoltaic devices, then the growth mechanism of nanowires on arbitrary metallic surfaces is an issue of great importance,” said co-author Paul Yu, a professor of electrical engineering at UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering. “We contributed one approach to growing nanowires directly on metal.”
The UCSD electrical engineers grew their InP nanowires on the metal electrode – indium tin oxide (ITO) – and then covered the nanowire-electrode platform in the organic polymer, P3HT, also known as poly(3-hexylthiophene). The researchers say they were the first group to publish work demonstrating growth of nanowires directly on metal electrodes without using specially prepared substrates such as gold nanodrops.
“Just a layer of metal can work. In this paper we used ITO, but you can use other metals, including aluminum,” said Paul Yu.
Growing nanowires directly on untreated electrodes is an important step toward the goal of growing nanowires on cheap metal substrates that could serve as foundations for next-generation photovoltaics that conform to the curved surfaces like rooftops, cars or other supporting structures, the engineers say.
“By growing nanowires directly on an untreated electrode surface, you can start thinking about incorporating millions or billions of nanowires in a single device. I think this is where the field is eventually going to end up,” said Novotny. “But I think we are at least a decade away from this becoming a mainstream technology.”
Polymer Solar Cells and Nanowires Meet
As in more traditional organic polymer thin-film solar cells, the polymer material in the experimental system absorbs photons of light. To convert this energy to electricity, each photon-absorbing electron must split apart from its hole companion at the interface of the polymer and the nanowire – a region known as the p-n junction.
Once the electron and hole split, the electron travels down the nanowire – the electron superhighway – and merges seamlessly with the electron-capturing electrode. This rapid shuttling of electrons from the p-n junction to the electrode could serve to make future photovoltaic devices made with polymers more efficient.
“In effect, we used nanowires to extend an electrode into the polymer material,” said co-author Edward Yu, a professor of electrical engineering at UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering.
While the electrons travel down the nanowires in one direction, the holes travel along the nanowires in the opposite direction – until the nanowire dead ends. At this point, the holes are forced to travel through a thin polymer layer before reaching their electrode.
Today’s thin-film polymer photovoltaics do not provide freed electrons with a direct path from the p-n junction to the electrode – a situation which increases recombination between holes and electrons and reduces efficiency in converting sunlight to electricity. In many of today’s polymer photovoltaics, interfaces between two different polymers serve as the p-n junction. Some experimental photovoltaic designs do include nanowires or carbon nanotubes, but these wires and tubes are not electrically connected to an electrode. Thus, they do not minimize electron-hole recombination by providing electrons with a direct path from the p-n junction to the electrode the way the new UCSD design does.
Before these kinds of electron superhighways can be incorporated into photovoltaic devices, a series of technical hurdles must be addressed – including the issue of polymer degradation. “The polymers degrade quickly when exposed to air. Researchers around the world are working to improve the properties of organic polymers,” said Paul Yu.
As it was a proof-of-concept project, the UCSD engineers did not measure how efficiently the device converted sunlight to electricity. This explains, in part, why the authors refer to the device in their NanoLetters paper as a “photodiode” rather than a “photovoltaic.”
Having a more efficient method for getting electrons to their electrode means that researchers can make thin-film polymer solar cells that are a little bit thicker, and this could increase the amount of sunlight that the devices absorb.
Paper title: "InP Nanowire/Polymer Hybrid Photodiode" by Clint J. Novotny, Edward T. Yu, and Paul K. Y. Yu from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego. Published on the NanoLetters Web site on 02/12/2008
This project is one of the ways UCSD's Jacobs School of Engineering is addressing the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenge of "Make Solar Energy Economical". Learn more about how UCSD is addressing the NAE Grand Challenges.
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Record Efficiency Makes Thin-Film Photovoltaic Solar Cell Competitive with Silicon Solar Cell
Photovoltaic Energy: What is it?
PV energy is the science of converting light into electrical energy
March 24, 2008-Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have moved closer to creating a thin-film solar cell that can compete with the efficiency of the more common silicon-based solar cell.
The copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cell recently reached 19.9 percent efficiency, setting a new world record for this type of cell. Multicrystalline silicon-based solar cells have shown efficiencies as high as 20.3 percent. The energy conversion efficiency of a solar cell is the percentage of sunlight converted by the cell into electricity.
“This is an important milestone,” said NREL Senior Scientist Miguel Contreras. “The thin film people have always looked for matching silicon in performance, and we are reaching that goal.”
CIGS cells use extremely thin layers of semiconductor material applied to a low-cost backing such as glass, flexible metallic foils, high-temperature polymers or stainless steel sheets. Thin-film cells require less energy to make and can be fabricated by a variety of processes. Because of this, they provide a promising path for providing more affordable solar cells for residential and other uses. The CIGS cells are of interest for space applications and the portable electronics market because of their light weight. They are also suitable in special architectural uses, such as photovoltaic roof shingles, windows, siding and others.
Researchers were able to set the world record because of improvements in the quality of the material applied during the manufacturing process, boosting the power output from the cell, Contreras said.
Members of the record-setting team at the National Center for Photovoltaics include Contreras, Ingrid Repins, Brian Egaas, John Scharf, Clay DeHart and Raghu Bhattacharya.
NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle.
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Spanish Company Abengoa Solar to Build the World’s Largest Solar Plant in Arizona
--The plant will use a proprietary Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) trough technology developed by Abengoa Solar--
--280-Megawatt plant will produce around $4 billion in clean electricity over 30 years--
Madrid, 21 February 2008-Abengoa Solar, a subsidiary of a multi-billion-dollar international technology company, has signed a contract with Arizona Public Service Co. (APS), one of Arizona’s leading energy utilities, to build, own and operate what would be the largest solar power plant in the world if operating today.
The plant, scheduled to go into operation by 2011, is located 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, near Gila Bend, Arizona. It will sell the electricity produced to APS over the next 30 years for a total revenue of around $4 billion, bringing over $1 billion in economic benefits to the state of Arizona.
The solar plant has been named Solana, meaning “a sunny place” in Spanish. The Solana Generating Station will have a total capacity of 280 megawatts, enough to power 70,000 homes while avoiding over 400,000 tons of greenhouse gases that would otherwise contribute to global warming and climate change. The plant will employ a proprietary Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) trough technology developed by Abengoa Solar, and will cover a surface of around 1,900 acres. The construction of the Solana Generating Station will create about 1,500 construction jobs and employ 85 skilled full-time workers once completed.
The solar trough technology uses trackers with high precision parabolic mirrors that follow the sun’s path and concentrate its energy, heating a fluid to over 700 degrees Fahrenheit and using that heat to turn steam turbines. The solar plant will also include a thermal energy storage system that allows for electricity to be produced as required, even after the sun has set. For a complete briefing on Abengoa Solar’s solar trough technology, please visit their website at www.abengoasolar.com .
With this project, Abengoa Solar reinforces its presence in the United States, where it has been building and operating solar plants that supply industrial steam and heat. Abengoa Solar's objective is to build and operate large solar plants that will supply gigawatts of electric power across the Southwest in collaboration with the leading utility companies.
Abengoa Solar is currently operating the world’s first commercial CSP solar tower plant in Spain, a demonstration trough plant and the world´s first commercial photovoltaic low concentration plant. It is also building three more CSP plants in Spain with a total capacity of 120-megawatts, two trough plants that will generate 50-megawatts of electricity each, one tower plant with a capacity of 20-megawats and two hybrid gas-solar plants in Algeria and Morocco. A subsidiary of Abengoa, a $4 billion multinational company, Abengoa Solar has access to the financial, technical and human resources required to finance, build and operate these large plants.
Abengoa Solar has a team of 40 people in the United States and Spain dedicated to researching, developing and improving solar technologies. In December 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy selected Abengoa Solar for three research and developments projects to improve trough technology.
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano praised the joint efforts of Abengoa Solar and APS. “This is a major milestone for Arizona in our efforts to increase the amount of renewable energy available in the United States,” the Governor said. “Arizona is leading the way in protecting our world for future generations through increasing the amount of renewable energy, combating climate change, fighting for air quality and much more. This plant will offer Arizonans a clean and efficient source of energy.”
"APS has signed this agreement with Abengoa Solar because of its experience developing and building large solar plants in Spain, Morocco and Algeria,” said APS President Don Brandt.
Santiago Seage, CEO of Abengoa Solar, said, "This project not only shows leadership in Arizona and the southwest, but for America. This project will help usher in a new era of large clean and efficient solar power plants. Our commitment to solar energy is global and we will work with utilities, regulators and companies worldwide to make plants like this happen by leveraging the technologies we have been developing over two decades. We continue to advance these technologies in our research and development centers in Europe and the United States.”
“This project is one of the most significant on the planet and it could not have happened without the vision and leadership of APS and its senior management,” said Kate Maracas, Vice President of Arizona Operations for Abengoa Solar. “Seldom have we worked with a partner so committed to the future of solar energy and to bringing clean sources of power generation to its customers. We applaud APS for leading the way in bringing long term benefits to Arizona’s environment and economy.”
The construction of this solar plant and others under contract in the U.S. are subject to a long-term extension of the solar investment tax credit by the U.S. Congress.
About Abengoa Solar
Abengoa Solar (www.abengoasolar.com) develops and applies technologies to generate clean energy from the sun. Abengoa is a technological company that applies innovative solutions to sustainable development in the infrastructures, environment and energy sectors. It is a public listed company and it currently has a presence in more than 70 countries in which it operates with its five business groups: Solar, Bioenergy, Environmental Services, Information Technologies, and Industrial Construction and Engineering (www.abengoa.com).
About APS
APS, Arizona’s largest and longest-serving electricity utility, serves about 1.1 million customers in 11 of the state’s 15 counties. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the largest subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp.
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Solar America Initiative (SAI) - Mission and Approach
Mission
The mission of the Solar America Initiative is to help lower the cost of solar electricity so that it is cost-competitive across all U.S. market sectors. The Solar America Initiative is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) effort to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity by 2015. The Solar America Initiative ensures domestic production of solar technologies. Decentralized energy supplies such as photovoltaics (PV), diversifies the nation's electricity portfolio, enhances grid reliability, and reduces the impact of a failure of the U.S. centralized electricity infrastructure. The Solar America Initiative also brings significant environmental gains and reduced water consumption by avoiding fossil fuel, nuclear, and natural gas generation.
DOE announced in November 2007 that it will invest $21.7 million in researching the next generation of photovoltaic (PV) solar cell technology. DOE selected a total of 25 research projects, led by 15 universities and 6 companies, to receive an average of $900,000 over the next three years. The research projects will employ nanotechnologies, dyes, organic solar cells, multiple-layer solar cells, and unique manufacturing techniques in their attempts to create the next generation of solar cells. By 2015, the effort is expected to yield prototype cells and processes, which may be available for commercialization shortly thereafter.
By 2015, photovoltaics will:
-Provide 5-10 gigawatts of new electric capacity (enough to power 1-2 million homes) to the U.S. grid
-Avoid 10 million metric tons per year of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
-Employ 30,000 new workers in the PV industry.
Approach:
The Solar America Initiative is a two-pronged approach emphasizing the following activities:
-Research and development (R&D) in material sciences and solar manufacturing processes
-Market transformation to remove barriers to the acceptance of new solar technologies in the marketplace.
Solar America Initiative Partners include:
-The solar industry
-National laboratories
-Universities
-Federal, state, and city governments
-Non-governmental agencies
-Solar advocacy groups.
National laboratories of the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) continue to provide needed R&D. They will serve in key technical roles in areas such as measurements and characterization, reliability R&D, and systems integration.
The Solar America Initiative's approach represents a fundamental shift in how the DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Program does business. Previously, DOE emphasized solar energy R&D, with a goal of expanding impact through improved component performance. The Solar America Initiative emphasizes industry partnerships and alliances to accelerate market-ready photovoltaics using aggressive cost goals, down-selects, and a new focus on eliminating manufacturing, production, and non-technical marketplace barriers.
Accomplishments
The tables below summarize key accomplishments for the Solar America initiative for research and development and market transformation activities.
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Key R&D Accomplishments |
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Technology Area |
Accomplishments |
Date |
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Systems Development |
Awarded $340 million in cost-shared industry-led R&D projects for PV systems development and manufacturing. |
March 2007 |
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New Devices and Processes |
Completed solicitations for new photovoltaics (PV) device concepts and university support to industry process/product development. |
June 2007 |
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New Module Development |
Awarded next set of cost-shared projects to incubate PV module prototype development and pilot manufacturing demonstrations. |
June 2007 |
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Supply-Chain Development |
Formulated a program to fund development and optimization of the upstream PV supply chain, including new feedstock materials, module-packaging solutions, and PV manufacturing tools standardization and accelerated delivery times. |
July 2007 |
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PV-Grid Integration |
Developed concepts for a set of activities to address grid reliability and economic issues associated with PV market penetration above 5%-10% of served load on grid distribution systems. |
July 2007 |
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Technology Roadmap |
Released technology roadmaps for each major PV material system and processing approach that will be used to coordinate R&D among industry, universities, and national laboratories. Roadmaps will be reviewed on a biannual basis. |
July 2007 |
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Key Market Transformation Accomplishments |
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Market Area |
Accomplishments |
Date |
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National |
Funded the development of the Solar America Board of Codes and Standards to address national and international code issues. Initiated a study to map out scenarios for wide-scale market penetration of PV in U.S. electricity markets. |
March 2007 |
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States |
Engaged key state and utility organizations to help create rebate programs, as well as favorable regulatory frameworks such as net metering and improved interconnection agreements with utilities. |
March 2007 |
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Cities |
Awarded 13 Solar America Cities that DOE will help to develop local markets for PV installations. |
July 2007 |
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Industry |
Working with the Solar Energy Industry Association to create a new PV industry roadmap that will cover projections for supply/demand, cost/pricing, product standards, areas for collaboration between companies, and policy needs. |
July 2007 |
Source: SAI
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Energy Efficiency Goals Targeted and Achieved by Communities
e-published on MedicineandBiotech.com Jan 1st, 2007
1. Italian town of Varese runs on 100% renewable energy
Varese residents can easily boast of picturesque locales, pasta and siestas in their daily living, they also have their town running on 100% Renewable Power. The town in question is Varese, situated in Northern Italy. The town uses a mix of wind, solar and small-scale hydropower. As a result, the town has reaped benefits from the energy network through added jobs, and an additional 350,000 euros ($514,000) in tax revenues. Their efforts have even boosted tourism with six-times the tourists coming over to discover the renewable path chosen by the township. Varese even boasts of becoming the first municipality (six years ago) in Europe to get 100% of its power from renewable energy sources. It now generates three times more electricity than the people living in Varese need and there are plans in the pipeline for even more renewable. Four wind turbines located on a ridge 1100 meters above sea level generate 8 million kWh of electricity a year that is fed into the local grid managed by Acam, a power company in La Spezia.
A total of 108 organic farms supply 98% of the town's food; water is purified using environmentally friendly technology, and waste has been significantly reduced. The town's swimming pool is heated by solar power and a program to promote the use of wood pellet stoves is in the works.
In 2006, pledged to be Carbon NetZero by December 2007. Since then, COA students, staff and faculty have calculated the college's greenhouse gas emissions and researched ways to reduce, avoid and offset these emissions. As of Dec. 19, 2007, COA has offset the entirety of its carbon output over the past 15 months-2,488 tons-by investing in a greenhouse gas reduction project operated by The Climate Trust of Oregon.
The college also reduced its projected annual greenhouse gas emissions by obtaining all of its electricity through a low-impact hydroelectric generator in Maine. Next year's emissions offset will thus be reduced by 22 percent, or about 450 tons.
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the Nobel-prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, praised COA's initiative: "College of the Atlantic's NetZero carbon emissions plan is scientifically sound, simple to understand and straightforward to implement. It just requires a commitment to a sustainable future, and I am very proud of the trustees and the college for their leadership in setting such a strong example. Perhaps the most important aspect of this achievement is that it can be matched by any other institution in the world."
3. San Francisco Bay Area’s Solar Energy Goals
Cities in the San Francisco bay area are working diligently to maintain their lead in implementing energy efficient standards and new technologies. Currently the cities of Berkeley and San Francisco are offering government funded loans and financing for residents to install solar panels. In addition, the residents will also receive tax credit for implementing solar panels. A standard cost for installing a 3 kilowatt, rooftop solar energy system can be up to $24,000.00. With the rebates and refunds offered, the cost can come down to $11,000.00. There is a widespread interest in SF and Berkeley to implement solar energy systems and the goal is to make them mainstream and universal within the next 10 years.
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GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT OUTLOOK: GEO-4 REPORT
Global Press Release
e-published on MedicineandBiotech.com November 1st, 2007
---Planet’s Tougher Problems Persist, UN Report Warns---
Read the Comprehensive Report “Global Environment Outlook GEO4- Environment for Development”
The United Nations Environment Program says that major threats to the planet such as climate change, the rate of extinction of species, and the challenge of feeding a growing population are among the many that remain unresolved, and all of them put humanity at risk. Read more at www.unep.org/geo/geo4/
The warning comes in UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook: environment for development (GEO-4) report published 20 years after the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) produced its seminal report, Our Common Future. GEO-4, the latest in UNEP’s series of flagship reports, assesses the current state of the global atmosphere, land, water and biodiversity, describes the changes since 1987, and identifies priorities for action. GEO-4 is the most comprehensive UN report on the environment, prepared by about 390 experts and reviewed by more than 1 000 others across the world.
It salutes the world’s progress in tackling some relatively straightforward problems, with the environment now much closer to mainstream politics everywhere. But despite these advances, there remain the harder-to-manage issues, the “persistent” problems. Here, GEO-4 says: “There are no major issues raised in Our Common Future for which the foreseeable trends are favourable.”
Failure to address these persistent problems, UNEP says, may undo all the achievements so far on the simpler issues, and may threaten humanity’s survival. But it insists: “The objective is not to present a dark and gloomy scenario, but an urgent call for action.”
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: “The international community’s response to the Brundtland Commission has in some cases been courageous and inspiring. But all too often it has been slow and at a pace and scale that fails to respond to or recognize the magnitude of the challenges facing the people and the environment of the planet”.
“Over the past 20 years, the international community has cut, by 95 per cent, the production of ozone-layer damaging chemicals; created a greenhouse gas emission reduction treaty along with innovative carbon trading and carbon offset markets; supported a rise in terrestrial protected areas to cover roughly 12 per cent of the Earth and devised numerous important instruments covering issues from biodiversity and desertification to the trade in hazardous wastes and living modified organisms,” he added.
“But, as GEO-4 points out, there continue to be ‘persistent’ and intractable problems unresolved and unaddressed. Past issues remain and new ones are emerging—from the rapid rise of oxygen ‘dead zones’ in the oceans to the resurgence of new and old diseases linked in part with environmental degradation. Meanwhile, institutions like UNEP, established to counter the root causes, remain under-resourced and weak,” said Mr Steiner.
On climate change the report says the threat is now so urgent that large cuts in greenhouse gases by mid-century are needed. Negotiations are due to start in December on a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, the international climate agreement which obligates countries to control anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Although it exempts all developing countries from emission reduction committments, there is growing pressure for some rapidly-industrializing countries, now substantial emitters themselves, to agree to emission reductions.
GEO-4 also warns that we are living far beyond our means. The human population is now so large that “the amount of resources needed to sustain it exceeds what is available... humanity’s footprint [its environmental demand] is 21.9 hectares per person while the Earth’s biological capacity is, on average, only 15.7 ha/person....”
And it says the well-being of billions of people in the developing world is at risk, because of a failure to remedy the relatively simple problems which have been successfully tackled elsewhere.
GEO-4 recalls the Brundtland Commission’s statement that the world does not face separate crises - the “environmental crisis”, “development crisis”, and “energy crisis” are all one. This crisis includes not just climate change, extinction rates and hunger, but other problems driven by growing human numbers, the rising consumption of the rich and the desperation of the poor.
Examples are:
• decline of fish stocks;
• loss of fertile land through degradation;
• unsustainable pressure on resources;
• dwindling amount of fresh water available for humans and other creatures to share; and
• risk that environmental damage could pass unknown points of no return.
GEO-4 says climate change is a “global priority”, demanding political will and leadership. Yet it finds “a remarkable lack of urgency”, and a “woefully inadequate” global response.
Several highly-polluting countries have refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. GEO-4 says: “... some industrial sectors that were unfavourable to the... Protocol managed successfully to undermine the political will to ratify it.” It says: “Fundamental changes in social and economic structures, including lifestyle changes, are crucial if rapid progress is to be achieved.”
Among the other critical points it identifies are:
Water: Irrigation already takes about 70 per cent of available water, yet meeting the Millennium Development Goal on hunger will mean doubling food production by 2050. Fresh water is declining: by 2025, water use is predicted to have risen by 50 per cent in developing countries and by 18 per cent in the developed world. GEO-4 says: “The escalating burden of water demand will become intolerable in water-scarce countries.”
Water quality is declining too, polluted by microbial pathogens and excessive nutrients. Globally, contaminated water remains the greatest single cause of human disease and death.
Fish: Consumption more than tripled from 1961 to 2001. Catches have stagnated or slowly declined since the 1980s. Subsidies have created excess fishing capacity, estimated at 250 per cent more than is needed to catch the oceans’ sustainable
production.
Biodiversity: Current biodiversity changes are the fastest in human history. Species are becoming extinct a hundred times faster than the rate shown in the fossil record. The Congo Basin’s bushmeat trade is thought to be six times the sustainable rate. Of the major vertebrate groups that have been assessed comprehensively, over 30 per cent of amphibians, 23 per cent of mammals and 12 per cent of birds are threatened. The intrusion of invasive alien species is a growing problem. The comb jellyfish, accidentally introduced in 1982 by US ships, has taken over the entire marine ecosystem of the Black Sea, and had destroyed 26 commercial fisheries by 1992. A sixth major extinction is under way, this time caused by human behaviour. Yet to meet our growing demand for food will mean either intensified agriculture (using more chemicals, energy and water, and more efficient breeds and crops) or cultivating more land. Either way, biodiversity suffers. One sign of progress is the steady increase in protected areas. But they must be effectively managed and properly enforced. And biodiversity (of all sorts, not just the “charismatic megafauna” like tigers and elephants) will increasingly need conserving
outside protected areas as well.
Regional Pressures: This is the first GEO report in which all seven of the world’s regions emphasize the potential impacts of climate change. In Africa, land degradation and even desertification are threats; per capita food production has declined by 12 per cent since 1981. Unfair agricultural subsidies in developed regions continue to hinder progress towards increasing yields. Priorities for Asia and the Pacific include urban air quality, fresh water stress, degraded ecosystems, agricultural land use and increased waste. Drinking water provision has made remarkable progress in the last decade, but the illegal traffic in electronic and hazardous waste is a new challenge. Europe’s rising incomes and growing numbers of households are leading to unsustainable production and consumption, higher energy use, poor urban air quality, and transport problems. The region’s other priorities are biodiversity loss, land-use change and freshwater stresses.
Latin America and the Caribbean face urban growth, biodiversity threats, coastal damage and marine pollution, and vulnerability to climate change. But protected areas now cover about 12 per cent of the land, and annual deforestation rates in the Amazon are falling. North America is struggling to address climate change, to which energy use, urban sprawl and freshwater stresses are all linked. Energy efficiency gains have been countered by the use of larger vehicles, low fuel economy standards, and increases in car numbers and distances travelled. For West Asia the priorities are freshwater stresses, degradation of land, coasts and marine ecosystems, urban management, and peace and security. Water-borne diseases and the sharing of international water resources are also concerns. The Polar Regions are already feeling the impacts of climate change. The food security and health of indigenous peoples are at risk from increasing mercury and persistent organic pollutants in the environment. The ozone layer is expected to take another half-century to recover.
The Future
GEO-4 acknowledges that technology can help to reduce people’s vulnerability to environmental stresses, but says there is sometimes a need “to correct the technology-centred development paradigm”. It explores how current trends may unfold by 2050 in four scenarios.
The real future will be largely determined by the decisions individuals and society make now, GEO-4 says: “Our common future depends on our actions today, not tomorrow or some time in the future.”
For some of the persistent problems the damage may already be irreversible. GEO-4 warns that tackling the underlying causes of environmental pressures often affects the vested interests of powerful groups able to influence policy decisions. The only way to address these harder problems requires moving the environment from the periphery to the core of decision-making: environment for development, not development to the detriment of environment.
“There have been enough wake-up calls since Brundtland. I sincerely hope GEO-4 is the final one. The systematic destruction of the Earth’s natural and nature-based resources has reached a point where the economic viability of economies is being challenged—and where the bill we hand on to our children may prove impossible to pay,” said Mr Steiner.
The GEO-4 report concludes that “while governments are expected to take the lead, other stakeholders are just as important to ensure success in achieving sustainable development. The need couldn’t be more urgent and the time couldn’t be more opportune, with our enhanced understanding of the challenges we face, to act now to safeguard our own survival and that of future generations.”
Note:
GEO-4 is produced and published by the Division of Early Warning and Assessment of the United Nations Environment Programme. It is available from www.unep.org/geo/geo4/
For more details, please contact:
Global Environment Outlook (GEO) Section
Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA)
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
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Tel: +254-20-7623491 • Fax: +254-20-7623944
Email: geo.head@unep.org • Internet: www.unep.org/geo
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Extinction Crisis Escalates: Red List of Threatened Species™ shows Apes, Corals, Vultures, Dolphins all in Danger
---2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, the World’s Most Authoritative Assessment of the Earth’s Plants and Animals, Acts as a Wake Up Call on the Global Extinction Crisis ---
Video of Threatened Species™ : http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/redlist2007/video_redList2007.wmv
View an interactive map of species case studies by region http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/redlist2007/rl_map_species.htm
October, 2007, World Conservation Union (IUCN) – Life on Earth is disappearing fast and will continue to do so unless urgent action is taken, according to the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
There are now 41,415 species on the IUCN Red List and 16,306 of them are threatened with extinction, up from 16,118 last year. The total number of extinct species has reached 785 and a further 65 are only found in captivity or in cultivation.
One in four mammals, one in eight birds, one third of all amphibians and 70% of the world’s assessed plants on the 2007 IUCN Red List are in jeopardy.
Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), said: “This year’s IUCN Red List shows that the invaluable efforts made so far to protect species are not enough. The rate of biodiversity loss is increasing and we need to act now to significantly reduce it and stave off this global extinction crisis. This can be done, but only with a concerted effort by all levels of society.”
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognized as the most reliable evaluation of the world’s species. It classifies them according to their extinction risk and brings into sharp focus the ongoing decline of the world’s biodiversity and the impact that mankind is having upon life on Earth.
Jane Smart, Head of IUCN’s Species Programme, said: “We need to know the precise status of species in order to take the appropriate action. The IUCN Red List does this by measuring the overall status of biodiversity, the rate at which it is being lost and the causes of decline.
“Our lives are inextricably linked with biodiversity and ultimately its protection is essential for our very survival. As the world begins to respond to the current crisis of biodiversity loss, the information from the IUCN Red List is needed to design and implement effective conservation strategies – for the benefit of people and nature.”
Some highlights from this year’s IUCN Red List:
The decline of the great apes
A reassessment of our closest relatives, the great apes, has revealed a grim picture. The Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) has moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered, after the discovery that the main subspecies, the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), has been decimated by the commercial bushmeat trade and the Ebola virus. Their population has declined by more than 60% over the last 20-25 years, with about one third of the total population found in protected areas killed by the Ebola virus over the last 15 years.
The Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) remains in the Critically Endangered category and the Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) in the Endangered category. Both are threatened by habitat loss due to illegal and legal logging and forest clearance for palm oil plantations. In Borneo, the area planted with oil palms increased from 2,000 km2 to 27,000 km2 between 1984 and 2003, leaving just 86,000 km2 of habitat available to the species throughout the island.
First appearance of corals on the IUCN Red List
Corals have been assessed and added to the IUCN Red List for the very first time. Ten Galápagos species have entered the list, with two in the Critically Endangered category and one in the Vulnerable category. Wellington’s Solitary Coral (Rhizopsammia wellingtoni) has been listed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct). The main threats to these species are the effects of El Niño and climate change.
In addition, 74 seaweeds have been added to the IUCN Red List from the Galápagos Islands. Ten species are listed as Critically Endangered, with six of those highlighted as Possibly Extinct. The cold water species are threatened by climate change and the rise in sea temperature that characterizes El Niño. The seaweeds are also indirectly affected by overfishing, which removes predators from the food chain, resulting in an increase of sea urchins and other herbivores that overgraze these algae.
Yangtze River Dolphin listed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct)
After an intensive, but fruitless, search for the Yangtze River Dolphin, or Baiji, (Lipotes vexillifer) last November and December, it has been listed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct). The dolphin has not been placed in a higher category as further surveys are needed before it can be definitively classified as Extinct. A possible sighting reported in late August 2007 is currently being investigated by Chinese scientists. The main threats to the species include fishing, river traffic, pollution and degradation of habitat.
India and Nepal’s crocodile, the Gharial
Gavialis gangeticus is also facing threats from habitat degradation and has moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered. Its population has recently declined by 58%, from 436 breeding adults in 1997 to just 182 in 2006. Dams, irrigation projects, sand mining and artificial embankments have all encroached on its habitat, reducing its domain to 2% of its former range.
Vulture crisis
This year the total number of birds on the IUCN Red List is 9,956 with 1,217 listed as threatened. Vultures in Africa and Asia have declined, with five species reclassified on the IUCN Red List. In Asia, the Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) moved from Near Threatened to Critically Endangered while the Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) moved from Least Concern to Endangered. The rapid decline in the birds over the last eight years has been driven by the drug diclofenac, used to treat livestock.
In Africa, three species of vulture have been reclassified, including the White-headed Vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis), which moved from Least Concern to Vulnerable, the White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus) and Rüppell’s Griffon (Gyps rueppellii), both moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened. The birds’ decline has been due to a lack of food, with a reduction in wild grazing mammals, habitat loss and collision with power lines. They have also been poisoned by carcasses deliberately laced with insecticide. The bait is intended to kill livestock predators, such as hyenas, jackals and big cats, but it also kills vultures.
North American reptiles added to IUCN Red List
After a major assessment of Mexican and North American reptiles, 723 were added to the IUCN Red List, taking the total to 738 reptiles listed for this region. Of these, 90 are threatened with extinction. Two Mexican freshwater turtles, the Cuatro Cienegas Slider (Trachemys taylori) and the Ornate Slider (Trachemys ornata), are listed as Endangered and Vulnerable respectively. Both face threats from habitat loss. Mexico’s Santa Catalina Island Rattlesnake (Crotalus catalinensis) has also been added to the list as Critically Enda | | | | |
