Climate Change Threatening to Kill Oldest Living Things on the Planet

A seagrass meadow in Florida. Photo courtesy: Heather Dine / NOAA Photo Library/CC BY 2.0

It's survived for possibly hundreds of thousands of years, spreading across the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. But now, what is thought to be the oldest living thing on Earth may be reaching the end of its extended lifespan -- due to climate change.

According to research published earlier this month in PLoS ONE, the journal of the Public Library of Science, the vast meadow of the slow-growing seagrass Posidonia oceanica stretching underwater from Spain to Cyprus (h/t Boing Boing) could be up to 200,000 years old -- dating it back to the time when humans first appeared on the planet.

(The seagrass bed, which spans more than 2,000 miles, is what is known as a "clonal plant colony" and is identified by scientists as one single organism, constantly reproducing by cloning itself.)

Not just important because of its age alone, the Posidonia oceanica meadow, like other seagrass beds, supports "marine ecosystems that rank among the most valuable on earth in terms of biodiversity and production," the researchers wrote. Though the endemic Mediterranean seagrass has no native competitors or major predators, they said, it's not in good shape.

"The seagrass in the Mediterranean is already in clear decline due to shoreline construction and declining water quality and this decline has been exacerbated by climate change," Professor Carlos Duarte, a member of the research team, told The Daily Telegraph. "If climate change continues, the outlook for this species is very bad."

Selenium Contamination Creates Two-Headed Trout and Other Deformities

River winding through a canyon. Photo courtesy: Alan Vernon

A government report released recently has found that selenium contamination from a phosphate mine in Idaho is connected to fish deformities in the area, including two-headed trout. And, the problem will worsen if water quality standards are relaxed as the company is requesting.

From Reuters/Scientific American:

The findings come as Smoky Canyon Mine is asking the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to relax restrictions on the amount of selenium the mine is allowed to drain into tributaries of the Snake River. The Smoky Canyon Mine is run by the J.R. Simplot Company near the Wyoming border.

Simplot is one of the nation's largest privately-held companies with annual sales of about $4.5 billion. Obviously, the company wields considerable clout in its home state.

Environmentalists' concerns about selenium, an element released as a byproduct of the mining operation, prompted a U.S. Senate panel to ask contaminant specialists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to evaluate whether Simplot's request would harm wild trout and other species.

Two-headed fish fry. Photo courtesy: Alternet

Yet Simplot argues the effects seen in fish are just one piece of a complex puzzle, and stands behind its proposal to relax the water quality standards. AP explains what's at stake in the decision both for Simplot and for opponents of the proposed new standards:

For Simplot, working with rules allowing for higher levels of selenium than currently allowed could save time and money devoted to cleanup and future monitoring.

For environmentalists, a change in standard could open the door to legal challenges or other mining companies seeking the same change in a region already impaired by decades of mining. And at least one federal agency has already weighed in, raising concerns about Simplot's research and claims the company is underestimating the potential impacts any change could have on fish.

Simplot doesn't deny that the selenium contamination has some effects—the company hired toxicologists to test selenium exposure and found that many developing brown trout died and others were hatched with two heads. What the company has done, the government review found, is underestimate these effects. More again from Reuters:

Fish and Wildlife Service scientists found Simplot underestimated rates of deformity and mortality in the wild linked to selenium exposure. The agency said Simplot had failed to account for deformities of trout that had died, skewing the rate of abnormalities in the company's favor.

The company's findings "systematically biased low and environmentally unrealistic quantification of larval deformity rates," according to the government report, which was reviewed by three independent scientists.

The story explains that other wildlife, such as mallard ducks, are also affected but Simplot did not analyze those risks. The phosphate mined is used to produce fertilizer and livestock feed supplements.

This is not the first time that selenium contamination has harmed wildlife; California's Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge saw major deformities in birds and a massive fish die-off in the 1980s, but that led to the closure of the refuge.

AP quotes Marv Hoyt, Idaho director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition: "Any change in the standard would do nothing more than get Simplot off the hook to clean up as much as they should... How does anything being proposed by Simplot help improve the environment or the population of fish in those streams?"

Lake Kivu in Africa in Danger of Exploding

Lava hitting Lake Kivu in January 2002 from the nearby erupting Nyiragongo volcano. Photo courtesy: bbcnews

The Rwandan government has a plan to reduce the risk of a lake erupting while at the same time producing energy.

Deep below the surface of Lake Kivu lies a major threat to the two million people who live around the perimeter.

At the bottom of the lake are dissolved gases including 256 cubic kilometres of carbon dioxide and 65 cubic kilometres of methane, meaning the lake could explode if provoked, reports BBC.

Lake Kivu, which is a shared resource between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, is in a volcanic area and the CO2 enters the lake from the volcanic rock. The methane is created when bacteria in the lake mixes with CO2. The dangerous gases are kept at bay because they are deep below the surface and at high pressure, but if the lake is shaken, such as by an earthquake, the water would shoot upwards.

Photo courtesy: bbcnews

"Think of it like a bottle of fizzy drink," said Professor Brian Moss of the University of Liverpool to BBC. "The carbon dioxide has been dissolved in the drink. As long as it's under pressure, it doesn't bubble. But when you take the top off the bottle, the drink fizzes because you've reduced the pressure, and the gas is able to come out."

The presence of methane is even more of a concern than the build-up of CO2, because methane could ignite when exposed to air.

"The methane would not spontaneously cause an explosion on the surface." said Professor Robert Hecky from the Large Lakes Observatory at the University of Minnesota to BBC. "(But,) there are numerous possible ignition sources above and around the lake."

What people around Lake Kivu fear happened to two Cameroonian lakes in the 1980s. More than 1,000 people died in 1986 when one of the lakes released a cloud of CO2 that suffocated entire villages.

To decrease the impact if the lake does erupt, the Rwandan government has a plan to extract the dissolved gases from the lower levels of the lake.

ContourGlobal, the New York-based firm developing the project, will use what are basically four big straws to suck up water from the saturated zone. The methane will be separated and pumped ashore to a power plant and the water and CO2 will go back into the lake. The methane will be burned to generate energy.

Not only will this make the lake much safer, but Rwanda will be able to rely less on foreign fuel. Right now almost half of the country's electricity is generated from diesel fuel, which is imported.

However, the plan can be quite dangerous. Environmental consultants Sinclair Knight Merz told BBC if it is not done carefully, it could cause an explosion. They also fear the water may become more acidic and that would be bad news for the fish and the people who depend on it.

A pilot project is expected to start producing energy later this year.

Did You Know That...

In 1940, "Bugs" Hardaway, an illustrator at Warner Bros., submitted a drawing for a rabbit character to his bosses and labeled it "Bugs" Bunny. His drawing wasn't chosen; but, the name was chose for the beloved cartoon character.

People in trouble use the word "mayday", derived from the French word "m'aidez" which means "help me". The signal was in french because the French had more planes in the air in the early 1900s than other countries. Eventually, as the French lost aerial dominance, the word was Anglicized and everyone started using it.

Wearing black during mourning began out of a belief that the spirit of the person who died, fearful of the hereafter, might inhabit the body of a living person. Mourners wore black and hid in the shadows to avoid the departed spirit.

If you get one square meal a day, you're like an 18th century sailor. Mouldy bread and water usually constituted breakfast and lunch; but, if the sailors were lucky, the third meal of the day included meat, served on a square tin plate.

Global Warming Killing Yellow Cedars in Alaska and Canada

A stand of dying Yellow Cedars. Photo courtesy: © Paul Hennon

For the past hundred years, the only name for the plague killing off economically valuable yellow-cedars has been "yellow-cedar decline." The die-off has affected about 60 to 70 percent of the yellow cedars in forests covering 600,000 acres (240,000 hectares) of the North Pacific Coastal Rainforest in Alaska and neighboring British Columbia.

Yellow cedars grow slowly, many reaching ages between 700 and 1200 years old. The wood of the yellow cedar serves Native Alaskans for crafting goods such as paddles, masks, and dishes. With a straight grain, durability and insect-resistance, yellow cedar wood also sells into the home and boat building markets.

Scientists and foresters of the Alaska Region of the Forest Service needed to understand the cause of the die-off in order to plan a conservation strategy. A paper published in the current issue of BioScience sheds light on the mystery, crediting long-term, multidisciplinary research for the findings. Co-publisher Paul Hennon of the Pacific Northwest Research Station explains in the press release on Yellow cedar dying in Alaska:

The cause of tree death, called yellow cedar decline, is now known to be a form of root freezing that occurs during cold weather in late winter and early spring, but only when snow is not present on the ground. When present, snow protects the fine, shallow roots from extreme soil temperatures. The shallow rooting of yellow cedar, early spring growth, and its unique vulnerability to freezing injury also contribute to this problem.

Current predictions foresee less snow overall, but continuing periods of freezing weather in the area, expected to worsen the threat to yellow cedars. The paper concludes that "conservation and management activities need to follow the shifting snow patterns on the landscape." This suggests foresters should deliberately grow yellow cedar forests into favorable directions, nudging the forests towards areas with deeper snowfall.

Amir's Garden

Unfortunately, the man who single-handedly created a secret garden in the middle of Los Angeles has left us for a better place; but, his creation lives on to inspire countless others.

Amir Dialameh saw a need and he filled it working 7 days a week, 50 weeks a year for 30+ years without payment of any kind. The result is nothing short of a miracle.

Benches at entrance to park. Photo courtesy: © Bonnie Hulkower

Amir’s Garden is a quiet place for a picnic or as a place to meditate because it has managed to remain a secret garden in the middle of Los Angeles.

Amir Dialameh is a corner of the garden. Photo courtesy: Farrokh A. Ashtiani/via

According to the LA Times, Dialameh was inspired to build the garden after a brush fire in the early 70s burned a solid portion of the hills in Griffith Park. Dialameh often hiked in the hills along the Mineral Wells trail by the Los Angeles Zoo. After the fire, he thought the hills looked bare and that someone should build a garden on them. Then he realized, as most self-motivated people do, that if you think someone should do something, that someone often ends up being you. So Dialameh built the garden plant by plant with a pick and a shovel that he carried uphill for a mile.

For many years he worked alone. He cleared tree stumps and built a retaining wall with discarded fencing. He worked seven days a week, often for 8 hours a day. He terraced slopes, built stairs to a created a picnic area with benches. After working in the garden all day, he worked nights as a wine salesman.

Amir's "caution" sign warning trail users of wild animals. He also installed a watering hole for the horses people loved to ride in his garden. Photo courtesy: © Bonnie Hulkower

When Dialameh discussed his vision for the garden with city officials, at first they didn’t take him seriously. At first, they only granted him a permit, no water, tools, plants or assistance. After a few years, the city did provide a pipeline to bring some irrigation water from the bottom of the hill to the garden.

Over thirty years Dialameh planted drought-tolerant plants that provided shade, such as pine and jacaranda trees. He also planted plants that provided vibrant color such as roses, geraniums, and yucca. Many of these were non-natives, which lent to the contrast between the colorful foliage in the garden and the chaparral that one normally sees in Griffith Park. Through determination and hard work, Dialameh transformed a dry dusty mountaintop trail into a lush shady oasis. Today some of the trees that Dialameh hauled over his shoulder thirty years ago are now sixty feet tall. What dedication and love for nature and America this man must have had.

One of the shade gardens. Photo courtesy: © Bonnie Hulkower

Dialameh was born in Tehran in 1932 and was one of seven kids. The outdoors were as essential to him as food and water are to most people. Dialameh had brothers and nieces but never married himself, the garden was his family. He visited a brother in Pittsburg in 1952 and then decided to move to the U.S. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1963 and settled in Hollywood.

The U.S. inspired him. He thought of America as a country built by volunteers and wanted to give back to his new home and community. It was his patriotism combined with his love of nature, that inspired him to build a public garden in his free time. He was known to say, “In the land of the free, plant a tree." Before he passed away in 2003, you could tell which days Dialameh was working in the garden, by the sight of an American flag that he raised whenever he was working.

The hand points to the view available from the garden. Photo courtesy: © Bonnie Hulkower

What still surprises about this story, is that Amir’s Garden lies within one of North America's largest urban, municipally-owned parks. Dialameh was only away from the garden for a two-week vacation he took every year and one year he hiked for three-months from California to Pennsylvania.

Dedication like this wasn’t easy. One Sunday in the early 90s, Dialameh was robbed and beaten. (No good deed goes unpunished.) But he didn’t let this experience deter him from tending the garden, he only modified his schedule to not work on Sundays. When the garden was damaged by later brush fires, he was quick to rebuild. The garden was truly a labor of love.

A beautiful section of the garden. Photo courtesy: © Bonnie Hulkower

Since the late 70s, other hikers have helped him maintain the garden. Several nurseries donated saplings and park services and private benefactors contributed a sprinkler system. Dialameh never accepted monetary donations. On two occasions when people sent him money, he returned the money with a thank you note. Amir’s garden remains an all-volunteer garden and rest stop for Griffith Park hikers and equestrians.

Photo courtesy: © Bonnie Hulkower

If you are in the LA area, Amir's Garden is a lovely garden that feels very secluded, even when you are in the middle of LA and overlooking freeways in the distance. It retains its secluded feel even after you realize you are not the only one who has discovered this secret place.

Refugees Use a Garden to Cultivate More Than Just Food

My daughter and I have started preparing my balcony for our spring planting. We have already started some colder-weather seeds outside. I may be a bit optomistic; but, the weather is so mild I couldn't resist.

There are few things in life I am more passionate about than gardening and nature. Faith and I try to grow crops that are bee- and butterfly-friendly in an effort to help naturally maintain the winged pollinators in our area; and, we have a mason bee hive out there. Granted, we only have a balcony to work with; but, it's amazing what can be grown out on "the back 40" if you plan well and get creative.

Obviously, the people at The Perennial Plate are as passionate about growing and harvesting your own food as I am. This group is exciting, forward-thinking, creative and flourishing. Read on for a small ray sunshine in environmental news.

Photo courtesy: The Perennial Plate/video screen capture

It is almost a cliche that community gardens bring people together and help bridge cultural divides. But it's true. There is something about the act of gardening that emphasizes our shared heritage as human beings, even as it expresses our differences in terms of what we grow and how we eat. From the awesome urban farmers of New Orleans to a youth program bringing young farmers together across cultures, The Perennial Plate has explored the cultural benefits of community gardening many times before. Here, the visit with a Bhutanese family in Atlanta and learn how refugees from around the world are coming together to grow food from their homeland.

Photo courtesy: The Perennial Plate/video screen capture

Providing a growing space for refugees from Burma, Nepal, Iraq and elsewhere, the Jolly Avenue Community Garden is a program of Friends of Refugees in Atlanta. The idea, according to the group's website, is not just to build community, but to help alleviate past trauma too:

While we entertain some dreams of sustainable agriculture and small-scale agri-business production, we take great satisfaction in our primary garden product: Community. Nothing says “friendship” like working alongside each other, learning from one another’s techniques, and sharing space together in a collaborative and creative way. And nothing says “dignity” like having access to a piece of land and being free to do with it what you like. Many have observed that gardening can be powerful therapy for those who have experienced trauma and psychological pain. We have such hopes for our friends who are gardening with us.

Photo courtesy: The Perennial Plate/video screen capture

As with their videos of cave dwelling farmers in Utah, Vietnamese fishermen in the Gulf and conservative Christian dairy farmers in Ohio, this is another valuable reminder from The Perennial Plate that the local and sustainable food movement stretches way beyond the somewhat homogeneous demographics of many of our farmers markets and food coops.

If we're going to build a movement, we have to make it broad. Luckily, that movement appears to be growing itself.

The Perennial Plate Episode 90: Refugee Garden from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.

Raccoons Becoming Smarter Thanks to People

Raccoons easily adapt to challenges of life in the city. Photo courtesy: © Laurie Peterson

Able to squeeze into locked garages, open secured garbage cans, unzip tents, and pry up lids on Tupperware, urban raccoons love a challenge. Extremely adaptable and smart, they're expert problem solvers, evolving faster than we can devise raccoon-proof gadgetry. When cornered these masked invaders can put up a ferocious fight. Many a pet dog or cat has fallen victim to their claws and teeth. Fortunately, raccoons tend to be on the timid side and would rather run than fight.

The film documents a recent study in which scientists GPS-tracked raccoons’ nocturnal habits with night-time cameras, exposing insights into their previously unknown bandit-like behavior, such as how they’ve learned to avoid their only urban predator — the automobile, where they sleep and the surprising limits of their territory near your backyard.

Night cameras track raccoons foraging for dinner by opening locked garbage bins. Photo courtesy: © Laurie Peterson

Raccoon Nation (which can be viewed online) explores the issues involving these animals, from the devastation of 1000-year-old temples with a couple decades in Japan to Chicago’s parasite infestation, and how some clever German engineering is addressing how to prevent them from climbing downspouts. The documentary also addresses how humans have exacerbated the overpopulation through importing the non-indigenous species in a misguided attempt to turn them into pets.

Watch Raccoon Nation - Preview on PBS. See more from Nature.

Curiously, these masked critters prefer the big city. In Toronto, there are 50 times more raccoons in the city than the countryside. As omnivores, they adapt well and learn more quickly. In fact, the complex obstacles the urban environments present raccoons are accelerating their development. With hand-like front feet they can open doors and their collapsible spines allow them to climb through crevasses. What’s next -- opposable thumbs?

When the cartoon Rascal the Raccoon grew popular in Japan during the 1970s, the baby animals were imported as pets. As they outgrew their homes, they were dumped in the woods and have since decimated 80% of the ancient temples. With no natural predator in the country, there is zero tolerance for the 10,000 trapped each year.

Kassel, Germany, the raccoon capital of Europe, there are 100 raccoons per square kilometer. “It’s a power struggle,” said an engineer who came up with protective device for downspouts the clever animals climb up. Are they encroaching on our territory? Will they outnumber us? And how do we co-exist with invasive wildlife?

As master dumpster divers, raccoons have grown 20 times larger over the last 70 years, snacking on our food waste and improving their brains.

"Smart" Paint Could Detect Damage Before it Occurs

Photo courtesy: Manish Prabhune/CC BY 3.0

How do you know when structures are about to snap, collapse, and otherwise bust apart? Unless there are intensive inspections happening at regular intervals, usually you find out when it happens and the damage is already done. But a new paint developed by researchers at Glasgow's University of Strathclyde could help alert people to the problem before it's too late.

Fast Co. Exist's Ariel Schwartz reports, "The paint, which is made out of carbon nanotubes and fly ash, is sprayed onto surfaces much like any other kind of paint. But this paint is special--it communicates wirelessly with battery-powered electrodes that are attached to the structure to detect structural micro-cracks... [A]ny changes in the paint’s electrical current--a sign of damage--are communicated to the electrodes, which in turn signal a problem to humans, who can then go check out the microfractures that before would have gone entirely unnoticed."

The researchers state that the pain is "environmentally-friendly" though we know that we don't know enough about how nanoparticles affect the environment. Still, the paint uses fly ash, which is normally considered a waste product. When mixed with the carbon nanotubes, the paint is cement-like and will stick to whatever you put it on even in tough environments. We'd like to know more, though, about what impact the paint might have on the environment as it is sprayed on and wears off of structures.

Even so, paint such as this could save a lot of time, energy, and yes, carbon emissions, with not having to get people out patrolling structures as much, especially in more removed areas like wind farms or distant bridges -- even mines.

Dr Mohamed Saafi, of the University’s Department of Civil Engineering, said: “The development of this smart paint technology could have far-reaching implications for the way we monitor the safety of large structures all over the world. There are no limitations as to where it could be used and the low-cost nature gives it a significant advantage over the current options available in the industry. The process of producing and applying the paint also gives it an advantage as no expertise is required and monitoring itself is straightforward.”

So far, only a prototype has been developed, but we may see the product tested and used perhaps in the near future.

Is This the Most Beautiful Street in the World?

A huge thanks to Stephen Messenger for the use of these photos. They are a breath of fresh air. What's more - As soon as I'm finished this blog, I'm packing my suitcase and moving!

Photo courtesy: Stephen Messenger

There are an estimated 11 million miles of paved road on Earth, forming a sprawling network which some might say represents humanity's conquest of the otherwise inaccessibly wild landscape. But, ironically it seems, the most beautiful streets in world just might be the ones that more closely resemble the untamed.

With so many scenic streets in cities across the globe, some cutting straight through modern metropolises bordered by towering skyscrapers, others following ancient winding paths in the shadow of great monuments, determining which of all is prettiest might seem an impossible task. But hard as it may be, there is one street in Brazil which has earned that distinction among an international audience -- namely for its impressive natural beauty.

Photo courtesy: Stephen Messenger

Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho, in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, may not pass by any notable historical sites along its 500 meter stretch, but it does have a forest. In all more than one hundred towering tipuana trees line the road like a living colonnade, forming what some have called a 'green tunnel' over three city blocks. The quiet, shady street has long been a favorite among locals, but recently it garnered some broader acclaim.

Photo courtesy: Stephen Messenger

For residents, some of whom have lived in the shade of that 'green tunnel' for most of the over 70 years since it was first planted, the trees haven't been merely ornamental -- they've been something to protect. In 2005, commercial interests planning to build a parking garage received permission from the city to cut down some of the trees to make room, so those living along Gonçalo de Carvalho formed a group to stop it. With local support, and to the surprise of many, the tree-loving community organization was able to halt the juggernaut of construction.

Photo courtesy: Stephen Messenger

Just a few years ago, Gonçalo de Carvalho and its history caught the attention of several European writers and tree advocates, including a Portuguese named Pedro Nuno Teixeira Santos who dubbed it 'the most beautiful street it in the world' on his blog The Green Shade:

Goncalo de Carvalho in Porto Alegre, Brazil, is not only the most beautiful street in the world because of the stunning visual effect of its immense Tipuana green tunnel. It is the most beautiful street in the world for this, but mainly because these trees were planted cherished by its residents, over several decades, that is, the green tunnel is the result of love, the love of the trees! It was from this love and this struggle of the residents of Goncalo de Carvalho, that the political power of the city found itself forced to recognize the importance of cultural heritage, landscape and environment, classifying and protecting it with the force of law.

Photo courtesy: Stephen Messenger

Photo courtesy: Stephen Messenger

Nowadays, Rua Goncalo de Carvalho's internationally recognized beauty is a special point of pride; it was recently named a site of Ecological, Cultural, and Environmental Heritage.

What's more, perhaps, beyond the distinction that some consider it to be the prettiest street in the world, is the fact that it represents what is possible when city-dwellers work together to cherish and protect something beautiful.

Photo courtesy: Stephen Messenger