Giving rights to Nature!

Bolivia is set to pass the world's first laws granting all nature equal rights to humans. The Law of Mother Earth, now agreed by politicians and grassroots social groups, redefines the country's rich mineral deposits as "blessings" and is expected to lead to radical new conservation and social measures to reduce pollution and control industry.

They include: the right to life and to exist; the right to continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration; the right to pure water and clean air; the right to balance; the right not to be polluted; and the right to not have cellular structure modified or genetically altered.

The law, which is part of a complete restructuring of the Bolivian legal system following a change of constitution in 2009, has been heavily influenced by a resurgent indigenous Andean spiritual world view which places the environment and the earth deity known as the Pachamama at the centre of all life. Humans are considered equal to all other entities.

While this is a laudable move, the question is how effective will be the abstract rights in protecting rights of ecosystems and animals. Or how it plans to empower communities with legal powers to monitor and control polluting industries.

Nitrogen pollution up

Nitrogen pollution is costing every person in Europe up to £650 a year in damage to water, climate, health and wildlife, a study warns. Scientists behind the research said nitrogen was needed as fertiliser to help feed a growing world population – but suggested that eating less meat could reduce the amount of pollution caused by agriculture.

If you are wondering where meat eating came into the picture when talking of crops and fertilisers, well, much of the nitrogen pollution from agricultural production is linked to meat and dairy farming, as the crops needed to feed them are grown with the help of fertilisers.

Environmental impact of livestock was not limited to greenhouse gases from cows, with nitrogen used to grow crops to feed animals also having an impact. In Europe, people are currently eating 70% more meat and dairy products than they need for a healthy diet.

The report for the European Nitrogen Assessment (ENA) also suggests with 60% of costs of the nitrogen damage stemming from fossil fuels burned for energy generation and transport, more energy-efficient homes and less long-distance travel could help.
More efficient use of fertilisers in food production is also needed, the report said.

The researchers said that the cost of putting in measures to tackle the problems of nitrogen pollution would be outweighed by the financial benefits the solutions would reap.

Water rights

As the summer sun intensifies, parched earth and thirsty mouths seek water, it is once again time to ask some tough questions. Should access to clean, safe water be declared a human right?

In July 2010 the United Nations (UN) agreed to a new resolution declaring the human right to “safe and clean drinking water and sanitation”. One hundred twenty-two nations voted in favor of the resolution; 41 (primarily developed) countries abstained; and there were zero “no” votes. According to the declaration, approximately 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water.

A recent World Bank study predicted that demand for fresh water will exceed supply by some 40 percent within just two decades.

Approximately one out of every eight people does not have drinking water. In just one day, more than 200 million hours of the time used by women is spent collecting and transporting water for their homes.

The resolution itself carries no regulatory weight, but backers view it as important to raising awareness of the problem and engendering support for solutions. Governments, aid agencies and the UN must take their responsibilities seriously.
However, some developed countries—including the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several European nations—tried to block passage of the resolution in hopes of minimizing their future obligations.

A recent study shows urban growth rates alone leaving 993 million city residents living on less than 100 liters of water a day. (The 100-liter-per-day benchmark comes from the World Health Organization and the U.S. Agency for International Development.) The average American uses 376 liters a day.

When issues like climate change with its potential for damage could not evoke a consensus, it is perhaps naive to expect nations which do not suffer immediate water crisis to pitch in and help the poorer nations. But the UN resolution at least has raised some awareness on the issue.

What do you think? Would declaring it a human right help the situation?

Blowing foul

Here's another twist to the windy tale. Wind farms produce far less energy than previously claimed, according to a new report. Wind-energy output at wind farms metered by the UK’s National Grid was less than 10% capacity for one third of the time during the two-year study. For numerous extended periods of time all the wind turbines linked to the National Grid muster less than 20MW of energy: enough power for 6,667 households to boil their kettles for a cup of tea.

Low output also sometimes coincided with periods of peak demand. The report, supported by Scottish conservation charity the John Muir Trust, said wind "cannot be relied upon" to provide any significant level of energy generation at any defined time in the future.

It also called into question common assertions made by industry such as that wind turbines will generate on average 30% of their rated capacity over a year.

The study challenged assertions by industry and government such as that periods of widespread low wind are "infrequent". It found that the average frequency and duration of a low wind event of 20MW or fewer was once every 6.38 days for a period of 4.93 hours.

The study also found that at each of the four highest peak demands of 2010 wind output was low, being respectively 4.72%, 5.51%, 2.59% and 2.51% of capacity. Wind generation was below 20% of capacity for more than half the period of the study.

Well, one can contest that this is the story for Scotland alone. Really?

Investments inadequate in renewables: IEA

Global investments in renewable energy have risen dramatically over the last decade, but governments need to step up support for clean energy innovation. The IEA’s Clean Energy Progress Report, notes that countries have spent $17 billion on renewable energy and energy efficiency research during the last 10 years — less than a third of the $56 billion directed to nuclear energy research. As much as $22 billion has gone toward fossil fuel research during the same period.

Clean energy ministers, according to IEA, should provide incentives for private sector investments in energy projects, using tax credits, “innovative public/private partnerships,” and “market-creating mechanisms.”

IEA also says fossil fuel subsidies ought to be “phased out,” and governments should establish a price for carbon emissions.The IEA, meanwhile, emphasizes a need for cooperation between the public and private sectors, and for support that goes beyond tax breaks or grants. The agency urges governments to clear “non-economic barriers” for renewable energy research, development, demonstration and deployment, which can range from administrative burdens to the somewhat nebulous challenge of public acceptance and awareness.

The right combination of policies and could deliver nothing short of “a clean energy revolution,” says the IEA. For examples, the agency points to Denmark’s successful cultivation of biomass and wind since the 1980s, and to China’s leap to achieve three times the installed wind power capacity of India in just five years.

Biofuels may aggravate poverty

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons warns: Research by the World Bank indicates that the increase in biofuels production over 2004 levels would push more than 35 million additional people into absolute poverty in 2010 in developing countries.

Using statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Indur Goklany estimates that this would lead to at least 192,000 excess deaths per year, plus disease resulting in the loss of 6.7 million disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) per year. These exceed the estimated annual toll of 141,000 deaths and 5.4 million lost DALYs that the World Health Organization attributes to global warming.

Thus, developed world policies intended to mitigate global warming probably have increased death and disease in developing countries rather than reducing them. Goklany also notes that death and disease from poverty are a fact, whereas death and disease from global warming are hypothetical.

Most biofuels are made using food crops like corn at this time, and diverting corn to ethanol refineries not only increases the price of corn, but it also encourage farmers to plant more of it, leaving less space for other types of crops, driving up their price too.

Goes to show how connected we are as a race!

1 bn will face water shortage by 2050

Rapid urban growth and climate change will leave more than 1 billion urban dwellers with a water shortage by 2050, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study shows urban growth rates alone leaving 993 million city residents living on less than 100 liters of water a day. The effects of climate change add 100 million people to that toll.

The 100-liter-per-day benchmark comes from the World Health Organization and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Both recommend it as the minimum amount for consumption in normal uses like bathing, drinking and cooking. In contrast, the average American uses 376 liters a day!

Between now and 2050, the study projects the world will add 3 billion people in cities, most of them in developing areas in India, West Africa and China. Much of this urban growth will occur in areas with seasonal water shortages. The study projects 3.1 billion people will be dealing with seasonal water shortages by 2050.

Agriculture, the world's biggest water consumer, is also one of its the biggest wasters. The report recommends improving the industry's efficiency and cites previously successful approaches. One, in South Africa, had farmers remove plantations of non-native trees that require a lot of water to survive.