Happy Energy: The new sustainability logo

If solar energy, recycling and sustainability make you feel warm and fuzzy, there's a new logo for you.

It's the Happy Energy symbol, and information about it, are found here.

The symbol, according to its proponents, has this in mind: “Happy Energy is a young initiative that advocates a positive and sustainable culture, and which strives for a society that makes maximum use of recyclable products and clean energy, using the Happy Energy logo as the new universal symbol for sustainability.”

It comes in circle and rounded square forms. It's pale blue like the sky or a shallow sea, with a central image in yellow, which could be the sun, could be a flower. You can find versions to download here.

The founders of the happy energy movement are Erik Schoppen, Wubbo Ockels and Marleen Zoon, all from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Their aim is to create a global symbol for the green movement: renewables, recycling, conservation, all that good stuff.

© Jan TenBruggencate 2011

Significant warming now inevitable, even if carbon release were cut to zero

As we fiddle, the impacts of climate change grow, and new research says they are now inevitable.

A new Canadian study shows that even if we reduce all carbon emissions to zero, which of course we won't, there is already so much greenhouse gas in the atmosphere that 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) of warming is likely unavoidable by 2100.

The unstated extension is that much higher temperature rise is probable. And of course with it, direct impacts to Hawai`i, which include the rising sea levels, changes in rainfall patterns, acidification of the oceans, and all the rest.

What's the take-away from this? It's another heavy brick in the wall. We have a moral obligation to our grandkids to moderate our carbon-spending ways, and we have a fiduciary responsibility as citizens to plan strategically for the expected outcomes.

One of the purposes of this blog is to highlight the science that most media miss. This is an example.

The research is an early report from climate projections that will be part of the 2014 Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Here is the link.

These researchers strictly avoid hysterical language, even if that might be appropriate in this case. Their conclusion is understated and grim: “The results of this study suggest that limiting warming to roughly 2°C by the end of this century is unlikely since it requires an immediate ramp down of emissions followed by ongoing carbon sequestration in the second half of this century.”

They have formed a new set of predictions based on the best available and newest data on such things as “carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, aerosols, land use change, and the flow of carbon between the atmosphere and the underlying ocean and land surface.”

They conclude that the absolute best case for the next nine decades is that we'll face 2 degrees Celsius of warming. And since nobody believes limiting carbon emissions to zero is even possible, the actual number will be higher.

You're not reading this information much anywhere else. It's complicated, and since complexity is the enemy of understanding, the eyes of writers at most media outlets glazed over, or bypassed it altogether.

That's perhaps not surprising. The title of the paper doesn't give much of a clue about what's in it: Carbon emission limits required to satisfy future representative concentration pathways of greenhouse gases.

© Jan TenBrugggencate 2011

Here's the citation: Arora, V. K., J. F. Scinocca, G. J. Boer, J. R. Christian, K. L. Denman, G. M. Flato, V. V. Kharin, W. G. Lee, and W. J. Merryfield (2011), Carbon emission limits required to satisfy future representative concentration pathways of greenhouse gases, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L05805, doi:10.1029/2010GL046270.

These are the authors: V. K. Arora, J. F. Scinocca, G. J. Boer, G. M. Flato, V. V. Kharin, W. G. Lee, and W. J. Merryfield: Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, Environment Canada, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; J. R. Christian: Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, Environment Canada, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and Fisheries; and Oceans Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada; K. L. Denman: Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, Environment Canada, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; and VENUS, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Sharks, wolves and uninspected assumptions

Anecdotal assumptions are so often wrong.

In the Islands, do sharks attack surfers because the surfers look like turtles or seals? Are big sharks attracted to shore because the small sharks have been fished out? Is that always the same shark cruising the surf zone, or are they constantly moving around?

The answers to some of these questions are known, partially known, or unknown, and occasionally they are correctly known for the wrong reasons.

We were struck by an article this month on sharks' culture cousins, wolves. The piece was in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

This goes to the question of whether wolves are major predators on cattle. Ranchers have long said so, and have launched wolf kills to respond.

The conservation community has argued that wolves, if they come near cattle, are doing ranchers a favor, culling the weak. And that since they perform the same service for wild herds of elk and deer, they ought not be slaughtered.

The new study confirms that cattle are indeed a big piece of wolf diet, seasonally. The study was done by Canadian researchers from the University of Alberta, who used GPS tracking equipment to follow wolf travels in 2008 and 2009, during grazing seasons near the Rocky Mountains.

But the wolves, for the most part, weren't preying on the herds. They were feeding on dead cattle at “boneyards,” places where ranchers dumped cattle carcasses. The four wolves researchers tracked switched from wild prey to eating cattle during the grazing season, but in 85 percent of the cases, they were scavenging on already-dead cattle.

Ranchers were dumping the carcasses near their grazing cattle. The boneyards also attracted grizzly bears and cougars. For the wolves, the cattle made up almost half of their summer diet.

The message from the researchers was that ranchers' management practices are actually attracting predators to their herds. Thus, changes in management practices could reduce wolves' opportunities to feed on the herds.

The message for the rest of us is to be real careful about uninspected assumptions.

© 2011 Jan TenBruggencate

Tsunami death toll at Midway alone: more than 110,000 albatrosses

Federal wildlife officials are now estimating that more than 110,000 albatrosses were killed at Midway Atoll alone, from the tsunami waves that swept across nesting areas March 11.

“Surveys of the Refuge reveal that more than 110,000 Laysan and black-footed albatross chicks – about 22 percent of this year’s albatross production – were lost as a result of the tsunami and two severe winter storms preceding it in January and February. At least 2000 adults were also killed,” said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in an emailed statement.

(Image: Total losses at Laysan Island are not known. This image, taken before the Laysan federal wildlife crew was evacuated, displays some of the impact. The team reported that the entire coast was inundated by the tsunami, in many cases well into the vegetated areas. The debris includes remains of a research station that was overwashed. Credit: USFWS Pacific.)

Four major waves crashed through Midway Atoll, entirely overwashing small Spit Island, and partially overwashing Sand and Eastern Islands. The albatross are ground-nesting birds. Only four chicks remain on Spit, which once held nearly 1,500.

Immediately following the tsunami, Refuge staff estimated tens of thousands of albatross chicks had been lost, along with about 1000 adults. After initially concentrating on freeing approximately 300 entrapped or waterlogged birds with assistance from a small group of visitors there participating in a natural history tour, and waiting for danger from the tsunami to pass, biologists turned their attention to surveying the damage. “The results were both startling and disheartening,” Stieglitz said.

For example, in early January, Spit Island held 1498 Laysan and 22 black-footed albatross nests. After losses from the January 14 and February 11 storms and the March 10-11 tsunami, only 4 chicks remain on Spit.

“We are very fortunate not to have suffered any loss of human life or other tragedy, as have the people in Japan, and for that we are very grateful,” said Barry Stieglitz, Project Leader for the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

“This tsunami was indeed a disaster at many levels, including for wildlife.”

A star of the atoll is the endangered short-tailed albatross chick, the first born in the Hawaiian Islands in recorded history. It was washed off its nest, but survived. However, its parents have not returned to feed it.

“Since the chick is incapable of fending for itself, the Service will carefully consider whether hand-rearing this bird is appropriate if it is determined that it is not being fed by its parents,” the statement said.

Biologists do not know how many burrow-nesting Bonin petrels were lost, drowned or trapped underground. Their nesting holes in many cases were covered over with coral rubble and sand. Small numbers of red-tailed tropicbirds, red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds were reported lost. There were no recorded deaths of green sea turtles or monk seals.

Federal officials still do not have a clear understanding of the impact on wildlife at other remote islands. Many threatened or endangered animals were potentially impacted. One fear is for the Laysan finch population that was translocated to the low island of Pearl and Hermes Atoll could have been wiped out.

“It is possible the entire translocated population of endangered Laysan finches on Pearl and Hermes Reef were roosting on the ground when the tsunami likely overwashed the low-lying islands there,” the statement said.

But at this point, no one knows for certain.

© Jan TenBruggencate 2010

For more information on the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, see here.

'Ghost crabs cleaning up the dead" in Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Thousands, and maybe tens of thousands of seabirds were killed or injured in last week's tsunami in the Hawaiian Islands.

“Thousands of ghost crabs are cleaning up the dead,” wrote researcher Cynthia Vanderlip, from Kure Atoll.

The humans in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, as far as we know, had plenty of notice and are all safe. Some were being evacuated today.

(Image: Short-tailed albatross chick survived the tsunami, but was washed far from its nest. Tens of thousands of birds were killed. Credit: Pete Leary, Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge biologist.)

Millions of seabirds nest each year on the sand spits and low sandy islands of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

The tsunami completely washed over some of those islands, washing away or burying every bird. In many cases both the flightless nestlings and a roosting parent were swept off nests or buried in their burrows. Other islands had only partial wash-overs.

Many of the uninhabited islands have still not been surveyed, but if the experience at Midway Atoll is a guide, the loss is near incalculable. There were reports of severe bird fatality counts at Kure and Laysan as well.

Here is the initial report, via Twitter, from the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge: “People are OK. No damage to infrastructure. The Short-tailed albatross nest was washed over again and the chick was found unharmed about 35 m away and carried back to its nest cup. Minimum of 1000 adult/subadult and tens of thousands of Laysan Albatross chicks lost. Spit Island completely washed over. Eastern and Sand Island 60% and 20% washed over, respectively.”

The reference to the short-tailed albatross chick is notable. It is the first chick of its critically endangered species known to have been hatched outside a couple of remote Japanese islands. More on that here.

The chick was washed about 100 feet from its nest, but apparently was unhurt. It was moved back to its original nesting location in hopes the parents would continue to feed it. We have no word on whether or how much the main short-tailed albatross colonies off Japan suffered from the tsunami.

Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge biologist Pete Leary posted that crews were conducting a salvage operation, going through debris piles in hopes of finding trapped live birds. Firm numbers are not yet available, but he estimated tens of thousands of dead albatrosses.

“There's no way to know how many Bonin petrels were trapped in their burrows,” Leary wrote.

He wrote of boating between islands and finding waterlogged birds, drifting, exhausted and half-sunken.

Beyond Midway is Kure Atoll, where the impact was also severe. Veteran researcher Cynthia Vanderlip, the field camp manager of Kure Atoll Conservancy, sent out this report on the Facebook page for the Kure Atoll Conservancy.

Her team climbed for safety onto to the roof of the old concrete Coast Guard station building, having heard the reports of devastation in Japan on shortwave radio.

“The first wave arrived at around 12:50. We heard cracking branches, but could see nothing, not even with the strong searchlight. Then another one arrived at 1:10, and another at 1:18 and finally, the last one at 1:30 am.”

They stayed on the roof for some time longer, waiting to be sure it was safe. Finally, “everyone climbed down off the roof went straight to bed, except me. I took a quick walk to see the damage at the beach and it is extensive. The wave washed about 400 feet inland. The Black-foot colony at the pier is gone, chicks are everywhere. Thousand of ghost crabs are cleaning up the dead. The wave washed over the top of the pier and tore the window frames out. The ocean is chocolate brown.”

Vanderlip added: “I am thankful that our building is 700′ inland and 20′ above sea level. We were spared, but I fear for all the other folks in the Pacific. The loss of wildlife breaks my heart. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.”

At Laysan Island, five people—two from the Fish and Wildlife Service and three from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center—were to be evacuated this morning (Monday March 14, 2011) by the research vessel Hi`ialakai. The ship was diverted from a mission to Wake Island.

(Update 12:10 p.m. HST 3-14-2011: Hi`ialakai Facebook site reports that seven people were successfully evacuated from Laysan, having suffered only minor injuries: "only a couple cases of scrapes and bruises."")

The NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Division blog had some details. The report indicated that the tsunami had climbed the sand dunes of Laysan Island and inundated both bird habitat and human field researcher camp.

“The field team... reported extensive damage to the island, with the wave line extending well into the vegetation. In places, reef fish were found in the short trees that ring the island. Most of their food buckets and water jugs were washed away, and they were still seeing buckets and jugs being washed back to shore. The kitchen tent was destroyed and they are cooking and eating at the USFWS camp. The USFWS camp has 32 six gallon jugs of water, which should be enough to sustain the Laysan personnel for the remainder of their time on island. Fortunately no injuries have been reported and their office tent was spared and most of their electronics and communication equipment were not damaged.”

Details of the impacts on birdlife at Laysan were not immediately available.

Apparently the waves were comparatively small at Tern Island, the Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters island at French Frigate Shoals, but it was not known at this writing whether waves caused issues with the many small sand spits that create homes for wildlife within the vast reef structure there. Nor have there been reports from Pearl and Hernes Atoll, Lisianski Island, and Nihoa Island.

A tragic loss, but this is a healthy ecosystem, and Vanderlip at Kure notes that the ghost crabs were feeding on the dead birds, and shorebirds were feeding on the dead sea cucumbers and other marine llife washed ashore. Nature was doing what it does.

“This is an ecosystem that is pretty well intact. There were a lot of changes created by the tsunami, but there is abundant life on Kure, ready to pounce on every opportunity that is presented,” she wrote.

© Jan TenBruggencate 2011