With a sense of urgency, Governor and panel on ocean acidity present recommendations

Gov. Chris Gregoire and Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark at the Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification event on Nov. 27, 2012. Photo: Kim Schmanke/WA Dept. of Ecology

This week at the Seattle Aquarium, Governor Chris Gregoire and members of a special panel presented their recommendations for addressing the high acidity of our state’s marine waters.

Their message was clear: The situation is urgent, and we need to take immediate action to avoid devastating consequences to our state’s economy, environment, and quality of life.

Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark was appointed to serve on the Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification, which the Governor convened last March.

DNR weekend reading: Dwindling mountain meadows; new hopes for salmon; and more

Granite Creek. Photo: DNR.

Here are links to selected articles about science, climate and the environment:

Oregon State University: Mountain meadows dwindling in the Pacific Northwest
Some mountain meadows in the U.S. Northwest are steadily disappearing as the effects of climate change have allowed trees to invade the ecosystems in recent decades, a new study says.

University of Alberta: Saving salmon from deadly sea lice
A University of Alberta-led research team has some positive news for British Columbia’s pink salmon populations, and the salmon farming industry that has struggled to protect both captive and wild salmon from sea lice infestations.

Science Daily: New Study Shows Effects of Climate Conditions On Bark Beetle Outbreaks
A recent study by a team of scientists confirms the important role climate plays on bark beetle outbreaks. Based on three decades of bark beetle outbreaks in Oregon and Washington, the researchers developed a statistical probability model to quantify the contribution of various climate conditions, such as temperature and precipitation, on outbreak levels and to estimate expected amounts of damage to lodgepole pine forests.

Cool Green Science (The Nature Conservancy): Giving Thanks to Salmon: Sustainers of the Great Bear Rainforest
Phil Hoose, a Newbery and National Book Award-winning author, muses on the importance of salmon to humans, wildlife and habitat in today’s British Columbia.

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DNR weekend reading: The science of super-storm Sandy and what climate change means for coffee drinkers

These elk on a DNR wind lease on state trust lands near Vantage, Wash., are some of the estimated 1,000 elk that winter in the area each year. Photo: Mike Williams/DNR.

Here are links to recent articles of interest about the environment, climate change and other science topics for your DNR weekend reading:

Dot Earth (New York Times): How Natural Gas Kept Some Spots Bright and Warm as Sandy Blasted New York City
As New York City and other communities buffeted, flooded or darkened by the remains of Hurricane Sandy consider steps beyond the immediate recovery, officials, business owners and residents would be wise to spend time examining places where the power did not fail because of a parallel power network: natural gas lines.

Scientific American: The Science behind Superstorm Sandy’s Crippling Storm Surge
Would the East Coast’s best defense against future storms like Sandy be to accept the inevitability of flooding and prepare infrastructure to withstand it, as is common in other regions more historically prone to storm surge flooding? Or are there other options?

National Geographic Daily News: The Last Drop? Climate Change May Raise Coffee Prices, Lower Quality
A new study warns that, thanks to climate change, the most consumed coffee species, Arabica, could be extinct in the wild by 2080. While the stuff in our cups is brewed from their domesticated descendants, wild losses leave cultivated crops genetically vulnerable to a host of enemies, which could ultimately lead to lower quality and higher prices for coffee consumers.

Science Daily: Nanosilver from Clothing Can Pose Major Environmental Problems
Silver nanoparticles can have a severe environmental impact if their utilization in clothing continues to increase, especially when waste water treatment sludge containing the nanoparticles is subsequently used as fertilizer on agricultural land.

 

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DNR weekend reading: Sandy, climate change and daylight savings time

DNR’s South Nolan Natural Resources Conservation Area is an atypical coastal forest on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula. This old-growth forest includes wetlands and trees more than 500 years old. Photo: DNR

Here is a selection of news and articles about science, the environment and more, for your DNR Weekend Reading:

National Geographic Daily News: Daylight Saving Time 2012: Why and When Does It End?
Why do we fall back? Does daylight saving time really save energy? Is it bad for your health? Experts answers these and other pressing questions.

Dot Earth (New York Times blog): Lessons from Sandy: Building with Resilience in Mind
A discussion of ways to plan and build with the worst in mind.

National Science Foundation: The Night Life: Why We Need Bats All the Time–Not Just on Halloween
Researchers are identifying the important ecological and economic contributions of bats; gleaning lessons from incredible bat abilities that may advance technology; and helping to battle a new fatal bat epidemic

Science Daily: Efforts to Mitigate Climate Change Must Target Energy Efficiency, Experts Say
A report published October 26 in Nature Climate Change shows that twice as much effort is spent on developing energy supply technologies, such as new power stations, than is spent on improving the efficiency with which energy is used. This inbalance comes at the expense of efficiency in energy end-use where the potential gains are higher. 

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DNR weekend reading: U.S. on track to hit 2020 Copenhagen greenhouse gas emissions target (almost)

Sunset at Lummi Island Natural Resources Conservation Area, a 661-acre conservation area in northern Puget Sound managed by DNR. The island, which is accessed by water only, features boat-in campsites, an old-growth Douglas-fir forest and rocky headlands. Photo: Jason Goldstein/DNR.

Here is a selection of news and articles about science, the environment and more, for your DNR Weekend Reading:

Resources for the Future: US Status on Climate Change Mitigation
The United States is likely to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 16.3 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, falling just shy of the 17 percent target pledged by President Obama at the 2009 climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, according to a new study.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: Americans use more efficient and renewable energy technologies
Americans used less energy in 2011 than in the previous year due mainly to a shift to higher-efficiency energy technologies in the transportation and residential sectors. Meanwhile, less coal was used but more natural gas was consumed according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

ESA News: Earth’s magnetosphere behaves like a sieve
European Space Agency satellites studying Earth’s magnetosphere have discovered that our earth’s protective magnetic bubble lets solar wind plasma pass through in a wider range of conditions than previously believed.

Science Daily: Speed Limits On Cargo Ships Could Reduce Their Pollutants by More Than Half
Putting a speed limit on cargo ships as they sail near ports and coastlines could cut their emission of air pollutants by up to 70 percent, reducing the impact of marine shipping on Earth’s climate and human health, scientists have found.

CSIRO: Goodness, gracious, great balls of lightning
John Lowke, a scientists with CSIRO–Australia’s national space agency–studies ball lightning. In a new scientific paper, he gives the first mathematical solution explaining the birth of ball lightning, and how it can pass through glass (includes videos of ball lightning).

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DNR weekend reading: Cities look to ‘green infrastructure’ to control pollution while saving money

A DNR firefighter working on a wildfire takes a break from the front lines in the shade of a small cave. Photo: Charley Burns/DNR

This weekend’s installment of DNR Weekend Reading provides links to recently published articles and studies from science journals, blogs and websites

environment360.com: With Funding Tight, Cities are Turning to Green Infrastructure
From Seattle to Sweden, an ever-growing number of city and regional governments are using roof gardens, specially designed wetlands, and other forms of “green infrastructure” to rein in pollution from countless diffuse sources — and to save money.

environment360.com: Arctic Tipping Point: A North Pole Without Ice
Scientists say this year’s record declines in Arctic sea ice extent and volume are powerful evidence that the giant cap of ice at the top of the planet is on a trajectory to largely disappear in summer within a decade or two, with profound global consequences.

USDA Agricultural Research Service: No-Till Farming Helps Capture Snow and Soil Water
A smooth blanket of snow in the winter can help boost dryland crop productivity in the summer, and no-till management is one way to ensure that blanket coverage, according to new research.

Futurity: Climate puts the squeeze on bird, squirrel habitat
Two new studies provide a clearer picture of why some species move in response to climate change, and where they go.

Science Daily: Earthquake Hazards Map Study Finds Deadly Flaws
Three of the largest and deadliest earthquakes in recent history occurred where earthquake hazard maps didn’t predict massive quakes. Developing better hazard maps and alerting people to their limitations could potentially save lives and money in areas such as the New Madrid, Missouri fault zone.

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DNR weekend reading: Salmon, bears, earthquakes, CO2 and the Olympics

Stay cool with this view of Mount Rainier on the last day of July 2012 as seen by DNR staff inspecting the Hancock Kapowsin Tree Farm east of Seattle. Photo: Venice Goetz & Chris Conklin/DNR.

Here are selected articles from science journals and other sources to peruse for your DNR weekend reading:

NOAA: Earth’s oceans and ecosystems still absorbing about half the greenhouse gases emitted by people
Earth’s oceans, forests and other ecosystems continue to soak up about half the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by human activities, even as those emissions have increased,

Green (New York Times): Q. and A.: Greening the London Olympics
From sustainable timber to recycled steel pipes, planners sought sustainable ways of creating the venues for the games.

Science Daily: Bears, Scavengers Count On All-You-Can-Eat Salmon Buffet Lasting for Months
Preserving a landscape of various types of watersheds serves not just salmon, it provides an all-summer buffet that brown bears, gulls and other animals need to sustain themselves the rest of the year.

Seismological Society of America: Major Recent Earthquakes Across the Globe Probably Not Linked
Are large earthquakes linked across the globe? A new analysis by US Geological Survey scientists concludes that the cluster of large earthquakes since 2004 is likely the result of random chance, not because the earthquakes were “communicating” to each other.

Columbia University: Pulling CO2 From Air Vital To Curb Global Warming, Say Researchers
Emerging techniques to pull carbon dioxide from the air and store it away to stabilize the climate may become increasingly important as the planet tips into a state of potentially dangerous warming,  researchers from Columbia University’s Earth Institute argue in a paper out this week.

DNR weekend reading: Elevated caffeine levels in Northwest coastal waters (no surprise, actually), and other stories

Michael Grilliot and Dennis Clark of DNR’s Aquatic Resources Division demonstrate proper use of lifesaving suits during a Motorboat Operator Certification Course in Wenatchee, Washington, in June. Photo: WDFW.

Here are links to some recent articles about science, climate and the environment for your DNR weekend reading enjoyment:

Science News: Caffeinated’ Coastal Waters: Possible Sources Include Sewer Overflows, Septic Tanks
A new study finds elevated levels of caffeine at several sites in Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of Oregon — though not necessarily where researchers expected.

Science Daily: Green Plants Reduce City Street Pollution Up to Eight Times More Than Previously Believed
Judicious placement of trees, bushes and other greenery in the concrete-and-glass canyons of cities can reduce street levels of two of the most worrisome air pollutants by eight times more than previously believed, a new study has found.

Green (New York Times): Lose the Crust, Inherit the Wind
Just as poor farming practices, including plowing up the prairie to plant crops, created Dust Bowl conditions in the 1930s in the Great Plains, the erosion of Arizona’s “desert crust” is contributing to massive dust storms today.

National Science Foundation: Tiny ‘Firefly’ Satellite Set To Flash Straight Into Lightning and Thunderstorms
A new generation of tiny but fully instrumented satellites about the size of a half-gallon milk carton can hitch rides on NASA and Dept. of Defense launch vehicles to make first-of-their-kind experiments in space and provide new measurements to help researchers understand Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Scientific American: Storm Scents: It’s True, You Can Smell Oncoming Summer Rain
Researchers have teased out the aromas associated with a rainstorm and deciphered the olfactory messages they convey

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DNR weekend reading: Wildfire-sensing beetles, volcanoes and climate change

Coho fry hanging out in the Solleks River on the Olympic Peninsula. Photo: Karen Huber/DNR.

Here are selected articles recently published in scientific journals, websites, and elsewhere for your weekend reading:

UC Berkeley: Analysis of global fire risk shows big, fast changes ahead
A new analysis led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, projects a jump in the frequency of wildfires across almost all of North America and most of Europe, primarily because of increasing temperature trends. More on fire and a warmer climate in Green (a New York Times blog): Fire and Warming – Different Forecasts for Tropics and Temperate Zones

Science Daily: Fire Beetles May Revolutionize Early-Warning Systems for Forest Fires
Black fire beetles of the genus Melanophila possess unusual infrared sensors. It seems these sensor help the beetle detect forest fires, even from great distances, since their wood-eating larvae can only develop in freshly burned trees. This natural model opens up new perspectives on early warning systems for forest fires.

Greenhouse: U.S. lags Europe, Indonesia in producing clean energy
The United States has tripled its production of clean energy in the past decade, but it still lags far behind Europe and Indonesia and is only slightly ahead of Mexico and India in the share of electricity it gets from renewable sources, according to a scorecard by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Science Daily: Global Warming Threat Seen in Fertile Soil of Northeastern U.S. Forests
Vast stores of carbon in U.S. forest soils could be released by rising global temperatures, according to a study by UC Irvine and other researchers in a recent online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientific American: Prelude to a Catastrophe: “One of the Most Active and Most Explosive Volcanoes in the Cascade Range”
Just off the coast near Mount St. Helens, a small plate named the Juan de Fuca is subducting beneath the North American continent. And this has given birth to a very lively chain of volcanoes called the Cascades. The short (in geologic time) and active history of Mount St. Helens leading up the 1980 explosion is described.

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Ocean acidity rise may threaten state’s shellfish industry; Commissioner Goldmark on panel seeking solutions

Oysters at hatcheries in Oregon are showing the effects of ocean acidification. Photo: Oregon State University.

As steward of 2.6 million acres of state-owned aquatic lands, DNR is paying close attention to ocean acidification. Recent research, funded by the National Science Foundation, only fuels our concerns that rising acidity of the Pacific Ocean has a direct effect on the larval growth of shellfish.

The research was conducted in a commercial oyster hatchery in Oregon, which suffered a collapse in oyster seed production. However, scientific studies reveal that waters in our state are also becoming more acidic, making it all the more urgent that we take steps to mitigate ecologic and economic harm.

On March 30, the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification convened for the first time. The panel is part of the Washington Shellfish Initiative and comprises a diverse group of state agencies, representatives of the aquaculture community, environmental organizations, tribes and other local leaders.

Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark was appointed to the panel, which has its second meeting today, April 25.

“As a scientist, I am keenly interested in using sound science to better understand the interrelation of human actions and the environment,” Commissioner Goldmark says. “Sound science is telling us more about the connection between climate change and ocean acidification.”  

The Blue Ribbon Panel will identify ways to advance our scientific understanding of the problem and reduce the harmful effects of acidification on Washington’s shellfish and other marine resources.  In October 2012, the panel will release recommendations to the Governor.

Learn more about the Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification and its focus for this important issue.

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