Google Earth has a new application that shows carbon dioxide in different layers of the earth’s atmosphere. Tyler Erickson, a geospatial researcher at the Michigan Tech Research Institute in Ann Arbor, responded to a competition call from Google asking scientists to present research results using KML, a data format used by Google Earth. This is what he came up with – an app that illustrates for us the carbon cycle, a deeper understanding of which can impact everything from mainstream understanding of carbon emissions to environmental policy.

Erickson said, “I tried to think of a complex data set that would have public relevance.” NASA reports that it lead him to work with data from NASA-funded researcher Anna Michalak of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Michalak develops complex computer models to trace carbon dioxide back in time to where it enters and leaves the atmosphere. With this information, we now have a great visual way to see and understand the carbon cycle, seeing in color where carbon dioxide is cycled into the earth through plants and water or where it hangs in the higher levels of the atmosphere.

To get at this information, a network of 1,000 foot towers with carbon dioxide-measuring equipment Read the full story

Yolandi Groenewald M&G

South Africans should brace themselves for a severely water-stressed future, a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report on the world’s ecological footprint warned this week.

The influential international report has been released every two years for the past decade.

In 1996 it warned that the world was heading for ecological disaster. The latest report paints an even bleaker picture of the future if consumers cannot curb their hunger for resources.

A new feature is the inclusion of a water footprint. The report finds that about 50 countries face moderate or severe water stress and that the number of people suffering from year-round or seasonal water shortages is likely to increase because of climate change.

“South Africa will be one of the countries hardest hit by water scarcity in 2025,” said Deon Nel, WWF Sanlam Living Waters Partnership manager. “A shortage of water will not only affect economic growth — there won’t be enough water for some people to live on.” Read the full story

A report released today by California’s Pacific Institute estimates that reasonable water conservation improvements on the state’s farms could save a huge amount of water–far more than what farmers have been forced to relinquish to protect fish habitat during the state’s ongoing drought. The amount that could be saved, 1.8 trillion gallons annually, is more than 15 times the size of the municipal supply of San Francisco.

The report, Sustaining California Agriculture in an Uncertain Future, provides considerable ammunition to environmentalists their fight with farmers over the West’s dwindling water resources. In the midst of the third year of drought in California, growers are blaming endangered species laws for crimping their water supply and contributing to more than $1 billion in lost revenue this summer. Though they’ve used their plight to call for weakening environmental regulations and building more dams and reservoirs, the report suggests their efforts are misplaced. Smarter conservation has allowed some growers “to increase their income, crop yields, and production, even during drought,” says Pacific Institute president Peter Gleick. “Such success stories offer the state a vision of what a healthy agricultural future might look like.”

The water conservation methods that the Gleick studied are already in use in the state, though many farmers cling to older practices. For example, 60 percent of crops in California are still irrigated by flooding the field, even though drip irrigation methods can easily halve water use. The report also suggests that farmers apply less water to crops during drought-tolerant growth stages and use sensors that can detect when soil is dry.

These ideas can seem far-removed from our lives until we realize that the products we consume account for more than 90 percent of our daily water use, far more than what comes out of our taps. I explore this idea in “What’s Your Water Footprint,” a piece in the current issue.  The Pacific Institute and other environmental groups eventually hope the concept of a water footprint will catch on much as carbon footprints have. The idea could be used to reward farmers who do the right thing, either with tax breaks, loans, or a premium for the products they sell.

The case for looking at carbon footprints and water footprints together is stronger than ever. A new study from the University of Colorado found that climate change creates a 50 percent chance that the reservoirs supplied by the Colorado River, the West’s main water source, could run dry by 2057. If that happens, all the water conservation technology in the world still probably won’t save us.

Written by Bryan Nelson

The current rate of extinction is 100 to 1000 times higher than the average, or background rate, making our current period the 6th major mass extinction in the planet’s history.

Although fossil reconstructions or pictorial representations can sometimes be difficult to connect with, it’s impossible to ignore the experience of seeing a photograph of an animal on the brink of extinction.

Thus, what follows is a list of 11 extinct animals that were photographed while still alive.

Tasmanian Tiger

The last Tasmanian Tiger, or Thylacine, known to have existed died in the Hobart Zoo, in Tasmania, Australia, on September 7th, 1936. Despite being the last of its kind, the animal (named “Benjamin”) likely died due to neglect after being locked out of its sheltered quarters during extreme weather.

Although commonly referred to as ‘tigers’, and despite having the look of a canid, the Thylacine isn’t remotely related to cats or dogs. Rather, it was the largest carnivorous marsupial of modern times, meaning it carried its young in a pouch. Its closest living relative is the Tasmanian Devil.

The biggest cause of their extinction in the wild was a massive hunting campaign instituted by the Tasmanian government from 1888 to 1909, justified because the Thylacines were believed to be a threat to sheep and hens. The last known wild Tasmanian Tiger was killed by a farmer named Wilf Batty in 1930, after spotting the animal around his hen house.

Quagga

The Quagga was a unique variety of Plains Zebra, marked by having stripes only on the front of its body, with hair color transitioning toward a light brown or tan along its rear and underbelly, until becoming white along its legs. This picture represents the only Quagga ever to have been photographed alive, taken at the London Zoo in 1870. Read the full story

A new reservoir is filling in central China. The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River  —the world’s largest dam—was completed in 2006, and the river is filling up its valley behind the dam to form a narrow reservoir extending more than 600 kilometers. This image from April 15, 2009, is one of the first images that astronauts on the International Space Station have been able to capture of the flooding behind the dam. The main objective for the dam is to supply water for the largest hydroelectric plant in the world and to help control the devastating floods that plague the lowlands downstream from the dam.

The epic scale of the dam project is matched by the level of controversy it continues to generate. Concerns about major environmental impacts, the relocation of 1.2 million people, and the flooding of 13 cities, more than 1300 villages, archeological locations, and hazardous waste dumps were raised throughout the planning and implementation. Environmental concerns include increased seismicity from the loading of the water, landslides, changed ecosystems, accumulated pollution, increased chances for waterborne diseases, and salinity changes in the Yangtze estuary.

By Anne Chaon

PARIS (AFP) — World Environment Day on Friday sees the worldwide release of a movie billed by producers as “the greatest green event ever”, a high-budget documentary to save the planet from Yann Arthus-Bertrand. From New York’s Central Park to the Champs de Mars by Paris’ Eiffel Tower, the French photographer known for the “Earth From The Air” books and “Seen From The Air” on TV, is releasing the green-awareness movie “Home” in over 100 countries simultaneously.

“More than a movie, Home will be a major event,” the producers said. Shot from the air in a chopper, the environmental documentary will be available across the globe June 5, mostly free of charge, in open-air spaces as well as theatres, TV, DVD, and the Internet at www.youtube.com/homeproject. “The idea is to explain what’s happening to the planet by beginning at the beginning, by the miracle of life on earth,” the photographer-director told AFP. Kicking off with stunning aerial views of the earth’s natural wonders before focusing from the air on polluting factories, airfields and oil platforms, the message translated into more than a score of languages is: “It’s too late to be a pessimist.”"Although there’s a general trend towards an awareness of ecological issues, concrete action is still too little, too slow,” he says.

“In 200,000 years on earth,” adds the film, “humanity has upset the balance of the planet. Humanity has barely 10 years to reverse the trend.”

The commentary, narrated by Glenn Close in English and Salma Hayek in Spanish, was submitted for editing to 2007 Nobel-prizewinner Al Gore and Lester Brown, the US environmental guru. It took almost three years to finalise the mega-movie, shot over 217 days in 54 countries, providing 488 hours of footage. “We have the power to change so what are we waiting for?” it asks.French movie mogul Luc Besson is distributing the 10-million-euro movie, a huge sum for a documentary put up by the luxury consortium PPR headed by Francois Henri Pinault. “The massive and free distribution of the film will enable anyone, anywhere, to see it, whatever their income,” Pinault said.

Speaking to AFP, Arthus-Bertrand said it was time to call a halt to a world where 20 percent of the population consumed 80 percent of the planet’s riches.”I explain what is happening, I don’t offer solutions,” he said. “But we all have solutions within ourselves.”"We would live better by consuming less and sharing more, and we need more courageous policies”. “The idea is to convince people to push politicians to action.”