UC prof says factory farming will reduce GHGs from livestock

In 2006, The UN’s Food and Agriculture organization published “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” a much-criticized report suggesting that livestock accounted for more greenhouse gases than the planet’s entire motor fleet.

Now, a University of California professor has published a study suggesting the FAO overstated the impact of meat and dairy production on Climate Change. Dr. Frank Mitloehner says more efficient production methods — i.e. factory farming and feedlots — will reduce greenhouse gases from livestock.  

He adds that less industrialised countries should be helped to satisfy their populations’ growing demand for meat and dairy by adopting western-style factory farming.

“My concern is not to feed more meat to people in the developed world but to make nutrition available to people who are undernourished,” he said. “The current systems in Brazil, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are very land-hungry because they are so extensive. We have the tools to show them how to do it using less resources.”

The FAO is doing a “Son of Livestock’s Long Shadow” report that should be completed next year.

Read more in The Ecologist.

Krugman: Environmental Econ 101

If you listen to climate scientists — and despite the relentless campaign to discredit their work, you should — it is long past time to do something about emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, economist Paul Krugman writes. If we continue with business as usual, they say, we are facing a rise in global temperatures that will be little short of apocalyptic. And to avoid that apocalypse, we have to wean our economy from the use of fossil fuels, coal above all.

But is it possible to make drastic cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions without destroying our economy?

In what follows, Nobel Prize-winner Krugman will offer a brief survey of the economics of climate change or, more precisely, the economics of lessening climate change. I’ll try to lay out the areas of broad agreement as well as those that remain in major dispute. Read more in The New York Times.

Shell gets offshore drilling permit for NW Alaska

The Associated Press reports that the U.S. government has approved clean air permits for Shell Oil to drill exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast.  U.S. Sen. Mark Begich made the announcement Thursday.

Shell wants to drill three exploratory wells on the Arctic Ocean acreage leased offshore in a 2008 sale.

The clean air permit issued by the Environmental Protection Agency clears a regulatory hurdle for Shell.  But the company faces others before drilling can begin off Alaska’s northwest coast.

The announcement came one day after President Barack Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a revised outer continental shelf leasing program that affects four areas off Alaska.

Scientist says only earth can save itself

Professor James Lovelock, the scientist who developed Gaia theory, says it is too late to try and save the planet, BBC News reports.

The man who achieved global fame for his theory that the whole earth is a single organism now believes that we can only hope that the earth will take care of itself in the face of completely unpredictable climate change.

He said that while the earth’s future was utterly uncertain, mankind was not aware it had “pulled the trigger” on global warming as it built its civilizations.  At the age of 90, Professor Lovelock is resigned to his own fate and the fate of the planet. Whether the planet saves itself or not, he argues, all we can do is to “enjoy life while you can”. Watch the videos.

Politics of carbon: Obama wants to trade more oil drilling for GOP support

President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday plans for a broad expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling in an effort to win Republican support for new laws to fight climate change. 

Obama, a Democrat, said his administration would consider new areas for drilling in the mid and south Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, while “studying and protecting sensitive areas in the Arctic.”  The president needs bipartisan support to pass a bill that would set limits on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Read more from Reuters.

Oil company gave millions to fund misinformation on climate change

Greenpeace says Kansas-based Koch Industries, which owns refineries and operates oil pipelines, paid 35 conservative and libertarian groups –  and more than 20 congressmen and senators – to spread misinformation about climate science and  fossil fuel alternatives.

The company donated nearly $48 million to climate opposition groups from 1997 t 2008. From 2005 to 2008, it donated $25 million  to groups opposed to climate change, nearly three times as much as ExxonMobil. Koch also spent $5.7 million on political campaigns and $37 million on direct lobbying to support fossil fuels, Greenpeace says. Read more in The Guardian.

All about rice

Scientists and governments are worried about the effects Climate Change might have on rice production.

Here are 10 facts about rice and how it is produced.

– Asia is the biggest producer and consumer of rice. In 2007, 140 million out of a total of 156 million hectares of rice fields were in Asia.

– A member of the grass family, rice was first farmed about 10,000 years ago. Thought to be native to deltas around such Asian rivers as the Ganges and Yangtze, rice now grows on every continent except Antarctica.

– On average, it takes 3,000 litres of water to produce one kilogram of rice. The majority of rice is grown in flooded (irrigated or rain-fed) fields and is known as lowland rice.

– The world needs an extra eight to 10 million ton of rice each year to meet needs and keep rice affordable.

– The world’s biggest rice exporters in 2008/ 2009 were Thailand, Vietnam and the United States. The biggest importers were the Philippines, Nigeria and Iran.

Read the other five at AlertNet.

People of Earth: Turn out the lights

Earth Hour comes tonight from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time wherever your are. Your hour in the dark acknowledges Climate Change and shows support for Sustainable development.

Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia, in 2007. Organizers are hoping more than 1 billion people in at least 125 countries will take part this year. That would be the largest mass statement about climate change  and sustainability in human history.

“Earth Hour is meant to unite the world,” says Dan Forman, manager of  Earth Hour sponsor World Wildlife Fund (WWF.) “A lot of people find the issue of climate change a priority, and on Saturday we’re going to make that statement to the world.”

Read more in The Christian Science Monitor

Cap and Trade: Devils in the details

Here’s another one from Annie Leonard of the “Story of Stuff” project.

This one’s “The Story of Cap and Trade.”  Watch it.

Downstream Blog launched!

This is the inaugural post on the Downstream Blog. The blog is associated with Downstream Communications, a small communications and consulting company focused on nonprofit organizations and agencies working in the realm of international sustainable development. Have no fear, we won’t be hyping Downstream Communications on the blog.

We will examine developments in global sustainable development, climate change, hunger and poverty, agriculture, health, culture, micro-enterprise, political economy, peace, social justice, education, community, environment, gender, leadership and more.  But don’t expect all-bad-news-all-the-time. Yes, the planet and its people are beset with problems of all sorts. But we also live in a world full of wonder, courage, industry, ingenuity,  inspiration and humor. You’ll find all of that here too.

Ultimately, sustainable development is not only about bureacracies, systems, regimes or administration. It’s about the people. And we all live downstream.