Wind Farms: North Sea alternative energy is damaging ocean carbon sinks

The earth is a very crowded place. Maybe not for many animal and plant species that have been battered by overfishing, hunting or harvesting, but for we humans and the many ecological systems we impact, we're rubbing shoulders in a very big way. Just ask Struan Stevenson, Member of the European Parliament and president of the European Parliament's climate change, biodiversity, and sustainable development group.

Stevenson's concern is that in our attempts to address some of our energy needs and reduce our output of carbon into the atmosphere - in particular, the development of wind farms - we are damaging other natural systems that can also contribute to reducing or storing some of the 2.2 million tons of carbon being expelled into the air daily.

In Europe, wind farms are being constructed along shallow shorelines in places like Scotland to help reduce some of the continent's dependence on fossil fuels. Sounds good at first blush, but wind farms won't completely solve the carbon issue. In these cold northern waters, nature itself can lend a hand in the form of carbon sinks or carbon sequestering in sea grasses and salt marshes. Ocean acidification - the raising of the ocean's pH or acidic level through the dissolving of excess CO2 emissions into the ocean - is being accelerated by increases in ocean water temperatures, but in the North Atlantic, shallow aquatic flora can help to slow down the process.

That is, unless these vital marine ecosystems are being destroyed by well-intentioned builders of wind farms.

"Recent research has indicated that a tiny part of the marine environment – the mangrove swamps, salt marshes and seagrasses that cover just 0.5 per cent of the seabed – account for the capture of at least half, and maybe three-quarters, of this blue carbon [carbon stored in ocean environments]. They are our blue carbon sinks and keeping them in good shape could be one of our most important undertakings to control climate change. While most mangrove swamps are in the tropics and subtropics, the United Kingdom possesses large areas of the other blue carbon stores with its seagrass meadows and salt marshes. Government agency Scottish National Heritage has noted that the vast majority of the UK's seagrass meadows are located in Scottish waters, accounting for some 20 per cent of Europe's total," said Stevenson in Public Service Europe.

Due to the northern water's overall reduced visibility, salt marshes and sea grasses tend to grow in fairly shallow waters, less than 16 feet in depth. So, it would seem reasonable that offshore wind farms should be constructed and placed in deeper water. Apparently though, in a rush to establish wind energy technology as a viable alternative, the farms are being located in shallow areas and destroying a vital source of natural carbon storage. Stevenson says nearly 200 turbines have already been built in shallow waters in the North Sea.

"At present, a number of developers are preparing applications to site huge wind farms in the Moray Firth development area as the Scottish Government has noted that the region 'has favourable conditions and significant potential for the development of offshore wind both within Scottish territorial waters and beyond into Scottish offshore waters'. The government does not mention either saltmarshes or seagrasses in its 'sectoral marine plan for offshore wind energy in Scottish territorial waters', though they do note that there are potential adverse effects on bottlenose dolphins," Stevenson said.

Of course, the development off alternative energy sources like wind and solar needs to be maximized to help reduce the level of CO2 emissions. But it can't be at the expense of the planet's natural carbon sinks that help to sequester excess carbon. We wouldn't level a forest to build a solar energy farm, and so it is the same for offshore alternative energy and the ocean's natural devourers and holders of carbon. Mankind has assaulted nature with this problem of its own invention and now, as we struggle to come up with solutions, we must ensure that we give nature enough room to do its thing and be part of the solution, too.

"The message to policy-makers is clear - we cannot afford to sanction the continued destruction of our remaining blue carbon habitats merely to fast-track wind farm development. Blue carbon sinks are far more effective in the battle against climate change than turbines can ever be and it is time they received full protection."

Source: Public Service Europe

Whalers as Early Environmentalists: 19th century ice reports ironically provides climatologists with important data

Over the past few years, scientists and government agencies have reported changes in the Arctic sea ice. Monitoring its annual undulations, they have seen marked reductions in the thickness and overall extant of the floating ice pack. But to determine whether this is a minor fluctuation or an actual alarming trend, a baseline is needed - one that extends farther beyond the time frame that researchers have worked within.

For that data, scientists have turned to what some ocean conservationists would consider an unlikely source: whalers.

Specifically, whalers of the late 1800's, when the industry was in full swing and whaling vessels were plying the Arctic seas in search of whales to meet the Industrial Revolution's demand for whale oil. By charting the range and condition of Arctic sea ice for the purpose of determining safe routes for their ships, whalers unintentionally became early environmentalists, providing detailed reports that scientists can use today to help establish that needed baseline for assessing long-term trends and conditions. Talk about unlikely bedfellows.

Douglas Mair, environmental expert from Scotland's Aberdeen University, is preparing to deliver a series of talks at the university on the whalers' contribution to Arctic climate science. As reported in Scotland's The Press and Journal, he said, “They [whalers] recorded a lot of their observations about sea ice, or frozen oceans, in the Arctic. They were simply trying to find a safe way through the ice. There was nothing scientific about it. But their notes show us how the Arctic waters have changed over the decades. There has been a dramatic decline in sea ice."

Another rather unlikely source for past Arctic ice data also comes from Russian studies done in the 60's involving suitable locations for hydrogen bomb tests. Again, ironic that out of the era of "mutually assured destruction" we find something that provides evidence for environmentalists to show the importance of climate change and why we must address it as the world-changing event that it is.

From one mutually assured destruction scenario to another. We seemed to have steered away from one; now let's chart a new course away from the other.

Read more about it in The Press and Journal.

Shark News Bites: some good, some bad

Here's a batch of shark news items, some good, some not so good . . .

Scotland to ban shark finning:
In a bold and welcomed move, Scotland has proposed a total ban on shark finning by Scottish or any other registered vessel operating in Scottish waters. European Union nations constitute the largest exporting group of shark fins to the Asian marketplace and their has been discussion for a new EU policy regarding sharks, but Scotland decided that there's no time like the present.

"As one of Europe's most important fishing nations we have a duty to show that we are serious about protecting the sustainability of our seas, their stocks and the wider marine ecosystem, not just through words but with action," said Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead.
(BBC News story.)

Shark nets to stay in Queensland:
According to the Brisbane Times, sharks nets in Queensland, Australia will remain for now. There had been discussion about their removal - albeit temporary - due to a higher number of whale calves that have been caught in the nets during the whale's migration season.

Shark control program manager Tony Ham says, "The program has been in place since 1962 and in that time we've had one fatal attack on a protected beach, at North Stradbroke island in 2006. There were a number of attacks prior to the program going in - some of those were pretty horrific and fatal. We believe the program does work."

Shark nets have often been controversial because on the one hand, they seem to prevent unwanted shark-human interaction, but on the other hand, it prioritizes the rights of humans to enter the ocean over the rights of sharks to be in their natural habitat.

Spanish supermarkets to no longer sell endangered shark:
Two of Spain's larger supermarket chains, Alcampo and Sabeco, have decided to no longer carry endangered shark meat in their stores, only distributing species that are not threatened (effectively eliminating all commercial shark species). One year ago, the same chains decided to stop selling bluefin tuna, which has been pushed to near extinction in European waters.

The stores are promoting the sale of sustainable or aquafarmed species such as talapia and farmed cod, in addition to working with smaller companies to supply mussels, trout, and salmon. In September, Spain's Ministry of Environment and Rural and marine Affairs initiated a ruling to begin on January 1, 2010 that prohibits Spanish fishing boats from taking thresher and scalloped hammerhead sharks - two species that have suffered major population declines.
(FiS Worldnews story.)

Petition to protect Lemon Sharks:
In the winter, lemon sharks congregate off the east Florida coast and with the demand of shark fins combined with the decrease in numbers of many other commercial sharks like the sandbar shark, the lemon shark is coming under consideration by local fisherman as a way to meet demand.

A coalition of scientists, divers, and shark conservation groups have enlisted the aid of Care2petitionsite.com to help circulate a petition to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, asking for the commission to take action on behalf of the lemon shark by adding the species to the Prohibited Species List. The coalition is hoping to generate 10,000 signatures and they are currently about a third of the way there. To sign the petition, click here.