Deadlines Set for $75,000 Third Annual Environmental Journalism Prize

The Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting invites entries for the third annual $75,000 Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment by media in the U.S. and Canada. Book entries must be postmarked no later than January 14, 2008. All other entries must be postmarked by February 4, 2008. Entrants will be competing for the largest journalism cash award in the world.

Entries covering environment and natural resources topics and distributed in the United States or Canada between January 1 and December 31, 2007 should be sent to the Metcalf Institute, Grantham Prize Program Administrator. The prize is open to all journalism covering significant environmental and natural resources issues, including print, broadcast, and online entries.

Metcalf Institute Executive Director and Prize Administrator Sunshine Menezes said the organization anticipates continued growth in the number of outstanding entries based on recent years of abundant environmental coverage.

"With the 2007 Grantham Prize winning series, Altered Oceans, Los Angeles Times reporters Kenneth Weiss and Usha Lee McFarling exemplified the clear, accurate, and impartial journalism that we hope to see. Given the flood of environmental coverage in 2007, we look forward to receiving entries from big and small news outlets, giving local to global perspectives on the major news of the day," she said.

The 2008 prize jurors will be chaired by Philip Meyer, a Knight Chair in Journalism Professor at the University of North Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Meyer is the author of the seminal journalism textbook, Precision Journalism, and also of the 2004 book The Vanishing Newspaper: Saving Journalism in the Information Age. He was on the Detroit Free Press reporting team that won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for General Reporting for its coverage of Detroit rioting in 1967.

Rounding out the highly respected team of Grantham Prize jurors are:

• David Boardman, Executive Editor of The Seattle Times, and President of the Board of Directors of Investigative Reporters and Editors;
• Peter Desbarats, a former dean of the University of Western Ontario Graduate School of Journalism in London, Ontario, a founding director of the Canadian Journalism Foundation and also the founding chair of its annual Excellence Award;
• Diane Hawkins-Cox, Senior Producer with the CNN Science and Technology Unit in Atlanta; and
• Robert B. Semple, Jr., Associate Editor of the Editorial Page for The New York Times and a 1996 Pulitzer Prize winner for editorial writing on environmental issues.

Contest rules and additional information about the Grantham Prize are available online at http://www.granthamprize.org.

The Grantham Prize is funded by Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham through The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment. The foundation supports natural resource conservation programs both in the United States and internationally. Jeremy Grantham is a Boston-based investment strategist and Hannelore Grantham is the Director of The Grantham Foundation.

from environmental news

Oil hits new record above $92

Oil rallied to a fresh record high above $92 a barrel on Friday as the dollar tumbled to a record low, Washington imposed new sanctions on Iran and gunmen shut more oil production in Nigeria.

Oil's bullish momentum has pulled in increasing amounts of speculative investment and waves of technical buying have been triggered as U.S. oil pierced successive lines of resistance.

At 8:46 a.m. EDT U.S. crude was up $1.14 at $91.60, off a record $92.22. It is closing in on its inflation-adjusted high of $101.70 seen over the course of April 1980, a year after the Iranian revolution and at the start of the Iran-Iraq war.

London Brent was up 93 cents at $88.41.

Institutional money has been flooding into oil and other commodities since the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates in August.

"It's more or less nobody wants to be short in this market," said Markus Mezger, who manages investment portfolios at commodities hedge fund Tiberius.

But sentiment is now overheated and the supply/demand picture is not so supportive.

"We don't find that prices are supported fundamentally above $80," Mezger said. "On the demand side, the world economy might not be in such a good shape," he said. "Supply is increasing from OPEC from November on and we think there might be a second decision to increase output again."

This might tip the balance of the global oil market into a small surplus for the fourth quarter, he said.

On Thursday the United States placed new sanctions on Iran, the world's fourth-biggest oil exporter, and accused its Revolutionary Guard of spreading weapons of mass destruction. Iran is at odds with the United Nations over its nuclear programme.

An attack on a Nigerian oil rig operated by Italian firm ENI shut 50,000 barrels per day of production and reminded investors that Africa's biggest producer is a long way from restoring order and normal output in the oil-rich delta.

WEAK DOLLAR

Unprecedented weakness in the dollar has been another factor driving prices of dollar-denominated commodities higher.

In anticipation that the U.S. Federal Reserve may cut interest rates next week, the dollar hit fresh record lows against the euro and a basket of currencies on Friday.

While U.S. oil has surged 50 percent since the start of the year, the price rise in euros lags at 38 percent.

Moves by central banks to cut interest rates and pump billions of dollars into financial markets to ease a credit crunch have added fuel to oil's rally. Since mid-August, when the Federal Reserve cut U.S. rates, oil has climbed 30 percent.

At the same time the U.S. and European asset-backed commercial paper market has shrunk by some $400 billion.

Analysts said investor positions in U.S. crude options suggested traders were betting on further rises. A wave of call, or buy, options kicked in on Thursday as U.S. oil broke $90.

"The next big layer of call open interest is sitting on the $100 a barrel strike and this will become the next target if current dynamics allow U.S. crude to rise above $95," said Olivier Jakob of Swiss-based Petromatrix.

In his view, prices are being driven by option dynamics and supported by U.S. policy towards Iran. In an edgy market bullish headlines were being over-amplified, he reasoned.

Higher prices have so far had a limited impact on economic growth and demand but investors are alert to signs the U.S. housing slump is spilling over into the broader economy.

There are some indications of a slowdown in China's demand growth, another big driver of oil's rally.

The gap between world prices and low state-set Chinese prices have pushed refiners to cut runs, leading to some diesel pumps running dry in the southwest of the country.

China's apparent oil demand grew at the slowest rate in 20 months in September, up just 0.3 percent from a year earlier.

from environmental news and reuters

Recycling

Recycled paper produces 73% less air pollution than if it was made from raw materials.
It takes 24 trees to make 1 ton of newspaper.




1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours.




1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60 watt light bulb for 3 hours.
Plastic can take up to 500 years to decompose.




1 recycles glass bottle would save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.
Glass is 100% recyclable and can be used again and again.

China,India biofuel plans threaten water resources

The ambitious plans of India and China to ramp up biofuel production will deplete their water reserves and seriously impact their ability to meet food demands.

China and India, expected to account for nearly 70 per cent of global oil demand between now and 2030, are using cheaper biofuels derived from crops to help power their economies the International Water management said.

"But to grows biofuel crops you need to use more water and land,"a scientist at the institute and lead author of the biofuels said.

India and China which both have over 1 billion people suffer from water shortages, which will only get worse as their food demand keeps pace with a growing population. Their rising income and diversifying diets.

The 2 Asian giants are already struggling to find enough water to grow the food they need. As global crude oil prices race past US$80 a barrel, countries are increasingly relying on biofuels, which produce energy by using organic waste , wood, dung and residues from crops like sugarcane and grains.

China plans to use maize, while India wants to use sugarcane for biofuel production. Both crops relied heavily on irrigation.

China aims to increase biofuels production four-fold from 2002 level of 3.6 billion litres of bioethanol to around 15 billion litres by 2020 or 9% of the country projected gasoline demand.

India is pursuing a similarly aggressive strategy. To meet their biofuel targets India needed to produce 16% more sugarcane and China 26% extra maize.

Crop production for biofuels in China And India would likely jeopardise sustainable water use and thus affect irrigated production of food crops including cereals and vegetables which would then need to be imported in larger quantities.

Are this country-particularly India, which has devoted so much effort to achieving food security- adequately considering the trade-offs involved, especially the prospect of importing food to free up sufficient water and land for production of biofuel crops?

Water scarcity in India has prompted a controversial multibillion-dolar plan to redistribute water within the country to meet future needs.

China is implementing a costly transfer project to bring water from the water-abundant south to the water-short north leaving groundwater resources extensively over-exploited.

In both countries biofuels will add pressure on water resources that already are heavily exploited or over exploited. China and India need a fresh approach to re-look at the way they produce biofuels

The report suggests authorities develop dryland rain-fed crops such as sweet sorghum for ethanol and species such as Jatropha and Pongamia for biodiesel.

This could help reduce competition for scarce water between the crops.

New strait times paper and AFP

Huge Ash Cloud as Indonesia's Mount Soputan Erupts

Mount Soputan volcano on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sulawesi island has erupted, throwing columns of ash 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) into the air, an official said on Friday.

Saut Simatupang, of Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, said that the eruption did not appear to pose an immediate threat to residents, although ash had reached the nearest town.

"From the data that we have, it is only spraying ash without other volcanic material," he said by telephone. "It is not so dangerous but we suggest people wear a mask so they will not suffer from respiratory problems."

The nearest village to Soputan, 2,175 km (1,351 miles) northeast of the capital Jakarta, is located 11 km from its crater.

In August, Soputan also spewed ash and rocks, although Simatupang said that a few days ago the volcano was calm.

A local official said that no evacuation had been ordered.

"The eruption was weak, only sending out volcanic ash and the wind blew to the south while we are in the western part of the mountain," said Ramai Luntungan.

He said that two villages near the mountain, with 1,000 people in each, were not in danger as they were protected by the lie of the land, but that masks would be distributed.

"Based on our experiences, we will only be showered by ash, so we didn't need to evacuate."

Last week, authorities evacuated residents living within a 10-km (6-mile) zone around Mount Kelud volcano in eastern Java after warning it was liable to erupt.

The order to evacuate more than 100,000 people was made after officials declared a maximum alert at the volcano, just 90 km (55 miles) southwest of Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city.

Indonesia has the highest number of active volcanoes in any country, sitting on a belt of intense volcanic and seismic activity known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire".

from Reuters and Environmental News

Mazda prepares for "hydrogen society"

Researchers at Japanese carmaker Mazda think cars will in future run on a water component -- hydrogen.

"We have to prepare for sustainable zoom-zoom," Mazda executive Nobuhiro Hayama said on Monday.

"We have to make a link with the hydrogen society of the future."

Mazda uses the term zoom-zoom in its marketing for fun driving, or "the exhilaration and liberation that come from experiencing sheer motion."

Hayama told the Nikkei Automotive Conference in Tokyo that the advantage of hydrogen fuel was that it could be used in internal combustion engines.

There are technical problems to overcome. Hydrogen fuel cells use platinum for catalysts and supplies of platinum are limited.

A hydrogen fuel cell is efficient but Hayama said a hydrogen engine was more practical because no change was needed in the materials and manufacturing process of engines.

However, because hydrogen ignites at lower temperatures than diesel or gasoline, there is a risk of abnormal combustion. This, he said, could be solved by using rotary engines.

A hydrogen rotary engine could also use gasoline as fuel, so would need two fuel tanks, though.

Hayama said Mazda was developing the hydrogen engine with Ford, which has a controlling 34 percent stake in it.

Germany's BMW is also working on hydrogen technology.

from Reuter and E news

Much room for improvement

The 2006 Environmental Quality Report reveals the state of our environment and points to culprits behind the mess.

Hazy air

VEHICLES and power plants that generate the electricity that we use, were the main air polluters last year. Power stations emitted half of all the soot that clouded our sky, and also half of the total sulphur dioxide (a pungent gas which irritates the respiratory system and forms acid rain).

Motor vehicles, vans and lorries in particular, spewed the most oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide, gases which lead to respiratory ailments.

Klang Valley folks breathed in unhealthy air quality 7% of the time last year, and moderate air quality 70% of the time. The air was good only 23% of the time. The valley is prone to air pollution due to its geographical position, industrial and commercial activities, dense population and traffic.

Nationwide, the annual averages of sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and ozone were below guidelines, but there is concern over the effects of chronic, long-term exposure. Ground level ozone is of concern as continuous exposure aggravates respiratory ailments, harms vegetation, and leads to smog. Ozone forms when oxides of nitrogen react with hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds in the presence of heat and sunlight.

Murky flows

The main river pollutants are domestic sewage, waste from livestock farms, runoffs from towns, silt from earthworks, leachate from rubbish dumps, runoffs from farms, litter from riverside squatters and mining waste

Last year, 80 river basins were deemed clean, 59 slightly polluted and seven, polluted. This is a marked improvement from 2005, when 80 river basins were clean, 51 slightly polluted and 15 polluted. The seven polluted rivers were Pinang, Juru, Buloh, Danga, Tebrau, Segget and Pasir Gudang.

Last year, domestic sewage and discharges from latex-based factories, agro-based industries and manufacturing industries, fouled 22 river basins.

Domestic sewage and livestock farming waste soiled 41 river basins while earthworks and land clearing turned 42 river basins murky.

Tainted groundwater

Arsenic levels were high in groundwater near a radioactive waste landfill, solid waste landfills, municipal water supply sources and agricultural areas. Groundwater near waste dumps was also contaminated with iron, lead, manganese, phenol and faecal bacteria.

Contaminated seas

Our marine waters showed a higher of Escherichia coli, mercury and arsenic levels last year than the year before. However, levels of suspended solids, oil and grease, copper, lead, cadmium and chromium dropped.

The faecal bacteria E. coli was the dominant pollutant in waters off 71 islands, which included resort islands, marine parks and protected islands. This is because of the discharge of raw or poorly treated domestic sewage.

Pollution by silt was the worst the coasts of Kedah, Perak and Negri Sembilan. Oil and grease pollution were mostly seen in Terengganu, Pahang and Negri Sembilan. E. coli levels were highest off the coasts of Perlis, Kedah, Negri Sembilan and Penang island.

Lead contamination was evident in Terengganu, Kelantan and Perak waters.

Toxic discards

Hazardous waste thrown out by industries more than doubled in the past two years, from 548,916 tonnes to 1,103,457 tonnes. The hike was due to the addition of electronic waste and gypsum waste (511,929 tonnes) from two generators which were previously not reported.

Gypsum, oil and hydrocarbon, dross, heavy metal sludge, mineral sludge and e-waste form the bulk of the waste. The waste had mostly come from industries dealing with chemicals, electronics, metals, pharmaceuticals, industrial gas, rubber and plastic, petroleum/oleo chemicals and batteries, as well as from automotive workshops.

from staronline