Compare to Australia’s 14% total emissions by its sheep, cows and other farm animals in Stat 0645.

The source story was about how the British agriculture industry could be realistically carbon neutral with a whopping 75% of emissions possibly reduced by stimulating both on-farm and centralized anaerobic digestion facilities from current manure management practices in dairy, cattle and fattening pig enterprises.

I’ll believe that when I see it. If it were so effective, why isn’t everyone on this? It’s an intuitive guess, of course, to doubt some scientist’s claim, but I’m posting it. Tell me when I’m wrong. [Envirostats author]

- Reuters, Dec 10 2007

Methane (CH4) has the global warming potential of 21 compared to CO2, meaning a given mass of methane does 21-23 times the global warming damage to the atmosphere as the equivalent mass of CO2, or in another comparison, it’d take 21-23 times the mass of CO2 to do the same damage as a given mass of methane.

Animal flatulence, as well as human, deliver a significant amount of methane, and thus greenhouse gases, to world GHG emissions. The story was about scientists trying to get farm animal stomachs to work the same way as kangaroo stomachs and eliminate methane from those animals’ flatulence.  [Envirostats author]

- Athol Klieve, a senior research scientist with the Queensland state government, via Yahoo!, Dec 5 2007

Some of these birds are in the famous 12 Days of Christmas songs, sadly. 

The crested lark suffered a 95% decline between 1980 and 2005 - the greatest decline of any of the 124 European birds analysed. Its demise is mainly attributed to the increasing intensification of farming.

The lesser spotted woodpecker has suffered a 81% decline in numbers. It is a regular nesting bird in the UK.

The grey partridge has seen a 79% decline in numbers. In the UK, it faces additional threats from being shot by people who mistake it for the more common and introduced red-legged partridge.

The wryneck used to be a regular nesting bird in the UK, but following a 74% decline, it is now effectively extinct in the UK as a breeding bird.

The wheatear has suffered a 70% decline in numbers. It is a summer visitor to Britain, breeding mainly in western and northern Britain and western Ireland. It winters in central Africa.

The nightingale, famous for the song it sings day and night from April to June, has witnessed a 63% decline. It is no longer such a common sight throughout southern Europe.

The turtle dove has declined by 62% across Europe and is no longer a familiar sight in the UK countryside.

The willow tit has declined by more than 58%. It is found all year round in England and Wales in damp places, such as the edge of lowland peat bogs, marshes, and around gravel pits.

The lapwing population has halved over 26 years. It is a farmland bird. Of the 10 common European birds showing the greatest decline, five live on farmland.

The serin has declined by 41%. It has nested in England on several occasions.

Some birds have had populations increased, though. The species that have shown the greatest increases between 1980 and 2005 are:

Hawfinch (658%)
Collared flycatcher (182%)
Raven (118%)
Blackcap (82%)
Common buzzard (80%)
Black woodpecker (77%)
Woodpigeon (71%)
Collared dove (59%)
Chiffchaff (56%)
Green woodpecker (43%)

This study didn’t include the impact from the 10 million blue tits that died this summer due to wet weather wiping out their food supplies (see Stat 0576).

Merry Christmas, everyone! [Envirostats author]

- State of Europe’s Common Birds 2007 report by the European Bird Census Council, RSPB and BirdLife International, via the Guardian, Dec 21 2007

- Slideshow by the Guardian, Dec 21 2007

Here’s another big contributor to global warming not many talk about, but probably because it’s not something most of us have going on in our lives that contribute to global warming. It was marketed as one cheap and effective way to get bang for your buck in trying to reduce emissions that contribute to global warming. [Envirostats author]

“Just like a global phase out of old, energy guzzling light bulbs or a switch to hybrid cars, protecting and restoring peatlands is perhaps another key “low hanging fruit” and among the most cost- effective options for climate change mitigation,” said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

Peatlands are wetland ecosystems that accumulate plant material under saturated conditions to form layers of peat soil up to 20m thick - storing on average 10 times more carbon per hectare than other ecosystems. Peatlands occur in 180 countries and cover 400 million hectares or 3% of the world’s surface.

Major overall findings

• Peatlands are the most efficient terrestrial ecosystems in storing carbon. While covering only 3% of the World’s land area, their peat contains as much carbon as all terrestrial biomass, twice as much as all global forest biomass, and about the same as in the atmosphere.

• Peatlands are the most important long-term carbon store in the terrestrial biosphere. They sequester and store atmospheric carbon for thousands of years.

• Peatlands are critical for biodiversity conservation. They support many specialised species and unique ecosystem types, and can provide a refuge for species that are expelled from non-peatland areas affected by degradation and climate change.

• Peatlands play a key role in water resource management, storing a significant proportion of global freshwater resources. Peatland degradation can disrupt water supplies and decrease flood control benefits.

• Degradation of peatlands is a major and growing source of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions from peatland drainage, fires and exploitation are estimated to currently be equivalent to at least 3,000 million tonnes per annum or equivalent to more than 10% of the global fossil fuel emissions.

• Peatland degradation affects millions of people around the world. Drainage and fires in SE Asian peat swamp forests jeopardise the health and livelihoods of millions of people in several countries in the region. The destruction of mountain peatlands in Africa, Asia and Latin America threatens the water and food supply for large rural and urban populations.

• Climate change impacts are already visible through the melting of permafrost peatlands and desertification of steppe peatlands. In the future, impacts of climate change on peatlands are predicted to significantly increase. Coastal, tropical and mountain peatlands are all expected to be particularly vulnerable.

• Conservation, restoration and wise use of peatlands are essential and very cost-effective measures for long term climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as biodiversity conservation.

• Optimising water management in peatlands (i.e. reducing drainage) is the single highest priority to combat CO2 emissions from oxidation and fires as well as address peatland degradation and biodiversity conservation.

• There is in most countries an urgent need to strengthen awareness, understanding and capacity to manage peatlands- to address peatland degradation, biodiversity conservation and climate change.

- Assessment on Peatlands, Biodiversity and Climate Change via the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Press Release, Dec 11 2007

This is an interesting statistic, but I would caution haste to associate causality, that is what is causing all this and how they are exactly linked, although some general link is not a doubt in my mind. [Envirostats author]

Regulations are hastening the decline of vegetable varieties.

Remaining traditional species from Britain and abroad are facing extinction due to European Union regulations that ban the sale of seeds unless the variety is registered on a national or EU list.

Garden Organic said the loss of species threatened the diversity and of our food. Relying on a few species also threatened the security of supplies

Garden Organic runs a heritage seed library that aims to conserve and make available varieties that are disappearing. It said it had saved 800 types of vegetable that were on the verge of extinction.

They include oddities such as the Afghan purple carrot, Colonel Murphy beans and another bean called Ryder’s top o’the pole, which are grown by volunteer “seed guardians” to produce the quantities of seeds needed for the library and to keep the varieties adapting to new conditions.

Extinct vegetables

Crimson flowered broad bean, Champion of England pea, Bath cos lettuce, Rowsham park hero onion

Most endangered vegetables

Runner bean McCoy Hill, Dwarf French bean Colonel Murphy’s Kale Daubenton

Rare vegetables on protection list

Afghan purple carrot, Red elephant carrot, Shetland cabbage, Walla Walla sweet onion, Giant tree tomato, Macedonian sweet pepper, Crimson giant radish, Salford black runner bean, Boothby’s blond cucumber, Colossal leek, Loos tennis ball lettuce

- Garden Organic via the Telegraph, Dec 8 2007