Doomsday tourism, eh? Nice term. It’s a fine difference to eco-tourism, where you just want to see natural sites. Here, you want to see natural sites that is not predicted to remain for long. 

An interesting story about the eco-tourist boom of those rushing to see sites that are changing so fast they may disappear and never be seen as they were. Most of these are ice disappearing in one form or another, or sea levels rising. Let’s hope those who are rushing there are doing so responsibly so these sites are not gone sooner than would be otherwise without their presence!

Antarctica: the Müller ice shelf and the Larsen ice shelf are shrinking dramatically.

Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania: global warming is blamed for melting of the year-round snows at the summit of Africa’s highest mountain. They could be gone in 15 years.

The Arctic ice cap: the melting of icebergs and ice caps in the Arctic is blamed on global warming and threatens the habitats of species such as polar bears.

The Maldives: rising sea levels (3½in per year) could make these 1,200 islands in the Indian Ocean uninhabitable within 100 years.

Venice: the Italian city is sinking into the Adriatic and rising sea levels could make things worse.

Alaska: American travel agents report thousands heading for the shrinking glaciers and melting permafrost.

Great Barrier Reef, Australia: it’s been predicted that rising water temperatures, which are bleaching the famously vivid reefs, will kill 95 per cent of the living coral by 2050.

Kitzbuhel, Austria: the home of the world’s most fearsome ski run is among low-lying Alpine ski resorts whose long-term futures are threatened by rising temperatures - on average the warmest they have been for 1,250 years.

Galapagos Islands: rising water temperatures are bleaching coral and causing the deaths of marine species.

Patagonia: South American glaciers are also retreating.

According to the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, more than 37,000 tourists visited the continent last year - double the number five years ago. A third came from America, while the second largest contingent - one in seven visitors - travelled from Britain. “There definitely is a rush to see and explore the world before it changes,” said Matt Kareus, of Natural Habitat, which operates excursions to Antarctica.

Interesting. We Canadians flock to warmer weather. Going to Antartica isn’t exactly our style, though, mind you, I personally took a half day vacation last winter to photograph Halifax harbour freezing in -36C windchill. We’ve got the deepest ice free unfrozen natural harbour in the world, in case you didn’t know. Besides, we Canadians have got the North Pole so why go to the South Pole?

At least we’ve got the North Pole for now.

Merry Christmas again! [Envirostats author]

- Eco-tourism story via The Telegraph, Dec 23 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

The source and source story is a study that ranked environmental performance based on climate change performances in 2006, which was a little complicated to try and explain in the headline statistic.

The countries were ranked based on the amount of emissions they produced over the past year, the amount of reductions they made to their emissions levels and the strength of their climate-change policies.

There was no real detail on how much things were weighed, but needless to say, per capita emissions had to be part of the calculations based on some small countries’ output.

The five lowest ranked countries, starting with the worst, were:

• Saudi Arabia
• The United States
• Australia
• Canada
• Luxembourg

That Saudi Arabia was worst is of no surprise to me. They have high overall emissions, never mind per capita. They haven’t done much about it, either. The US and Australia are no surprises, either, but that Canada is that low on the list was a small surprise. I knew we weren’t CO2 saints, but this is a new low for the country. Finally, little Luxembourg is a big surprise. Whatever they’re doing for CO2 emissions, and whatever they’re not doing to curb it, I haven’t heard anything about it, whether CO2 or ecological footprint or otherwise. Their presence is why I said per capita emissions had to be a part of the calculations.

The five best countries were:

• Sweden
• Germany
• Iceland
• Mexico
• India

I don’t know what to make of this list because for countries like Mexico and India, I know about many of their other environmental problems so they have a bad image, but may be quite good for CO2 emissions. Per capita emissions might have helped India be lowest on that list of 56 countries, but I still have a problem because they do have a very large population and much of their energy isn’t clean, either. But whatever. I posted this entry for the headline statistic but could not leave the rest of the story without a comment given some details that might have misled readers.

I’m not sure I’m convinced Germany is second only to Sweden, either, but that again could be based on my knowledge of other Scandanavian environmental situations rather than their CO2 emissions that is biasing my opinion. The source is also German, in part, so it does raise an eyebrow like Spock on Star Trek, but the European But I’ll leave those thoughts at that for your consideration. [Envirostats author]

Canada, with its overall ranking of 53rd out of 56 countries, has fallen from last year, when it was ranked 51st.

“The [Canadian] government is still not making a serious effort to cut greenhouse gas pollution, and that leaves Canada at the back of the pack,” Matthew Bramley of the Pembina Institute said in a news release.

The Pembina Institute, a Canadian environmental organization, contributed to the study.

“The gap between the government’s rhetoric and its action to date severely weakens Canada’s credibility here in Bali,” Bramley said.

‘Hypocrisy in Canada’s approach’

Bramley, in an interview from Bali, said Canada is making unrealistic demands on other countries, considering the poor job it’s doing, according to the study.

Bramley said Canada could have boosted its ranking over last year by at least 20 positions, to the middle of the pack, if it had strengthened its government policies overseeing areas like industrial emissions.

“Minister Baird is taking some highly obstructive positions coming into these negotiations, particularly the kinds of demands that he’s making of developing countries,” Bramley said.

“When we see how poorly Canada is performing on climate change, it really points to a kind of hypocrisy in Canada’s approach.”

Baird and the Conservative government have pledged to reduce Canada’s overall emissions by 20 per cent from 2006 levels by 2020, but environmentalists and opposition members of parliament have attacked this plan because it fails to meet Canada’s Kyoto obligations.

Under Kyoto, which was signed by Canada under a Liberal government in 1998, Canada is expected to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent from 1990 levels by 2012.

Kyoto was ratified by 141 countries, with each having slightly different targets to meet in an effort to reduce overall global emissions by about five per cent from 1990 levels. 

- Germanwatch and Climate Action Network Europe via the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Dec 7 2007

This is just coal usage and not CO2 emissions, which are partly dependent on coal use but by no means the only source. The general stories with China and the US being the worst climate polluters are about their CO2 emissions, not coal usage.

China and the US are the top two polluters for CO2, but it’s close there. They are also the top two polluters in coal usage, but China is king here by being twice as bad as the US.

Of course, the story per capita is different with China’s population being more than 4 times the US, but that’s no excuse  cause in China, it’s a matter of growth rather than having to decommission old systems already in place. In other words, they know better and have options to have chosen from the “start”. [Envirostats author]

- Vital Signs Update by the Worldwatch Institute, Nov 29 2007

This is a collection of links to great green gift ideas to start off your holiday season now that it is December and by my books, fair time to start Christmas shopping. I’m not into the consumerism hoopla that is Christmas, but I’m not a grinch, either. The list here is the same as the page on this blog I just created called Green Gifts, found at the top menu bar. As a result, the lists will be for Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza or whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year. However, green gifts can be given all year round, though at the caution of consumption. So please, enjoy your holidays responsibly in as many ways as you can!

Minh Tan
Envirostats author
.

10 great gifts for the eco child 
It’s a tough job to keep the kids happy and save the planet, but the following should do the trick.
(The Independent)

10 great gifts for the green woman
Racking your brains for something suitably stylish, yet planet-friendly?
(The Independent)

10 great gifts for the green man
A selection of presents to the keep the eco-warrior in your life at the top of his game.
(The Independent)

10 great organic christmas drinks
There’s no reason why you shouldn’t go local or organic with your festive tipples.
(The Independent)

Green Christmas getaways
Let someone else worry about the cooking while you take a break in the lap of eco-luxury.
(The Independent)

Alternative green Christmas activities
activities for nature-lovers where family fun is high on the agenda.
(The Independent)

10 green new year’s resolutions
From buying local to saving water, Laura Smith offers 10 ways to make 2008 an ecologically sound year.
(The Independent)

Environmental Defense Christmas List 
Annual roundup of earth-friendly ideas.
(Environmental Defense)