Positive Air Quality Trends Continue, While Big Polluters and Congress Seek to Weaken Proven Clean Air Controls

The American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2012 report, just released, finds that in America’s most polluted cities, air quality was at its cleanest since the organization’s annual report began 13 years ago. This year’s report details the trend that standards set under the Clean Air Act to cleanup major air pollution sources—including coal-fired power plants, diesel engines, and SUVs—are working to drastically cut ozone (smog) and particle pollution (soot) from the air we breathe. Despite this progress, unhealthy levels of air pollution still exist and in some parts of the country worsened.

“State of the Air shows that we’re making real and steady progress in cutting dangerous pollution from the air we breathe,” said Charles D. Connor, American Lung Association President and CEO. “We owe this to the ongoing protection of the Clean Air Act. But despite these improvements, America’s air quality standards are woefully outdated, and unhealthy levels of air pollution still exist across the nation, putting the health of millions of Americans at stake.”

The job of cleaning the air is not finished. More than 40 percent of people in the United States live in areas where air pollution continues to threaten their health. That means more than 127 million people are living in counties with dangerous levels of either ozone or particle pollution that can cause wheezing and coughing, asthma attacks, heart attacks, and premature death. Those at greatest risk from air pollution include infants, children, older adults, anyone with lung diseases like asthma, people with heart disease or diabetes, people with low incomes and anyone who works or exercises outdoors.

The Lung Association’s annual air quality report grades cities and counties based, in part, on the color-coded Air Quality Index developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to alert the public to daily unhealthy air conditions. The 13th annual report uses the most recent, quality-controlled EPA data collected from 2008 through 2010 from official monitors for ozone and particle pollution, the two most widespread types of air pollution. Counties are graded for ozone, year-round particle pollution and short-term particle pollution levels. The report also uses EPA’s calculations for year-round particle levels.
 Major improvements were seen in 18 of the 25 cities most polluted by ozone, including Los Angeles, which had the lowest smog levels since the report was first published in 2000. Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati were among 17 of the 25 cities most polluted by annual particle pollution that experienced their cleanest years yet. Four cities—Pittsburgh, San Diego, Philadelphia and Visalia, Calif., had their lowest-ever, short-term particle pollution level. For the first time, Birmingham, Ala., Detroit, Mich., and York, Pa., dropped completely off the report’s 25 most-polluted cities lists. Santa Fe, N.M., ranked as the cleanest city in the nation.

Meanwhile, State of the Air 2012 finds that nearly four out of 10 people in the U.S. live in counties that received an F for air quality because of unhealthy levels of ozone air pollution, which can cause health problems that day, and even days after. When inhaled, ozone irritates the lungs, like a bad sunburn, and can cause wheezing, coughing, asthma attacks and can shorten life.

The report also finds that nearly 50 million Americans live in counties with too many unhealthy spikes in particle pollution levels, and nearly six million people live in areas with unhealthy year-round levels of particle pollution. Particle pollution is the most dangerous and deadly widespread air pollutant in America. This noxious mix of microscopic bits of ash, soot, diesel exhaust, chemicals, metals and aerosols can lead to early death, heart attacks, strokes and emergency room visits. Only eight counties received a failing grade for year-round particle pollution, further evidence of the continuing improvement even since last year’s report.

The trend toward cleaner air continued throughout this three-year period, even as the economy, energy use and driving began to rebound after the recession in 2008-2009. The reduced emissions result from standards set under the Clean Air Act since the late 1990s that have driven continued cleanup of coal-fired power plants and the turnover of the fleet of older, dirtier SUVs, pick-up trucks, vans, and diesel engines.

The Ongoing Fight to Defend the Clean Air Act

Although these air quality improvements clearly result from standards put into place under the Clean Air Act, big polluters and some members of Congress continue to propose to dismantle the law. Recent proposals in the Congress have included delaying implementation and blocking enforcement of parts of the law, and limiting EPA’s ability to consider all of the scientific evidence regarding the harm to public health. These challenges come despite EPA’s estimate that cutting air pollution through the Clean Air Act will prevent at least 230,000 deaths and save $2 trillion annually by 2020.

“We still need to fulfill the promise of clean, healthy air for everyone, and that can only become a reality through the full implementation of the Clean Air Act. The American Lung Association strongly opposes any efforts to weaken, delay, or undermine the protective standards the law provides,” said Connor.

The American people support the need for stricter limits on air pollution standards and the authority of the EPA to enforce these standards. A recent bipartisan survey found that about two-thirds of voters (66 percent) favor the EPA updating air pollution standards by setting stricter limits. Nearly three quarters (73 percent) of voters believe the nation does not have to choose between air quality and a strong economy.

“The American Lung Association has been leading the fight for clean air for decades, and we are as determined as ever to give every American the clean air they deserve to breathe every day,” said Connor.

To see how your community ranks in State of the Air 2012, to learn how to protect yourself and your family from air pollution, and to join the fight for healthy air, visit www.stateoftheair.org.

Nation’s Most Polluted Cities

10 Most Ozone-Polluted Cities

1. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
2. Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
3. Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.
4. Fresno-Madera, Calif.
5. Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
6. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, Calif.-Nev.
7. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif.
8. Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, Texas
9. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif.
10. Merced, Calif.

10 Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution (Annual PM2.5)

1. Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.
2. Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
4. Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
5. Fresno-Madera, Calif.
6. Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.
7. Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz.
8. Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
9. Louisville-Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, Ky.-Ind.
10. Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.
11. St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, Mo.-Ill.

10 Cities Most Polluted by Short-Term Particle Pollution (24-hour PM2.5)

1. Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.
2. Fresno-Madera, Calif.
3. Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
4. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
5. Modesto, Calif.
6. Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.
7. Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield, UT
8. Logan, UT-ID
9. Fairbanks, Alaska
10. Merced, Calif.

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About the American Lung Association

Now in its second century, the American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. With your generous support, the American Lung Association is “Fighting for Air” through research, education and advocacy. For more information about the American Lung Association, a Charity Navigator Four Star Charity and holder of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Guide Seal, or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or visit www.lung.org.

Courtesy of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

The National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) recently published a report analyzing climate preparedness levels in all 50 U.S. states.

The disturbing facts should make everyone sit up and take notice. As climate change affects everyone, it is imperative that all countries, states, communities and people prepare for the impacts. Currently, only nine U.S. states have actively prepared for the water-related impacts of climate change.

The color-coded map (above) shows in stark colors that more than 60 percent of the country is completely unprepared.

• Dark Green: The state has developed an integrated and comprehensive preparedness plan that addresses all relevant water sectors and state agencies.
• Light Green: Activities to prepare for climate change impacts are underway in select state agencies, but they are fragmented, not fully coordinated, or not guided by an overarching strategy or plan.
• Light Orange: The state’s consideration of potential climate change impacts on water resources in existing programs and policies is limited.
• Dark Orange: The state has yet to formally address climate change preparedness.

“Rising temperatures and more extreme weather events are impacting our families, our health and our pocketbooks. Water is a matter of survival. It powers our lives and industries, and it keeps our natural systems healthy,” said NRDC Water and Climate Program director Steve Fleischli. “This report is both a wake-up call and a roadmap for all communities to understand how vital it is to prepare for climate change so we can effectively safeguard our most valuable resources. Preparing for the impacts of a changing climate requires that states confront reality, and prioritize climate change adaptation to reduce local water risks and create healthier communities.”

Fleischli points out that different communities are affected differently. Some must prepare for rising sea levels and heavier rainfall; others must prepare for droughts. Some communities that rely on snow runoff in the spring might have to deal with heavy rainfall instead of snow in the winter, so they need to address the issues of water storage.

General Overview: Steve Fleischli, Director, NRDC Water & Climate Program

Key findings from the report include:

• Nearly nine out of 10 states are poised for more frequent and intense storm events and/or increased flooding.
• While at least 36 states are facing possible water supply challenges, only six of those have comprehensive adaptation plans.
• The majority of states – 29 or nearly 60 percent – have done either nothing at all or very little to prepare for water-related climate impacts.
• Six states – Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota – have done virtually nothing to address climate pollution or prepare for climate change in the face of growing water risks.
• Water preparedness activities appear to have “slowed or stalled” in four of the nine best prepared states – Alaska, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
• Only 22 states have developed plans and formally adopted targets or goals to cut the pollution that causes climate change, which comes mainly from power plants and vehicles.

NRDC water policy analyst and report author Ben Chou said, “A handful of state governments should be recognized as climate leaders for developing robust comprehensive adaptation plans while taking steps to cut global warming pollution. On the flip side, there is tremendous potential for so many more states to follow suit. The first step is understanding how your state will be impacted by climate change. With an ever-growing body of research, new adaptation tools, and guidance resources, there’s no excuse not to tackle this challenge.”

Preparedness Suggestions:

• Enact plans to cut emissions from power plants, vehicles and other major sources of heat-trapping pollution; coupled with increased investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
• Conduct a statewide vulnerability assessment to determine potential climate change impacts.
• Develop a comprehensive adaptation plan to address climate risks in all relevant sectors.
• Prioritize and support implementation of the adaptation plan.
• Measure progress regularly and update the adaptation plan as needed.

NRDC Senior Scientist Kim Knowlton explains how these climate-related effects can threaten health.

SOURCE: Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington D.C. and New York City

Part II in Our Series on Sea Level Rise

Our planet is entering an environmental twilight zone, where the ultimate effects of global warming are entirely unpredictable and almost certainly irreversible over human lifetimes, given “business as usual” scenarios (Hansen et al., 2008).

Sea ice (white, image left) stretches across the Arctic Ocean from Greenland to Russia, but large areas of open water were apparent as well. In addition to record melt, the summer of 2007 brought an ice-free opening though the Northwest Passage that lasted several weeks. Courtesy NOAA

“Tipping points” mark the threshold of a new set of environmental parameters that are self-sustaining, leading to a unique climate condition unlike any previously experienced by humanity. Some scientists think the disappearance of sea ice across the Northwest Passage in Canada, fully navigable for the first time on record in Summer 2007, might offer a good example of such a tipping point (see also Funder et al., 2011). In this scenario, open ocean water absorbs more heat compared to high albedo of sea ice, storing more heat in water and inhibiting the formation of sea ice during subsequent years. Not only does the loss of sea ice threaten the extinction of polar bears, a progressively warming Arctic region would melt permafrost, releasing a vast reserve of methane, rapidly amplifying levels of atmospheric greenhouse gasses.

This warming condition could also lead to melting of all of Greenland’s ice, equivalent to a 5-6 m higher sea level, flooding the surface of the North Atlantic Ocean with fresh water, thereby disrupting the circulation of shallow and deeper ocean currents. This interference with thermohaline circulation could curtail or shut down global heat transfer between the Tropics and high latitudes. Such a possible “climate run amuck” scenario involves a long list of other serious implications for humanity.

A Delicate Balance

The delicate balance between CO₂, ice volume and global sea level could be easily thrown off kilter by manmade greenhouse warming. The vast majority of climatologists, glaciologists, modelers and sea-level specialists, believe the main culprit is ever-increasing concentrations of atmospheric gasses including carbon dioxide (CO₂), along with water vapor (H₂O), methane (CH₄) nitrous oxide (N₂O) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These so called “greenhouse” gasses (GHG), like the glass covering a greenhouse, trap the sun’s sensible heat within the Earth’s atmosphere, rather than allowing it to escape into space. The more GHGs in the atmosphere, the warmer the planet becomes.

The increased CO2 and resulting ocean acidification of the oceans creates an enormous threat to carbonate-shelled marine organisms and coral reefs. Image courtesy NOAA

Increasing CO₂ in the atmosphere, the biosphere, and the oceans cause physical and chemical changes in each. The ocean and the land each absorb about 25 percent of the atmospheric CO₂ through physiochemical and biological processes; the latter primarily by photosynthesis, converting CO₂ to organic carbon compounds. The increased CO₂ and resulting ocean acidification of the oceans creates an enormous threat to carbonate-shelled marine organisms and coral reefs.

CO₂ is derived from many natural and manmade sources, but historically increasing levels of CO₂ are primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels, unleashing vast reservoirs of fossil carbon stored in the Earth for hundreds of millions of years. The amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere has increased from about 280 ppm since 1750 AD at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to its current 393.65 ppm in February 2012. The rate of increase in CO₂ levels from 1.3 to 1.9 ppm/yr over the past four decades, along with the record 2.36 ppm/yr increase during 2010 (Peters et al., 2011) highlights the “business as usual” attitude of developed nations. It is now documented that the CO₂ emissions from the top two users in 2010, the US and China, amounted to 1.5 billion tons/yr (5 tons per capita/yr), and 2.3 billion tons/yr (1.7 tons per person/yr), respectively.

Historical and Glaciological Record of CO₂

Lower panel: Ice core record of atmospheric CO2 over the past 400,000 years (Petit et al., 1999) together with historical trends of CO2 (Keeling curve) and sea-level change (inset). Upper panel: Geological record of sea-level highstands (Hearty and Kaufman, 2000), showing broad correspondence with ice core CO2 record over the same interval. Red circles identify two past warm interglacials that reveal geological evidence of rapid ice sheet melting or collapse. Graph sources: assembled by Hearty; data from cited authors

The levels of greenhouse gasses and historical sea-level changes have been measured for decades by a variety of sophisticated techniques. The greater than 110 ppm increase over the past 250 years has been largely attributed to increasing combustion of plant material and fossil fuels by humans. From a geological perspective, gas bubbles in cores of Antarctic ice reveal that a natural 110 ppm shift is about the equivalent as that between a full glacial (about 180 ppm) and full interglacial (about 290 ppm) cycle (Figure 3 same graph as in Part I) over a period of about 100,000 years! The micro-samples of ancient atmosphere compressed in fossil ice also reveal that our industrial age CO₂ levels approaching 400 ppm have not been equaled over at least the past 800,000 years. The maximum level of CO₂in nature during this period was ~300 ppm was at 400,000 years ago during a warm interglacial called marine isotope stage (MIS) 11. See the chart above.

An ancient sea cliff preserved 30 km inland from the southern coast of Western Australia indicating that sea level 3,000,000 years ago was tens of meters higher than today.

The atmospheric CO₂ value of 400 ppm is an inauspicious and ominous benchmark that humanity will exceed in the next few years. 400 ppm was typical of the Pliocene atmosphere some 3 million years ago. In that ancient 400 ppm world, sea level is estimated to have been 10 to 40 m higher than it is now (e.g., Dowsett and Cronin, 1999). Although these sea-level estimates are highly variable, they point to dynamic changes in the volume of polar ice sheets under a global climate 2-3°C warmer than present.

The Antarctic ice core data also show that past glacial and interglacial sea-level and climate cycles parallel CO₂ levels (Figure 3), along with an intricate mixed bag of feedback leads and lags. We can expect these essential variables to operate in tandem into the future – where CO₂ goes, warming climate and sea level will follow.

Sea-level Changes and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Given the apparent bad behavior of ice sheets in the past, can we be confident of the accuracy of the predictions of sea level rise by IPCC (2007)? Current estimates of a 0.5 to 1.5 m rise by 2100 are based largely on the thermal expansion of seawater as the ocean surface heats up. However, the possibility of a significant contribution from melting of ice sheets in Greenland and East and West Antarctic is not currently an important factor in IPCC predictions. We know from geological studies along the world’s coastlines that past slightly warmer (1-2°C) or longer than present (> 10,000-30,000 yrs) interglacial periods 125,000 and 400,000 years ago are associated with sea levels several meters higher than present (stay tuned for Part III “The Rock Record of Sea Level Changes”). These higher sea levels are almost certainly tied to melting or collapse of either or both the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets. Thus, a similar response of these ice sheets in future global warming scenarios of similar magnitude cannot be ruled out (see Joughin and Alley, 2011).

In a nutshell, the extreme atmospheric and oceanic fluctuations over the past two centuries are unrivaled over at least 3 million years, long before the rise of industrial Homo sapiens. Only in the last 200 years have machines and factories accelerated the pumping of CO₂ and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Even the most skeptical skeptic or climate denier in denial cannot claim that a 110 ppm increase in CO₂ in two centuries, exceeding any known rate or level reached in nature over the past 3 million years, is part of a “natural cycle” of climate change. But given the current global attitude of business as usual, it appears that we may have a ‘world of change’ in store for us for decades and centuries to come.

Paul J. Hearty, Ph.D.
Ecology Global Network, Earth Science Advisor

References:

Funder, S., and 11 authors. A 10,000-Year Record of Arctic Ocean Sea-Ice Variability—View from the Beach. Science, v. 333, no. 6043, p. 747-750. DOI: 10.1126/science.1202760.

Hansen, J., M. Sato, P. Kharecha, D. Beerling, R. Berner, V. Masson-Delmotte, M. Pagani, M. Raymo, D.L. Royer, and J.C. Zachos, 2008: Target atmospheric CO₂: where should humanity aim? Open Atmos. Sci. J., 2, 217-231.

Hearty, P.J., 2011. Global Warming and Rising Ocean Waters. The Bahamas Handbook, 2011, Etienne Dupuch Jr Publications Ltd., Nassau, Bahamas.

Hearty, P.J., and Kaufman, D.S., 2000. Whole-Rock Aminostratigraphy and Quaternary Sea-Level History of the Bahamas Quaternary Research, 54, 163-173.

IPCC, 2007. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, fourth assessment report, available at: http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-syr.htm.

Joughin, I., and Alley, R.B., 2011. Stability of the West Antarctic ice sheet in a warming world. Nature Geoscience 4, 506–513, doi:10.1038/ngeo1194.

Olson, S.L., and Hearty, P.J., 2009. A sustained +21 m highstand during MIS 11 (400 ka): direct fossil and sedimentary evidence from Bermuda. Quaternary Science Reviews 28, 271-285.

Peters, G.P., Marland, G., Le Quéré, C., Boden, T., Canadell, J.G., Raupach, M.R., 2011. Rapid growth in CO₂ emissions after the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. Nature Climate Change, doi. 10.1038/nclimate1332. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1332).

Petit, J.R., et al. 1999. Climate and Atmospheric History of the Past 420,000 years from the Vostok Ice Core, Antarctica, Nature, 399, p.429-436.

Further Reading

• Sea-level rise
• Global warming
• Temperature records
• Carbon dioxide
• Oceans and climate change
• Climate skeptics
• Harbingers
• Acidification of ocean

“It would be immoral to leave young people with a climate system spiraling out of control.”
James Hansen

Renown climate scientist and activist, James Hansen, relays his personal history with the science and debate over global climate change, beginning in the 1970′s. His 1988 testimony to congressional committees on climate change helped to raise pubic awareness of global warming. He remains a leader in the climate change conversation.

About James Hansen

Forests are essential to our survival and well-being. Forests clean our air, our water, our soil and they regulate our climate, amongst many other things. Trees and forests are not always associated with urban landscapes. However, there too they provide invaluable, often invisible, services. Simply by acting as ‘green oasis’ in our concrete jungles, they offer recreation and health services for many European citizens.

How many of us love strolling through parks and green spaces in cities, tending our gardens and filling our homes with green plants? Access to green environments makes us happier and our bodies healthier. Scientific studies show that urban forests and green spaces help improve physical health and mental well-being. With more than three quarters of Europeans living in urban areas, trees, forests and green spaces mean more than ever before.

Climate change increases health risks

Climate change projections foresee an increase of 2 to 5 °C by 2100 in mean annual temperatures in Europe. The greatest warming is expected in eastern and northern Europe in winter and in southern Europe in summer. Heat waves pose particular risks for the elderly and people suffering from respiratory and cardio vascular diseases. During the severe heat wave of 2003, over 70 000 excess deaths were reported in 12 European countries. Air quality often deteriorates during heat waves and thus aggravates health problems.

The elderly are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change. In Europe, the proportion of the population aged 65 years and above has increased from 10 % in 1960 to 16 % in 2010, and is projected to increase to 30 % by 2060. At the same time, the number of Europeans living in urban areas is also increasing. Today nearly 75 % of the European Union population live in urban areas and this is expected to reach 80 % in 2020. In this increasingly ageing and urbanising society, forests and green spaces in urban areas can help protect people from the health-related impacts of climate change.

Urban forests cool urban heat islands

Trees and shrubs cool surrounding areas by several mechanisms. Their leaves reflect light and heat back upwards and provide shade, while transpiration releases water into the air which results in lower temperatures around them. These natural processes can thus partly reduce the negative impacts of heat waves in urban areas.

Modelling studies for urban temperatures over the next 70 years project that in urban areas where the green cover is reduced by 10 %, urban temperatures could increase by 8.2 °C above current levels. On the other hand, increasing the urban green cover by 10 % could restrict the temperature increase to only 1 °C.

Forests improve air quality

Forests and green spaces help improve air quality in urban and rural areas. They extract a wide range of air pollutants from the air such as particles and carbon oxides, emitted, for example, by traffic and industry. Trees also help tackle climate change — over one year a mature tree will take up about 22 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and in exchange release oxygen. Each year, 1.3 million trees are estimated to remove more than 2500 tonnes of pollutants from the air.

Forest and green space contribute to flood management

Trees and urban green spaces facilitate the infiltration of rain water into the ground. Planting trees and developing green spaces are essential steps towards strengthening Europe’s green infrastructure and contributing to flood management.

The wider health benefits of urban forests

Giving urban residents the opportunity and the possibility to enjoy greater access to safe green spaces and to reconnect with nature also has multiple benefits for mental and physical health. For example, a study across the whole population of England showed that those who lived closer to greener environments had 25 % lower all-cause death rates, even after adjustments were made for the wider health impacts of poverty.

Another study concluded that every 10% increase in green space is associated with a reduction in diseases equivalent to an increase of five years of life expectancy. Easily accessible and safe urban forests and green spaces have also been found to have the following health benefits, many of which are especially important for older people:

• Increased physical activity and reduced obesity

• Reduced stress levels and improvements in mental health

• Reductions in noise levels — which can improve mental and physical health

• Improvements in hospital recovery times

• Lower levels of violence and crime and increased social interactions which can also help improve overall well-being.

The way forward: more trees and urban forests?

As the European population ages and becomes more urbanised, the ‘public health’ service benefits from forests is likely to go up. In practical terms, this will mean that many cities need to extend their forests and green spaces and make them safer and more accessible. Consequently, afforestation, planting trees and greening the urban environment should be placed at the heart of local and regional spatial planning.

Management of forests in and around urban centres will need to be well designed taking both environmental considerations, such as climate change adaptation, and human considerations, such as an ageing population into account.

Extreme fluctuations in water level along the Volga river and around the city of Nizhny Novgorod in Russia, are affecting the city and surroundings in various degrees. The city ranks seventh in Russia in terms of industrial output, with the processing industry the most important to the local economy.

Gnidin Konstantin Sergeevich, head of the Upper Volga Basin Department of Federal Agency of Water Resources says, “We have developed a plan for the prevention of floods, aimed at zero impact from flooding on the population.” More studies and research are required to mitigate the effect of extreme high and low waters that increase the risks of drought and flooding.

The Environmental Atlas of Europe is a UNEP-EEA-ESA joint project showcasing communities responding to environmental change across Europe. The films present a series of these inspirational stories about how people are responding to climate change and in so doing, transforming their lives for a more sustainable future.

Produced by Ace & Ace, Denmark, in cooperation with the European Environment Agency (EEA), United Nations Environment Programme UNEP and the European Space Agency (ESA).

by Molly Marquand

Originally published on Izilwane

Where every great city stands today, a natural ecosystem once thrived. London was built on a floodplain of the River Thames; New York was set up on great tracts of oak woodland; and Tokyo, the most populous metropolis in the world, once supported a lush and verdant subtropical forest. Since their ambitious beginnings, cities all over the world have sacrificed natural diversity to become the cultural, artistic and economic centers they are today. The very definition of the word urban excludes notions of nature and rurality, instead conjuring images of industry and skyscrapers. But in an increasingly green-minded world, many cities are working to reverse their reputations and are redefining the concept of urbanity altogether.

The Big (Green) Apple

Take New York City, for example. The Big Apple is home to more than eight million people and covers 305 square miles (790 sq.km). The city is the financial powerhouse of the world and a mecca for arts, technology, and cultural diversity. New York is also one of the greenest metropolises in the country: Not only does it boast the highest levels of public transportation use, but its citizens consume less than half the energy of the national per capita average. Compared to San Francisco, where plastic bags are illegal and municipal composting is the norm, New York far out-ranks the ecologically conscious California city, contributing almost 30 percent less per capita in annual greenhouse gas emissions.

Part of what makes New York so green is its size. The confines of Manhattan Island, an area of only 23 square miles (60 sq. km), have directed development upward in the form of skyscrapers that are now recognized all over the world as the city’s trademark skyline. The apartments Gotham residents call home are notoriously small—and expensive—but are far more ecologically responsible than their lawn, dishwasher and central air-equipped suburban equivalents. The demand for limited space in New York continues to escalate as population levels grow and the pace of development maintains its momentum. For the most part, this isn’t anticipated to change New Yorkers’ habits and the city’s claim to green fame. It may, however, disrupt another aspect of the city’s environmentally friendly nature—namely the unprecedented amount of woods, wetlands and meadows that thrive within the boundaries of this formidable metropolis and occupy some of the most desirable real estate in the country.

Natural New York

New York City encompasses many diverse geologic areas and is home to a multitude of different habitats. When European settlers first arrived in New York Harbor more than four hundred years ago, they found the landscape a verdant patchwork, knitted together by abundant streams, swamps and waterways. One of the most prominent habitat types, the upland oak forest, occupied more than ten thousand acres (2,590 hectares) on Manhattan, covering the island from what is now Wall Street to Harlem. In hot, dry summers, the oak forest became a veritable tinderbox that periodically burst into flame, clearing out snags and dead trees, opening the canopy, and maintaining the plethora of herbaceous species that prospered on the well-lit forest floor. In autumn, pounds of the oaks’ rolling acorns littered the understory, providing food for bears, moose and raccoons, as well as Native Americans. As New York City grew in global importance, however, the wild woods were gradually hacked back. Wall Street, so named for the stone wall that kept the wilderness neatly out, exceeded and bulged over its own confines in a mere matter of years.

Despite having grown to become the most populous city in the United States, a quarter of New York’s area is dedicated to open space. Most visitors to New York make a trip to see the city’s most famous undeveloped area, the iconic Central Park. Opened in 1857 in response to the city’s growing population and an increased need for recreational green space, the park covers 843 acres (342 hectares) and includes ponds, swamps, streams, fields and large tracts of woodland. The park has long been a favorite destination of birders who come to see, among other species, the famous peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) that nest on the buildings along the park’s perimeter. For botanists, Central Park is home to one of the largest remaining stands of American elm (Ulmus americanus), a species that has almost been extinguished since the introduction of Dutch elm disease in the 1920s.

Compared to the rest of New York City, however, the natural offerings of bucolic Central Park are paltry. Depart from the heart of Manhattan and the same unaltered ecosystems that occurred in the pre-settlement era can still be seen and explored. More than 2,100 plant species can be found within New York City—more than in the entire country of Great Britain—and some of these species are exceedingly rare. Staten Island, the fastest growing borough in the city, is home to the globally vulnerable Torrey’s mountain-mint (Pycnanthemum torrei), a plant found in fewer than twenty locations worldwide. The American chestnut (Castanea dentata), a once-abundant tree in northeastern forests, can still be found in several locations in New York City, as well. The most notable of these occurrences are also on Staten Island, where several individuals have resisted the blight responsible for decimating the species long enough to reproduce and set fruit.

The southwestern edge of Staten Island is home to the globally-rare post oak-blackjack oak community. Situated upon millennia-old exposed sand deposits, the soil of this habitat is arid, nutrient poor and highly acidic. Walking through this ecosystem in the summer, lurid tufts of acid-loving moss flanking the trail and carpets of low fruiting blueberries dominating the forest floor, it is hard to accept this community’s designation as a part of New York City. Similarly, a 134-foot (41 m) tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), rumored to be four hundred years old, resides in Alley Pond Park, Queens, making the usual descriptions of New York City seem erroneous and incomplete. From the glacially scarred rocks that protrude in Riverside Park to the easily flooded areas in Chelsea where ancient underground streams surge to reclaim lost ground, remnants of the city’s past ecological landscape persevere almost everywhere. Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx only recently lost its final Native American inhabitant in the late 1920s. Underground stone larders and rock drawings are still visible where the last tribe of Algonquians settled for their summer camp.

Environmental Changes and Challenges in New York

Preserving the habitat wherein biological diversity occurs requires preserving large amounts of often contiguous green space, a commodity that is in high demand for development in New York City. In 2000, a 3.4-acre (1.38 hectare) property in the center of Manhattan famously sold for $345 million, or approximately $2,300 per square foot. Exorbitant prices belie the area’s robust economic activity and overall desirability. As vacant land disappears and suitable habitat is lost to development, plant populations shrink and become geographically isolated. Separated by vast expanses of concrete, these once-conjoined populations may no longer be able to breed. Reproductive isolation causes the critical gene flow between populations to weaken or even stop, increasing the incidence of inbreeding. Genetic diversity is necessary to maintain species fitness and the essential ability to adapt to new and changing conditions over the long term. As gene flow slackens, the likelihood of genetic divergence, inbreeding depression and extinction increases. And so species vanish, extirpated from the landscapes they have occupied since the last ice age.

In a study by Dr. Robert DeCandido, New York City was found to have lost 43 percent of its native flora since 1925. Of the original 1,357 native species found in the city, only 779 remain. Staten Island, the most floristically diverse borough in the city, has lost 40 percent of its native plant species just in the last century. The majority of these extirpated species were seen in citywide surveys conducted in 1879 and 1930; it is only in the last seventy years, with the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and the borough’s subsequent population boom, that these species disappeared. Currently, more than 33 percent of the species remaining on the island are exotic, and despite numerous introductions of alien species, the total number of plant taxa continues to decline.

Conservation efforts face immense challenges under the pressure of New York City’s prodigious urbanity. Even the simplest of well-intentioned management practices, such as blazing trails, create problems. Meant to facilitate public access and enjoyment of the parks, trails act as gateways into forest interiors for invasive species, particularly exotic grasses. The visitors themselves may even enable the advance of exotic species: One study found that as park use and number of visitors increased, incidence of invasive species increased.

The tireless spread of foreign invaders is just one of the problems effective ecological management must remedy. The overall degradation of native soils due to pollution and compaction is one of the biggest, and most difficult to mitigate, threats to native flora in New York City. A number of species rely on fungi found only in intact native soils to survive. Orchids represent the best example of this ecological relationship: The city has lost approximately twenty-four species of orchids that were recorded until 1990. Now, only six genera and six species remain. An exotic orchid, the broadleaf Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine), is the only orchid species out of an original twenty-one that currently grows in Manhattan. A large number of ericaceous species (members of the blueberry family), so vital to New York City’s once-dominant upland oak woodland community, rely heavily on Ascomycota ericoid mycorrhizae, fungi found on plant roots, to efficiently absorb nutrients in the soil. The displacement of native soil, in combination with outright habitat destruction, has made the blueberry family one of nine families with an extirpation rate of at least 50 percent.

The cessation of disturbance events, particularly cyclical fire regimes, plays an important role in the character of New York City’s contemporary plant communities. Resinous canopy trees, high summer temperatures, frequent lightning storms and strong winds traditionally contributed to frequent natural fire cycles in the city’s various habitats. Many species found in the oak woodland communities of New York City are fire-resistant, sprouting from stolons, or as in mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), from a protected underground root burl. Because of the city’s high population density, natural wildfire cycles are no longer permitted to occur. Fast-growing invasive species fill tree-fall gaps that create similar forest openings suitable for light-loving species, such as huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata) and lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum), before natives have a chance to become established. Invasive species also alter soil nutrient and pH levels, thus inviting late-successional species into the forest and encouraging growth of non-native types of woodland vegetation. The resulting landscape is a tangled mess of invasive vines, broad-leaved, quick-growing trees, and a homogenous understory of shade-tolerant shrubs and herbaceous species.

The Natural Resources Group (NRG), a division of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation created in 1984, is responsible for management and preservation of the city’s green spaces. In an effort to preserve some of the city’s more pristine habitat, the Natural Resources Group proposed legislation that would protect ecologically valuable areas from further fragmentation and degradation. The Forever Wild sites, as they are known, are selected based on criteria such as the existence of intact native soils and undisturbed upland forest, wetlands or tidal marshes within the preserve. Sites known to contain rare species or habitat, such as the dwarf juneberry (Amelanchier nantucketensis)—occurring on Staten Island and only a handful of other places in the world—also receive consideration for this extra measure of protection. Globally rare communities, such as the post oak-blackjack oak barrens community, are overseen by the state of New York, rather than the city. Forever Wild sites are not impervious to the problems that plague the rest of the city’s green space, however. Disrespectful, destructive use of these preserves by the public still occurs, and invasive species are present in even these most pristine areas.

Conservation in the Urban Environment

There’s no denying New Yorkers appreciate their open space. Anyone who has seen Central Park on a beautiful summer day knows how much residents value a green slice of grass or the irresistible cool of a sliver of shade. In a city as large as New York, people are both a burden and a boon to native plant conservation. As development pressures continue to increase, so do the efforts of conservation groups like the Torrey Botanical Society and Protectors of Pine Oak Woods. The New York Botanical Garden, a world-class garden and herbarium, has been documenting and conserving urban floral diversity since the 1800s. The garden also provides botanical teaching for the public through classes, field trips and regularly published journals. Activist groups involved in restoration projects, invasive plant removal and citizen agency in New York City’s environmental policies have flourished in recent years, as well.

One particularly successful organization, the NYC Wildflower Week, uses city inhabitants’ natural thirst for the outdoors for an environmental purpose. Helping the public engage with the environment through guided walks and lectures, the organization aims to instill a sense of ownership and pride in city green spaces. Knowing the names, evolutionary history or habitat requirements of the city’s different plants sparks a sense of wonder and encourages stewardship. Topics discussed include native alternatives for the city garden and edible plants of the five boroughs.

One of Wildflower Week’s partners, the Greenbelt Native Plant Center, collects seed from local native plant communities. Some of this seed is cultivated at their extensive Staten Island nursery and used in restoration projects across the city. The rest is packaged into seed mixtures or sent to global seed banks like the one at Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, in England. Sourcing local material for restoration projects ensures plants will be as best-suited to the growing conditions of the New York area as possible. Although a species may successfully range from Maine to North Carolina, geographically distinct populations evolve different adaptations to cope with ecological variations such as climate. A red maple (Acer rubrum) from Maine, for example, may not be able to tolerate hot, humid New York summers.

The Greenbelt Native Plant Center also lists a number of species appropriate for green roofs on their website. Greenroofing originally gained popularity due to its mitigating effects on storm run-off and extreme temperature fluctuation. Recently, it has become one of the many ways urbanites are bringing nature back into the pandemonium of city life. Green roofs are also one of the most feasible ways to conserve native species and create green space. Over the past few years, farms and apiaries have taken to the skies, too, growing food and constructing bee hives on otherwise vacant space. A current study on roofs planted with native species reveals the habitat attracts a plethora of insects, including those from the diminishing order Hymenoptera—the bees and wasps. Projects such as The High Line, an abandoned elevated tramway turned public garden on Manhattan’s West Side, are thrusting native plants into the stratosphere of “cool.” In October, as masses of migratory birds wheel overhead in their ancient, timeless ritual, the garden’s fruiting plants provide fuel for their long journey. The garden serves as an important public model, demonstrating the holistic benefits of using ecologically appropriate plants in an urban setting.

Conclusion

By 2025, two-thirds of the population will live in urban centers. While this may boost public transportation use and help eradicate suburban sprawl, the conservation of city green space will be more challenging than ever. Fortunately for New York City, nature and its advocates are as gritty and resilient as New Yorkers themselves. Native plants and ecosystems reclaim lost ground quickly and have been found exploiting new and surprising niches only available in urban environments. The nutrient poor, thin soils on landfills are underlain with a clay lens used to cap the mound. This mixture of substrate inadvertently creates perfect habitat for, among other things, members of the threatened blueberry family. Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island, one of the largest piles of garbage on the planet, is slated to be the site of an equally large native plant restoration project in the newly created Freshkills Park. In only a handful of years, a meadow of native grasses will sway over the landfill’s hump, preventing erosion, providing habitat for ground-nesting birds and sowing ecologically appropriate seed for miles around. New Yorkers will be free to wander the park, run on its trails, and admire its flora and fauna. Perhaps there is no better symbol of the unification of nature and urbanity—and the rewriting of their relationship—than this budding partnership. Instead of mutual exclusion and antagonism, the two entities nurture each other: New growth is literally sprouting from city detritus, and the city, in turn, is richer, greener, healthier and happier because of it.

Photos are copyright protected and cannot be reproduced without permission. Image of Central Park used with the permission of Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic and is courtesy of Patrick Ashley[http://www.flickr.com/photos/patashley/]. All other images are courtesy of Molly Marquand.

Molly Marquand is a gardener, botanist and writer based in New York’s Hudson Valley. She completed her B.A. at Bates College in Maine and received her M.S. from Reading University’s Plant Diversity and Taxonomy program, which is run in conjunction with the world renowned Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in England. Most recently, Molly has been working with various organizations on native plant conservation in New York City. True to her academic background in science all of Molly’s writing and gardening reflect careful consideration of ecology and nature. In her free time she enjoys riding her horse and hiking with her dogs. Molly is the current horticultural editor of Wilder Quarterly.

References

I. Owens, David. Green Manhattan: Why New York is the greenest city in the US. The New Yorker. (October 2004): 11-11

II. New York City Department of City Planning, Population, July 1 2009,

III. McDonnell, M. J., S.T.A. Pickett, P. Groffman, P. Bohlen, R.V. Pouyat, W. Zipperer, R. W. Parmelee, M. M. Carreiro and K. Medley. 1997. Ecosystem processes along an urban-to-rural gradient. Urban Ecosystems 1:21-36.

IV. DeCandido, R. 2004. A first approximation of historical and extant flora of New York City: Implications for native plant species conservation. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 131(3) 243-251.

V. Robinson, G. R., M. E. Yurlina and S. N. Handel. 1994. A century of change in Staten Island flora: ecological correlates of species losses and invasions. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 121: 119-129.

VI. Tyser, R. W. and C. A. Worley. 1992. Alien flora in grasslands adjacent to road and trail corridors in Glacier National Park, Montana (U.S.A.). Conservation Biology 6:253-262.

VII. Lonsdale, W. M. 1999. Global patterns of plant invasions and the concept of invasibility. Ecology 80: 1522-1536.

VIII. DeCandido, R. 2001. Recent changes in plant species diversity in Pelham Bay Park, Bronx County, New York City, 1947-1998. Ph.D. Dissertation, The City University of New York.

VIIII. Palmer, M., Smith, M. Restoring native plant pollinator communities on New York City green roofs. MillionTreesNYC, Green Infrastructure and Urban Ecology: A Research Symposium, March 5-6, 2010

X. DeCandido, R. 2007. Searching for green in Gotham. The Conservationist, December: 12-18.

With the effects from climate change, The Netherlands are facing a new challenge. The current predictions are that the sea level around The Netherlands could rise from between 65 cm (25 in) and 130 cm (51 in) by the end of the century.

The municipality, West Maas En Whaal, has become a testbed for new ideas to meet the challenges of sea level rise and flooding.

The floating cities concept is an intriguing one, in a country so susceptible to rising sea levels.

Karina Czapiewska, an engineer at DeltaSync said, “Our vision is that in the future we will live in a more sustainable world. And lots of parts of Holland will live on water.”

The Environmental Atlas of Europe is a UNEP-EEA-ESA joint project showcasing communities responding to environmental change across Europe. The films present a series of these inspirational stories about how people are responding to climate change and in so doing, transforming their lives for a more sustainable future.

Produced by Ace & Ace, Denmark, in cooperation with the European Environment Agency (EEA), United Nations Environment Programme UNEP and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Previously posted on Izilwane

Image used with permission of Altaire Cambata and Practical Action

Who Wins, Who Loses, and Can Traditional Ecological Knowledge Settle the Score?

What are the implications for indigenous or place-based cultures facing the imminent and gradually destructive processes of climate change? There is a significant amount of literature that suggests the most vulnerable, natural resource-dependent groups of the world will disproportionately experience the harmful effects of climate change. Less developed countries and their indigenous populations are largely agricultural, dependent on the land for subsistence and economic livelihoods.

Because agriculture is the most sensitive of all economic sectors, countries and regions most dependent on the environment will not only witness increased illness and escalating death rates due to the heat, but also persistent poverty and deteriorating infrastructure. The cumulative effects of climate change on water supplies and farming systems, and the habitability of such areas, will provoke drastic economic and cultural impacts by broadening the divide between those who can afford to adapt and those who do not have the money, knowledge or time to do so.

Conversely, victims of climate change are potential agents of solutions, leadership, climatic wisdom and untapped contributions to Western science. Through the increasingly popular anthropological method of collecting traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in climatically vulnerable areas, scientists and anthropologists have slowly recognized indigenous groups as possessors of information critical to the study of climate change. The value of their knowledge and potential contributions to the reduction of global inequalities will be explored below.

Although the debate of whether or not climate change is a human-generated phenomenon still rages on and many politicians prolong any governmental policy concerning contested predictions about a planet warming beyond recovery, climate scientists overwhelmingly agree that the average global temperature continues to increase as a result of anthropogenic (human-caused) greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation. The combination of gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous and sulphur oxides, and chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere has contributed to the planet’s ability to trap heat and thus alter climatic behavior. Based on current trends of climate change, average global temperatures should rise by three degrees Fahrenheit (two degrees Celsius) over the next fifty to seventy years, a shift that could prove devastating.

Like air pollution, climate change is transboundary. Despite a nation’s involvement or lack thereof in catalyzing global warming, the subsequent ecological problems will affect all people and all nations. Species extinction and sea level rise are encumbrances borne by the entire globe, but more so in the developing world, where the contributions to atmosphere pollution have been the smallest, even negligent (excluding “more developed” economies such as those of India, China and Brazil). By contrast, the United States, which emits 20 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, is more financially equipped to protect its citizens (five percent of the global population) from the consequences of climate change. This is largely due to its rapid carbon-heavy industrialization in the 1800s, which ensured its economic security.

Image used with permission of Altaire Cambata and Practical Action

The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change projects that by 2020, seventy-five to 250 million Africans could be exposed to increased water stress. These predictions are crucial to consider in terms of inequalities arising as a result of globalization; Africa emits only four percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, yet will struggle with immense environmental, cultural and political burdens as a result of the industrialized world’s emissions.

The cultures of rural indigenous peoples worldwide are also at the mercy of climate change. Regional infrastructure and material culture – those tangible aspects of culture such as artifacts, architecture, and art – are constructed with locally-available natural resources now being threatened. It is also possible that non-tangible aspects of culture such as customs, stories, myths, and songs, as well as entire languages tied to a culture’s place of origin, will face extinction. This is due to the possibility of increasingly uninhabitable rural locations forcing members of rural cultures into urbanized environments, thereby rupturing ties to homelands. The threat is not so much a result of indigenous peoples’ inability to adapt to disturbances in climate, but rather their vulnerability to such rapid changes to which adjusting would require much more time for preparation and less frequency between disturbances.

Ecological problems can quickly become social problems, as civil peace could disintegrate and threaten access to food, water, energy sources, income and health care for the socially disadvantaged. Management of many of the world’s international rivers could become areas of contestation, as conflicts over water rights continue to rise. Clashes over land rights are likely to become pronounced, as well. Indigenous groups are often those unrecognized by the state and excluded or marginalized from political decision-making. As global warming increases and resources become scarcer around urban centers, some indigenous groups will likely face diminished land ownership rights as a result of allocation decisions administered by the state.

Nomadic Camp. Photo courtesy of Hamed Saber and used with the permission of Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic

Such resource shortages create new situations in which “winners” and “losers” experience greater polarization, thereby exacerbating entrenched social, political and economic inequalities.

In Bolivia, for example, the National Meteorological and Hydrological Service noted that the rainy season in the Altiplano – the arid land covering much of Bolivia – has contracted from six to three months in recent years. Such drought, compounded with the loss of the 18,000-year-old Chacaltaya glacier that once fed the region’s water supplies, has prompted water rationing in Bolivia’s major cities. On April 16, 2010, nine hundred comunarios, or communal peasants, largely of indigenous ethnicity, staged a protest against Japanese-owned Minera San Cristobal mine in the Nor Lipez province (situated in the Altiplano), which was using 1.7 million cubic feet of water on a daily basis, free of charge. The peasants burned the company office, overturned two rail wagons – loaded with twenty tons of lead, silver, and zinc ore – and barricaded the rail line that regularly transported the ore to Chile. The comunarios, who had been petitioning the local government for months requesting that the mining company pay local communities for water use, were becoming further entrenched in poverty at the expense of industrialization – instigated by a foreign company, no less.

Such events prompted Bolivian President Evo Morales to publicly condemn climate change and increasing water shortages as consequences of the over-consumption of fossil fuels by rich nations. He stated that poor people everywhere bear more of the risks associated with an unpredictable climate. He also asserted that indigenous cultures should be called upon for their informed, grassroots leadership regarding questions of ecological transformations. Such a scenario could empower indigenous people through collective political action, bringing them to the forefront of the climate debate.

The sort of wisdom that Morales is referring to has been termed by scholars Traditional Ecological Knowledge, defined as, “…a cumulative body of knowledge, practice, and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment.” TEK has become an asset to climate change research, collected largely by anthropologists; it provides a local, qualitative scale of analysis for questions about weather patterns, animal migrations and adaptation strategies. Creating links between local and global conditions offers a wider range of knowledge and, therefore, a more comprehensive toolkit for understanding the biosphere.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)  “…a cumulative body of knowledge, practice, and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment.”

The use of TEK has inspired criticism from those skeptical of knowledge not derived from the modern scientific method.  Many scientists, academics and politicians have been quick to lump TEK with superstition, irrationalism and tribalism. While Western science leans toward an academic presentation and favors analytical/reductionist methods, TEK can be characterized as intuitive and holistic. In addition, it is often orally transmitted rather than written. By characterizing TEK as irrational and superstitious, scientists perpetuate a historical belittling of indigenous culture as backwards, emotional, and ignorant – discriminatory ideas deeply embedded in colonial history. Such attitudes fail to realize the potential for indigenous knowledge to meaningfully contribute to Western science.

However, as a result of the promotion of TEK by those insisting on an inter-disciplinary approach to climate change, Western science has been subject to scrutiny, as well. Arguments state that cultural, economic and political contexts of human adaptation can inform and guide policy related to climate variability in more nuanced and effective ways than Western science alone. For example, scientific approaches to climate change have advocated mega-projects such as dams, which have led to vast human displacement (including place-based indigenous populations). The Three Gorges Dam in China and the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil are two recent examples. Both dams were proposed as “clean development” to address global climate change. Yet, such projects pose serious problems for indigenous cultures – affecting regional agriculture, biodiversity, a diverse array of ecosystems, even culturally significant archaeological sites.

Another criticism of Western science is that current research methods are too objective and allow little room for subjective or interpretive frameworks. Some argue that climate change adaptation research should take into consideration cultural frameworks advocating environmental ethics. Values such as respect, sharing, reciprocity and humility characterize systems of ecological management that seem to operate sustainably in many contemporary communities including American aboriginal, African Pacific Island groups.

Altiplano. Photo courtesy of Phil Whitehouse and used with the permission of Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic;

Most importantly, quantitative/biophysical data not only neglects to describe accurately the complexity of interactions between humans and the climate, but its methods can fail to record key climatic features. A study performed by anthropologist Andrei Marin, dedicated to gathering weather information from nomadic herders in Mongolia, found long-term climate trend analysis ignored extreme yet short-lived weather events, such as droughts and dust storms. Local understanding of climate was seen to contradict larger scale meteorological records, which neglected the fact that combinations of short-lived yet more frequent events drastically affected the nomadic lifestyle. The study also concluded that a pastoral way of life better lent itself to the collection of accurate climate data: nomads gathered environmental knowledge over larger areas and with finer spatial clarity – providing more detailed descriptions of these areas – whereas weather stations only registered infrequent point occurrences of weather patterns.

This study reinforces the idea that it would be insufficient to assess increasingly erratic environmental conditions without incorporating TEK into the analysis. For example, a climate study in Tanzania sought to assess human responses to drought conditions in 1997 and 1998 via qualitative, anthropological research alongside virtually-conducted vegetative biomass research. By developing relationships with Maasai herders and inviting their appraisal of local events, researchers collected vital information about herd movements and livelihood preservation strategies. This data was then combined with quantitative, biophysical data and used to extrapolate economic consequences of drought on a broader, regional scale. Because of the close relationship with Maasai herders, the study was able to propose adaptation solutions, such as administering advance warnings that could help pastoralists shift their livestock practices to cope with climate variability more effectively.

In addition to the threat climate change poses for indigenous groups, it also affects biological diversity of all kinds. Many communities are potential libraries of ethno-botanical information and can make invaluable contributions to conservation policy by sharing taxonomic knowledge and ecosystem management approaches. Such communities are in a position to provide much-needed innovation in the fields of biotechnology and modern medicine – information that could perish with certain vulnerable plant species. Those who have historically dealt with regular climatic disturbances can also suggest innovative agricultural techniques that can bolster food security.

By monitoring adaptation strategies among indigenous peoples and organizing a system to disseminate such information, disparate cultures could empower one another. The exchange of sustainable technologies between regions with similar agroclimatic and socioeconomic conditions would provide support for farmers coping with similar disturbances. For example, as Bangladesh faces rising water levels, new agricultural technologies have been developed – in particular, the idea of floating gardens. By fashioning rafts out of hyacinths, Bangladeshi farmers are able to plant vegetables on a liquid surface, an idea that could be replicated in other parts of the world, especially in flood prone areas like rural and coastal communities as familiar as those located in Florida or the Netherlands.

Perhaps most importantly, the anthropological collection of TEK can play a role in helping indigenous peoples advocate for their rights, as not all communities have the experience or platform to pursue collective political action. In places where civil society and advocacy are lacking, assistance may be required to aid those particularly vulnerable to the repercussions of climate change. Anthropologists can serve this function by sharing experiences of indigenous groups within academia; they can be sources of information as well as facilitators. Additionally, they can research and highlight those groups already pursuing political/social action and environmental justice.

Pumpkin Farming in Bangladesh. photo courtesy of Shykh Seraj and used with the permission of Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic.

Though full of potential benefits, TEK should not be considered a replacement for Western science, but rather a means of verifying information derived from global, biophysical reports and augmenting human defenses against climate change. It should be remembered that neither indigenous nor scientific communities produce consistently uniform or infallible knowledge. It would be erroneous to simply reverse the age-old colonial dismissal that all peasants are lazy and ignorant with a blanket assumption that they are all wise and enterprising. Indigenous peoples have been known to cause extinctions of various plant and animal species and have contributed to environmental degradation. Generally, however, indigenous peoples have sustained harmonious relationships with the landscape for millennia. By putting into practice ecological knowledge embedded in their culture, they have many times actually increased local biodiversity. The need to collect and disseminate of such knowledge is urgent; globalization has prompted urbanization of younger generations, and the impending death of elders means critical indigenous knowledge may be lost forever.

The willingness of indigenous or place-based people to share such information could be problematic, as many groups live in voluntary isolation. Such an exchange needs to operate collaboratively and meaningfully benefit both parties. In terms of TEK, researchers must also consider intellectual property rights of indigenous people and properly compensate them for any financial gains acquired as a result of their participation.

It remains to be seen whether or not people can combine resources quickly enough to expose and mitigate inequalities resulting from climate change. Such a dilemma inspires another anthropological question: Why do humans, as opposed to most other animals on earth, engage in unsustainable relationships with their environment?  And, perhaps most importantly, what are the implications of inhabiting a rapidly warming planet where experts needed for understanding and adapting to climate change have yet to be consulted?

Altaire Cambata is a recent graduate of the University of Virginia, with a BA in Anthropology and a minor in Global Sustainability. Her interests have included community-based natural resource management, climate change adaptation in the “Global South,” sustainable development and shamanism. During the past few years, she has worked with the World Wildlife Fund and her own all-natural soap business, and she is adamant about communicating conservation education to the public in creative, inspiring ways. Her family currently lives in Lugano, Switzerland, though her home base is consistently shifting.

Photos are copyright protected and may not be reproduced without permission.

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