The SpaceX Dragon berthed to the International Space Station's Harmony module. Credit: NASA TV

Launched early morning Tuesday from Cape Canaveral in Florida, the capsule flew to within reach of the ISS’s robotic arm on Friday morning and was captured at 9:56 AM EDT.

The mission is a demonstration flight by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, as part of its contract with NASA to have private companies launch cargo safely to the International Space Station.

Dragon is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The craft consists of 3 main elements:

• a nosecone to protect the vessel during launch
• a pressurized capsule for cargo requiring a pressurized environment (including, in the future, astronauts), plus avionics, the RCS system, parachutes, and other support infrastructure
• an unpressurized compartment for cargo not requiring a pressurized environment, plus the solar arrays and thermal radiators.

NASA’s $1.6 billion contract with SpaceX calls for a minimum of 12 flights, with an option to order additional missions for a cumulative total contract value of up to $3.1 billion.

Atmospheric carbon produced by the OECD* nations in 2011 declined 0.6%, while non-OECD countries saw an increase of 6.1% over the previous year.

China remains the largest carbon emitter, whose 9.3% increase in 2011 contributed the most of any nation to the global rise. India’s emissions rose by 8.7%.  Still, per-capita emissions in China and India remain well under the OECD average (63% and 15% respectively).

Carbon emissions in the U.S. in 2011 dropped 1.7%, primarily due to the power industry’s shift from coal to natural gas and an unusually mild winter. U.S. emissions have now fallen 7.7% since 2006 — the largest reduction of all countries or regions.

2011 CO₂ emissions in the EU declined 1.9%, as sluggish economic growth cut industrial production and a relatively warm winter reduced heating demand.

Japan’s emissions increased by 2.4%, largely as result of using fossil-fuel to partially replace electrical capacity lost as most of the country’s nuclear reactors where taken offline in the wake of Fukushima.

With India’s 2011 emissions moving ahead of Russia’s, the five largest carbon emitting countries are now China, the United States, the European Union. India, and Russia.

Implications for Global Warming

The 450 Scenario of the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2011, which sets out an energy pathway consistent with a 50% chance of limiting the increase in the average global temperature to 2°C, requires CO₂ emissions to peak at 32.6 Gt no later than 2017, i.e. just 1.0 Gt above 2011 levels.

The 450 Scenario sees a decoupling of CO₂emissions from global GDP, but much still needs to be done to reach that goal as the rate of growth in CO₂ emissions in 2011 exceeded that of global GDP.

“The new data provide further evidence that the door to a 2°C trajectory is about to close,” said IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol.

Yet, a survey released this week reveals a public that is remarkably in agreement — and strongly in favor of a clean energy future.

Nearly 2/3 support extending current tax credits for renewable energy production and creating nationwide energy standards to promote renewables.

On the subject of exploiting the nation’s vast natural gas reserves using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, 53% support more stringent environmental regulation while another 15% favor an outright ban.

Data from the National Journal Congressional Connection Poll, May 21, 2012

The question of whether the U.S. — meaning Congress — will extend the current renewable energy production tax credits before they expire at the end of this year is most pertinent. Initiated in 1992, the credits were intended to help the clean energy industry ramp up production and attract private investment to gain a foothold in a sector dominated by a mature fossil fuel industry.

If the credits are allowed to expire, as they did in 2004, proponents argue that the result could be devastating to renewable producers while costing as many as 37,000 jobs in the wind industry alone.

Thus far, extending the credits has attracted bipartisan support, but the matter is unlikely to be dealt with before the November elections and passage is by no means certain. In the meantime, producers are rushing to complete projects currently underway before the credits expire — and hesitant to begin new projects in the face of  uncertainty.

Whether the U.S. moves forward toward a renewable energy future or backwards, into a fossil-fueled past, has little to do with public opinion — and everything to do who gets elected.

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International for the National Journal and included 1,004 adults age 18 and older. Interviews were conducted May 17-20, 2012; margin of error was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Composite Image Credit: Sara Pennak/IISE

The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and a committee of scientists from around the world announced their picks for the top 10 new species described in 2011.

This is the fifth year for the top 10 new species list, released May 23 to coincide with the anniversary of the birth of Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who was responsible for the modern system of plant and animal names and classifications.

Selected from the hundreds of nominations submitted, the Top 10 list celebrates species exploration, biodiversity and the science of taxonomy. This year’s picks represent treasures from around the globe, from the deepest mines in Africa to the mountain heights of the Himalayas.

“The Top 10 is intended to bring attention to the biodiversity crisis and the unsung species explorers and museums who continue a 250-year tradition of discovering and describing the millions of kinds of plants, animals and microbes with whom we share this planet,” said Quentin Wheeler, an entomologist who directs the International Institute for Species Exploration at ASU.

Members of the international committee who made their selection from more than 200 nominations look for “species that capture our attention because they are unusual or because they have traits that are bizarre,” said Mary Liz Jameson, an associate professor at Wichita State University who chaired the international selection committee. “Some of the new species have interesting names; some highlight what little we really know about our planet,” she said.

To Learn More

For more detailed information about the Top 10 species list for 2011 visit http://species.asu.edu/. Nominations for the 2013 list (for species described in 2012) may be made online at http://species.asu.edu/species-nomination.

The International Institute for Species Exploration also publishes an annual State of Observed Species (SOS) report on human knowledge of Earth’s species. The latest report was released January 18 and is available online.

This mission is a demonstration flight by the private company Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, as part of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to develop private-sector launch capabilities after the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle fleet.

Shortly after launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule entered Earth orbit and successfully deployed its power-producing solar array. Between now and Friday, the capsule will undergo checkout procedures to test its various systems. On Thursday it will fly to within 1.5 miles of the ISS, in preparation for a rendezvous on Friday.

If all goes according to plan, the Expedition 31 crew on board the station will use the orbiting complex’s robotic arm to capture Dragon and dock it on the bottom side of the Harmony node.

The Dragon features an unpressurized trunk and a recoverable capsule, protected during launch by a nose cone. Within the capsule is a pressurized section for cargo and, eventually, crew. On this flight, Dragon is packed with food and provisions for the residents aboard the ISS, student experiments, and other cargo destined for the outpost.

Dragon is expected to return to Earth loaded with more than a thousand pounds of science experiments, station hardware and crew items.

The 157-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket is a two-stage, liquid-fuel design, whose first stage is powered by 9 Merlin engines. A high-pressure reading in one of those engines was responsible for the aborted launch on Saturday a half-second before liftoff. Over the weekend, a faulty check valve was discovered and replaced.

Parallel to NASA’s COTS program is the Commercial Crew Program, intended to spur development of new spacecraft and launch vehicles from the commercial sector able to safely, reliably and cost-effectively transport astronauts to low Earth orbit and the space station.

Humpback whale. Photo courtesy NOAA

The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) was declared by the United Nations “to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.” The event is in its 11th year with Marine Biodiversity the theme for 2012. Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and everyone interested in marine life can take this opportunity to raise awareness of the issues affecting the world’s oceans and shores.

For 10 years, from 2000 to 2010, scientists from around the world, in an unprecedented worldwide collaboration set out to try to determine how much life is in the sea. The huge effort, dubbed the ‘Census of Marine Life’ involved 2,700 scientists from over 80 countries, who participated in 540 expeditions around the world. According to information on the Census website, “The Census investigated life in the global ocean from microbes to whales, from top to bottom, from pole to pole, bringing together the world’s preeminent marine biologists, who shared ideas, data and results. During their 10 years of discovery, Census scientists discovered new species, habitats, and connections and unlocked many of the ocean’s long-held secrets. They found and formally described more than1, 200 new marine species, with another 5,000 or more in the pipeline awaiting formal description.”

The CBD website states, “Today, about 40 percent of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometres of the coast; fisheries provide over 15 percent of the dietary intake of animal protein; toxins in some species may yield anti-cancer drugs and other pharma­ceuticals potentially worth more than US$ 5 trillion; and coastal ecosystems provide services, including tourism and protection from storms, that have been valued at nearly US$ 26 billion annually.”

There is a booklet available for download that expands on the whole Ocean Biodiversity issue, with a forward by Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity where he states, “The survival of marine and coastal ecosystems and biodiversity is essential to the nutritional, spiritual, societal and religious well-being of many coastal communities. But even for the many millions of people who may not think that they have any strong reliance on the ocean, marine ecosystems and wildlife provide all kinds of benefits.”

Life began in the ocean. Let’s not let it end there.

Several large supermarket and big-box chains have announced that they will eventually discontinue stocking their shelves with fish and seafood considered “unsustainable,” that is those vulnerable to over-fishing or capture methods that lead to environmental damage.

Self-proclaimed natural food store chain Whole Foods will expand its ongoing ban on orange roughy, shark, blue fin tuna and most marlin to include all “red-rated” seafood, including Atlantic halibut, gray sole, and skate among others.

In bans that will take effect over the course of two to five years respectively, Target will no longer stock farmed salmon in its grocery departments; Wegmans’ supermarkets will no longer offer seafood from the over-fished Ross Sea in the Antarctic; and Walmart will require its fish and frozen seafood to be sustainable and labeled as such.

Ratings on seafood are determined by nonprofit research organizations like the Blue Ocean Institute and Monterey Bay Aquarium, with whom Whole Foods partnered in 2010. A green “best choice” rating from the monitors refers to species that are abundant and caught in environmentally responsible ways. Yellow indicates some concerns with the strength of a species or a particular catching method, but is considered the next best option.

Feel-good measures or actual progress?

 Some scientists are now voicing doubts that such well-intentioned efforts really help the environment, saying that to the contrary, some of these ratings labels might lead customers to wrongly believe that the impact of choosing one fish over another is greater than it actually is. A recent Washington Post feature highlighted the questionable results of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the most widely used certification organization in the country. For example, the MSC has, to date, certified 148 wild-caught fisheries, which account for between six to seven percent of the global supply. However, in a study published online in the Journal of Marine Policy, it was alleged that 31 percent of those MSC-certified stocks are in fact over-fished with no relief in sight. While urging consumers to continue buying labeled seafood, Rainer Froese, a senior scientist at the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, nevertheless admonished certifiers to “sharpen their criteria and close any loopholes.”

Good News for Fish…for Fishermen, Not so Much

The sustainability labeling system may cripple many of the large fishing companies that sell to the participating supermarket chains. Fishermen working out of New England ports are particularly vulnerable given that they fish a region considered by federal monitors to have more over-fished stocks than any other. Dismissing the retailers’ bans as a marketing ploy, many affected fishermen are vowing to seek new buyers rather than roll back their quotas to please a bunch of bleeding-heart animal lovers.

Chickens Catch a Break, Too

There is no rating system in place as yet, but you may soon see a cage-free designation on more than just the token handful of egg-cartons in your local supermarket.

According to the Human Society, about 280 million hens are currently confined in battery cages so small, they can’t even spread their wings. That’s the way it’s worked since the advent of the factory farm. You might suspect that this system is all about the bottom line, but the marketing and lobbying end of the industry begs to differ. The United Egg Producers, an industry trade group, warns that cage-free egg production has some environmental downsides, including a larger “carbon footprint” because the hens require more water, acreage and cropland than their confined counterparts. The group also foresees threats to the health of the employees and to the birds themselves – which reportedly crowd together and suffocate if allowed to roam free – not to mention unfettered hens which have been known to peck each other to death.

Your Money or Your Chicken?

The UEP also said that cage-free eggs typically have a retail cost more than triple that of traditional eggs. A 2009 study commissioned by the group found that banning battery cages for hen-laying eggs would raise production costs by 25 percent, or $2.7 billion annually. What they didn’t say is that that cost overage will be passed on to consumers, but you can be pretty sure it will.

Even so, frozen food giant Sara Lee has joined other companies, like Hellmann’s mayonnaise, which has hatched a plan to convert 100 percent of the 350 million eggs it uses each year to cage-free. National restaurant chains including Burger King, Wendy’s, Subway, Denny’s, Red Robin, Quiznos, Sonic, Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. have all started using cage-free eggs. And supermarket chains including Walmart, Costco, Harris Teeter, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and Safeway have increased their sales of cage-free eggs.

What about Babe?

In addition to ramping up its use of cage-free eggs and chickens, Burger King has also announced that it’s going to start using the meat from stall-free hogs in its products. The change comes after customers let the company know of their concern for the humane treatment of the animals. In a press release, the third largest fast food chain says it is the first fast food brand to lay down rules to reduce cage confinement for its egg-laying hens and to call for the use of stall-free pork by their suppliers. Both Wendy’s and Bon Appetit, an outfit that runs more than 400 cafes across 31 states, have pledged to work with their U.S. and Canadian pork suppliers to phase out the use of gestation crates. And the powerful Compass Group, the largest food service company in the world, plans to phase out the use of meat from pigs raised in gestation crates by 2017. Compass Group operates dining operations at about 10,000 companies, hospitals, senior living centers, schools, colleges and universities.

Among supermarket chain stores, Safeway has announced that it is working to formulate a plan to sell pork only from suppliers that prohibit use of gestation crates. Hormel, the makers of SPAM, said it would eliminate most gestation crates in the next five years, and Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, will phase out its practice of using gestation crates for pregnant hogs by 2017

A Cage-Free Food Industry in America by 2017?

The key words in all these highly publicized pledges from the food industry are “phase out.” These changes won’t take effect for many years. Why so long? Spokespeople for the various producers and vendors say that it will take time and money to make these changes and ramp up production to meet the gargantuan demands from retail and fast food chains.

And then there’s always the chance that by 2017 you’ll have forgotten that the cage-free promises were ever made.

With an average elevation 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, most of the 1,200 islands that make up Maldives may well be gone by 2100.

But between now and then, this country known as a tropical island paradise has a more immediate problem. Trash. Lots and lots of poorly managed trash.

What 20 years ago was an unspoiled coral island now accepts up to 300 tons of trash daily. Some if it cascades to the water’s edge.

Local conservationist Marie Saleem took BBC’s Simon Reeve on a tour of an uninhabited island where Maldivian trash is dumped, and it’s an environmental disaster in the making.

Along with the crystal clear waters that attract well-pocketed tourists, Maldives is home to some of the richest coral reefs on Earth. Marine life includes well over 1,000 species of fish, almost 200 species of coral, 400 species of molluscs and 48 shrimp species.

Yet, the geology of the islands is prime for toxic leaching. Beneath a 6 inch layer of topsoil lies about 2 feet of sandstone, and under that, permeable sand and water.

Worse, perhaps, is the fact that sea levels have risen about 20 cm (8 in.) over the last century — and more than 80% of the country’s land is less than 1 meter above sea level.

In 1987, high tides swept over the Maldives, inundating the capital city of Male and nearby islands.

In 2004, the Maldives were devastated by the tsunami that followed the December 26 Indian Ocean earthquake. Six islands were destroyed, 14 had to be evacuated and 57 suffered serious infrastructure damage.

In the words of Simon Reeve, ”This is a poisoned environment. It shouldn’t be happening anywhere, least of all here.”

One would be hard-pressed to find a worse location for unmanaged waste.

 Update: 1:10 EDT

Readers interested in learning more about the island of  Thilafushi and the problem of waste management in Maldives, may wish to visit the following:

• Thilafushi: Toxic Time Bomb in the Ocean
• Paradise lost on Maldives’ Rubbish Island
• In Photos: Thilafushi – Waste Management gone all wrong
• Maldives: Idyllic Archipelago’s Unprecedented Floating Trash Dump
• ACC forwards cases against senior officials of Thilafushi Corporation for prosecution

Saudi Arabia revealed plans to make just such an investment earlier this month, aiming to install a whopping 41 gigawatts of solar power — or 20% of the country’s needs — by 2032 while adding other alternatives including wind, nuclear, waste-to-energy and geothermal to its energy mix.

While the oil-rich nation has acknowledged the threat of global climate change, its push toward renewables is about more than carbon emissions.

Not only is demand for electricity growing in Saudia Arabia, but the country is dependent upon energy-intensive desalination plants for most of its fresh water — plants which currently consume millions of barrels of oil daily. On the scale now envisioned, solar would reduce national consumption by more than a half-million barrels per day.

Moreover, domestic consumption of oil is heavily discounted — in some cases, priced as low as $5/barrel, whereas that same oil on the world market could be sold at $100/barrel.

Looking beyond its own borders, Saudia Arabia also recognizes the economic and employment opportunities in becoming a major player in the global solar industry, and aims to develop its own supply chain and manufacturing facilities.

As if to demonstrate how serious the Saudi’s are about their alternative energy strategy, solicitation of bids for the first phases of implementation will begin immediately.

An abundance of sunshine makes Saudi Arabia one of the world’s most attractive locations for solar development, and its particular form of government makes aggressive, top-down initiatives easier to implement than in western democracies. Those facts, combined with the economic benefits of cutting highly-subsidized domestic consumption while creating jobs, certainly put the country in a unique position to move forward with ambitious strategies for developing alternative energy.

Nevertheless, when an oil-rich nation recognizes that the time for massive investments in renewable energy is now, it makes populist slogans such as “drill here, drill now” sound like something out of the last century.