From its creation by the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly in 1993 until 2000, IBD was held on December 29 to celebrate the day the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) went into effect. The date was later changed to commemorate the adoption of the CBD on May 22, 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit.

Providing water access is a major challenge for sustainable development. Only a tiny amount of the water on our planet is easily available as freshwater and demand is increasingly outpacing supply.  In the U.S., the issue of water scarcity is widespread with two-thirds of the country suffering from extreme drought last summer. The UN estimates that 1.2 billion people or almost one fifth of the world’s population live in areas of physical scarcity.

The UN has designated the period between 2005 and 2015 as the International Decade for Action ‘WATER FOR LIFE’. As explained in a notice from Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the theme this year was chosen to coincide with the United Nations’ designation of 2013 as the International Year of Water Cooperation.

An IBD message from the UN Secretary General focused on the Millennium Development Goals which includes sustainable water development to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health. The Secretary General concludes his message by calling on all parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to ratify the Nagoya Protocol.

An IBD message from Julia Marton Lefevre, the Director General of IUCN, succinctly states that “water is the lifeline for biodiversity.”

There were a wide range of water related IBD events around the globe including those organized by UNEP, national governments and NGOs.

These activities included:

• Translating booklets, leaflets and other educational resources into local languages.
• Distributing information on biodiversity via schools, colleges, universities, newspapers, radio and television.
• Exhibitions and seminars for students, professionals and the general public.
• Showings of movies on environmental issues.
• Presentations of programs to preserve endangered species or habitats.
• Planting trees and other plants that help prevent erosion.

Despite these educational efforts, the public is largely unaware of the life altering consequences of water issues, particularly those associated with our oceans.

An IBD message from Irina Bokova, the Director General of UNESCO, cautions that we are destroying the Earth’s biological diversity even though we have yet to fully understand the ways in which this interconnected web sustains life on the planet. What we do know is that water is at the center of biodiversity.

“The water cycle determines biological diversity, and biological diversity in turn determines the water cycle and the local climate. Tropical rainforests draw water up from the soil and groundwater though the roots of trees and then release into the atmosphere quantities of water that fall as rain. The biodiversity of forests and oceans act as global heat regulators mitigating climate change by binding carbon. Ocean acidification endangers marine biodiversity, which in turn affects the food chain on which we depend.”

Ocean Acidification

The world’s oceans provide vital services including absorbing up to half of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that we produce while making 50 percent of all the oxygen we breathe.

The increased quantities of CO2 in the atmosphere are being absorbed by the oceans and this is causing what is known as acidification. The ocean has become 30 percent more acidic since the start of The Industrial Revolution in the 18th century and it is predicted that the oceans will be 150 percent more acidic by the end of this century.

Higher acidity levels have far reaching effects including the disruption of the life cycle of some vital marine organisms.  One such key organism is phytoplankton, the microscopic plants that produce most of the ocean’s oxygen.  According to the Census of Marine Life, phytoplankton have been declining by approximately 1 percent per year since 1900.

Vital marine ecosystems like coral are also being decimated by global warming and ocean acidification. Almost half of the world’s coral reefs might be lost by 2050 and another 30 percent could be seriously depleted. Thousands of species rely on coral reefs for their survival, if coral reefs die, so too do the multitude of marine organisms that depend on them.

Information Sharing

If we are to have any hope of effectively managing our water resources we will have to embark on unprecedented international cooperation and information sharing. Finding solutions to the urgent water related problems we face demands that we forge innovative arrangements and share best practices. To facilitate the exchange of information, a tool known as WATER-L offers peer-to-peer knowledge sharing through an online database focused on sustainable water and sanitation. This free tool is designed for policy makers and practitioners. The site is managed and moderated by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Reporting Services.

Efforts to raise awareness are essential to water management, however, we also need to find solutions. Possible approaches to the world water crisis are addressed in the CBD’s overarching framework known as the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.

Another important water initiative comes from the international Blue Carbon Initiative that promotes the sustainable use of the oceans. We may also see some valuable suggestions from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, which was established in 2012.

Once we have identified solutions we will then need to devise enforceable laws that are able to protect the world’s water supplies including the vast swaths of ocean that fall outside of national jurisdictions.
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Richard Matthews is a consultant, eco-entrepreneur, green investor and author of numerous articles on sustainable positioning, eco-economics and enviro-politics. He is the owner of The Green Market Oracle, a leading sustainable business site and one of the Web’s most comprehensive resources on the business of the environment. Find The Green Market on Facebook and follow The Green Market’s twitter feed.

Image credit: Martin Sharman, courtesy flickr

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A “capstone event” for the Global Water Systems Project (GWSP), “Water in the Anthropocene” is expected to result in the recommendation of “priorities for decision makers in the areas of earth system science and water resources governance and management.”

Water in the Anthropocene

Human population and activities have expanded and intensified to the point where they have altered the Earth’s fundamental regulatory processes and mechanisms, including our planet’s climate and hydrological cycles, posing grave threats to humanity’s sustainability, according to GWSP, which has put together a list of startling facts regarding humanity’s impact on the natural environment and its fundamental life-support systems and mechanisms:

• Humanity uses an area the size of South America to grow its crops and an area the size of Africa for raising livestock
• Due to groundwater and hydrocarbon pumping in low lying coastal areas, two-thirds of major river deltas are sinking, some of them at a rate four times faster on average than global sea level is rising
• More rock and sediment is now moved by human activities such as shoreline in-filling, damming and mining than by the natural erosive forces of ice, wind and water combined
• Many river floods today have links to human activities, including the Indus flood of 2010 (which killed 2,000 people), and the Bangkok flood of 2011 (815 deaths)
• On average, humanity has built one large dam every day for the last 130 years. Tens of thousands of large dams now distort natural river flows to which ecosystems and aquatic life adapted over millennia
• Drainage of wetlands destroys their capacity to ease floods-a free service of nature expensive to replace
• Evaporation from poorly-managed irrigation renders many of the world’s rivers dry — no water, no life. And so, little by little, tens of thousands of species edge closer to extinction every day.

Threats to water resources now extend “far beyond ‘classic’ drinking water and sanitation issues and includes water quality and quantity for ecosystems at all scales,” according to GWSP.

“The fact is, as world water problems worsen, we lack adequate efforts to monitor the availability, condition and use of water — a situation presenting extreme long term cost and danger,” GWSP co-chair Claudia Pahl-Wostl was quoted in a press release.

“Human water security is often achieved in the short term at the expense of the environment with harmful long-term implications. The problems are largely caused by governance failure and a lack of systemic thinking in both developed and developing countries.

“Economic development without concomitant institutional development will lead to greater water insecurity in the long-term. Global leadership is required to deal with the water challenges of the 21st century.”

“Humanity changes the way water moves around the globe like never before, causing dramatic harm,” continued Joe Alcamo, chief scientist of the UN Environment Programme and former co-chair of the GWSP, a keynote speaker at the Bonn conference. “By diverting freshwater for agricultural, industrial and municipal use, for example, our coastal wetlands receive less and less, and often polluted, freshwater. The results include decreased inland and coastal biodiversity, increased coastal salinity and temperature, and contaminated agricultural soils and agricultural runoff.”

Added co-chair and GWSP founding member Charles Vörösmarty, “By throwing concrete, pipes, pumps, and chemicals at our water problems, to the tune of a half-trillion dollars a year, we’ve produced a technological curtain separating clean water flowing from our pipes and the highly-stressed natural waters that sit in the background. We treat symptoms of environmental abuse rather than underlying causes. Thus, problems continue to mount in the background, yet the public is largely unaware of this reality or its growing costs.”

Image credit: dsearls, courtesy flickr

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By Michael Crowe

Years of outrageous gas prices, poor auto emissions, increased global climate change, and celebrity endorsements of the Prius have all of us on the road going green. Almost every major automaker has responded will hybrid and/or electric options, from the compact Ford Focus electric to the full-sized pick-up Chevy Silverado hybrid.

But what exactly are the costs and benefits of buying these “new” used hybrids and EVs? Are they as safe and reliable as gas-powered vehicles? Are  maintenance costs for a used hybrid or EV much higher? Should you buy a used hybrid or electric vehicle? Here is a brief overview of the costs and benefits associated with purchasing used hybrid/EV vehicles:

Maintenance Costs

The biggest cost concern with hybrid vehicles is the battery life, and the policy on replacing the battery. Each car manufacturer offers a different warranty for hybrid/EV vehicles, just like gas-powered cars. It’s helpful to do your research before buying a used hybrid/EV so you can find the best warranties on components. Honda vehicles have an 8-year/80,000 mile warranty, while Toyota vehicles hold an 8-year/100,000 mile warranty.

The current price to replace a hybrid/EV battery runs between $2000-$3000, according to RoadandTravel.com. Prices for these batters will likely come down as more hybrid cars find their way on the road. Until that time, it’s best to purchase a used hybrid/EV that still holds a warranty.

While hybrid cars/EV are in tighter supply as compared to traditional gas-powered vehicles, they retain a slightly higher percentage of their value, which is an added plus. And luckily, since the first year of depreciation on hybrid/EV cars is the highest, you can take advantage of this by buying used.

Tax Breaks

Third, you might have seen or heard of the attractive “hybrid car tax credit” when filling out your taxes this year. Unfortunately, used hybrid cars are not eligible — the tax credit only applies to the purchase of a new hybrid. With the money you would be saving from buying used, you would still save money over buying new and taking the tax credit.

Gas Money

Of the 14 new hybrid/EV makes and models, purchasing used offers excellent benefits. Hybrid/EV cars can be less expensive used than gas-powered cars. You’ll also save anywhere between $650 and $1250 a year on gas, depending on the make and model. Motors and batters require no more maintenance over the life of a vehicle compares to gas-powered vehicle. And because hybrids have regenerative braking, brake pads might even last longer than in normal cars.

Emissions

Hybrid/EV cars can bring enormous environmental benefits. You’re keeping down emissions by using a less gas. And even if this doesn’t seem like the greatest benefit to you personally, consider the fact you may not have to go through an emissions test ever again. In many major cities, hybrids are exempt from emissions inspections all together.

The way a hybrid functions actually cuts down maintenance costs even further. A hybrid car’s gas engine will turn off when the vehicle is coasting downhill, decelerating, or at a stop. Since this inactivity reduced stress on the gas engine, hybrids are known to have longer maintenance intervals. Toyota recommends oil changes every 5,000 miles instead of every 3,000.

The list of benefits goes on an on. Before you go ahead and purchased your hybrid, consult this and other resources to make sure you’re making a strategic decision regarding your purchase. However you go about it, buying a used hybrid/EV car is a good choice. Whether you’re shopping for used cars in Dallas, Boston, Seattle, Miami or any major city, this swell of hybrid/EV vehicles means you can drive green for less.

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Mike is a car mechanic and a freelance writer who lives in Colorado.

image mariordo59

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