Rice agriculture accelerates global warming: More greenhouse gas per grain of rice

Rice agriculture accelerates global warming: More greenhouse gas per grain of rice

ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2012) — More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and rising temperatures cause rice agriculture to release more of the potent greenhouse gas methane (CH₄) for each kilogram of rice it produces, new research published in this week's online edition of Nature Climate Change reveals.

"Our results show that rice agriculture becomes less climate friendly as our atmosphere continues to change. This is important, because rice paddies are one of the largest human sources of methane, and rice is the world's second-most produced staple crop," said Dr Kees Jan van Groenigen, Research Fellow at the Botany Department at the School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, and lead author of the study.

Van Groenigen, along with colleagues from Northern Arizona University and the University of California in Davis, gathered all published research to date from 63 different experiments on rice paddies, mostly from Asia and North America. The common theme in the experiments was that they measured how rising temperatures and extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere affect rice yields and the amount of methane that is released by rice paddies.

The research team used a technique called meta-analysis, a statistical tool for finding general patterns in a large body of experimental data. "Two strong patterns emerged when we analysed all the data: first, more CO₂ boosted emissions of methane from rice paddies, and second, higher temperatures caused a decline in rice yields," explained Professor Bruce Hungate of Northern Arizona University and co-author of the study.

Methane in rice paddies is produced by microscopic organisms that respire CO₂, like humans respire oxygen. More CO₂ in the atmosphere makes rice plants grow faster, and the extra plant growth supplies soil microorganisms with extra energy, pumping up their metabolism. Increasing CO₂ levels will also boost rice yields, but to a smaller extent then CH₄ emissions. As a result, the amount of CH₄ emitted per kilogram of rice yield will increase. Rising temperatures were found to have only small effects on CH₄ emissions, but because they decrease rice yield, they also increase the amount of CH₄ emitted per kilogram of rice. "Together, higher CO₂ concentrations and warmer temperatures predicted for the end of this century will about double the amount of CH₄ emitted per kilogram of rice produced.," explained Professor Chris van Kessel of the University of California in Davis and co-author of the study.

"Because global demand for rice will increase further with a growing world population, our results suggest that without additional measures, the total CH₄ emissions from rice agriculture will strongly increase..."

However, the authors point out that there are several options available to reduce CH₄ emissions from rice agriculture. For instance, management practices such as mid-season drainage and using alternative fertilizers have been shown to reduce CH₄ emissions from rice paddies. Moreover, by switching to more heat tolerant rice cultivars and by adjusting sowing dates, yield declines due to temperature increases can largely be prevented, thereby reducing the effect of warming on CH₄ emissions per yield. "These findings, together with our own results really stress the need for mitigation and adaptation measures to secure global food supply while at the same time keeping greenhouse gas emissions in check." van Groenigen concluded.

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珍爱沉默的眼泪音乐剧

嗨，大家好！

今天我們稍息一会儿 ！放下严肃的环保资讯，吸一口新鮮的空氣， 放松一下， 来一点轻松的事儿吧 ！

 

  

顯然，音樂劇《珍愛沉默的眼淚》即将上演的讯息正在全世界各地闹哄哄的登场。

对于音樂和舞台劇的愛好者，这无疑是难得的好消息！ 全世界最好和最有才華的作曲家们以及历来获得格萊美獎/东尼奖及其他奖状的得主们将为大家呈献令您难忘的盛大演出。

【洛杉磯 】 擁有白金唱片銷售量的華裔流行樂女歌手謝安琪，將在新的音樂劇《珍愛沉默的眼淚》中演出。她將在這齣美國本地製作的音樂劇中和多位百老匯重量級藝人、葛萊美獎得獎者及全球各國知名的歌手連袂演出。

Jody Watley

John Secada

新的音樂劇《珍愛沉默的眼淚》(Loving the Silent Tears) 是廣受期待的年底盛會之一。該劇將於十月廿七日在洛杉磯聖殿劇院 (Shrine Auditorium) 隆重演出。

堪稱歌劇史上的獨創，《珍愛沉默的眼淚》將帶領觀眾遨遊世界六大洲十六個國家，走進感人的故事情節，來尋找內心深處的和平與快樂。

音樂劇還邀請到榮獲兩次葛萊美獎的藝術家

Siavash Shams

喬‧斯卡達 (Jon Secada) 和葛萊美獎偶像 
茱蒂‧華特莉 (Jody Watley) 。而來自音樂
劇重鎮百老匯的演員則有東尼獎得主 
戴比‧葛莉特 (Debbie Gravitte) 、
東尼獎得主柯里爾‧庫里什 (Kiril Kulish) 、

Debbie Gravite

艾美獎得主暨東尼獎入圍者 
莉茲‧卡洛薇 (Liz Callaway) 
以及東尼獎入圍者 
佩地‧寇依諾 (Patti Cohenour) 。

喬‧斯卡達(Jon Secada) 表示：
「演唱和表演是我的最愛，所以
我必須要參與這大型的音樂劇製作，

Black Uhuru

共同傳揚全地球應和睦相處。
我想不出還有比這更具有意義和價值的。」

此外，演出者還包括葛萊美獎得主雷鬼月團 
「黑色自由」(Black Uhuru) 、阿拉伯歌手 
卡蜜莉‧歐達 (Camellia Abou-Odah) 、
韓國流行樂歌星朱珉奎 (Brian Joo) 、 

Liel Kolet

義大利男高音馬克‧荷尼西羅 
 (Mark Janicello) 、愛爾蘭女高音凱蒂‧
麥克曼 (Katie McMahon) 、韓國女歌手
朴希瑟(Heather Park)、巴西獲獎歌手
法碧娜‧帕斯尼 (Fabiana Passoni) 以及

Brian Joo

波斯裔巨星席瓦‧項 (Siavash Shams)。

「能參與如此規模的演出，真的非常特別。」
茱蒂‧華特莉 (Jody Watley) 說道，
「有這麼龐大的演出陣容，並聚集了音樂家、
作曲家、藝術家，全球性的訊息，真的很壯觀！」

Liz Callaway

《珍愛沉默的眼淚》的製作群包括東尼獎
入圍者也是極富創意的導演文生‧派特森 
 (Vincent Paterson)  (麥可‧傑克森〈飆之旅〉
和瑪丹娜〈金髮雄心〉世界巡迴演唱會 )、

Mark Janicello

艾美獎舞蹈指導獎得主邦妮‧史朵莉  
(Bonnie Story) (歌舞青春)、艾美獎布景設計獎
得主約翰‧艾可威利 (John Iacovelli)
 (小飛俠彼得潘) 以及獲獎服裝設計師 
雪蘿‧馬汀 (Sharell Martin) (芝加哥)。

Camellia Abou Odah

文生‧派特森(Vincent Paterson)表示：「這將是
個美妙的歌劇之夜，有美麗的服裝和絕妙的布景；
觀眾將聽到了不起的音樂，將看到優美的舞蹈，
還會感受到開悟和自我了悟的美麗訊息，這麼好
的訊息是我們一生中一直需要的。」

Fabiana Passoni

音樂劇的靈感是來自〈沉默的眼淚〉詩集。此
詩集是集結世界知名的靈性導師、人道主義者
和藝術家清海無上師多年前所寫的部分詩作。

獲獎劇作家辛蒂雅‧費洛 (Cynthia Ferrell)  
提到：「坦白說，《珍愛沉默的眼淚》最

Katie_McMahon

吸引我的是詩詞部分。詩是如此的優美，
意涵也都前後呼應，詩韻部分也令人讚賞，
令你聯想翩翩。這會讓你以快樂的心境來
參與這份工作。」

編曲部分則是以獨特的方式，由多位才華出眾的作曲家通力合作，將清海無上師深情的詩文譜寫成悠揚的樂章。這些作曲家包括：六次葛萊美獎得主暨兩次奧斯卡獎入圍者喬治‧ 卡拉卓利(Jorge Calandrelli) (臥虎藏龍)、兩次葛萊美獎得主暨奧斯卡獎入圍者艾爾‧卡夏(Al Kasha) (海神號)、艾美獎得主道格‧卡薩羅 (Doug Katsaros) (渾身是勁)、兩次葛萊美獎得主暨奧斯卡獎入圍者亨利‧克列格(Henry Krieger) (夢幻女郎)、東尼暨艾美獎得主唐‧皮蓬 (Don Pippin) (孤雛淚) 、葛萊美獎得主喃妮‧舒瓦茲 (Nan Schwartz) (哈利波特) 以及奧斯卡暨兩次葛萊美獎得主大衛‧夏爾 (David Shire) (周末夜狂熱)。有這麼多樂壇佼佼者投注大量心力原創的作品，對音樂愛好者來說，這絕無疑問將會是最美麗的饗宴。

喬‧斯卡達(Jon Secada) 會在現場演唱一首根據清海無上師的詩作而親自編曲的新歌。他說：「我想觀眾會發現，聆聽清海無上師所寫的歌詞，會有一種轉變、靈性啟迪的體驗。」

作曲家艾爾‧卡夏(Al Kasha)表示：「所有世界頂級作曲家以及所有葛萊美獎和百老匯東尼獎的得主，都是因為看到音樂劇的靈性層面而欣然加入。我認為這音樂會會提升觀眾的靈感層面，我真的這麼認為。」

Kay Se

謝安琪是香港最受歡迎的流行樂女歌手之一，
也被媒體讚譽為「 平民天后」。她最令人稱道
的是歌唱音域之寬廣以及歌唱技巧之自然成熟。
她擅長演唱各式曲風，如流行樂、另類音樂、
搖滾、爵士、靈魂音樂。謝安琪的歌曲〈囍帖街〉
在二零零八年度的各流行榜上均獲得大獎，
之後所出的唱片也都非常受到肯定，如〈Binary〉、 
〈吶喊〉。而她舉辦過的現場演唱會也是佳評如潮。
這位曾獲「四台聯頒音樂大獎─傳媒大獎(歌手獎)」殊榮的藝術家，其成就是如此的非凡。本身也是作曲家、演員、模特兒的謝安琪，演唱的歌曲涵蓋粵語、中文、英文。這齣音樂劇將是她首次在劇院登台演出。

有著一流的演員陣容和創作組合，加上美麗的歌詞，以及三十餘人的舞群和現場管弦樂團伴奏，《珍愛沉默的眼淚》在規模及製作價值上，都是空前、五星級的鉅作。

當晚也將慶祝第十九周年清海無上師日，以表彰其慈善及和平方面的貢獻。會前的藝術展將陳列清海無上師的多樣創作，歡迎所有觀眾前往欣賞，展覽不另外收費。

「音樂是因為有好的目的，有更高的目的，有靈性的目的才會源源而來。如此才能把我們最好的彰顯出來。」作曲家喃妮‧舒瓦茲表示，「我認為這齣音樂劇是每個人都應參加的極妙盛會。」

當天還有名流走紅地毯儀式。

有提供記者證。如有需要，將提供給媒體單位盛會的畫面。

十月廿七日的《珍愛沉默的眼淚》是唯一一次的特別演出，各種背景的觀眾都會受到啟發，所以千萬不要錯過，也記得帶您的家人親友一同觀賞，來分享這有意義的經驗。

欲知詳情，請至：SilentTearsMusical.com

臉書：facebook.com/SilentTearsMusical

推特： twitter.com/LoveSilentTears

珍愛沉默的眼淚

二零一二年十月廿七日周六

下午兩點：藝術展

下午三點：走紅地毯儀式

下午四點：音樂劇

聖殿劇院 

 665 West Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007

                                                SilentTearsMusical.com | 626-444-4424

Too late to stop global warming by cutting emissions? Scientists argue for adaption policies

Too late to stop global warming by cutting emissions? Scientists argue for adaption policies

ScienceDaily (Oct. 17, 2012) — Governments and institutions should focus on developing adaption policies to address and mitigate against the negative impact of global warming, rather than putting the emphasis on carbon trading and capping greenhouse-gas emissions, argue Johannesburg-based Wits University geoscientist Dr Jasper Knight and Dr Stephan Harrison from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.

"At present, governments' attempts to limit greenhouse-gas emissions through carbon cap-and-trade schemes and to promote renewable and sustainable energy sources are prob¬ably too late to arrest the inevitable trend of global warming," the scientists write in a paper published online in the scientific journal, Nature Climate Change, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2012.

The paper, entitled "The Impacts of climate change on terrestrial Earth surface systems," is published in the Perspective section of Nature Climate Change and argues that much less attention is paid by policymakers to monitor, model and manage the impacts of climate change on the dynamics of Earth surface systems, including glaciers, rivers, mountains and coasts. "This is a critical omis¬sion, as Earth surface systems provide water and soil resources, sustain ecosystem services and strongly influence biogeochemical climate feedbacks in ways that are as yet uncertain," the scientists write.

Knight and Harrison want governments to focus more on adaption policies because future impacts of global warming on land-surface stability and the sediment fluxes associated with soil erosion, river down-cutting and coastal erosion are relevant to sustainability, biodiversity and food security. Monitoring and modelling soil erosion loss, for example, are also means by which to examine problems of carbon and nutri¬ent fluxes, lake eutrophication, pollutant and coliform dispersal, river siltation and other issues. An Earth-systems approach can actively inform on these cognate areas of environmental policy and planning.

According to the scientists, Earth surface systems' sensitivity to climate forcing is still poorly understood. Measuring this geomorphological sensi¬tivity will identify those systems and environments that are most vulnerable to climatic disturbance, and will enable policymakers and managers to prioritise action in these areas.

"This is particularly the case in coastal environments, where rocky and sandy coastlines will yield very different responses to climate forcing, and where coastal-zone management plans are usually based on past rather than future climatic patterns," they argue.

The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change special report on extreme events and disasters and the forthcoming fifth assessment report, due 2013, include more explicit statements of the role of Earth surface systems in responding to and influencing climate forcing.

"However, monitoring of the response of these systems to climate forcing requires decadal-scale data sets of instrumented basins and under different climatic regimes worldwide. This will require a con-siderable international science effort as well as commitment from national governments," Knight and Harrison urge.

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Antibiotic contamination a threat to humans and the environment

Antibiotic contamination a threat to humans and the environment

ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2012) — More than 10,000 tonnes of antibiotics are consumed in Europe each year, and 30-60% pass through animals and humans completely unchanged. The different substances then reach the ocean via hospitals, municipal sewage, fish farms and run-off from agriculture and landfills.

The research group from the University of Gothenburg are focusing on the potential effects of accumulating antibiotics in the seabed.
"Our aim is to document the sea's natural microbial structure and function as well as resistance patterns, so that we can determine if and in what way things change as a result of human activity," says Maria Granberg.

Greenland is home not only to areas of very clean water, the like of which just does not exist in Sweden, but also highly polluted water. As such, it is an excellent location for studying environmental impacts.

"Greenland has no sewage treatment whatsoever, which means that waste water from inhabited areas is discharged straight into the sea," says Maria Granberg. "So Greenland is home to both very clean and very polluted waters, which is great for comparing environmentally pristine areas with polluted ones"

The soft sediments on the seabed act as a reservoir for hard-to-break-down substances that are released into the environment. Even substances that are not discharged directly into the sea gradually find their way there from the land and air via rainwater. This means that antibiotics can affect marine sediment ecosystems over a long period, with detrimental effects on natural marine communities of bacteria, among other things.

"The presence of antibiotics in the marine environment is worrying as it can result in widespread resistance to antibiotics in marine bacteria with unknown consequences for the spread of resistance genes to bacteria that can reach humans through the consumption of seafood and fish."

The marine sediment bacteria being studied are also important from a global perspective as they metabolise both nitrogen and carbon, which are linked to both eutrophication and climate problems. A key aspect is also that resistance genes can be transferred between bacteria.

"We know very little about how antibiotics affect natural systems and how antibiotic resistance develops and spreads in these systems," says Maria Granberg. "This knowledge is, however, vital if we are to identify the sources of, and understand, the mechanisms behind the development of antibiotic resistance, which constitutes a threat to both the functioning of ecosystems and human health."

This year's research trip was a collaboration between the Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences and the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy, the Department of Arctic Technology at the Technical University of Denmark and the Research Station Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil in Switzerland.

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Primates in peril: Conservationists reveal the world's 25 most endangered primates

Primates in peril: Conservationists reveal the world's 25 most endangered primates

ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2012) — The world's 25 most endangered primates have been revealed in a new report released Oct. 15, 2012 at the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity COP11. Primates in Peril: The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates, 2012-2014 has been compiled by the Primate Specialist Group of IUCN's Species Survival Commission (SSC) and the International Primatological Society (IPS), in collaboration with Conservation International (CI) and the Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation (BCSF).

Humankind's closest living relatives -- the world's apes, monkeys, lemurs and other primates -- are on the brink of extinction and in need of urgent conservation measures. The report, announced by some of the world's leading primate experts every two years, reveals those species most in danger of becoming extinct from destruction of tropical forests, illegal wildlife trade and commercial bush meat hunting.

The list features nine primate species from Asia, six from Madagascar, five from Africa and five from the Neotropics. In terms of individual countries, Madagascar tops the list with six of the 25 most endangered species. Vietnam has five, Indonesia three, Brazil two, and China, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Peru, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Venezuela each have one.

With this report, conservationists want to highlight the plight of species such as the Pygmy Tarsier (Tarsius pumilus) of southern and central Sulawesi, which was only known from three museum specimens until 2008, when three individuals were captured inside the Lore Lindu National Park and one more was observed in the wild. The few remaining fragmented and isolated populations of this species are threatened by human encroachment and armed conflict.

Madagascar's lemurs are severely threatened by habitat destruction and illegal hunting, which has accelerated dramatically since the change of power in the country in 2009. The rarest lemur, the Northern Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur septentrionalis), is now down to 19 known individuals in the wild. A red-listing workshop on lemurs, held by the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist group in July this year, revealed that 91% of the 103 species and subspecies were threatened with extinction. This is one of the highest levels of threat ever recorded for a group of vertebrates.

The list of the world's 25 most endangered primates has been drawn up by primatologists working in the field who have first-hand knowledge of the causes of threats to primates.

"Once again, this report shows that the world's primates are under increasing threat from human activities. Whilst we haven't lost any primate species yet during this century, some of them are in very dire straits," says Dr Christoph Schwitzer, Head of Research at the Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation (BCSF). "In particular the lemurs are now one of the world's most endangered groups of mammals, after more than three years of political crisis and a lack of effective enforcement in their home country, Madagascar. A similar crisis is happening in South-East Asia, where trade in wildlife is bringing many primates very close to extinction."

More than half (54%) of the world's 633 primate species and subspecies with known conservation status are classified as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. The main threats are habitat destruction, particularly from the burning and clearing of tropical forests the hunting of primates for food, and the illegal wildlife trade.

"Primates are our closest living relatives and probably the best flagship species for tropical rain forests, since more than 90 percent of all known primates occur in this endangered biome," says Dr. Russell Mittermeier, Chair of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group and President of Conservation International. "Amazingly, we continue to discover new species every year since 2000. What is more, primates are increasingly becoming a major ecotourism attraction, and primate-watching is growing in interest and serving as a key source of livelihood in many local communities living around protected areas in which these species occur."

"It's also important to note that primates are a key element in their tropical forest homes," adds Dr Mittermeier. "They often serve as seed dispersers and help to maintain forest diversity. It is increasingly being recognized that forests make a major contribution in terms of ecosystem services for people, providing drinking water, food and medicines."

Despite the gloomy assessment, conservationists point to the success in helping targeted species recover. Due largely to the efforts of dedicated primate conservationists, and underpinned by considerable public and media interest in the plight of our closest relatives, the world has not lost a single primate species to extinction in the 20th century, and no primate had yet to be declared extinct in the 21st century either, although some are very close to total extirpation. This is a better record than for most other groups of larger vertebrates that have lost at least one, often more, species.

Several species have been removed from the list -- now in its seventh edition -- because of improved status, among them India's Lion-Tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus) and Madagascar's Greater Bamboo Lemur (Prolemur simus), which appeared on the first six lists, but has now been taken off thanks to the great increase of interest generated by its appearance as a top 25 species.

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