The New Nation - Internet Edition

Kalee Kreider

With a column titled "Fact Checker," it is difficult not to lose the forest for the trees. First and foremost, An Inconvenient Truth presented thousands and thousands of facts. We stand by our initial statement. We were gratified that a UK High Court judge, a layperson with a full docket, found the film worthy enough to be shown in British schools. A generation of schoolchildren will become more educated about global warming and what can be done to solve the climate crisis. A number of other broader points need to be addressed from the Fact Checker's last two postings:

· The judge himself never used the term "errors." That was an allegation made by the plaintiff--whose motives are quite suspect. Stewart Dimmock, who brought this case, appears to have been funded by the very same fossil fuel interests who have sought to undermine the scientific consensus behind global warming in the past. The Observer has reported that he was funded by mining interests as well as the Scientific Alliance, an industry-backed non-profit with links to other groups in the U.S. like the U.S. based George C. Marshall Institute which has received funding from Exxon. This was also reported in the U.S. Our experience is that when the vested interests do not like the message, they tend to use diversionary tactics to create uncertainty or to fund individuals and groups to shoot the messenger. In this instance, it appears they are trying to do both. According to these reports, Mr. Dimmock will still not fully reveal who funded the case.

· The process of creating a 90-minute documentary from the original peer-reviewed science for an audience of moviegoers in the U.S. and around the world is complex. Vice President Gore has studied this issue for over 30 years. He regularly seeks the advice and feedback of scientists to understand the latest research. It's not easy, even for Ph.D.'s, to explain the concept of the "non-linearity" of the climate system even after decades in their respective fields. Imagine trying to translate that complicated scientific evidence into a clear and compelling message with only a single slide and 20 seconds to make your case. It isn't simple. In many cases, particular points had to be truncated and shortened from the original research. A movie inherently cannot reflect the depth of the science as the 3 volumes of the IPCC and other sources from which it draws. The original science cannot speak to moviegoers. And, as is not made clear by the Fact Checker, the judge stated

clearly that he was not attempting to perform "an analysis of the scientific questions" in his ruling.

· Former Vice President Gore does not solely rely upon the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. As many know, the IPCC operates on a consensus driven process requiring the approval of all governments involved. As a result, its findings are often believed to be conservative. In addition, new science is published every week in top journals such as Science, Nature, Eos and others. Some scientists predict more extreme consequences and some predict more conservative effects, but Vice President Gore tried to convey in good faith those threats that he views as the most serious. Although we commend the Fact Checker for looking to the IPCC, Mr. Gore relies upon other highly credible sources as well.

Since the Fact Checker has afforded us the opportunity to respond specifically to the nine points at issue, we will do so.

· Ice-sheet driven sea level rise. Scientists agree that the melting of Greenland or the West Antarctic ice sheet would raise sea levels around six meters. The movie does not give a timescale for when that melting might occur. There are uncertainties in the scientific community about the timescale, but this uncertainty does not negate the need to seriously consider these scenarios when considering solutions to the climate crisis. IPCC estimates a sea level rise of 59 centimeters by 2100. However, they exclude any water contributed by the melting of Greenland or Antarctica because they don't know when either could happen. We hold our fate in our own hands. If we conclude a strong treaty--or if we pass strong legislation in the US to cut the pollution that causes global warming, it could make a real difference to our future and that of our children. Dr. Jim Hansen, head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and someone whom we trust, has said that we may see

several meters of sea level rise by 2100 if we do not act.

· Pacific island nations needing to evacuate. On December 6, 2005, The United Nations Environment Program announced that a small community living in the Pacific island chain of Vanuatu had to relocate due to sea level rise. In addition, in 2005, the people of the Carteret atoll in Papua New Guinea announced their imminent evacuation and the government of Tuvalu has asked New Zealand to be ready to evacuate islanders. We acknowledge that the wording of the film here is unfortunate; however, the potential effects of global warming on human displacement as a broader topic is a matter of critical importance, which we believe warrants the attention of the global community. The IPCC estimates that 150 million environmental refugees could exist by the year 2050, due mainly to the effects of coastal flooding, shoreline erosion and agricultural disruption.

· Ocean Conveyor in the North Atlantic. Simulations described in the latest IPCC report show a slowdown in the circulation by roughly 30 percent by 2100. Again, there are uncertainties, which were a bit lengthy to describe in a feature film documentary, but the future of the ocean conveyer really depends upon how quickly we take actions now to reduce the pollution that causes global warming. Multiple scientists have claimed that we cannot exclude the possibility of the disruption or shutdown of the Conveyor.

· CO2 Temperature connections in the ice core record. Greenhouse gas levels and temperature changes in the ice age signals have a complicated relationship but they do "fit." That is true. There is a much longer explanation. Rather than repeat it here, I will refer you to the more complete description included in the archive of www.realclimate.org.

· Kilimanjaro. Mr. Gore has, for years, relied upon the research of Dr. Lonnie Thompson and his wife Dr. Ellen Mosely Thompson. Dr. Thompson recently received the National Medal of Science and works at the Byrd Polar Research Center. It is not just Kilimanjaro. Every tropical glacier for which we have documented evidence shows that glaciers are retreating. The evidence has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science (2006) as well as IPCC studies. As the movie states, there are other stresses on Kilimanjaro that are contributing to the problem. And this is a very, very important point--fundamental to our understanding of climate change: Global warming exacerbates the stresses that ecosystems (and humans) are already experiencing, such as drought, erosion, rising sea levels, and shifts in extreme weather events.

· Drying up of Lake Chad. This example is used to illustrate what the models are predicting which is the shift in rainfall across the Sahel region of Africa. As in the previous example, there are multiple stresses upon Lake Chad and again, human-induced climate change can and will make this situation even worse.

· Hurricane Katrina and global warming. The film is careful not to ascribe any single weather event to climate change. However, in the film Mr. Gore does state, "There have been warnings that hurricanes would get stronger." He based that claim on research published in peer-reviewed journals from Dr. Kerry Emanuel, and several others, who have found a link between an increase in sea surface temperature and an increase in the intensity of hurricanes. Since then, further research has strengthened the science in this area with regards to a link between human-induced climate change and hurricane intensity. Mr. Gore has never addressed the issue of climate change and hurricane frequency.

· Impact of sea ice retreat on polar bears. Polar bears only exist in the Arctic and hunt and live on the ice. Where there is not enough ice, they are required to swim. The US Minerals Management Service (part of the US Department of Interior) reported new research in December 2005 about increased polar bear mortality due to reduced sea ice. At the same time, a study by the US Geological Survey and the Canadian Wildlife Service was previewed showing a major polar bear population drop (22 percent) in Hudson Bay in Canada--which was also believed to be linked to sea ice decline. Since 2005, more research has emerged in this area. In addition, Arctic sea ice decline was the lowest ever measured for minimum extent in 2007. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is now considering an Endangered Species Listing for the polar bear in part because of the impact that human-induced climate change is having on their habitat.

· Global warming and coral reefs. The IPCC and other scientific bodies have long identified increases in ocean temperatures with the bleaching of coral reefs. Corals are also under stress from other factors like water pollution (agricultural runoff), overfishing, and ocean acidification (another direct impact of the release of carbon dioxide). These stresses have a synergistic effect. As I have made clear earlier, global warming places a further strain on an already burdened ecosystem.

To conclude, it's unfortunate that news coverage of the UK decision was so sensational and, once again, directed conversation away from a broader and much-needed discussion and debate about solutions to the climate crisis.

(Kalee Kreider is Nobel Laureate Al Gore's spokeswoman)

Nairobi - One of Africa's largest waste dumps, the Dandora Municipal Dumping Site in Nairobi, is a serious threat to children living nearby and the city's environment generally, a new study shows.

The study, commissioned by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), examined 328 children aged 2-18 living around the Dandora waste dump and its health implications. The study also compared soil samples from the site with another location just outside of Nairobi.

Half of the children tested had concentrations of lead in their blood exceeding internationally accepted levels, while 42 percent of soil samples recorded lead levels almost 10 times higher than what is considered unpolluted soil (over 400 parts per million (ppm) compared to 50 ppm).

Children have been exposed to pollutants such as heavy metals and toxic substances through soil, water and air (smoke from waste burning) with implications for respiratory, gastrointestinal and dermatological or skin diseases. Almost half of the children tested were suffering from respiratory diseases, including chronic bronchitis and asthma.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "We had anticipated some tough and worrisome findings, but the actual results are even more shocking than we had imagined at the outset".

"The Dandora site may pose some special challenges for the city of Nairobi and Kenya as a nation. But it is also a mirror to the condition of rubbish sites across many parts of Africa and other urban centres of the developing world," he said.

Mr Steiner said UNEP stands ready to assist the local and national authorities in the search for improved waste management systems and strategies including ones that generate sustainable and healthier jobs in the waste handling and recycling sectors.

"It is clear that urgent action is needed to reduce the health and environmental hazards so that children and adults can go about their daily lives without fear of being poisoned and without damage to nearby river systems," he said.

The 30-acre large Dandora dumping site receives 2,000 tonnes of rubbish every day, including plastics, rubber and lead paint treated wood, generated by some 4.5 million people living the Kenyan capital. The study also found evidence of the presence of hazardous waste, such as chemical and hospital waste, on the dumpsite.

Every day, scores of people, including children, from the nearby slums and low-income residential areas use the dump to find food, recyclables and other valuables they can sell as a source of income, at the same time inhaling the noxious fumes from routine waste burning and methane fires. Waste often finds its way into the Nairobi River that runs just meters away from the dumpsite, polluting water used by local residents and farmers downstream.

The St. John's Catholic Church and Informal School is located in close proximity to the dump. Between 2003 and 2006, the Church dispensary has treated 9,121 people per year on average for respiratory problems.

"We have been witnessing an alarming situation regarding Dandora children's health: asthma, anaemia and skin infections are by now endemic. These abnormalities are linked to the environment around the dumping site, and are exacerbated by poverty, illiteracy and malnutrition. Since waste dumping is unrestricted and unmanaged, people are also at risk from contracting blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis and HIV/AIDS," said Njoroge Kimani, principal investigator and author of the report.

Mr Kimani and his team conducted detailed research into Dandora Municipal Dumping Site's impacts on public health and the environment. Experts from the University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University, Kenyatta National Hospital and Kenya Agricultural Research Institute as well as local community leaders from St. John's Catholic Church in Korogocho have supported the study.

Soil and water samples were analyzed for heavy metals, such as lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium, and persistent organic pollutants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides. Blood and urine samples were analyzed for the same pollutants and for signs of diseases associated with them.

The results show dangerously high levels of heavy metals, especially lead, mercury and cadmium, at the dumpsite, in the surrounding environment and in local residents. Lead and cadmium levels found on the dumpsite were 13,500 ppm and 1,058 ppm, respectively, compared to the action levels in The Netherlands of 150 ppm/5 ppm for these heavy metals.

One soil sample from the banks of Nairobi River indicates high levels of mercury (over 18 ppm against the safe level of 2 ppm). The soil surface samples also recorded cadmium concentration 50 times higher than in unpolluted soil (53 ppm compared to 1 ppm).

Health wise, 50 percent of the children had blood lead levels equal to or above the internationally accepted action levels of 10 micrograms per decilitre of blood, including two children with concentrations of over 29 and 32 micrograms.

Low haemoglobin levels and iron deficiency anaemia, some of the known symptoms of lead poisoning, have been detected in 50 and 30 percent of the children, respectively. Exposure to high lead levels is also linked with a wide range of other ill effects including damage to the nervous system and the brain, whilst cadmium poisoning causes damage to internal organs, especially kidneys, and cancers.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), a quarter of all diseases affecting the humankind are attributable to environmental risks with children more vulnerable than adults. Among children under five, environmentally-related illnesses are responsible for more than 4.7 million deaths annually. Twenty-five percent of deaths in developing countries are related to environmental factors, compared with 17 percent of deaths in the developed world.

"The children of Dandora, Kenya, Africa and the world deserve better than this. We can no longer afford rubbish solutions to the waste management crisis faced in far too many cities, especially in the developing world," said Mr Steiner.

The study urges expediting decision-making on the waste dump in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner.

Father Daniele Moschetti, a Comboni missionary priest working with the local community in the slums surrounding the dumpsite, said: "The poor are the best recyclers in the world; nothing of value goes to waste. But this should not put them and their families' lives in danger. The local community is advocating for a closing and relocation of the dumpsite, whereby a controlled and well-managed waste processing facility should be established. This will not only reduce health and environment impacts but also generate jobs and income for the local community."

"Many local peoples' livelihoods depend on Dandora's wastes. The challenge is to minimize?indeed halt- the level of hazardous materials coming to the tip in the first place and better treatment of toxic and medical wastes before they arrive. We also need to deliver safe and sustainable conditions for the people working on, and living near, the site. For the foreseeable future, growing amounts of waste may be inevitable but we should learn how to better assist poor people who depend on this waste and promote the recycling and reuse of this waste as a safer economic opportunity," said Mr Steiner.

(Source: United Nations Environment Programme)

Adeje, Tenerife, Spain - A new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the protection of the Eastern Atlantic Populations of the Mediterranean Monk Seal was concluded under the auspices of CMS. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Kingdom of Morocco, the Republic of Portugal and the Kingdom of Spain signed the agreement in Adeje in the margins of the CMS meeting on Western African Talks on Cetaceans and their Habitats (WATCH). The agreement will be open for signature to all the Atlantic range states.

Since 1986, the populations of Mediterranean Monk Seals have been at the centre of the Mediterranean Action Plan of UNEP. The Mediterranean Monk Seal has also been a main focus of CMS conservation measures for marine mammals. The Mediterranean Monk Seal is one of the most threatened marine mammals in the world and is listed on the Appendices of the Convention. Only approximately 500 Mediterranean Monk Seals remain in the wild. Appendix I Iisting commits member states to ban seal hunting and capture and to conserve its habitat to counteract factors impeding migration. This includes surveying other threat factors as well as preventing disturbance to the species.

Monk Seal populations play an important role in coastal and marine ecosystems. But natural phenomena and the development of human activities have significantly reduced them. The Eastern Atlantic Populations of the Mediterranean Monk Seal greatly suffer from entanglement and mortality in fishing gears, over fishing, hunting and human persecution, pollution, as well as from natural factors such as toxic phytoplankton. In addition, destruction of breeding sites and collapsing breeding cave further accelerate habitat loss. As a result of the alarming conservation status - no more than 500 seals remain in the Mediterranean and along the Eastern Atlantic coastline - IUCN has classified the species as Critically Endangered.

The species has disappeared from most of its distribution range, except for a few isolated groups. There are two breeding colonies of Mediterranean Monk Seal in the Eastern Atlantic: one on the Desertas Islands (Madeira) and the other on the Cabo Blanco Peninsula (Morocco-Mauritania). Since the colonies are probably isolated demographically and genetically with less than 200 seals each concentrated along a few kilometres of coastline, experts regard its status in the Atlantic as very critical.

Over the last years, an Action Plan for the Conservation of the Eastern Atlantic Monk Seal was elaborated and finally approved at the Eighth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CMS, held in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2005. CMS Executive Secretary Robert Hepworth said: "The Action Plan provides a new focus for cross-border Monk Seal conservation by identifying the obligations of the range states.

It is the first time that Monk Seal conservation actions in the Atlantic region have been approached in a spirit of international co-operation. This instrument is a significant step towards improving the conservation status and the habitat of the Eastern Atlantic Monk Seal throughout its range in cooperation with the four signatory states."

The Action Plan lays down the procedures to implement co-ordinated actions. It provides a means to combine programs from different states, local and private organizations into efficient, co-ordinated efforts, which should lead to the recovery of the depleted population of the species. The immediate goal is to stop the decline and, in medium term, promote recovery.

The Action Plan will include measures to evaluate the status and threats to Monk Seals and increase Monk Seal populations. The main action is the creation of a Network of Special Areas of Conservation for the Monk Seal (SACMS) to help restore populations. Increased liaison and coordination between the Barcelona Convention and CMS is expected to promote the conservation of the species.

CMS and its partners are looking forward to seeing recovery for the situation of the Monk Seal. The CMS Secretariat is confident that the new agreement will prevent the only pinniped in the Mediterranean from becoming extinct.

Peter Wamboga Mugirya

As preparations for construction of the Bujagali dam on the Nile River in Uganda gain momentum, a local civil society coalition is calling on the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to reconsider their decision to release funds for this hydro-electric project -- which the World Bank estimates will cost 799 million dollars.

While the World Bank and AfDB are the main financiers of the dam, the German Bank for Development and the European Investment bank are also helping to fund the initiative.

The Uganda Dams Development Forum, which groups ten organisations, is in part concerned that studies done by the contractor, Bujagali Energy Limited (BEL), do not give a full picture of the environmental and social consequences of construction -- and that these may be negative for Lake Victoria.

Bujagali is to be located at a waterfall of the same name, downstream of two existing dams, Nalubaale and Kiira. As IPS has reported previously, these two dams are known to bear partial responsibility for the declining water levels in Victoria -- the largest tropical lake in the world. The last three to five years have seen these levels drop to their lowest in decades (See: 'FINANCE: Activists Decry Bank's Loan Approval for Uganda Dam'). "BEL's assessment does not address the overall issue of Lake Victoria's long-term health. The issue of cumulative impacts by building a cascade of dams along the River Nile, an issue highlighted as significant, deserves greater attention…" said Frank Muramuzi, leader of the Uganda Dams Development Forum, and also executive director of the National Association of Professional Environmentalists.

"We're citing the hydrological concerns, economic viability of such a high-cost project and its social-environmental issues that have been ignored, while the dam construction preparations are in high gear."

Muramuzi said claims about the potentially negative effects of the dam had been forwarded to the World Bank and AfDB. Both institutions had sent inspection missions to Uganda to look into activists' concerns, he noted.

Fears have been expressed that the high cost of Bujagali will be passed on to the consumer, making the electricity that the dam generates unaffordable for most Ugandans. According to World Bank and finance ministry figures, over 70 percent of Ugandans live on less than a dollar day. Just one percent of people in rural areas have access to electricity, according to the Rural Electrification Agency in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development -- even though these regions are home to about 85 percent of Ugandans. A rural electrification project is underway countrywide, however.

Activists further claim that the cost of the project has jumped to 860 million dollars. While this alleged increase could not be verified with government or BEL, certain sources in the energy ministry said recent hikes in world market prices of oil, cement, steel and iron products, lime and consultancy services had led a higher cost for the project. In addition, civil society groups say the rate of forest depletion in Uganda threatens the viability of hydro-electric dams, on which the country heavily relies for electricity. In addition to Bujagali, government plans to build another three dams.

The Kiira and Nalubaale are already performing poorly, in part because of low water levels that are inadequate for power generation. This has brought about a severe electricity crunch in the East African nation.

Muramuzi told IPS that civil society's success in lobbying government to abandon plans for opening part of Mabira -- one of the country's largest rainforests -- to sugarcane cultivation had emboldened conservation activists in other endeavours. These include the campaign against Bujagali.

The drive against degazettement of 7,100 hectares in this protected area took place earlier in the year, with civic groups arguing that cultivation would have a negative effect on water levels in the Nile and Lake Victoria. The 30,000 hectare forest is situated next to the lake.

This was despite Water and Environment Minister Maria Mutagamba saying that the Mehta Group, which hoped to cultivate the sugarcane, would refrain from developing areas especially near the Nile or Lake Victoria in a bid to preserve them -- and also plant trees in parts of the land that were not suitable for sugarcane farming.

The state-run National Environment Management Authority and the National Forestry Authority had also vetoed the degazettement of land in Mabira, arguing that the forest was home to many species of plants and animals that would be threatened by rezoning.

On Apr. 12, five people died in Uganda's capital -- Kampala -- when a demonstration against the proposed change turned violent. "(The) Mabira campaign is an eye-opener to the investors and the government that the environment is dear to the people of Uganda and they can only want green investments," noted Achilles Byaruhanga of NatureUganda -- a non-governmental group -- in the group's official publication, 'The Naturalist'.

However, he also fears that government's retreat over Mabira might have been prompted by a desire to avoid adverse publicity ahead of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala -- and that the matter may be raised again in future.

"I believe after CHOGM (ends) in November, 2007, the matter of (the) Mabira giveaway may be revisited, this time with more severe vengeance than it was in April," warned Byaruhanga, who argues that Uganda should exploit alternative energy sources such as solar, geo-thermal and wind power to reduce dependence on hydro-power.

(This story is part of a series of features on sustainable development by IPS -- Inter Press Service -- and IFEJ, the International Federation of Environmental Journalists.)