Aging Boats Compromise Canada’s Navy

August 6, 2010

Canada’s naval prowess may soon be undermined by its aging oil tanker supply ships, compromising its maritime ability to act independently around the world, a report released yesterday in Ottawa warns. According to the leaked document, the 40-year-old ships could be barred from both European and American ports by 2015 due to their outdated, single-hull design, which violates standards adopted to prevent major oil spills.

Without being able to send out supply ships, Canada will not be able maintain an independent navy, says Ken Bowering, a retired navy commander: “The support ships, the tankers, provide that ability to stay at sea for extended periods with fuel, with spare parts, food, ammunition.”

Canadian naval capabilities have come under growing scrutiny in recent years as the naval forces of Russia and northern European shipping fleets have increased their Arctic presence in anticipation of global warming. In July, prior to the public release of yesterday’s report, the Conservative government in Canada announced in that it will spend $2.6 billion to replace the navy’s two auxiliary oil replenishment vessels.

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Shark Fishing in Brazil Stirs Controversy

August 3, 2010

The Brazilian environmental group Instituto Justiça Ambiental (IJA) this week released a report alleging that illegal commercial shark fishing is causing severe damage to Brazil’s offshore ecosystems. According to IJA,  300,000 sharks have been killed in the past year for their fins, which are clandestinely exported to Asia where shark fin soup and other shark-based dishes are a popular delicacy.

It is a crime in Brazil to separate a shark’s fin from its body. According to the group’s allegations, however, this has not stopped the Brazilian seafood company, Sigel do Brasil Comercio, from illegally exporting millions of dollars worth of shark fins to China and other Asian markets where a growing middle class has caused a surge in demand for the products. IJA’s claims have been substantiated by the Brazilian Environment Ministry, who has stepped up pressure on Sigel and even raided their offices in May.

The killing of so many predators has severely imbalanced the ecosystem off Brazil’s coast, says Cristiano Pacheco, director of IJA, "The massive and illegal fishing is doing irreversible harm to the ocean's ecosystem, because sharks are at the top of the food chain.” In the group’s view, that impact is worth $790 million, which is the amount of a lawsuit that IJA has brought against the seafood company on Monday. Any legal award resulting from the suit will go to Brazil’s national environment fund.

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Sen. Kerry Calls for Hemispheric Cooperation on Climate Change in new AQ as His Bill Gains Support in Congress

October 15, 2009

The climate bill sponsored by U.S. Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA) gained unexpected Republican support this week.  Co-authoring an op-ed in the New York Times with Kerry, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed his support for the legislation.  The Clean Energy Jobs and Power Act (S. 1733) calls for the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent (from 2005 levels) by 2020. 

The Senate is scheduled to take up the bill on October 27.  In June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, its version of the climate change bill. 

Released today, Senator Kerry, in the Fall issue of Americas Quarterly, praises several Latin American countries for progress on environmental protection and calls for the United States to help the region become a leader in combating climate change. Such hemispheric cooperation could help to make good on promises for a new, improved U.S.-Latin America relationship as well as serve as a global model going into December’s Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. 

With health care discussions underway, it is uncertain as to whether a climate change bill will pass Congress prior to the Copenhagen meeting.

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Poachers in Peru Kill 480 Endangered Animals

July 6, 2009

Regional authorities in the southeastern Peruvian province of Huaytará announced on Sunday that 480 vicuñas (a relative of the llama) had been killed and robbed of their precious fur, reaching an estimated value of about $50,000. Vicuña poaching has been on the rise in recent years partly due to worsening poverty—the fur of four of these animals carries a value of $400 in the local market and up to $2,000 internationally. It is one of the finest fibers in the world.

The poachers—many of whom are thought to be locals—use binoculars and firearms to trap the vicuñas and an existing route to “transport the fiber toward the south of Peru to the border of Bolivia,” explained Jorge Quinto, the region’s manager of natural resources. Illegal poaching harms a local population that counts on these animals as part of their daily survival.

The government is trying to crack down on poachers, but “it’s hard to catch them,” explains Ulario Maita, president of a local vicuna villager association. The justice system doesn’t pursue poachers, and if caught, they rarely serve prison sentences. To curtail poaching, Maita says that the villagers would need better equipment and vehicles to pursue the criminals, along with increased community pressure. This is the formula that helped to repopulate herds in the 1990s.

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Can Brazil Save the World from Climate Change?

June 18, 2009

What if Brazil held a key to saving the world from destroying itself through an inexorable process of man-made global climate change?  Far-fetched?  Perhaps.  Then again, perhaps not.  Having just returned from exploring energy issues in Brazil with experts from the policy, government and the private sectors, I’ve come back with some hard truths that must be addressed, and a better understanding of the role that Brazil can play in energy and climate change issues, but only if we get the market signals right

First, there’s no doubt that global energy demand will grow as incomes and populations increase.  There is just no getting around the fact that energy demand could double—that’s right, double—by 2050. That’s only 40 years from now.  Think of how quickly the last 40 years have gone, and understand that this is really not that far off.  

That means current energy sources will be under significant strain to meet this growing demand.  Alternative sources that are clean, plentiful and efficiently produced and delivered will be essential to develop and widely employ even as traditional fuels remain critically important for the foreseeable future. And in our drive to satisfy energy needs, the environment will be increasingly impacted, no matter what we do.  The question will be whether we can find ways to mitigate the impact through conservation, energy efficiency and properly pricing the cost of energy, including the externalities created by energy usage.  

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