This issue of Lost Kittens brings a rich array of content drawn from the bounty of the internet.
1. Firing construction bricks can consume large quantities of woodfuel, especially if the kilns used are inefficiently designed. To address this problem, an architect working in Arabian Peninsula devised a brick-producing process that uses a chemical reactions instead of woodfuel to cure the bricks. The recipe for this bioengineered brick is well described in this article (Metropolis Magazine.)
2. There was much talk this past week about the landmark international agreement to protect global biodiversity. The highlight of the conference hosted in Japan was the release of a report that puts a price tag on the loss of ecosystem services resulting from environmental destruction. Check out the new Bank of Natural Capital.
One useful tool that can help quantify loss of ecosystem services is something called The Natural Capital Project. NCP is a non-profit venture led in part by scientists from various universities and environmental non-profits (including my former employer, The Nature Conservancy!) At the heart of the venture is a software tool called InVEST, which helps to map out the value of natural land or seascapes—assets the group calls “natural capital.” The government of China is using InVEST to help with its goal of zoning 25% of its land for conservation purposes. (FORBES Magazine)
2. Trying to squeeze out more carbon credits from that REDD forest? Then ‘think again’ says a recent paper pointing to a forest’s finite ability to sequester carbon. “The ability of forests to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has been overrated, according to a new study by U.S. and Australian scientists.
In the paper (in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), scientists argue that an essential element, nitrogen, had previously not been adequately factored into the equation. (Via CBC Canada)
3. In Mali, Rural Electrification Rhymes with Renewable Energy — ‘The basic idea is to have all women give up wood cutting and, in so doing, reduce pressure on the trees. That’s how we intend to introduce natural resource management,’ explained Sheik Oumar Toure, head of the rural wood markets division at the Malian Agency for the Development of Rural Electrification, the project management unit. (via ENP Newswire.)
4. Rolling out the red carpet for the forests. — International Forest Film Festival – To celebrate the International Year of Forests, 2011 (Forests 2011), the United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat (UNFFS) is working in collaboration with the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival to organize an International Forest Film Festival (IFFF). The IFFF will showcase a selection of forest films as part of the global launch of Forests 2011 taking place at UN Headquarters in New York, and subsequently at other festivals and events around the world.
5. Burning coal for heat puts families at risk, but many on Navajo land see few options — Burning coal is a tradition among Navajo, but it also, day in and day out, is killing them. The two coal-fired power plants in the Shiprock area are, together, the second-largest coal consumer in the United States, yet a 2010 survey of Shiprock homes revealed that 25 percent of stoves burning coal were not designed for that fuel. The study, published in the “Journal of Environmental and Public Health,” also found that indoor coal combustion led to high levels of fine particulate matter, raising concerns about respiratory health. (Via IAP Updates)
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