Tag Archives: security
Biofuel Crops: Food Security Must Come First
Even so-called ‘good’ biofuels need safeguards to ensure that they don’t damage biodiversity or displace other crops Ben Phalan theguardian.com , Thursday 29 August 2013 18.06 BST Biofuel crops increase emissions through land clearance, fertiliser use, and by displacing other crops. Photograph: Sipa Press/Rex Features Since 2003, the UK and other EU countries have effectively poured billions of euros into biofuels , on the premise that they reduce emissions from transport. But it has been an expensive case of the Emperor’s new clothes: we now know that many biofuel crops actually increase overall emissions . At the same time, they damage biodiversity, hurt some of the world’s poorest people by pushing up food prices , and cost us an estimated £460m each year. Early in September, the European Parliament will have its first opportunity to put the brakes on. MEPs will vote on whether to amend biofuels policy to take account of the critical issue of indirect land use change (iLUC) and at what level to cap biofuels made from food crops. Biofuel crops increase emissions through land clearance, fertiliser use, and by displacing other crops. When millions of hectares of land are switched from food to biofuel crops, food prices rise and food production is displaced , triggering a domino-like chain of events ending in cropland expansion elsewhere, including into the tropical forests of Southeast Asia and the savannas of South America and Africa. This is iLUC. We can’t point to the precise hectare of rainforest that’s felled because a particular farmer now grows fuel rather than food. But the evidence is clear that burning millions of tonnes of food as biofuel on top of what we eat leads to more land clearance and more fertiliser use (even accounting for useful biofuel co-products fed to animals). UK biofuel use in the first year of monitoring required around 1.4 million hectares of farmland, most of it overseas. That’s an area the size of Northern Ireland, just to provide 3% of our transport fuel. By ignoring iLUC, the EU overlooks a large share of the emissions triggered by its biofuel targets. ILUC is not just about carbon. Agricultural expansion and intensification are among the greatest of all threats to wild nature. Each year, millions of hectares of new cropland threaten tropical forests, wetlands and other biodiversity-rich habitats. Fertiliser run-off from the US corn belt, which supplies us with bioethanol, helps create an oxygen-depleted ‘dead zone’ in the Gulf of Mexico. The EU’s Renewable Energy Directive has laudable ‘sustainability criteria’, but unsustainable biofuels can still be imported; they just don’t count towards the targets. Furthermore, the criteria don’t address iLUC, so biofuel demand continues to cause deforestation and biodiversity loss . If a domino falls in the forest, apparently no-one can hear it. Some in the biofuels industry don’t want iLUC factors introduced next month, because some crops would no longer be counted as ‘green fuels’. But fuels that trigger deforestation, increase emissions and destroy biodiversity are not ‘green’. Supporters of the industry argue that iLUC factors are too uncertain for policy. But they seem happy for policy to support an industry whose promise to deliver lower emissions is even more doubtful. The irony is that any carbon benefit of biofuels is based on their indirect effect in replacing and reducing fossil fuel use. It’s nonsensical to argue that food-based biofuels should be supported for this indirect carbon benefit without also counting their indirect carbon cost. MEPs will also vote on whether to cap use of food as biofuel at 5.5% or 6.5% of transport fuel . The lower cap would protect existing jobs while sending a clear message to investors that food-based biofuels are a poor prospect. In the longer term, we should ask whether it is rational to burn any food at all in our cars. The right biofuels have a role to play in our energy mix, in the right quantities. Governments should continue to support the development of advanced biofuels, such as those made from waste and those grown in places unsuitable for food crops. But even these ‘good biofuels’ need safeguards to ensure that they don’t damage biodiversity or displace other crops. In the meantime, it’s clear that the Emperor has no clothes. Will the European Parliament listen to the science, and curb the unseemly rush for food-based biofuels? I’ll be writing to ask my MEPs to vote for a more modest approach, and I urge you to do the same . • Dr. Ben Phalan is a research associate in conservation science at the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, and is the Zukerman junior research fellow in global food security at King’s College.[/font][/color] Continue reading
Drums of war grow louder
Drums of war grow louder Staff Report / 29 August 2013 A US-led attack on Syria could be just days away and experts speculated on a ‘limited strike’ which will keep American and coalition personnel out of harm’s way if the regime retaliates as Syrian Prime Minister Wael Al Halqi said his country would become a ‘graveyard of the invaders’. The chorus for war grew louder on Wednesday with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation calling for ‘decisive action’ over the alleged gas attacks last week, while in Israel people collected gas masks. In New York envoys from Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States held talks on Wednesday on a British drafted UN Security Council resolution that could allow military action in Syria. The meeting ended without any sign that the 15-nation Security Council could vote any time soon on a resolution condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Ambassadors from Russia and China, who fiercely oppose any military strike against Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, left the closed-door negotiations after about 75 minutes. The US, British and French envoys carried on their talks but left the UN Security Council chamber without making any comment. The three countries are said to be considering a military strike over the chemical weapons use. “Britain presented a text and the Russians repeated the arguments Nato which is likely to play a major role in the strikes when they are launched, also joined the world community in condemning the Syrian government, but expressed concerns about its cache of chemical weapons, believed to be the third largest in the world. “The Syrian regime maintains custody of stockpiles of chemical weapons. Information available from a wide variety of sources points to the Syrian regime as responsible for the use of chemical weapons in these attacks,” said Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato Secretary-General. AP reported that the US government, based on intellegence inputs, is considering more than a single set of military strikes, and “the options are not limited just to one day” of assault. “If there is action taken, it must be clearly defined what the objective is and why” and based on “clear facts”, said one of the senior officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to discuss internal deliberations publicly. Meanwhile, defence experts said low-flying Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from US and UK warships and submarines will be the weapon of choice in the first phase of the campaign. “These would target the most significant Syrian military facilities and assets and would essentially be punishment for using chemical weapons rather than an attempt to decisively swing the balance of power in favour of the opposition,” said Jeremy Binnie, Middle East & Africa Editor, IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly. It is unlikely that the West will launch an all-out operation to neutralise Syria’s chemical warfare capabilities in the early stages. Such an operation will involve imposing a no-fly zone and deploying thousands of Special Forces on the ground to secure the chemical weapons storage, research and production facilities. He said the US military does not see a way of safely destroying chemical weapons using air and missile strikes alone. “The likelihood of small scale, precision strikes using Tomahawk cruise missiles has significantly increased since Britain, France and the US essentially accused Assad of using chemical weapons. UK and US submarines are likely already deployed to the eastern Mediterranean waters or in the Gulf for just such a contingency,” said Nick de Larrinaga, Europe Editor of Jane’s. Sources said the UK’s Cyprus airbase could also play a supporting role to any military action, although it was unlikely that manned sorties into Syrian airspace will occur at this point given the risks involved. But there is growing fear that such an action will destablise an already riven region. “The US is particularly concerned about the stability of the region, as the rapid escalation of the Syrian conflict will impact Lebanon, Iraq, and Israel.” Charles Lister, Analyst, IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, revealed that extremists and sympathisers are chatting online to avoid being the targets of the expected strikes. “There is a widespread perception within the jihadi community that strikes could also target their senior leadership in Syria. Lessons learned from Iraq, Afghanistan and Mali were being shared around this morning.” Lister said the extremist groups plan to move all senior leaders into hiding and keep their locations completely secret, planning all future attacks as soon as possible so operations can continue when commanders are in hiding, and stockpiling food and medicine supplies for days to weeks. “Syria has provided jihadists with an incredibly valuable opportunity to establish a concrete foothold in the heart of the Middle East. While there’s been no suggestion from the US or any other allied power that militants could also be targeted in any future strikes, it appears jihadists are essentially hedging their bets. There’s too much to lose if no precautions are taken.” He said the majority of strikes would target jihadist stronghold areas in Aleppo, northern Latakia, Al Raqqah and possibly also as far east as Deir ez Zour. — news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
The Future of Farming, Part 1: Controlling the Environment
By Ned Madden TechNewsWorld 08/06/13 “We’re in the midst of a global movement, and the demand for locally grown, organic produce has never been stronger,” said Greengro Technologies CEO James Haas, “but the biggest problem is that in our society in the U.S., everybody stopped doing basic food-security things — like, for example, collecting seeds. … “Urban growers have to take personal responsibility for what they grow and eat.” Famine… or feast? Soil… or hydroponics, aquaponics, aquaculture or aeroponics? Nine billion hungry human beings will be living on planet Earth by 2050, according to United Nations estimates. “We will need to produce more food in the first half of this century than we did in the previous 100 centuries combined,” declared Tony Kajewski, an engineering manager at John Deere and president of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers . http://www.ectnews.c…4&ign=0/ign.gif Along with an increasing population, the world faces climate change, rising fossil fuel prices, ecosystem degradation, and water and land scarcity — all of which are making today’s food production methods increasingly unsustainable, according to “Latest Agricultural Technology Innovation,” a November 2012 report from Kachan & Co. There’s an upside to all this flux and food insecurity, however. The need for solutions is driving important new agricultural innovations — in particular, urban agriculture and indoor cultivation. Farming has migrated from the fields to the cities and moved into the developed environment. Urban Agriculture and CEA Urban agriculture involves growing plants and raising animals within and around cities. Urban agriculture means food production in densely populated areas, and it features many types of production systems, including traditional open gardens, protected environments and hydroponic greenhouses. Indoor farming goes by many names: “all-season farming,” “undercover agronomy,” “commercial indoor cultivation” and “controlled environment agriculture,” or CEA, to name a few. Entrepreneurial types are converting unused factories, warehouses, office buildings and other facilities into urban farms. Many are building new glasshouse greenhouses for that superior mix of natural sunlight and the powerful artificial lights favored in grow rooms. Urban agriculture offers a promising path toward the goal of feeding the planet’s growing — and increasingly urban — population. Many of the tools to make that path viable come from CEA. CEA involves a combination of engineering, plant science and computer-managed facility control technologies used to optimize plant growing systems, plant quality and production efficiency. In addition to indoor crop farming, CEA is used in research at universities and corporate laboratories. It is useful for isolating specific environmental variables for closer study. For example, researchers may study photosynthesis by comparing a crop grown with induction lighting vs. one grown with LEDs. The advantage is that all other factors can be kept constant, reducing the incidence of another influence on the experiment. CEA has celestial applications as well. NASA pioneered “astroculture” by flying a plant growth facility on nine Space Shuttle missions, including one in 1995 in which potatoes were grown in weightlessness. Some of the research on the International Space Station anticipates traveling beyond low-Earth orbit, focusing on meeting the needs of a long-term spaceflight to Mars, for example. A group of engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida are developing an ISS plant habitat with a large growth chamber to learn the effects of long-duration microgravity exposure to plants in space. CEA is “an integrated science- and engineering-based approach to provide specific environments for plant productivity while optimizing resources including water, energy, space, capital and labor,” according to Gene A. Giacomelli, PhD, director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center and a professor in the Department of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering at the University of Arizona. In CEA, conventional aquaculture (fish farming) has merged with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) to produce bio-integrated “aquaponics,” a sustainable food production system that mixes vegetable and herb crops and aquatic life in a closed-loop, recirculating, symbiotic environment. “Aeroponics” is a method of growing plants without soil by suspending them above misting sprays that constantly moisten the roots with water and nutrients. Controlled variables include temperature, humidity, pH and nutrient analysis. Aquaponics is essentially an organic hydroponic system, explained Rebecca Nelson, co-owner of Nelson and Pade , which markets its Clear Flow Aquaponic Systems for commercial ventures and other applications. “The plant production part of the system doesn’t vary much from hydroponics,” Nelson told TechNewsWorld. “It is a soilless system. But in aquaponics, we use a natural fertilizer source, which is derived from fish waste. Aquaponics is a fully integrated system that produces both fish and plants.” CEA is “the future of farming,” according to Nelson. “A controlled environment greenhouse protects the crop from extreme climatic conditions and also allows a grower to implement biosecurity practices to ensure food safety.” Lettuce and Tomatoes The four major hydroponically grown plants are tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and lettuces, which can be grown and distributed within urban communities on a scale that doesn’t work for high-volume staple crops such as wheat, corn and rice. These basics foods for much of the world’s diet are unsuitable for CEA, due to issues like the massive production and distribution demands of the crops. By extending the growing season and ensuring product quality of veggies and fruits, CEA complements but does not replace field crop production. Local CEA practices can make a difference in people’s nutrition and quality of life while enhancing the remediation of resources. CEA and hydroponic-type systems offer relatively inexpensive “farms” for the urban grower who may be but more likely is not a traditional farmer, according to UA CEAC’s Giacomelli. “CEA provides the door into production agriculture for those with a non-farm background,” Giacomelli told TechNewsWorld. A long and productive farm background distinguishes Hollandia Produce , which specializes in the production, as well as the wholesale and retail marketing of vegetables it grows in greenhouses using hydroponic methods. Hollandia “Live Gourmet” brand living lettuces and leafy greens — harvested with their roots intact to preserve freshness — are distributed in 45 states and Canada. “CEA is definitely the way of the future,” CEO Peter Overgaag told TechNewsWorld. “Protecting the crops means less waste and of course more production per acre.” The Great Park AG Kawamura, former California secretary of agriculture, could easily be considered the King of Urban Ag in America. Kawamura is a founding member of Orange County Produce , which farms nearly 1,000 acres in a densely urban county. Kawamura also operates the leased 114-acre Orange County Great Park Farm, where his company grows a variety of fruits and vegetables for the consumer market and for contribution to local food banks. “This is now the largest ag operation in an urban park in the country,” said Tom Larson, the park’s farm, food and landscape manager. “What’s so spectacular is it pays for itself.” With an eye always fixed on the future, Kawamura is planning the construction of hydroponic greenhouses at the Great Park Farm. “CEA greenhouses can provide a new strategy for establishing production capacity inside urban areas where open ground may be scarce, impaired — brown fields — or difficult to farm traditionally,” Kawamura told TechNewsWorld. “They certainly can create new opportunities for year-round production of fruits and veggies in places where extreme weather has made farming impractical.” Food Security = Food Knowledge Greengro Technologies markets both indoor and outdoor aquaponic and hydroponic systems and grow rooms. CEO James Haas emphasizes the importance of philosophy and attitude in any successful urban agriculture initiative. “We’re in the midst of a global movement, and the demand for locally grown, organic produce has never been stronger,” Haas told TechNewsWorld, “but the biggest problem is that in our society in the U.S., everybody stopped doing basic food-security things — like, for example, collecting seeds for growing some of their own food. “If we want to create better urban food sources, we need to better understand our food itself,” he advised. “Urban growers have to take personal responsibility for what they grow and eat — that’s what rural farmers do.” High-tech Exurban Ag Houweling’s Tomatoes operates California’s first large-scale, energy-neutral urban ag vegetable greenhouse, producing a broad range of tomatoes and cucumbers grown hydroponically under glass across 125 acres. “I believe there is a place for urban agriculture, said David Bell, chief marketing officer, for Houweling’s Tomatoes, which is surrounded by farmland. “However, we see the future of CEA leaning towards larger-scale greenhouse farms built to meet a bigger regional area,” Bell told Tech News World. “It’s positioned for reduced but easy access to freight, with the integration of grow lights to facilitate year-round local production.” Still Experimental While they are understandably attractive, urban agriculture and urban farms remain at an experimental stage in the U.S., according to Danilo S. Lopez, principal at Novelle Consulting . “Communities will have to face up to regulatory requirements — relating to effluent discharge, noise, logistics, lighting, etc. — and higher quality labor supply year round on one side — and on the other side, the benefits of fresher products to the community — hopefully at lower or competitive cost to consumers,” Lopez told TechNewsWorld. “The U.S. can be supplied year round by Canada and Mexico with greenhouse vegetables,” explained Lopez. “For large commercial U.S. producers, the tested dependable hydroponics greenhouses should remain popular for the next decade. The jury is still out whether urban hydroponics greenhouse farming will be commercially viable.” The road ahead is not completely clear, however, according to Melissa Brechner, PhD, director of the CEA Hydroponic Technology Transfer Center in the Dept. of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University , who issued a word of caution to urban ag enthusiasts. “It is NOT true that ‘if you grow it they — restaurants, etc. — will buy it’. We have seen much perfectly grown produce go into landfills because the proprietor failed to sell it,” she noted. “In my opinion, the most important thing to remember is that CEA encompasses an integrated system that includes greenhouse design, environmental control, labor, marketing, management, distribution and consumer demand,” Brechner told TechNewsWorld. “All of the details must be working together, and the failure of any one aspect can bring the entire operation to a halt — bankruptcy.” Growth of Greenhouses World greenhouse vegetable production hit a major milestone in 2012, when the total worldwide greenhouse vegetable production area surpassed 1 million acres, according to the International Greenhouse Vegetable Production Statistics released by Cuesta Roble Consulting. “I predict that greenhouse construction will double in the next decade, completing a paradigm shift worldwide in the way mankind produces commodity fruits and vegetables,” Tim Madden, president of BiodynamicsCEA , told TechNewsWorld. “Instead of altering the genetics of the plants to provide the ability to grow in harsh environments, we change the environment to provide the best growing conditions for the plants.” Continue reading
