After the Tsunami

After Tsunami Devastation, What Now?

The recent tragedy brought about by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in the northeast coast last Friday, March 12, 2011 did not only left scars on Japanese people but along with that, came a horrifying tsunami which claimed thousands of lives and properties and there are a lot more missing up to date.

The question now is whether this tsunami would affect water displacement in major seas and how it will affect our environment especially now that we are focused on getting efficient energy and finding alternative ways for sustainable development both in energy resources and our environment.

A tsunami is caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, usually an ocean, though it can occur in large lakes. Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded. Owing to the immense volumes of water and the high energy involved, tsunamis can devastate coastal regions (source: Wikipedia).

As stated, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions (including detonations of underwater nuclear devices) landslides and other mass movements, meteorite impacts and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami (source: Wikipedia).

These events are natural events that are beyond man’s control. This is also known as an “acts of God.” The impact on our end is unimaginable and sometimes horrifying. Properties, livelihoods, trees, and lives are lost in just a glimpse.

Precious coral reefs and mangrove areas would be crushed by the huge tsunami waves which will lead to an environmental and economic setback that could take years to reverse and restructure.

According to scientists, reef-forming coral grows only about 0.5 cm, or 1/5 inch a year, thus for the seaside resorts on the numerous affected islands to regain their previous splendour could take several years to a decade. The worst marine damage was likely to have been concentrated 100m to 1km from shore. Fortunately, large sea mammals such as whales and dolphins probably suffered little impact.

According to Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), dolphins can feel disturbances happening in the water and would have most likely headed for deep water where they would be safe. Also, they mostly inhabit the areas far offshore, where the tsunami has the least damaging capacity.

The earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004 was an undersea earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean off the western coast Indonesia and generated tsunamis that were among the worst disasters in modern history. At a magnitude of 9.0, it was the largest earthquake since the 9.2 magnitude earthquake off Alaska in 1964. The earthquake was the result of the sliding of the portion of the Earth's crust known as the India plate under the section called the Burma plate. Tsunamis have been relatively rare in the Indian Ocean. They are most prevalent in the Pacific. The Indian Ocean tsunami caused waves as high as 50 feet (15 meters) in some places, according to news reports. The resulting tsunamis devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and other countries even reaching the east coast of Africa some 2800 miles away of the epicentre.

Tsunami waves poisoned the fresh water supplies and the soil by salt water infiltration and deposition of a salt layer over land. It has been reported that in the Maldives, 16 to 17 coral reef atolls that were overcome by sea waves are totally without fresh water and could be rendered inhabitable for decades. Uncountable wells that served communities were invaded by sea, sand and earth; and aquifers were invaded through porous rock. Salted-over soil becomes sterile, and it is difficult and costly to restore for agriculture. It also causes the death of plants and important soil micro-organisms.

It also affects water supply which contaminated it mostly. Due to this, safe water is scarce leading to water-related diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, diarrhea and sometimes malaria. According to World Health Organization (WHO) over 200,000 people died from 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which led to a waterborne epidemics and outbreak.

The tsunami impacted water quality by flooding septic tanks and causing their contents to contaminate ground and surface water. Seawater also penetrated into groundwater tables, making the water unfit for human consumption. The tsunami also destroyed rural water supply systems across the region.

Following a disaster, there is enormous pressure on political leaders and public health officials to take disease control interventions mainly spread through contaminated water. The tsunami raised unique challenges for those involved in these efforts.

In most respects the profile of a tsunami resembles that of a flood caused by a hurricane or cyclone. Therefore, disaster response guides consider Tsunamis as floods although the hydrological and engineering issues associated with saline water infiltration are vastly different. Innovative solutions were often necessary to deal with the special circumstances presented by the aftermath of the Tsunami disaster.

With all these facts and evidences, now this is happening again in Japan. Added to that injury is the explosion and threat posed by their nuclear plants.

The damage result of this tragedy is so heartbreaking and that people now are scared and thinking of ways on how to prevent this from happening to their country. But as I said, it was all part of an “acts of God,” beyond our control, but what we need to do is to be ready when it happens, where it happens and how it happens. And just like any other failures we encounter in life, there is no other way but up and keep going. Rebuilding, restructuring and reinventing are the three major keys that the nation should do right after the disaster.

The Floods and Its Dangers

In January, the whole Queensland area particularly Toowoomba and Brisbane – the third largest city in Australia experienced the wrath of nature through an inland tsunamis and floods everywhere. Unimaginable, terrifying and devastating – that is how they described it. It has been months of non-stop rains that led to this. It killed almost 100 people, damaged houses, crippled coal industry and crops, caused extensive destructions, and left most Australians a trauma that they would bear in a much longer time.

The reason – floods. Flood is an overflow of the huge amount of water onto the normally dry land. Flood occurs when the overflowing water submerges land and causes deluge.

Constant rains are one of the major causes of floods. The level of water in rivers or lakes rises due to heavy rainfalls. When the level of water rises above the rive banks or dams, the water starts overflowing, which causes floods. The water overflows to the areas adjoining to the rivers, lakes or dams, causing floods or deluge. The flood water causes havoc and great destruction in the areas where it flows. Floods occur more in the regions that get heavy rainfalls.

Generally, floods occur more in the low-lying areas or the areas below the sea level. One of the main reasons is that rivers flow slowly in these areas. The volume of water increases in the low-lying areas. When the level of water rises in these regions, it causes floods.

Floods also occur more in the coastal regions. Floods, in the coastal regions, are caused due to high tides, storms, cyclones, hurricanes, or tsunamis. When the level of water rises above the sea level, it causes floods in coastal areas or coastal lowlands.

There are also several human causes of floods. Deforestation is one of the major causes of floods. Trees are being cleared fast from large areas. As result, soil is easily eroded, and the eroded soil gets settled at the bottom of rivers and seas, which raises the level of water in rivers and seas, which consequently causes floods. Too much abuse of our natural resources is another reason. Improper waste management is also considered one of the causes of floods.

In this case, like elsewhere, floods have been making noise since year 2000 to different parts of the world. Oftentimes, we are not aware of this. With nature changing dramatically on its course, we should also plan and make some abrupt changes to how we deal with it.

A 20-year ago flood control plan and dam management might not work with the way nature changes it course especially the rain patterns. Perhaps some new findings and new process should be implemented. Along with us being aware of global warming, government should find ways to help prevent major flooding in the future.

In addition to this, can we check our motives in bringing in progress to the next level? If it is at our nature’s or land’s expense, at the risks of lives of our fellowmen, at the expense of losing thousands of dollars worth of business…then think again. Find alternative ways before it is too late. Human lives and the trauma that it will bring are priceless. Although this saying has been used so many times, I will say it again - prevention is better than cure. It’s about time we double check everything that has been happening around us. Check our motives. Give high respect to nature and what it can bring to us – disasters just waiting to happen.

Facts about Biodiversity

Before the iPad, before the Blackberry craze, before the innovative and technological breakthroughs – before life began on Earth; Biodiversity exists.

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Greater biodiversity implies greater health. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas Polar Regions support fewer species (source: Wikipedia).

Unfortunately, from what we learned from our elementary science, rapid environmental changes typically cause extinctions. One estimate is that less than 1% of the species that have existed on Earth are extant. One of the factors that science pinpoints as the culprit is the growing industrialization globally which brought the extinction of some wildlife species both flora and fauna.

Biodiversity includes all of the Earth’s plants, animals, their habitats, and the natural processes that they are a part of.  It has become clear that biodiversity is the cornerstone of our existence on Earth.

With all the featured news articles from different places on Earth, where there beautiful, virgin ecosystems and forests lies; biodiversity plays an important role on preserving these sceneries.

Lately, biodiversity is not evenly distributed. Flora and Fauna diversity depends on climate, altitude, soils and the presence of other species. Diversity consistently measures higher in the tropics and in other localized regions such as Cape Floristic Province and lower in polar regions generally. In 2006 many species were formally classified as rare or endangered or threatened; moreover, scientists have estimated that millions more species are at risks which have not been formally recognized. About 40 percent of the 40,177 species assessed using the UCN Red List criteria are now listed as threatened with extinction—a total of 16,119. Even though terrestrial biodiversity declines from the equator to the poles, this characteristic is unverified in aquatic ecosystems especially in marine ecosystem.

 A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a high level of endemic species. Hotspots were first named in 1988 by Dr. Norman Myers. Many hotspots have large nearby human populations. Most hotspots are located in the tropics and most of them are forests (source: Wikipedia).

Through biodiversity, it is the life support of our planet - we get fresh air, climate (e.g., CO2 sequestration), water purification, pollination, food and prevention of erosion.

It also plays major role in the agriculture industry, human health, business and industry, leisure culture and aesthetic value and of course a very big factor in the climate change issue.

The known medicines that helped cure many diseases and bacteria a long time ago came from wild species that have saved millions of lives and alleviated tremendous suffering. It came from plants and animals which have been modified by science nowadays. The foods that we eat everyday came from edible plant species that have been in existence since the beginning of the world and fearfully, if we take them for granted - might extinct in the very near future; adding a threat to our food security. Breeding cultivars with their wild counterparts can also confer resistance to diseases and increase crop yield. Wetlands filter pollutants from water, trees and plants which reduce global warming by absorbing carbon, and bacteria and fungi break down organic material and fertilize the soil as well.

However, due to man’s curiosity, sometimes this would put us all in danger. Overexploitation, genetic pollution, over population, and the Holocene extinction are some of the factors on threat to our global Biodiversity.

The cure? Conservation.

Conservation biology matured in the mid-20th century as ecologists, naturalists, and other scientists began to research and address issues pertaining to global biodiversity declines.

The conservation ethic advocates management of natural resources for the purpose of sustaining biodiversity in species, ecosystems, the evolutionary process and human culture and society (source: Wikipedia).

Conservation biology is reforming around strategic plans to protect biodiversity. Preserving global biodiversity is a priority in strategic conservation plans that are designed to engage public policy and concerns affecting local, regional and global scales of communities, ecosystems, and cultures. Action plans identify ways of sustaining human well-being, employing natural capital, market capital and ecosystem services.

While we are enjoying the city life and its perks, we should also keep in mind that the best way perhaps to contribute to our planet is to be aware of the origin of every life form here on Earth and to learn how to preserve our biodiversity which is mainly connected to what our future holds for us in terms of sustainability, efficiency and the power conserving each specie that has a connection with each other.

Why Biofuels?

Biofuels are a wide range of fuels which are in some way derived from biomass. The term covers solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases. Biofuels are gaining increased public and scientific attention, driven by factors such as oil price spikes, the need for increased energy security, and concern over greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. (source: Wikipedia)

It is used mostly now by vehicle owners as drivers are more environmentally conscious and search ways to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and therefore reduce their negative impact on the environment.

Focusing on vehicles and biofuel’s impact, bit by bit, let’s examine the pros and cons to help you make a better choice. One of the main purposes of producing biofuel is to develop energy that can be used specifically in liquid fuels for transportation.

Plants that naturally produce oils include oil palm, jatropha, soybean and algae. When heated resistance (viscosity) is reduced they can be burned within a diesel engine or they can be processed to form biodiesel.

Sugar crops or starch – These include sugar cane, sugar beet, corn and maize which are then turned into ethanol through the process of yeast fermentation. Woods – By-products from woods can be converted into biofuels including methanol, ethanol and woodgas.

There are many different types of biofuels:

'First-generation' or conventional biofuels are biofuels made from sugar, starch, and vegetable oil.

Bioalcohols - Biologically produced alcohol most commonly ethanol and less commonly propanol and butanol are produced by the action of micro organisms and enzymes through the fermentation of sugars or starches (easiest), or cellulose (which is more difficult). Biobutanol (also called biogasoline) is often claimed to provide a direct replacement for gasoline, because it can be used directly in a gasoline engine (in a similar way to biodiesel in diesel engines). Ethanol fuel is the most common biofuel worldwide.

Alcohol fuels are produced by fermentation of sugars and any sugar or starch that alcoholic beverages can be made from i.e. potato and waste products. The ethanol production methods used are enzyme digestion (to release sugars from stored starches), fermentation of the sugars, distillation and drying. The distillation process requires significant energy input for heat (often unsustainable natural gas fossil fuel, but cellulosic biomass such as bagasse - the waste left after sugar cane is pressed to extract its juice, can also be used more sustainably). Ethanol is used as an alternative for gasoline on petrol engines - it can be mixed with gasoline to any percentage.

Biodiesel - The most common biofuel in Europe. It is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is a liquid similar in composition to fossil/mineral diesel (source: Wikipedia). It can also be used as diesel engine which is comparatively cheaper than gasoline.

Green Diesel - Also known as renewable diesel, derived from renewable feedstock rather than the fossil feedstock used in most diesel fuels. Variety of oils such as canola, jatropha, salicornia, algae and tallow are the sources of feedstock. Green diesel uses traditional fractional distillation to process the oils, not to be confused with biodiesel which is chemically quite different and processed using transesterification. “Green Diesel” as commonly known in Ireland should not be confused with dyed green diesel sold at a lower tax rate for agriculture purposes, using the dye allows custom officers to determine if a person is using the cheaper diesel in higher taxed applications such as commercial haulage or cars (source: Wikipedia).

Vegetable Oil - Straight unmodified edible vegetable oil is generally not used as fuel, but lower quality oil can and has been used for this purpose. Used vegetable oil is increasingly being processed into biodiesel, or (more rarely) cleaned of water and particulates and used as a fuel.

Bioethers- Also known as oxygenated fuels enhance engine performance while significantly reducing engine wear and toxic exhaust emission. Greatly reducing the amount of ground-level ozone, they contribute to the quality of the air we breathe.

Biogas - is methane produced by the process of anaerobic digestion of organic material by anaerobes (source: Wikipedia). It can be produced from biodegradable waste materials or by the use of energy crops fed into anaerobic digesters to supplement gas yields. The solid by-product can be used as a biofuel or a fertilizer.

The PLUS SIDE:

Biofuels do exist for the purpose of being carbon neutral. They are proven to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when compared to conventional transport fuels.

Another advantage of biofuels is that they save a lot of money when driving. Many government agencies all over the world offered incentives to drivers of ‘green cars’ based on emissions – with reduced taxation dependent on how environmentally friendly their vehicle is.

With continuing and inconsistent oil price hike due to Libya crisis and as well as natural calamities that has been happening worldwide affecting each one of us, renewable energy source should also offer significant savings at the pump in the long term, particularly when biofuels are more readily available.

Therefore biofuels are helping to tackle poverty around the world. It helps to create more jobs, better options on oil usage and a greener environment.

The MINUS SIDE:

There are several concerns about biofuels – this includes biodiversity, crop competition over fuel production, carbon emissions, and biofuel production on not being sustainable.

Environmentalists fear that more usage of land to produce crops used for biofuels means less habitat for animals and wild plants. Rainforests are affected with this kind of activity.

The crop production versus fuel production are also being tackled as this has become more farmers see this opportunity as a great deal of profit rather than crop production. Less food production will increase prices and cause a rise in inflation. It is hoped that this can be countered by second generation biofuels which use waste biomass – though again, this will impact the habitat of many organisms.

Carbon emissions – In 2007, a study was published by scientists from Britain, the USA, Germany and Austria which reported the burning of rapeseed or corn can contribute as much to nitrous oxide emissions than cooling through fossil fuel savings.

The CHOICE:

The choice is yours. It has been a long controversy as to where biofuels is being sustainable or not. And there have been left and right debates on this matter specifically Renewable Energy Agencies worldwide and environmental issue on this matter. On one hand, it appears, biofuels gigantically reduced carbon emissions and it is proven that it can save a lot of money.

However, based from facts that have been gathered, there are also truths that this could lead to rainforests destruction, crop production neglect and question on energy efficiency.

In any situation, anything in excess usage is bad. And for now, what we should do is to pick up the good ones that it is bringing to mankind and limit the use of land as an alternative for biofuel production to protect natural habitat. Besides, it is still a work in progress and that we should develop more alternatives