Tag Archives: threat

Swedish wildlife extinction threat as loggers clear-cut ‘old growth’ forests Updated for 2026

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A camera follows a peregrine falcon as it swoops low over an attractive, pristine river hugged by trees in remote northern Sweden.

It then soars higher, revealing that the river flows through a large area which has been clear-felled of forest.

Stripped bare, it is as if an atomic bomb has been detonated over the land.

Aimed at raising public awareness, the message of the video by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) (see below) is clear: Sweden no longer looks like what you think.

While Sweden’s forest cover of 60% of the country’s land area is one of the highest in Europe, it is calculated that more than half of Sweden’s productive forests have been felled since the 1950s.

With paper, pulp, cardboard, and sawn timber comprising the main products of the forestry sector, much of it bound for European markets, the vast majority of the country’s forest landscape has been affected by intense forestry methods.

Dominated by five large companies (the largest of which, state-owned Sveaskog, owns 14% of the country’s forest) and a number of smaller landowners, the forestry sector has the rights to 96% of Sweden’s productive forests – land deemed as suitable for forestry.

Logging vs. old growth and biodiversity

With much of Sweden’s forest cover comprised of young forests not yet ready to be harvested, there is intense pressure to log Sweden’s remaining mature, old-growth forests – ‘natural’ forests so far only minimally affected by modern forestry and typically of great importance for the ecosystem and biodiversity.

Sweden no longer looks as you think – from SSNC / Naturskyddsföreningen on Vimeo.

I sit down with a worried Malin Sahlin, the SSNC’s boreal forest policy officer, in her office in Stockholm. “The country is going into the last stage of transformation in terms of forest ecology right now due to the fact we are clear-felling the last of our forests that have never been clear felled before … and turning the forest landscape, through replanting, pretty much into a monoculture”, she tells me.

The future for Sweden’s forests looks bleak. According to Sahlin, “if we continue today business as usual, there might in 20 years from now only be 5% of natural-like forests left and the rest could be in production.”

Sweden’s forest cover comprises part of the vast boreal forest that stretches across the northern part of the globe. Its old-growth forests are an important carbon sink that helps to regulate the earth’s temperature.

Not only this, but such forests typically contain a large amount of dead wood, which forms a crucial habitat for many species. A report by the WWF cites the severe lack of dead wood as constituting one of the main reasons for the loss of biodiversity in European forests.

Of over 20,000 species of flora and fauna assessed in Sweden according to IUCN criteria, around 20% are categorized as ‘red-listed’ (nearly half of which are threatened), with mature forests being especially important for many of those species.

Published every five years, the Swedish Species Information Centre in Uppsala is currently updating Sweden’s Red List, which is due to be issued in 2015. While pointing out that extinction processes in forest ecosystems are long term, Artur Larrson of the Centre argues that the current situation is “bad with a constant decline in species.”

Larsson further explains: “Typically more sedentary species like species like fungi, bryophytes and lichens are harmed most … but even more mobile species like birds, mammals and flying insects can also suffer from the extensive landscape change that forestry causes, for example a lack of dead wood of the right quality, lack of old and slow growing trees, denser and darker forests, and so on.”

Failures of regulation, protection and certification

In 1999 Sweden outlined 16 environmental objectives to be met by 2020 – one of which is sustainable forests. However, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency – the body tasked with monitoring the objectives – has deemed the objective as unreachable under current policy instruments.

With the forestry model based on the principle of ‘freedom with responsibility’, critics argue that the lack of clear and stringent legislation has led to this freedom being hijacked by irresponsible forestry practices.

As a report by the SSNC argues, “the Swedish forestry model involves clear-cutting as the default method, soil scarification, systematic use of chemicals, plantation forestry and the use of non-native species.”

Failure is also laid at the door of the certification schemes of the Forest Stewardship Council and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification tasked with monitoring that forestry is conducted sustainably according to the criteria.

“We’ve been out in the field over many years and we have found that the big five forest companies are not following the criteria of the certification”, says Malin Sahlin. “Furthermore, the certification bodies have not done their job properly in many of the cases of violations that we have reported.”

The wider issue is also that there is not enough protected forest in Sweden. With only 4% of its productive forest under formal protection, Sweden lags far behind the recommendations of conservationists who argue that at least 20% of the country’s productive forest land should be protected.

Furthermore, it is also clear that Sweden is not meeting the biodiversity objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which stipulates that at least 17% of the land surface area should be conserved by 2020. Artur Larsson points out that it is not only a question of protecting what remains, but also restoring already ‘degraded’ forest if biodiversity targets are to be met.

Jobs, profits, and biofuels

The powerful Swedish forest industry and its allies – former Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson has been a chairperson of Sveaskog since 2008 – have branded the assessments of critics as “alarmist” and point to the importance of the industry for Sweden’s economy.

According to the Swedish Forest Agency, exports of forestry and forest industry amounted to SEK 118 billion (over £10 billion) in 2013, contributing to 11% of the country’s total export value. In terms of jobs, it is estimated that around 60,000 people directly depend on the industry whilst employing triple that number indirectly.

The industry is also keen to burnish its image in terms of the growing role of wood fuels as a renewable energy source. In fact, having eclipsed oil, bioenergy now accounts for one-third of Sweden’s domestic energy use, with wood fuel accounting for nearly half of biomass sources.

Critics counter that while commercial forestry is indeed an important generator of jobs and revenue, it is only one consideration among many. Maintaining biodiversity, clean air and water, as well as eco-tourism – a boom industry in Sweden – all depend on healthy forests.

Looking to the future

In just two decades from now, Sweden faces the prospect of having lost much of its remaining old-growth forests with the rest (outside of protected areas) turned more or less into plantation forests lower in biodiversity, their original character and value having been degraded.

Many people agree that, in addition to the adoption of better practices and more effective regulation including formal protection, there needs to be an immediate stop or at least scaling back of the cutting down of natural-like forests to halt the current trend. Yet such a decision would be unpopular as it would cut into the profits and jobs of the big forestry companies.

With Sweden’s forests at a critical juncture, it remains to be seen whether Sweden’s new government, with the Green Party occupying key posts, will muster up the necessary political will to take the necessary steps.

 

 

Petition: ‘Saving old growth forest in Sweden‘.

Alec Forss is a freelance writer living in Sweden. He specializes in writing on the outdoors as well as social and environmental issues (www.alecforss.com).

 

 




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Toxic landfills, fracking and the lethal threat of Environment Agency neglect Updated for 2026

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Zane, a beautiful bright 7-year-old boy who had just won his green stripe belt at martial arts class, and who was described by his headmaster as a “larger than life” figure, died on the nmight of 8th February 2014. Both his parents were taken ill, and his father, Kye, remains paralysed from the waist down.

The cause of death and harm remains officially unknown nearly a year later. Initial reports suggesting carbon monoxide poisoning from water pumps were later discounted. But firemen at the scene detected hydrogen cyanide, later confirmed by Public Health England.

In fact, the house is a rare all electric house with no gas supply and no capability of generating carbon monoxide. No carbon monoxide was found in the family home. Also, it took Public Health England 14 weeks to confirm to the family that hydrogen cyanide was indeed found in their flooded house.

Was it a cover-up?

And amazingly, despite the immediate finding of hydrogen cyanide in the home, the pathologist was never told to test Zane’s blood for hydrogen cyanide.

As early as March, the family sent a report to the coroner suggesting important lines of enquiry including testing for hydrogen cyanide. But there is still no official confirmation of what actually killed Zane.

The family’s own investigations into the surrounding area have since revealed that a field 6 metres from their home that contains a lake and looks so idyllic, is actually contaminated land – but this did not show in environmental searches.

Zane’s parents bought the house in 2004, when an environmental report showed no land contamination. However, subsequent reports for a neighbouring property in 2011, and for their own home, ordered by Zane’s parents last month, indicate contamination due to an old landfill site behind their home, now an infilled lake.

They also discovered that the Environment Agency knew about the toxic hazard from the landfill, ordering gas-proof membranes to protect their own staff when they built cabins nearby. This week, the family told Talk Fracking that the authorities, including the Environment Agency, have been “walls of silence”.

In response to questions about climate change, the Met Office confirmed that the flooding was “consistent with what is expected from the fundamental physics of a warming world“, thus increasing the potential dangers that flooding could compromise more landfill sites.

Fracking may need countless new landfills to dump its waste

In a recent submission to the Environmental Audit Committee, researcher and consultant Paul Mobbs analyses the water treatment and waste management associated with fracking. He forecasts a 50% increase in hazardous waste landfill, a staggering quarter of a million tonnes.

In December, Talk Fracking gave the Government some Christmas reading in the form of scientific reports on the health dangers of fracking. They included the Government’s own scientific advisor warning that fracking could join historic scandals such as asbestos, thalidomide, and lead in petrol.

Energy Minister, Matthew Hancock replied to Talk Fracking this week, citing two reports, one a three-year old study by the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE), and the other by Public Health England. In his reply he concedes that both reports call for effective regulation and strong enforcement to bring the health, safety and environmental risks to a low level.

With the proposed massive expansion of this new industry across the country, and the many known and accepted risks, including the landfill issues highlighted by Paul Mobbs, you would expect a responsible Government to increase Environment Agency staff accordingly.

And now the Environment Agency cuts its regulatory capacity

In one of the reports Matthew Hancock used in his defence, the RAE stated that “regulatory capacity must be maintained“. But just two days after Zane’s sad death, news of 25% staff cuts hit the headlines.

Frontline services, according to Chris Smith, the then head of the EA, wouldn’t be affected by cuts, even while the agency was already struggling, calling nearly a fifth of frontline staff in from other teams in order to cope with the flooding.

Chris Smith now heads the ‘independent’ Shale Gas Task Force, where he earns around £1,500 a day, funded by fracking companies.

The new head of the Agency is Sir Phillip Dilley, earning £100k for three days a week work. He used to head the engineering firm, Arup, and is still listed as a trustee. Arup was employed by the leading fracking company, Cuadrilla – whose chairman Lord Browne sat as an advisor in the Cabinet.

It’s also been recently revealed that the EA pension fund invests in the very fracking companies it is supposed to regulate. The Environment Agency has just issued Cuadrilla with a brand new permit for drilling in Lancashire.

What Zane’s tragic story tells us is that regulators are less concerned about public safety, than about avoiding public awareness of the risks posed by contaminated, unregulated landfill sites throughout the UK. How many are there? Could you be living by one?

And if the Environment Agency cannot even monitor and ensure the safely of our existing industrial and domestic waste dumps, how wise is it to encourage a fracking boom that will cause a 50% increase the landfilling of hazardous waste, creating a massive new toxic legacy for the future?

 

 

Petition: ‘Call for a public debate into the death of 7 year old Zane‘ (38 degrees).

This article is based on one originally published by Talk Fracking, a campaign group committed to highlighting the issues surrounding fracking in the UK, holding the policy makers and industry to account and providing a forum for debate.

Also on The Ecologist: ‘Death by landfill – cutting ‘green tape’ costs lives‘.

 

 




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Carbon dioxide threat to mussels’ shells Updated for 2026

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In a new paper published today in the Royal Society’s journal Interface, researchers from the University of Glasgow describe how mussels’ shells become more brittle when they are formed in more acidic water.

The world’s oceans are becoming increasingly acidic as they absorb some of the atmospheric carbon dioxide which contributes to climate change.

The water reacts with the carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid, which is gradually lowering the pH of the oceans (indicating an increase in acidity). Scientists expect the pH of the world’s oceans to have dropped from 8 today to 7.7 by the end of the 21st century.

“What we’ve found in the lab is that increased levels of acidification in their habitats have a negative impact on mussels’ ability to create their shells”, said research team leader Susan Fitzer of the University’s School of Geographical and Earth Sciences.

As oceans get more acid, less bicarbonate for shell-making

Mussels’ shells are composites of calcium carbonate and organic material created by the mussels through a process known as biomineralisation.

Mussels draw bicarbonate ions from seawater and use proteins in their bodies to make crystals of calcium carbonate to form their two-layer shells. In more acidic water, there are less bicarbonate ions available for the mussels to make their shells.

“This could mean that mussels growing in the wild in the future could be more vulnerable to attack from predators, as well as from the effect of ocean forces”, explained Dr Fitzer.

“As blue mussels are commonly used for human consumption, it could also have an effect on the yields of mussels available for the fishing industry.”

The mussels do have way to resist the more acidic water once their shells have formed. Their shells’ outer later is composed of calcite, a form of calcium carbonate that is more resistant to acid decay. Only the inner layer is made of the more soluble aragonite.

But even that mechanism is under threat, says Dr Fitzer: “What we found was that the calcite outer shells of the mussels past a certain threshold of acidity was stiffer and harder, making it more brittle and prone to fracture under pressure, and the aragonite inner shell became softer.“

Ocean conditions replicated in the lab

The research, carried out with colleagues in our School of Engineering, was designed to examine the toughness of the shells of the mussels in the more acidic water against those in control conditions.

Common blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, were housed in laboratory tanks. The researchers controlled and altered the temperature and CO2 levels of the water in the tanks to simulate four different types of ocean waters at CO2 levels projected to occur in the coming decades (380, 550, 750, 1000 ppm).

Ocean conditions were also simulated as closely as possible by changing light levels over time to mimic the changing of the seasons.

Another finding was that the impact of the increased acidity reduced as temperatures increased: “The effect on the mussels’ shells was reduced when the temperature of the water was increased by 2°C. This might suggest that the mussels are reverting to ancestral evolutionary mechanisms to mitigate the effects of increased acidity.”

Now the team is planning to extend its research to include other marine organisms, says Dr Fitzer: “We’re planning to continue our research in this area in the future and expand its scope to look at the effects of more acidic water on the shells of other marine organisms including oysters and abalone.”

 

 

The paper: ‘Ocean acidification alters the material properties of Mytilus edulis shells‘, is published in Interface.

The research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust awarded to the research team including Professor Maggie Cusack, Dr Nick Kamenos and Dr Vernon Phoenix.

 

 




388396

Carbon dioxide threat to mussels’ shells Updated for 2026

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In a new paper published today in the Royal Society’s journal Interface, researchers from the University of Glasgow describe how mussels’ shells become more brittle when they are formed in more acidic water.

The world’s oceans are becoming increasingly acidic as they absorb some of the atmospheric carbon dioxide which contributes to climate change.

The water reacts with the carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid, which is gradually lowering the pH of the oceans (indicating an increase in acidity). Scientists expect the pH of the world’s oceans to have dropped from 8 today to 7.7 by the end of the 21st century.

“What we’ve found in the lab is that increased levels of acidification in their habitats have a negative impact on mussels’ ability to create their shells”, said research team leader Susan Fitzer of the University’s School of Geographical and Earth Sciences.

As oceans get more acid, less bicarbonate for shell-making

Mussels’ shells are composites of calcium carbonate and organic material created by the mussels through a process known as biomineralisation.

Mussels draw bicarbonate ions from seawater and use proteins in their bodies to make crystals of calcium carbonate to form their two-layer shells. In more acidic water, there are less bicarbonate ions available for the mussels to make their shells.

“This could mean that mussels growing in the wild in the future could be more vulnerable to attack from predators, as well as from the effect of ocean forces”, explained Dr Fitzer.

“As blue mussels are commonly used for human consumption, it could also have an effect on the yields of mussels available for the fishing industry.”

The mussels do have way to resist the more acidic water once their shells have formed. Their shells’ outer later is composed of calcite, a form of calcium carbonate that is more resistant to acid decay. Only the inner layer is made of the more soluble aragonite.

But even that mechanism is under threat, says Dr Fitzer: “What we found was that the calcite outer shells of the mussels past a certain threshold of acidity was stiffer and harder, making it more brittle and prone to fracture under pressure, and the aragonite inner shell became softer.“

Ocean conditions replicated in the lab

The research, carried out with colleagues in our School of Engineering, was designed to examine the toughness of the shells of the mussels in the more acidic water against those in control conditions.

Common blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, were housed in laboratory tanks. The researchers controlled and altered the temperature and CO2 levels of the water in the tanks to simulate four different types of ocean waters at CO2 levels projected to occur in the coming decades (380, 550, 750, 1000 ppm).

Ocean conditions were also simulated as closely as possible by changing light levels over time to mimic the changing of the seasons.

Another finding was that the impact of the increased acidity reduced as temperatures increased: “The effect on the mussels’ shells was reduced when the temperature of the water was increased by 2°C. This might suggest that the mussels are reverting to ancestral evolutionary mechanisms to mitigate the effects of increased acidity.”

Now the team is planning to extend its research to include other marine organisms, says Dr Fitzer: “We’re planning to continue our research in this area in the future and expand its scope to look at the effects of more acidic water on the shells of other marine organisms including oysters and abalone.”

 

 

The paper: ‘Ocean acidification alters the material properties of Mytilus edulis shells‘, is published in Interface.

The research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust awarded to the research team including Professor Maggie Cusack, Dr Nick Kamenos and Dr Vernon Phoenix.

 

 




388396

Carbon dioxide threat to mussels’ shells Updated for 2026

Leave a reply




In a new paper published today in the Royal Society’s journal Interface, researchers from the University of Glasgow describe how mussels’ shells become more brittle when they are formed in more acidic water.

The world’s oceans are becoming increasingly acidic as they absorb some of the atmospheric carbon dioxide which contributes to climate change.

The water reacts with the carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid, which is gradually lowering the pH of the oceans (indicating an increase in acidity). Scientists expect the pH of the world’s oceans to have dropped from 8 today to 7.7 by the end of the 21st century.

“What we’ve found in the lab is that increased levels of acidification in their habitats have a negative impact on mussels’ ability to create their shells”, said research team leader Susan Fitzer of the University’s School of Geographical and Earth Sciences.

As oceans get more acid, less bicarbonate for shell-making

Mussels’ shells are composites of calcium carbonate and organic material created by the mussels through a process known as biomineralisation.

Mussels draw bicarbonate ions from seawater and use proteins in their bodies to make crystals of calcium carbonate to form their two-layer shells. In more acidic water, there are less bicarbonate ions available for the mussels to make their shells.

“This could mean that mussels growing in the wild in the future could be more vulnerable to attack from predators, as well as from the effect of ocean forces”, explained Dr Fitzer.

“As blue mussels are commonly used for human consumption, it could also have an effect on the yields of mussels available for the fishing industry.”

The mussels do have way to resist the more acidic water once their shells have formed. Their shells’ outer later is composed of calcite, a form of calcium carbonate that is more resistant to acid decay. Only the inner layer is made of the more soluble aragonite.

But even that mechanism is under threat, says Dr Fitzer: “What we found was that the calcite outer shells of the mussels past a certain threshold of acidity was stiffer and harder, making it more brittle and prone to fracture under pressure, and the aragonite inner shell became softer.“

Ocean conditions replicated in the lab

The research, carried out with colleagues in our School of Engineering, was designed to examine the toughness of the shells of the mussels in the more acidic water against those in control conditions.

Common blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, were housed in laboratory tanks. The researchers controlled and altered the temperature and CO2 levels of the water in the tanks to simulate four different types of ocean waters at CO2 levels projected to occur in the coming decades (380, 550, 750, 1000 ppm).

Ocean conditions were also simulated as closely as possible by changing light levels over time to mimic the changing of the seasons.

Another finding was that the impact of the increased acidity reduced as temperatures increased: “The effect on the mussels’ shells was reduced when the temperature of the water was increased by 2°C. This might suggest that the mussels are reverting to ancestral evolutionary mechanisms to mitigate the effects of increased acidity.”

Now the team is planning to extend its research to include other marine organisms, says Dr Fitzer: “We’re planning to continue our research in this area in the future and expand its scope to look at the effects of more acidic water on the shells of other marine organisms including oysters and abalone.”

 

 

The paper: ‘Ocean acidification alters the material properties of Mytilus edulis shells‘, is published in Interface.

The research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust awarded to the research team including Professor Maggie Cusack, Dr Nick Kamenos and Dr Vernon Phoenix.

 

 




388396

Carbon dioxide threat to mussels’ shells Updated for 2026

Leave a reply




In a new paper published today in the Royal Society’s journal Interface, researchers from the University of Glasgow describe how mussels’ shells become more brittle when they are formed in more acidic water.

The world’s oceans are becoming increasingly acidic as they absorb some of the atmospheric carbon dioxide which contributes to climate change.

The water reacts with the carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid, which is gradually lowering the pH of the oceans (indicating an increase in acidity). Scientists expect the pH of the world’s oceans to have dropped from 8 today to 7.7 by the end of the 21st century.

“What we’ve found in the lab is that increased levels of acidification in their habitats have a negative impact on mussels’ ability to create their shells”, said research team leader Susan Fitzer of the University’s School of Geographical and Earth Sciences.

As oceans get more acid, less bicarbonate for shell-making

Mussels’ shells are composites of calcium carbonate and organic material created by the mussels through a process known as biomineralisation.

Mussels draw bicarbonate ions from seawater and use proteins in their bodies to make crystals of calcium carbonate to form their two-layer shells. In more acidic water, there are less bicarbonate ions available for the mussels to make their shells.

“This could mean that mussels growing in the wild in the future could be more vulnerable to attack from predators, as well as from the effect of ocean forces”, explained Dr Fitzer.

“As blue mussels are commonly used for human consumption, it could also have an effect on the yields of mussels available for the fishing industry.”

The mussels do have way to resist the more acidic water once their shells have formed. Their shells’ outer later is composed of calcite, a form of calcium carbonate that is more resistant to acid decay. Only the inner layer is made of the more soluble aragonite.

But even that mechanism is under threat, says Dr Fitzer: “What we found was that the calcite outer shells of the mussels past a certain threshold of acidity was stiffer and harder, making it more brittle and prone to fracture under pressure, and the aragonite inner shell became softer.“

Ocean conditions replicated in the lab

The research, carried out with colleagues in our School of Engineering, was designed to examine the toughness of the shells of the mussels in the more acidic water against those in control conditions.

Common blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, were housed in laboratory tanks. The researchers controlled and altered the temperature and CO2 levels of the water in the tanks to simulate four different types of ocean waters at CO2 levels projected to occur in the coming decades (380, 550, 750, 1000 ppm).

Ocean conditions were also simulated as closely as possible by changing light levels over time to mimic the changing of the seasons.

Another finding was that the impact of the increased acidity reduced as temperatures increased: “The effect on the mussels’ shells was reduced when the temperature of the water was increased by 2°C. This might suggest that the mussels are reverting to ancestral evolutionary mechanisms to mitigate the effects of increased acidity.”

Now the team is planning to extend its research to include other marine organisms, says Dr Fitzer: “We’re planning to continue our research in this area in the future and expand its scope to look at the effects of more acidic water on the shells of other marine organisms including oysters and abalone.”

 

 

The paper: ‘Ocean acidification alters the material properties of Mytilus edulis shells‘, is published in Interface.

The research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust awarded to the research team including Professor Maggie Cusack, Dr Nick Kamenos and Dr Vernon Phoenix.

 

 




388396

Carbon dioxide threat to mussels’ shells Updated for 2026

Leave a reply




In a new paper published today in the Royal Society’s journal Interface, researchers from the University of Glasgow describe how mussels’ shells become more brittle when they are formed in more acidic water.

The world’s oceans are becoming increasingly acidic as they absorb some of the atmospheric carbon dioxide which contributes to climate change.

The water reacts with the carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid, which is gradually lowering the pH of the oceans (indicating an increase in acidity). Scientists expect the pH of the world’s oceans to have dropped from 8 today to 7.7 by the end of the 21st century.

“What we’ve found in the lab is that increased levels of acidification in their habitats have a negative impact on mussels’ ability to create their shells”, said research team leader Susan Fitzer of the University’s School of Geographical and Earth Sciences.

As oceans get more acid, less bicarbonate for shell-making

Mussels’ shells are composites of calcium carbonate and organic material created by the mussels through a process known as biomineralisation.

Mussels draw bicarbonate ions from seawater and use proteins in their bodies to make crystals of calcium carbonate to form their two-layer shells. In more acidic water, there are less bicarbonate ions available for the mussels to make their shells.

“This could mean that mussels growing in the wild in the future could be more vulnerable to attack from predators, as well as from the effect of ocean forces”, explained Dr Fitzer.

“As blue mussels are commonly used for human consumption, it could also have an effect on the yields of mussels available for the fishing industry.”

The mussels do have way to resist the more acidic water once their shells have formed. Their shells’ outer later is composed of calcite, a form of calcium carbonate that is more resistant to acid decay. Only the inner layer is made of the more soluble aragonite.

But even that mechanism is under threat, says Dr Fitzer: “What we found was that the calcite outer shells of the mussels past a certain threshold of acidity was stiffer and harder, making it more brittle and prone to fracture under pressure, and the aragonite inner shell became softer.“

Ocean conditions replicated in the lab

The research, carried out with colleagues in our School of Engineering, was designed to examine the toughness of the shells of the mussels in the more acidic water against those in control conditions.

Common blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, were housed in laboratory tanks. The researchers controlled and altered the temperature and CO2 levels of the water in the tanks to simulate four different types of ocean waters at CO2 levels projected to occur in the coming decades (380, 550, 750, 1000 ppm).

Ocean conditions were also simulated as closely as possible by changing light levels over time to mimic the changing of the seasons.

Another finding was that the impact of the increased acidity reduced as temperatures increased: “The effect on the mussels’ shells was reduced when the temperature of the water was increased by 2°C. This might suggest that the mussels are reverting to ancestral evolutionary mechanisms to mitigate the effects of increased acidity.”

Now the team is planning to extend its research to include other marine organisms, says Dr Fitzer: “We’re planning to continue our research in this area in the future and expand its scope to look at the effects of more acidic water on the shells of other marine organisms including oysters and abalone.”

 

 

The paper: ‘Ocean acidification alters the material properties of Mytilus edulis shells‘, is published in Interface.

The research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust awarded to the research team including Professor Maggie Cusack, Dr Nick Kamenos and Dr Vernon Phoenix.

 

 




388396

Carbon dioxide threat to mussels’ shells Updated for 2026

Leave a reply




In a new paper published today in the Royal Society’s journal Interface, researchers from the University of Glasgow describe how mussels’ shells become more brittle when they are formed in more acidic water.

The world’s oceans are becoming increasingly acidic as they absorb some of the atmospheric carbon dioxide which contributes to climate change.

The water reacts with the carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid, which is gradually lowering the pH of the oceans (indicating an increase in acidity). Scientists expect the pH of the world’s oceans to have dropped from 8 today to 7.7 by the end of the 21st century.

“What we’ve found in the lab is that increased levels of acidification in their habitats have a negative impact on mussels’ ability to create their shells”, said research team leader Susan Fitzer of the University’s School of Geographical and Earth Sciences.

As oceans get more acid, less bicarbonate for shell-making

Mussels’ shells are composites of calcium carbonate and organic material created by the mussels through a process known as biomineralisation.

Mussels draw bicarbonate ions from seawater and use proteins in their bodies to make crystals of calcium carbonate to form their two-layer shells. In more acidic water, there are less bicarbonate ions available for the mussels to make their shells.

“This could mean that mussels growing in the wild in the future could be more vulnerable to attack from predators, as well as from the effect of ocean forces”, explained Dr Fitzer.

“As blue mussels are commonly used for human consumption, it could also have an effect on the yields of mussels available for the fishing industry.”

The mussels do have way to resist the more acidic water once their shells have formed. Their shells’ outer later is composed of calcite, a form of calcium carbonate that is more resistant to acid decay. Only the inner layer is made of the more soluble aragonite.

But even that mechanism is under threat, says Dr Fitzer: “What we found was that the calcite outer shells of the mussels past a certain threshold of acidity was stiffer and harder, making it more brittle and prone to fracture under pressure, and the aragonite inner shell became softer.“

Ocean conditions replicated in the lab

The research, carried out with colleagues in our School of Engineering, was designed to examine the toughness of the shells of the mussels in the more acidic water against those in control conditions.

Common blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, were housed in laboratory tanks. The researchers controlled and altered the temperature and CO2 levels of the water in the tanks to simulate four different types of ocean waters at CO2 levels projected to occur in the coming decades (380, 550, 750, 1000 ppm).

Ocean conditions were also simulated as closely as possible by changing light levels over time to mimic the changing of the seasons.

Another finding was that the impact of the increased acidity reduced as temperatures increased: “The effect on the mussels’ shells was reduced when the temperature of the water was increased by 2°C. This might suggest that the mussels are reverting to ancestral evolutionary mechanisms to mitigate the effects of increased acidity.”

Now the team is planning to extend its research to include other marine organisms, says Dr Fitzer: “We’re planning to continue our research in this area in the future and expand its scope to look at the effects of more acidic water on the shells of other marine organisms including oysters and abalone.”

 

 

The paper: ‘Ocean acidification alters the material properties of Mytilus edulis shells‘, is published in Interface.

The research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust awarded to the research team including Professor Maggie Cusack, Dr Nick Kamenos and Dr Vernon Phoenix.

 

 




388396

EU Trade Secrets Directive – a threat to health, environment, human rights Updated for 2026

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A new draft EU directive currently looked at by the European Parliament wants to protect companies’ ‘trade secrets’.

But it uses definitions so large and exceptions so weak that it could seriously endanger the work of journalists, whistle-blowers, unionists and researchers as well as severely limiting corporate accountability and the transparency of corporate data used for regulation.

We publish a joint statement, below, together with many other groups that calls for the directive to be radically amended.

And end to transparency on health, food, environment

We strongly oppose the hasty push by the European Commission and Council for a new European Union (EU) Directive on Trade Secrets because it contains:

  • An unreasonably broad definition of ‘trade secrets’ that enables almost anything within a company to be deemed as such;
  • Overly-broad protection for companies, which could sue anyone who “unlawfully acquires, uses or discloses” their so-called “trade secrets”; and
  • Inadequate safeguards that will not ensure that EU consumers,  journalists, whistleblowers, researchers and workers have reliable access to important data that is in the public interest.

Contrary to the Commission’s goals, this unbalanced piece of legislation would result in legal uncertainty.

Unless radically amended by the Council and European Parliament, the proposed directive could endanger freedom of expression and information, corporate accountability, information sharing – possibly even innovation – in the EU.

Specifically, we share great concern that under the draft directive companies in the health, environment and food safety fields could refuse compliance with transparency policies even when the public interest is at stake.

Health

Pharmaceutical companies argue that all aspects of clinical development should be considered a trade secret.

Access to biomedical research data by regulatory authorities, researchers, doctors and patients – particularly data on drug efficacy and adverse drug reactions – is critical, however, for protecting patient safety and conducting further research and independent analyses.

This information also prevents scarce public resources from being spent on therapies that are no better than existing treatments, do not work, or do more harm than good. Moreover, disclosure of pharmaceutical research is needed to avoid unethical repetition of clinical trials on people.

The proposed directive should not obstruct recent EU developments to increase sharing and transparency of this data.

Environment

Trade secret protection can be used to refuse the release of information on hazardous products within the chemical industry.

Trade secret protection may, for example, be invoked by companies to hide information on chemicals in plastics, clothing, cleaning products and other items that can cause severe damage to the environment and human health.

They could also use the directive to refuse disclosing information on the dumping of chemicals, including fracking fluids, or releasing toxins into the air.

Food safety

Under EU law, all food products, genetically modified organisms and pesticides are regulated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Toxicological studies that the EFSA relies on to assess the risks associated with these products are, however, performed by manufacturers themselves.

However one of the EFSA’s most interesting objectives is to make its scientific opinions ‘reproducible’ by others, a key validation criteria in scientific methodology. Scientific scrutiny of the EFSA’s assessments is only possible with complete access to these studies.

Companies argue, though, that this information contains confidential business information and strongly oppose its disclosure. The EFSA has recently launched a Transparency Initiative to improve its credibility, and is considering providing independent scientists with access to this data.

Unfortunately, this objective has been strongly criticised by the manufacturing industries (chemical, pesticide, seed, biotech, and additives), which argue that this toxicological data contain “confidential business information” that “should be protected from all disclosures and misuse at all times”.

These industries openly threatened the EFSA with legal action should the Authority decide to publish this data. The EFSA would probably have a solid legal defense for such action because ensuring food safety serves as a strong justification. But this situation may change if the current directive on trade secrets covers such essential data.

It is essential that the risk assessment work of public bodies is properly monitored by the scientific community. All data that these public bodies use must therefore be exempt from the scope of the directive.

The right to freedom of expression and information could be seriously harmed

Under the proposed directive, whistleblowers can use undisclosed information to reveal misconduct or wrongdoing, but only if “the alleged acquisition, use or disclosure of the trade secret was necessary for such revelation and that the respondent acted in the public interest.”

Unfortunately, though, determining whether disclosure was necessary can often only be evaluated afterwards. In addition, it remains unclear whether many types of information (e.g., plans to terminate numerous employees) qualify as ‘misconduct’ or ‘wrongdoing’.

This creates legal uncertainty for journalists, particularly those who specialise in economic investigations and whistleblowers.

The mobility of EU workers could be undermined

The proposed directive poses a danger of lock-in effects for workers. It could create situations where an employee will avoid jobs in the same field as his / her former employer, rather than risking not being able to use his / her own skills and competences, and being liable for damages.

This inhibits one’s career development, as well as professional and geographical mobility in the labour market.

In addition, despite the Commission’s desire for a ‘magic bullet’ that will keep Europe in the innovation game, closed-door trade secret protection may make it more difficult for the EU to engage in promising open and collaborative forms of research.

In fact, there is a risk that the measures and remedies provided in this directive will undermine legitimate competition – even facilitate anti-competitive behaviour.

Supporters – a litany of corporate power

Unsurprisingly, the text is strongly supported by multinational companies. In fact, industry coalitions in the EU and the US are lobbying, through a unified Trade Secrets Coalition, for the adoption of trade secret protection.

In the EU, a so-called Trade Secrets & Innovation Coalition is pushing for this directive. This coalition is even registered in the EU Transparency register under this name. This coalition includes Alstom, DuPont de Nemours, General Electric, Intel, Michelin, Air Liquide, Nestlé and Safran, who work together with the pharmaceutical and the chemical industries.

In the US, two new bills are pending before Congress: the Trade Secrets Protection Act of 2014 (H.R. 5233) – and Senate Bill: Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2014 (S. 2267).

If passed, these texts would allow trade secret protection to be included in the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – something that will be incredibly difficult to repeal in the future through democratic processes.

The US has made no secret of its explicit wish for strong language on trade secret protection in this agreement. Given that TTIP is expected to set a new global standard, its potential inclusion of trade secret protection is particularly worrisome.

We urge the Council and the European Parliament to radically amend the directive. This includes limiting the definition of what constitutes a trade secret and strengthening safeguards and exceptions to ensure that data in the public interest cannot be protected as trade secrets.

The right to freely use and disseminate information should be the rule, and trade secret protection the exception.

 

 

This statement was originally published by Corporate Observatory Europe. Please check the original joint statement for signatories, contact details, etc. In this version, footnotes have been incorporated into the main text, and additional subheads have been inserted.

 

 




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Britain’s real ‘terror threat’: eco-sceptic politicians Updated for 2026

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Over the last few weeks, as the situation in Syria and Iraq has deteriorated, we’ve seen politicians in the West become more bellicose about the “threat” of terrorism to our way of life.

What few in this debate seem to address is whether there is any objective data, compared to other non-terrorist ‘threats’, to support that assertion.

Rather like the ‘reds under the bed’ scares of the Cold War, the threat of ‘Islamism’ is held up as an existential threat to the British public innocently going about their daily lives. However, if we look at the statistics we can’t demonstrate that claim.

How many people in Britain get killed by terrorism in Britain in an average year? Given recent media coverage, how many do you think?

Bees and hornets pose the same risk as ‘terrorism’

Until the murder of Private Lee Rigby in May 2013, no members of the public had been killed by terrorist acts in Britain since 2005. Even with Britain’s history of terrorism, due to the conflict in Ireland, in global terms the risk from terrorism here is low.

The relative scale of the public’s risk of fatality from terrorism was outlined in the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation’s report published in 2012:

“During the 21st century, terrorism has been an insignificant cause of mortality in the United Kingdom. The annualised average of five deaths caused by terrorism in England and Wales over this period compares with total accidental deaths in 2010 of 17,201, including 123 cyclists killed in traffic accidents, 102 personnel killed in Afghanistan, 29 people drowned in the bathtub and five killed by stings from hornets, wasps and bees.”

That said, must we declare bees and hornets to be as dangerous as al-Qaida? Perhaps that’s why the Government doesn’t want to ban neonicotinoid pesticides in Britain.

Is the loss of civil liberties proportionate to the threat?

The Government, incited by sections of the media, has made a great play of their tough stance on counter-terrorism – and the powers which we grant our security services. Again, are these proportionate to the objective threat?

In July, Britain’s oldest ethical Internet service provider, GreenNet, sued the Government and GCHQ for their arguably unlawful breach of British citizens right to privacy as part of their mass collection of on-line data.

The response of the Government was to regularise that breach of privacy laws by rushing through emergency legislation. David Cameron’s justification for this was that

“Sometimes in the dangerous world in which we live we need our security services to listen to someone’s phone or read their emails to identify and disrupt a terrorist plot.”

Is the threat to our civil rights and privacy really worth that intrusion? And, compared to the threat to democratic values posed by the Government’s spy systems, does that power significantly reduce the risks to the public from terrorism?

To answer that point let’s put that 5 per year terrorism fatality figure into a wider statistical context:

I think that makes the relative hazard of terrorism to other ‘threats’ quite clear. Is this reflected in the current media debate? Clearly not!

Now this really is scary – ditching the ‘green crap’

As I outlined in a recent article for The Ecologist, last year David Cameron instructed his aides to “get rid of all the green crap” from Government policy.

And yet some of the greatest threats to the public are a result of that so called “green crap”. You don’t have to take my word for that – let’s look at what the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has to say.

The MoD publishes its Global Strategic Trends report for those within the MoD and wider Government who are involved in developing long term planning. They recently published the fifth edition, which identifies long term threats and opportunities to 2045 (it even has a scary cartoon which summarises it).

If you read that report, you could almost think you were reading something penned by WWF or Greenpeace. For example:

“As we increase the stress we place on the natural environment, our need to understand, protect and preserve it will almost certainly grow. Climate change, a rise in sea levels, desertification and reducing biodiversity are all issues that could affect us even more over the next 30 years. They are likely to impact on agricultural production and fishing, and could exacerbate humanitarian crises.”

In stating that, the MoD are not being alarmist. You can find similar reports being produced today by other ‘establishment’ organisations – such as the World Economic Forum.

US military researchers produced a broadly similar document in March 2014, which considered climate change to be a particular threat. In response, in May 2014, the US Congress passed a bill which banned the US military from considering the security implications of climate change.

As that US example shows, where the real statistical threats to public life are concerned, we might judge the inaction of our politicians to be a greater ‘threat’ than the risks from terrorism.

In my view our politicians concentrate on terrorism because it’s the perfect ‘paper tiger’. It’s scary, and unpredictable, but by its very nature the success or failure of their policies are not subject to external assessment. The secretive nature of the agencies involved allow politicians to say what wish, and justify their actions to some abstract threat, without any great risk of being proven wrong.

In contrast, if the Government started to address some of those really serious, ecologically-based issues, then that would require fighting some very difficult political battles – abandoning historic commitments to certain economic and ideological principles to achieve those ecological goals.

Tackling the ecological roots of the world’s conflicts

Terrorism, globally, is a serious issue – one which we should all be concerned about. What we’re talking about here is the relative weight of that issue compared to other issues which the UK Government, arguably, has a far greater power to address.

When it comes to the problems of the Middle East, the historic issue of the control of oil supplies is a key factor in the West’s foreign policy strategy. Arguably Britain and France created these problems when they enforced the Sykes-Picot Agreement on the region in 1916 – creating the boundaries within the region we see today.

However, adapting to ecological limits requires that the world wean itself off oil-burning within a decade or two at most. That would allow us to try and find a new, less exploitative way to co-operatively engage with the peoples of that region.

The UN’s decade-old study of “future threats and challenges” highlighted the range of problems which will confront in years to come. And, despite David Cameron’s desire to “get rid of the green crap”, most of these serious, long-term issues are driven by a common ecological root.

Instead of the current Western policy of control and exploitation, we need a new strategy. As outlined in that report, we

“face threats that no nation can hope to master by acting alone – and opportunities that can be much more hopefully exploited if all nations work together. The purpose of this report is to suggest how nations can work together to meet this formidable challenge.”

What has come from the mouths of politicians and pundits over the last few weeks does nothing to address the root of the greater human ecological crisis – manifesting itself in the many regional problems we see in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere.

Until we have that discussion about global equity and justice, and we end the ‘exceptionalism’ in Western foreign policy, the issue of terrorism will not go away.

Instead, as we escalate measures to control dissent at home and abroad, knee-jerk security and surveillance measures will arguably degrade the democratic principles which our government’s claim to protect.

 

 

Paul Mobbs is an independent environmental consultant, investigator, author and lecturer. He runs the Free Range Activism website.

 




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