USDA ANNOUNCES NEW OFFICE OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND MARKETS

Secretary Ed Schafer announced the intention to establish a new USDA Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets and the creation of a federal government-wide Conservation and Land Management Environmental Services Board to assist the Secretary of Agriculture in the development of new technical guidelines and science-based methods to assess environmental service benefits which will in turn promote markets for ecosystem services including carbon trading to mitigate climate change.

"Our Nation's farms, ranches and forests provide goods and services that are vital to society - natural assets we call "ecosystem services," said Schafer. "The Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets will enable America's agriculture producers to better compete, trade their services around the world, and make significant contributions to help improve the environment."

Agriculture producers provide many ecosystem services which have historically been viewed as free benefits to society - clean water and air, wildlife habitat, carbon storage, and scenic landscapes. Lacking a formal structure to market these services, farmers, ranchers and forest landowners are not generally compensated for providing these critical public benefits. Market-based approaches to conservation are proven to be a cost-effective method to achieve environmental goals and sustain working and natural landscapes. Without financial incentives, these ecosystem services may be lost as privately-owned lands are sold or converted to development.

Human Impacts on Coral Reefs of Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Revealed

In the current issue of the journal Coral Reefs, authors Kimberly Selkoe and Benjamin Halpern, both of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California at Santa Barbara, explain how maps of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI)--a vast area stretching across more than 1,200 miles of Pacific Ocean--can be used to make informed decisions about protecting the world's fragile coral reefs.

"Our maps of cumulative human impacts are a powerful tool for synthesizing and visualizing the state of the oceans," said Selkoe, who is also affiliated with Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii.

"The maps can aid in zoning uses of the oceans in an informed way that maximizes commercial and societal benefits, while minimizing further cumulative impact."

President George W. Bush declared the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a National Monument in 2006, "in part because it is one of the last places in the oceans that have not been heavily altered by human activities," said Halpern.

Human-induced climate change threats were also studied, including increased ultraviolet radiation, ocean acidification, ocean temperature anomalies relevant to disease outbreaks and coral bleaching, and sea level rise.

Increased rates of coral disease due to warming ocean temperatures were found to have the highest impact, along with other climate-related threats.

Earth Day

Earth Day, April 22, is the annual celebration of the environment and a time to assess the work still needed to protect the natural gifts of our planet. It affirms that environmental awareness is part of our consciousness and that the idea of protecting the environment has moved into the mainstream.

NASA’s Earth Science Mission seeks to understand Earth’s systems and their responses to natural and anthropogenic (human-made) changes. A fleet of satellites in NASA’s Earth Observing System gives scientists the global, long-term measurements they need to connect the atmosphere (air), lithosphere (land), hydrosphere (water), cryosphere (snow/ice), and biosphere (life) as a single system.

NASA works with many other partners from government, industry, academia, and international space agencies on the 17 satellite missions that make up the EOS series. Each of these satellites gathers a unique set of measurements for studying Earth. These measurements are used to improve weather forecasts, understand natural disasters, manage agriculture and forests, and predict how climate will change.

submarine

Meet John P. Holland, photographed emerging from the hatch of his invention, the USS Holland submarine. Born on the Irish coast in 1841, he had a fascination with both science and sea travel. At a young age, he became convinced that underwater vehicles could be useful in naval warfare. He developed his first draft for a submarine design in 1859. He later moved to the United States and submitted his design to the US Navy, which initially rejected it as a "fantastic scheme of a civilian landsman." Undaunted and supported by funds from the Fenian Movement, a secret revolutionary society organized in Ireland and the United States to achieve Irish independence from England, John continued his efforts. He eventually launched his first submarine - the Holland Number 1 - in 1877 on the Passaic River in New Jersey. Only 14 feet long and powered by a 4 horsepower engine, this model made several successful dives. He went on to produce larger versions with modifications and revisions. Early in 1900 the U.S. Navy purchased the Holland Number 6 for $150,000 and on October 12, 1900 commissioned it-- the first United States Navy submarine. Holland died in 1914 with little recognition for his work, but is now widely recognized as the inventor of the modern submarine.