Bid to save rare natterjack toads in Scotland

Scientists are building up a photographic database of the rare and endangered natterjack toad, in a bid to ensure its survival in Scotland.

They are relying on each toad's unique pattern of warts to enable them to identify individual animals.

That information will then be used by researchers monitoring whether the population rises or falls in the coming years.

The work is being carried out along the Solway Firth.

The toads can be found on sand dunes and in salt marshes known as merse.

The scientists search the area after dark, using torchlight to find the natterjacks.

The toads are then measured and photographed.

James Silvey of RSPB Scotland said: "The beautiful thing about natterjacks is they each come with their own individual fingerprint, and that's in the form of the big warts and the yellow stripe on their backs.

"Each of the toads we photograph today could potentially live for 10 or 15 years and if we photograph it again we'll know that individual was found here at Mersehead in 2014.

"We're building up a database of natterjack mug shots for the future."

Conservationists have been working for many years to safeguard the future of the species in Scotland.

They say natterjacks face several threats, including habitat loss, climate change and a fungal infection first identified in 1999.

Natterjack toads

• Natterjack toads are Scotland's rarest amphibians
• In Scotland, they are only found on the Solway Firth
• There are thought to be around 200 breeding adults in Scotland
• The toads are a grey green colour and have a distinctive yellow stripe on their backs
• Natterjacks have shorter legs than common toads or frogs
• This means they can run after prey, rather than hopping or crawling
• During the breeding season, croaking male natterjacks can be heard more than a mile away

From BBC Sci/Environment

READ MORE

Tansy beetle sighted in Cambridgeshire Fens for first time in 40 years

A critically endangered beetle has been spotted in Cambridgeshire for the first time in more than 40 years.

The tansy beetle was last recorded at Woodwalton Fen in 1973

The 9mm (0.35in) iridescent tansy beetle was found during a ditch survey at the Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve, near Huntingdon.

Dr Peter Kirby, who found the beetle, said its first appearance in the county since 1973 was "quite the mystery".

The banks of the River Ouse in York were thought to be beetle's last remaining stronghold in the UK.

'Exciting find'

Alan Bowley, senior reserve manager at Natural England, said the discovery was "significant" as it "demonstrates the resilience of the species when given the right conditions".

"This is such an exciting find," he said.

"Woodwalton Fen is an isolated fragment of a once much larger wetland and so rare animals are always at risk of extinction, but this demonstrates how important these sites are for providing a refuge for these species to survive against the odds.

Experts believe the discovery of the tansy beetle in the Fen is "significant"

"There is only one other site in Britain where this beautiful creature is found and we will be working hard to try and ensure that it can flourish here."

The site is all that remains of a great wetland around Whittlesey Mere that was drained in 1851, leading to the loss of many species.

Dr Kirby said: "It is not uncommon for invertebrate populations to survive at extremely low levels for many years until conditions become suitable for an expansion, and that appears to be what has happened here.

"I saw the first one by accident while taking samples, the sunlight glinted off it to catch my eye. Now we know it's there we can do some research and get a picture of what's going on."

• The tansy beetle is currently critically endangered in the UK and across its worldwide range
• It is a conservation priority species in England which means that public bodies have a duty to protect it, together with its habitat
• in recent times the beetle has only been found along a 30km stretch of the River Ouse, around York, mainly eating tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), a perennial herb which has given the beetle its name
• Although the tansy is widespread along the River Ouse, land use changes and the increase of invasive species such as Himalayan balsam have resulted in a decline in the plants over the past few decades

Source: Natural England

From BBC Sci/Environment

Dispute over 'bonkers' EU energy savings plan

EU commissioners are meeting today to agree an energy savings target for 2030 amid serious disagreement about how ambitious it should be.

Fibre glass wall insulation is one of the ways of curbing energy loss in homes across Europe

Several countries, anxious over the security of their Russian gas supplies, are pushing for a tough, binding goal.

But EU officials are reluctant to agree because they fear it might damage the overall energy and climate package.

Campaigners and industry have described the reluctance to embrace ambitious savings goals as "bonkers".

Compared to the attention given to cutting carbon or investing in renewables, energy efficiency has long been the Cinderella of the EU's climate and energy policies.

But the crises in the Crimea and Ukraine earlier this year have pushed energy savings up the political ladder. Several governments are now pushing for a tough target as they believe it will help them to limit their dependence on Russia.

In January, after difficult negotiations, the EU published outline proposals on what its targets for 2030 should be.

They proposed a 40% cut in carbon, while renewables would make up 27% of energy consumed. Energy efficiency was due to be increased by 27%.

Under pressure from countries like Germany, the Commission examined a range of higher efficiency targets up to 40%.

The result of an internal review showed that while a 27% goal would cut gas imports by roughly 16%, this would double to around 33% if the savings target was raised to 35%.

The review also pointed out that the costs of going for these targets would be dramatically offset by gains in employment from all the insulation jobs that would be created plus the reduction in fuel consumed.

Incentives to insulate would be expensive but generate jobs according to reports

From BBC Sci/Environment 

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

Around the world, discarded tires tread again

It may seem incongruous to think of discarded rubber car tires as the source of fetching but functional footwear or fashion-forward furniture.

In Kenya, discarded tires become tough, inexpensive sandals called akalas.
 (Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images)

But from Kenya to India to Detroit to Sweden, clever and eco-minded niche entrepreneurs are turning one of industrialized society’s most ubiquitous and difficult-to-dispose-of waste products (an estimated 1.5 billion tires are discarded each year worldwide) into weirdly appealing – and super-tough – items with a little bit of, um, soul.

From e-tailer soleRebels, the $80 "tooTOOs" shoe. (soleRebels.com)

Enterprising locals in Kenya have made a cottage industry out of hand-crafting so-called akala sandals from the “pelts” of old car tires. They sell on the streets of Nairobi for anywhere from $2 to $5 a pair – considerably less than retail footwear sold nearby, and boasting 10 times the longevity.

In fact, Maasai tribesmen, who roam southern Kenya and northern Tanzania, have commonly worn these durable sandals – also known as “thousand-milers” – for decades to walk through brush tougher than rhino hide. And the footwear is trending mainstream as you read this, at e-tailers like Maasai Treads and Akala Sandals and soleRebels, whose $80 "tooTOOs" womens shoes, which feature outsoles made of hand-cut discarded tire treads, are pictured above.

Then there is Detroit Threads, where the Reverend Faith Fowler ripped a page from the thousand-miler pagebook. At Cass Community Social Services in Detroit, she employs dozens of workers who turn old tires – the group’s Green Industries division collects about 35,000 discards a year – into $25 flip-flops with some serious tread life. Aimed at urban hipsters who are tired of the same old look, the sandals are designed by students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.

In Mumbai, India, ground-floor entrepreneur Anu Tandon Vieira established The Retyrement Plan, where workers morph old tires and other recycled waste materials into weatherproof outdoor furniture that will inflate the ambience of any patio or three-season room.

On a whole other plane, a Swedish company, Apokalyps Labotek, is making durable and stylish flooring out of the 4m tires discarded nationally there each year. The company grinds the tires into a powder and through some sort of modern alchemy, mixes it with recycled plastic and – voilà! – creates parquet flooring as tough as a thousand-miler sandal. Tread lightly? No way.

Now, it’s true that Bridgestone and other tire companies are trying to develop an airless, recyclable tire that would end the disposal dilemma posed by rubber tires, which are tougher to get rid of than a Volkswagen Beetle. But rest easy – there’s no need to rush out and stock up on akalas. It’s estimated that billions of old car tires remain stockpiled around the world, so this is one recyclable resource that’s not disappearing any time soon.

Kenyans commonly refer to akala sandals as "thousand-milers". 

(Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images)

From BBC-http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20140802-discarded-tires-tread-again