JEM News

Legislation

Obama commits to clean water

Partnerships and a reliance on the latest science and innovation are the centrepieces of a National Clean Water Framework released by the Obama administration. The framework outlines how the United States intends to face up to the water challenges of the 21st century and builds on the Clean Water Act which has been a cornerstone of US efforts for nearly 40 years. Clean water is one of seven priorities identified in EPA's Strategic Plan for 2011–15.¹

“Clean water and healthy waterways are vital to the health and vibrancy of our communities and the strength of our economy,” said Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “Working with our partners across communities, governments and sectors, we are taking comprehensive action to ensure Americans have the clean and healthy waters they need and deserve.”

Federal agencies will continue to partner with states and other stakeholders on innovative approaches to restore urban waters, promote sustainable water supplies, and develop new incentives for farmers to protect clean water. The plan also places priority on enhancing communities and economies by restoring important water bodies, as is already being done in places like the Chesapeake Bay, California Bay-Delta, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico and Everglades. Innovation for more water-efficient communities will also be important, with federal agencies working with policymakers, consumers, farmers and businesses to save water – and save money – through innovative water management policies and technology. One such initiative was recently unveiled in Cincinnati.²

The administration will pursue new ways to protect public health by reducing contaminants in Americans' drinking water. This includes updating drinking water standards,³ protecting drinking water sources, modernizing the tools available to communities to meet their clean water requirements, and providing affordable clean water services in rural communities. On the policy front, the administration will seek to modernize water resources guidelines and update federal guidance on where the Clean Water Act applies nationwide. Finally, the latest science and research will be used to improve water policies and programmes, and identify and address emerging pollution challenges.

In a related move, EPA has also launched a new strategy to promote the use of “green infrastructure” by cities and towns to reduce stormwater runoff that pollutes streams, creeks, rivers, lakes and coastal waters. Green infrastructure decreases pollution to local waterways by treating rain where it falls and keeping polluted stormwater from entering sewer systems. It includes tools and techniques such as green roofs, permeable materials, alternative designs for streets and buildings, trees, rain gardens and rain harvesting systems.

Also under the Clean Water Act, EPA has proposed standards to protect billions of fish and other aquatic organisms drawn each year into cooling water systems at large power plants and factories. What it describes as a “common sense framework” puts a premium on public input and flexibility. Safeguards against impingement will be required for all facilities above a minimum size; closed-cycle cooling systems may also be required on a case-by-case basis. The regulation is a result of a settlement agreement with Riverkeeper, Inc. and other environmental groups.

Across the Atlantic – where a major overhaul of water policy is also on the cards⁴ – the European Environment Agency has released a new and improved version of its Water Information System for Europe (WISE) web portal, bringing together all information on surface and ground water, including data on bathing waters, from EU countries.⁵ The EU recently announced plans to extend a list of priority substances regulated under water legislation.⁶

EPA: Clean Water Framework, http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/clean-water and http://epa.gov/greeninfrastructure ; WISE: http://water.europa.eu/

Commission to focus on implementation

The European Commission has renegade governments in its sights, after announcing plans for a major push to improve the implementation of EU environmental laws. Formal proposals will be set out in a policy paper to be published in the autumn, according to Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik.

Implementation of the EU's green policies is often poorer than in other policy areas and many of the infringement proceedings taken by the Commission relate to the environment. There have also been questions raised about the quality of some of the data countries submit to the Commission and whether it should be able to monitor environmental crises.

The plans are still at an early stage. Mr Potočnik said the proposals would include improvements to the Commission's inspection systems and the information it keeps. Discussions on the next EU budget must take into account the need for co-financing to help Member States meet their obligations, the Commissioner added.

European Commission: http://europa.eu/rapid/ (reference: SPEECH/11/241)

Nitrogen management demands new approach

The EU should take an “integrated approach” to nitrogen management given the “cascade” of adverse environmental impacts caused by the use of reactive nitrogen (N_r) as a fertiliser in agriculture, according to a recent scientific study.

The European Nitrogen Assessment involved more than 200 experts from 21 countries and focused on existing European policies. The problem with N_r is the complexity of the nitrogen cycle, it says, which means that “scientific understanding has become scattered and focused on individual sectors”. As a result, existing policies are extremely fragmented. Policy makers have so far tackled the issue in a piecemeal fashion, which means that policies are usually separated either by media (for example air, land and water), by issues (such as climate, biodiversity, waste), or by N_r forms (NO_x, N₂O or ammonia).⁷

The assessment recommends seven key actions for reducing pollution from nitrogen. These include improving nitrogen use efficiency in crop production; recycling nitrogen from wastewater systems; and lowering meat consumption, particularly beef. The authors call for a new international treaty focusing explicitly on nitrogen and recommend that research programmes should be prioritised, “providing data and models that can underpin future negotiations and policies”.

The environmental costs of nitrogen pollution outweigh the economic benefits of N_r use in agriculture. Costs are estimated at €70–320 billion annually. Policies to reduce N_r emissions in this sector, such as the national emissions ceilings (NEC) directive have had a limited impact. Further improvements will only be made if Europe takes an integrated approach to the problem: “European science and policies related to nitrogen have to a significant degree lost sight of the bigger picture”, the scientists point out.

European Nitrogen Assessment: http://www.nine-esf.org/ENA-Book

Environmental quality

Nuclear energy faces bleak future

The nuclear power sector faces a rapid decline with spiralling costs that will only be exacerbated by a backlash from the Fukushima incident in Japan. These are the stark conclusions of a study funded by the Worldwatch Institute, published to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

Cost estimates for nuclear power have increased six-fold in the past decade, Worldwatch says. The Fukushima disaster will prompt tougher safety standards and insurance obligations that will only ratchet up these costs further, the authors argue. Renewable energy is a more attractive investment because it is cheaper and can be more quickly deployed and decommissioned, the study states. Although their electricity output will remain lower than nuclear for the foreseeable future, alternative energy sources are “catching up fast”.

Worldwatch also laments the “large direct and indirect” subsidies for nuclear which make it harder for renewables to compete. In the US, even though nuclear and wind technologies produced a comparable amount of energy during their first 15 years, subsides to nuclear were a lot higher, according to the study. The sector's “unparalleled” access to research and development (R&D) funding is also criticised. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), since 1986 nuclear received roughly five times more government R&D funding than the renewables sector.

In the EU, there are 34 fewer reactors than in 1989, according to the study. This trend is being paralleled globally, with the exception of China. Susanne Nies, head of energy policy at power sector association Eurelectric, acknowledged that with rising installation costs, the number of nuclear reactors will decrease year on year. “In coming years, renewable energy sources will take the lions' share in the European energy mix”, she said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has also warned of the need to strengthen nuclear safety in the wake of Fukushima. In an address to mark the Chernobyl anniversary, he called for “deep reflection” on the future of nuclear energy and outlined a five-point plan to enhance nuclear safety.

Meanwhile, the EU has temporarily lowered its radioactivity limits for food and feedstuff from areas affected by the accident. The move is likely to allay consumer fears over the import of food from Japan following the disaster. The temporary limits will apply until experts decide whether there are grounds to justify higher standards in the long term.

Worldwatch Institute: http://www.worldwatch.org

Activists assess red sludge legacy

Pollution caused by the toxic red sludge released from a metal processing plant in Hungary last year is still visible in many of the affected areas, according to an assessment by green group WWF.

There is still a long way to go before local residents can return to a normal life, WWF says. “The impact on lives and livelihoods remains severe,” it notes. Officials claim most of the clean-up work had been done.⁸ The mayor of Devecser, one of the affected towns, said that while efforts were still being made to clear the sludge, “as there are no funds left, there will be only partial replacement of the soil”.

WWF also called on the European Commission and eastern European countries to undertake a comprehensive review of the risks posed by industrial sites in the region. It is particularly concerned about a major tailings dam in Medet in Bulgaria. A lead production facility in the lead and zinc complex in Bulgaria's Kardzhali had to be closed down recently over its management's failure to comply with environmental regulations.

Hungary's reputation on environmental issues has been tarnished further by plans to close an ombudsman's office dedicated to safeguarding environmental rights. The right was added to the Hungarian constitution, with the support of all main parties, in 2007 and the position of “parliamentary commissioner for future generations” was created to safeguard it. The present commissioner says the office has already saved hundreds of acres of green space, helped protect drinking water and world heritage sites, and protected Hungarians from noise and air pollution.

WWF: http://wwf.panda.org; Kardzhali closure: http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=127426; Ombudsman for Future Generations: http://jno.hu/en/

Biofuels can be enviro-friendly

Global biofuel production could be increased 14-fold by 2050 without adversely affecting food security or the environment; the prediction, by the International Energy Agency (IEA), comes in a technology roadmap.

Such an increase would allow a 27% market penetration, compared with 2% today, the IEA says, and save 2.1 gigatonnes of CO₂ – around a fifth of the total reductions expected from transport. The effect on fuel prices should be marginal and biofuels could be competitive with fossil fuels by 2030 under some circumstances. But savings on this level would require major efficiency improvements for fuels made from existing feedstocks such as sugar and oil seed, and the elimination of emissions from indirect land use change. Biofuels from lignocellulosic feedstocks would also have to reach commercial viability within ten years, the IEA says.

Achieving biofuels' full potential will cost about $12 trillion over the next 40 years. This includes further government support for research and development and measures to encourage investment in the first commercial-scale production units. Land use needs to be carefully managed to avoid feedstocks outcompeting food crops, the IEA recommends. A third of the 3 billion tonnes of biomass that would be needed annually by 2050 could come from waste and crop residues. However, the land area dedicated to biofuel crops would also have to increase three-fold to 100 million hectares, around 2% of total agricultural land.

Another aspect highlighted in the report is the need for mandatory and internationally-aligned sustainability standards – an area where the EU is leading the way.⁹ Until recently Europe's biomass industry has resisted binding EU sustainability criteria for biofuels, but now sees a need for them due to problems with the national schemes being set up by Member States. Replying to a recent EU consultation, industry association Aebiom said national rules make biomass trading more difficult.

Green groups have claimed that increased use of biofuels over the next decade could double emissions compared to fossil fuels,¹⁰ while other research has pointed to uncertainty being a barrier to further take up.¹¹

IEA: http://www.iea.org/papers/2011/biofuels_roadmap.pdf; European Commission: biofuels consultation, http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/consultations/20110329_biomass_en.htm

Europe needs integrated land policy

Faced with a high and growing demand for land, Europe needs an integrated policy approach based on reliable data to balance sectoral demands and manage land sustainably. This is the central conclusion of a recent assessment by the European Environment Agency (EEA) analysing land use change in Europe.

Last year the EEA published a land use assessment as part of its flagship report The European Environment – State And Outlook 2010 (SOER 2010). This has now been complemented by individual analyses for 36 European countries based on data from the Corine Land Cover database. Each of the country reports presents graphs and maps that characterise land cover changes concisely. A new Urban Atlas provides comparable land use and land cover data for more than 300 European cities, with more being made available in an electronic version.

The data show that the spread of urban areas and transport infrastructure has been accelerating. Artificial land cover increased by 3.4% in Europe in the period 2000–2006, by far the largest proportional increase in all land use categories. Contrastingly, farmland is decreasing in terms of area but is often managed more intensively, partly due to growing demand for bio-energy crops (see separate item above). Wetlands and biodiversity-rich natural and semi-natural areas also continue to decline, although at a slower rate than observed in the period 1990–2000.

Land use changes in Europe have significant environmental implications, the EEA says, including polluting soil and water, and releasing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Landscape fragmentation and habitat destruction exert strong pressures on biodiversity. Decisions about land use involve trade-offs between diverse sectoral interests, including industry, transport, mining, agriculture and forestry. Managing these trade-offs in a way that maximises society's wellbeing – both today and in the years ahead – requires an integrated policy approach incorporating environmental considerations.

Contrary to expectations, some animal species are actually benefiting from land use changes and have wider distributions now than in the past. In a recent study of changes in the Mediterranean landscape, Spanish researchers report that species such as roe deer, Spanish ibex, red deer and wild boar have been able to adapt and have extended their ranges.

EEA: http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/land-cover-country-analyses; ‘Past, present and future of wild ungulates in relation to changes in land use’, Landscape Ecology, 2011, 26(1), 19–31. DOI: http://www.springerlink.com/content/u4n91074k342155n/

Ministers welcome Danube strategy

Governments along the Danube basin will work together more closely to improve environmental standards under a new regional strategy agreed by ministers. Regional states agreed on the main principles and first steps of the strategy, originally released in December, at a recent meeting in Luxembourg.

The conclusions, drafted by the Hungarian presidency, are the result of negotiations between states over the past three months. They back the Commission's main principles for the strategy but only acknowledge the recommended action plan. More specific implementation actions and projects will be adopted at a later stage. There is no new EU funding for the strategy but ministers have agreed to a better coordination of existing funds.

This is the second regional European strategy, following in the wake of a similar programme for the Baltic Sea, which is currently under review. The Commission will review implementation of the Danube strategy in 2012 and possibly propose a third regional strategy in 2013.

European Council: http://europa.eu/rapid/ (reference: IP/11/472)

Chemical hazards

Deca levels persist, survey shows

Levels of the brominated flame retardant (BFR) deca-BDE in the environment are not decreasing despite an initiative aimed at cutting emissions from industrial sites, according to a recent survey. The study comes at a time when the scientific consensus against BFRs is growing.¹²

The Voluntary Emissions Control Action Programme (VECAP) – a Europe-wide monitoring programme – shows potential emissions of deca-BDE increased to 1441 kilograms compared with 1220 kg a year ago. Estimated emissions of HBCD and TBBPA, two other brominated flame retardants, increased to 560 kg and 482 kg, rises of 81% and 155% respectively. The increases are partly due to a change in methodology, the authors say, and an increase in the coverage of the programme to include BFR users in the UK textile sector.

VECAP estimates potential BFR emissions to air, water and land based on survey responses. The 95 sites covered by the initiative handle 95% of the total volume of BFRs sold in Europe. Despite its relative success in addressing industrial site emissions, the initiative does not address emissions during product use and disposal which together are the largest source of potential releases to the environment.

Independent studies, based on monitoring of bird eggs, river sediment and sewage sludge in Norway, the UK and elsewhere, confirm that levels of deca-BDE are not decreasing. For instance, a team of researchers from Spain and Canada has detected flame retardants, including deca-BDE, for the first time in peregrine falcon eggs in both countries. This species was endangered in many areas of the northern hemisphere due to the use of organochlorinated pesticides, particularly DDT, though when this was prohibited in the 1970s the populations recovered. Furthermore, falcons are at the top of the food chain and accumulate substances carried by their prey.

VECAP: http://www.vecap.info; ‘Dechlorane Plus and Related Compounds in Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) Eggs from Canada and Spain’, Environ. Sci. Tech., 2011, 45(4), 1284–1290. DOI: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es103333j

Agency moves on IRIS assessments

EPA has responded to four draft Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessments that were placed on hold in June 2010, pending a review of some of the underlying studies.¹³ The four assessments concerned cover the chemicals methanol, methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tertiary-butyl ether (ETBE), and acrylonitrile.

Acting out of what it described as “an abundance of caution”, EPA and the National Toxicology Program (NTP) have commissioned an independent review of selected studies in cooperation with the Ramazzini Institute, an Italian lab that gave rise to the controversy. NTP scientists and the Ramazzini Institute had differences of opinion in the diagnoses of certain cancers reported in an animal study on methanol. The results will be made public in due course and the cancer assessments will remain on hold until their completion.

EPA has also unveiled action plans to address the potential health risks of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), toluene diisocyanate (TDI), and related compounds. Actions being considered include: issuing rules to call in data on any past allegations of significant adverse effects; obtain unpublished health and safety data from industry sources; require exposure monitoring studies for consumer products; and possibly ban or restrict consumer products containing uncured MDI or TDI. Diisocyanates are used to make polyurethane polymers.

EPA: http://www.epa.gov/iris/ and http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/spf/spray_polyurethane_foam.html

MEPs wash-off detergents proposal

MEPs are calling for proposed EU restrictions on phosphates in laundry detergents to be extended to cover dishwashers as well. In a draft resolution presented in the Environment Committee, Bill Newton Dunn – who is guiding the measure through the European Parliament – proposed restrictions on the use of phosphates and other phosphorus compounds in dishwasher detergents from January 2015. There is support for the idea in the Committee, the British MEP said.

Mr Newton Dunn wants a limit of 0.5% by weight, which is the limit proposed by the European Commission for laundry detergents.¹⁴ While the MEP agrees with the proposed 2013 timeframe for the introduction of EU-wide restrictions, he says the limit for laundry detergents should be expressed in grams per standard wash load rather than in a percentage of total weight. This will allow manufacturers to produce more concentrated detergents, he argues. Compact laundry detergents are seen as more environmentally friendly.

On industrial and institutional detergents, Mr Newton Dunn agrees that suitable alternatives are not yet available but calls for a Commission study on the issue.

European Parliament: http://www.europarl.europa.eu

New trade restrictions

Six substances face trade restrictions under the Rotterdam Convention on trade in dangerous chemicals. The proposal, by a committee of UN experts, will be discussed by governments at a meeting in Geneva at the end of June.

The UN's Chemical Review Committee said trade in the pesticides endosulfan and azinphos-methyl, and the herbicide formulation Gramoxone Super, which contains paraquat dichloride, should be restricted under the Rotterdam convention. The committee also recommended adding the perfluorinated compound perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and its salts and precursors, and flame retardants pentaBDE and octaBDE to a list of substances regulated under the Convention.

Rotterdam restrictions on endosulfan have faced strong opposition from countries such as India. The pesticide, already banned in the EU, is also facing a global ban under the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs).¹⁵

Substances on the Rotterdam list of hazardous chemicals cannot be exported without the receiving country's consent, known as prior informed consent (PIC). In the EU, the European Commission has recently proposed a revision of the PIC regulation.

Also, the Commission is set to extend an existing authorisation for the fungicide carbendazim by another three years after EU agriculture ministers failed to reach the qualified majority necessary to renew the existing authorisation. Without an extension the fungicide would be banned from June under revised rules on pesticide approvals. EFSA has concluded that the extension was warranted because carbendazim can be used safely.

Rotterdam Convention: http://www.pic.int; EFSA: http://www.efsa.europa.eu

New goals for PVC

Europe's PVC industry is preparing to set new goals after meeting voluntary targets on recycling and heavy metals set ten years ago. Cadmium has been phased out of PVC ahead of schedule and the sector is on track to replace lead-based stabilisers by 2015.

The European PVC industry established its Vinyl 2010 initiative in 2000 in a bid to avoid regulation. It covers 21 000 companies from across the supply chain. Almost 261 000 tonnes of unregulated post-consumer PVC waste were recycled in 2010, 70 500 t more than in 2009 and exceeding the industry's target. This was for an additional 200 000 t year^-1 of post-consumer PVC waste to be recycled by 2010 on top of waste covered by other regulatory regimes. Now that existing goals are either met or within reach, new targets will be launched in June.

At the time the scheme was started there was little infrastructure for recycling PVC in the EU, according to the industry. The sector has helped develop new recycling technologies and funded the collection of waste PVC. However, recycling rates are still relatively low compared with the eight million tonnes of PVC products made in Europe each year.

In the US, meanwhile, EPA is proposing to tighten standards that require PVC production facilities to reduce emissions of air toxics, such as dioxin and vinyl chloride. Facilities would be able to choose the most practical and cost-effective control technology or technique to reduce their emissions and would also need to monitor emissions at certain points in the production process. Some 17 facilities throughout the United States would be affected, mainly in Louisiana and Texas.

Vinyl 2010: http://www.vinyl2010.org; EPA: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t3fs.html

End of paper reporting

Chemical manufacturers in the US can no longer submit statutory notices and support documents on paper for EPA's review. Since the beginning of April industry is required to make electronic submissions for new chemical notices under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Under a rule of April 2010, companies must also phase out optical disc reporting by next year. They are now required to submit information using EPA's electronic PMN software via its Central Data Exchange (CDX) instead. “The Agency used an out-dated process that depended on paper filings for far too long”, said Steve Owens, Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

EPA: http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/newchems//epmn/epmn-index.htm

Public & occupational health

Congestion charge has little impact on air quality

The London Congestion Charging Scheme (CCS) – which charges for travel into central London and has reduced traffic volume – shows little evidence that it improved air quality, according to a new study funded by the Health Effects Institute (HEI).

Although the London CCS was designed to improve traffic and not necessarily air quality, early projections had suggested air quality benefits as well. A research team, led by Professor Frank Kelly of King's College London, found that no such benefits were apparent, however. In part this is because it is difficult to identify significant air quality improvements from a specific programme, especially one targeted at a small area within a large city, against the backdrop of broader regional pollutant and weather changes. Also, some behavioural adjustments among the population, e.g. increased diesel-powered taxi and bus trips to transport people into the zone, may have offset any benefits. Finally, other changes occurring at the same time (e.g. the introduction of more filter-equipped diesel buses in response to a separate rule) likely also affected air quality and obscured effects of the CCS.

“The Congestion Charging Scheme was one of the first to be implemented in a major city in Europe or the US – and did show measurable reductions in traffic volume – but air pollution does not know precise boundaries so any benefit of the CCS or air quality appears to have been lost in the larger regional pollution mix,” said Dan Greenbaum, HEI's President.

Kelly and his team used a multifaceted approach to explore the impact of the CCS on air quality: a variety of emissions and exposure modelling techniques, analysis of air monitoring data, and a newly-developed assay for the oxidative potential of particulate matter collected on filters at urban background and roadside monitors.

‘The Impact of the Congestion Charging Scheme on Air Quality in London’, HEI Research Report 155, http://www.healtheffects.org

MEPs back GM bans

Members of the European Parliament have waded into the increasingly acrimonious debate over genetically-modified (GM) crops, backing the right of national authorities to ban crops deemed safe by European food safety experts. Members of the Environment Committee said countries should be able to cite environmental grounds, such as pesticide resistance or invasiveness of crops, to enact national bans. The European Commission argues such justifications cannot be used after the EU has already found a GM variety to be environmentally safe.

Ministers and the Parliament believe that environmental justifications are less likely to contravene World Trade Organisation (WTO) and EU internal market rules than national bans based on moral, public order, or other grounds, as the Commission has recently suggested.¹⁶ The Committee also called on governments to take mandatory measures against GM contamination. Anyone responsible for contamination should pay damages, it says.

Meanwhile, a Commission report concludes that the quality of data on the socio-economic impacts of GM crops is generally poor and not objective. To improve data quality, the report calls for a robust set of socio-economic indicators and rules for data collection. The report was requested by environment ministers in 2008. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is due to publish the results of a consultation on the risk assessment of GM shortly.

European Parliament: http://www.europarl.europa.eu; European Commission: http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/reports_studies/docs/socio_economic_report_GMO_en.pdf

Research activities

Species facing a ‘bluer’ environment

Our environment is becoming “bluer”, a change that could have important implications for animals' risk of becoming extinct, ecologists have found. In a major study involving thousands of data points, researchers examined how quickly or slowly animal populations and their environment change over time, something ecologists describe using “spectral colour”.

Ecologists have investigated the link between fluctuations in the environment and those of animal populations for the past 30 years. They describe fluctuations as a colour spectrum, where red signifies an environment or population that fluctuates more slowly over time (such as ocean temperature) and blue signifies more rapid fluctuations (such as changes in air temperature). Existing models and theories suggest that the spectral colour of the environment should affect the spectral colour of animal populations. Now for the first time ecologists have assembled field data to confirm the theory.

Dr Daniel Reuman and colleagues of Imperial College London examined three large sets of data. They used the Global Population Dynamics Database, from which they extracted data on changes in population for 147 species of bird, mammal, insect, fish and crustacean over the past 30 years, and two sets of temperature data from the Climatic Research Unit and the Global Historical Climatology Network. The latter includes data collected from weather stations worldwide throughout the twentieth century.

The study not only confirmed that the colour of changes in the environment map onto the colour of changes in animal populations, but found that our environment is becoming “bluer”, in other words fluctuating more rapidly over time. According to Dr Reuman: “We showed using field data for the first time that the colour of changes in the environment maps onto the colour of changes in populations: redder environments mean redder populations, and bluer environments mean bluer populations. We also found that the colour of the environment is changing – becoming bluer – apparently due to climate change.”

The results are important because previous studies show that the spectral colour of a population affects its extinction risk. Some simple models tell us that bluer populations – those that fluctuate more rapidly over time – are at less risk of extinction. This is because adverse conditions are more likely to be followed by better conditions when the environment is fluctuating more rapidly. “Since it was previously known that the colour of changes in populations is related to extinction risk of the populations, our results show a way that climate change should impact the extinction risk of populations by affecting the colour of populations”, noted Dr Reuman.

While the study seems to provide some good news for species facing extinction, the researchers warn that this is offset by other pressures. “This apparent good news is tempered by the fact that habitat loss, overexploitation and other factors are likely more important drivers of extinction risk than the colour of temperature fluctuations,” Dr Reuman added.

‘An empirical link between the spectral colour of climate and the spectral colour of field populations in the context of climate change', DOI: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2011.01833.x/abstract;jsessionid=3178166F0F72EBE27C90ED7A70A3771C.d01t03, in Journal of Animal Ecology

EFSA rebuts bias allegations

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has refuted claims that it has a bias towards industry and that industry links have influenced its decisions.

The row surfaced in April when Earth Open Source (EOS), a campaigning group on sustainable food, claimed several EFSA staff had close ties to a US-based institute funded by multinational chemical and food companies. It found connections between several EFSA scientific panel members and the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), which conducts safety assessments on behalf of companies such as BASF, Bayer, DuPont, Kraft, Monsanto and Unilever.

EOS pointed to similarities between EFSA conclusions on how safety assessments should be conducted and ILSI recommendations, some of which were co-authored by experts who were or are on EFSA panels. The report says these recommendations are less stringent and more industry-friendly. It urged EFSA to strengthen its conflict of interest policy by excluding anyone with unpaid or paid roles in industry organisations.

EFSA said the claims indicated a “fundamental misunderstanding” of its operating and governance principles. In a letter to EOS, EFSA's executive director Catherine Geslain-Laneelle said the nature of EU research makes some links to industry inevitable. “It is as an inescapable fact that many scientific experts working in the public sector are involved to varying degrees in projects funded by, or involving, industry,” said Ms Geslain-Laneelle.

EFSA: http://www.efsa.europa.eu

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