Going Batty Makes Sense

If you care about our planet’s environment and your wallet, the sharp decrease in the worldwide bat population should be sounding warning bells.

Bats are mammals and their anatomy is closely related to human anatomy.

New instruments now enable scientists to study bats in the wild, as well as in captivity. They are able to keep track of their movements, feeding habits, reproductive patterns, and life spans.

Researchers have found more ways to locate these nocturnal creatures. As a result, we have learned much about bats and their vital contributions to the balance of nature and, yes, our economy.

In recent years, a devastating disease known as white-nose syndrome has claimed more than a million bats in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Even so, mankind remains the biggest threat to these shy creatures which, unfortunately, have been maligned by popular fictional accounts involving vampire bats.

Bat Types Galore

There are more than 925 different kinds of bats, and they are found all over the world except at the North and South poles.

Bats can survive in cold climates, damp climates, and dry climates, although the largest bat populations are found in temperate regions.

They live on every continent except the Antarctica, and on oceanic islands.

Since bats are mainly tropical animals, species are more prevalent around the equator. They are more diverse in South and Central America.

In those regions there are about twice as many species compared with Africa, Asia, and Australia, since they share similar climates.

About 25 percent of bats live in the tropics and make up about 50 percent of the mammalian species. In fact, on some islands they are the only mammalian species.

Worldwide, bats have the second highest number of species, after rodents. The order of animals includes mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits.

Dropping Numbers

Bat populations have declined dramatically since the 1950s. Many species of bats are endangered or threatened. More than a dozen species may already be extinct.

Around 40 to 50 percent of bats in the United States are considered endangered, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Six of the 45 species in the continental United States are on the federal list of endangered species. Three more species in the state of Hawaii and the continental United States also are endangered. Twenty other species are considered at risk.

Indiana bats (left habitat locator map) are one example of endangered species. Actually these bats live in several states. They were among the first bats to be placed on the Fish and Wildlife list of endangered species.

At one time, there were millions of these bats in North America. It is estimated that the population dropped to 800,000 in 1973. By 1998, the estimated population dropped to some 350,000.

The Biggest Threat

It’s probably no surprise that the main threat to bats is the growing human population. This increases environmental pollution as well as deforestation.

Man is using more trees than ever for building materials, industrial, and urban development.

Other human activities, such as pest control, cave exploration, and mining activities result in bat deaths every year.

Even wind turbines have proven fatal to many bats, though the reason for the attraction is uncertain.

Some people regard bats as carriers of disease, and they deliberately kill off large groups of bats. They can even be killed by predators when their habitats are destroyed.

Saving These Creatures

Most North American bat species feed on night-flying insect pests that impact forests, agriculture, and human health.

Globally, bats provide countless millions of dollars of ecosystem services, including insect/pest management, pollination, seed dispersal, and growing ecotourism appeal

Fearing agriculture and forestry impacts, governments, organizations, and individuals are working hard to save more bats from extinction.

Conservationists are finding ways to protect bats and their habitats.

The media also is actively engaged describing bats in more positive ways. Articles, books, and TV programs are appearing regularly.

Photographers also are trying to capture images in a more gentle and flattering fashion.

Through protective laws, public education, and rescue programs, environmentalists are making a difference. But many bat species are critically endangered.

As people try to save bats, it serves as a stark reminder of how fragile life is on this planet we all share.

There is an increased need to strike a balance between man and bat. Efforts toward our mutual survival begin with tolerance and appreciation of other forms of life.

TechMan

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ChinaWatch: Striking A Balance?

Welcome to ChinaWatch, WMB’s digest of news from the country with the world’s second largest economy and our chief rival to global dominance. Our aim is to keep you informed.


World’s Biggest Polluter

China wants local governments to be more responsible for environmental protection as the world’s fastest-growing major economy seeks to reduce pollution, says Zhang Lijun, vice minister for environmental protection.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has issued carbon dioxide emissions quotas to provincial governments for the five years through 2015 and will focus on preventing pollution from heavy metals, non bio-degradable waste and hazardous chemicals, according to Zhang.

“Grasping the balance between economic growth and environmental protection is the responsibility of all levels of government, especially local governments,” Zhang says.

China, the world’s biggest polluter, set a lower growth target for the period from 2011 through 2015 as compared with the previous five-year period to help reduce pollution, with Premier Wen Jiabao saying last month that the nation could no longer sacrifice the environment in return for economic expansion.

The nation failed to meet its energy conservation goal for the five years through 2010.

China’s economy surpassed Japan’s to become the world’s second largest last year as the nation posted annual growth of 10.3 percent and expansion at a 9.8 percent pace in the fourth quarter.

The Chinese economy passed Germany’s in 2007 and those of the U.K. and France in 2005. It also surpassed the United States during that period to become the world’s biggest energy consumer and its biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.

The Chinese government has set a target for slashing energy use per unit of gross domestic product by as much as 17 percent in the five years ending 2015.

China missed a target to cut consumption by 20 percent between 2006 and 2010, even after shutting at least 7,000 factories and banning discounts on electricity to high-consumption businesses.

Going Nowhere Fast

By 2020, China will be blanketed by high-speed rail. The Asian giant is investing $1 trillion to create 16,000 miles of high-speed rail track – roughly a third of the total length of the U.S. interstate highway system.

Trains will zip along at 200+ mph, opening inter-city opportunities for businessmen and engineers. Such opportunities have been available only to the wealthy elite who own private jets.

Much of the United States, meanwhile, is stuck in the slow lane, something that may have a dire impact on the nation's competitiveness.

In response to a slow recovery and growing conservative movement, many states have abandoned plans to deploy high-speed rail, despite President Obama promising as much as $53 billion in matching federal grants for state rail projects over the next six years.

Some states, including recession-clobbered Michigan, have effectively rejected projects by simply falling silent. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has simply stopped talking about the state's former project and has refused calls or discussions on the topic.

Other states, including Florida, are taking a more active stance. Florida Gov. Rick Scott, also a Republican, killed the Sunshine State’s high-speed rail project. The proposed line would have connected Tampa to Orlando, two of Florida's top metropolitan areas.

Scott cites a 2009 study, claiming the line's first operation year in 2015 would see a deficit with just 2.4 million riders, as a factor in his decision. He also cites advice from the libertarian Reason Foundation and the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

ChinaWatch

ChinaWatch: 'Rotten' Apple Worries

Welcome to ChinaWatch, WMB’s digest of news from the country with the world’s second largest economy. Click the links for more info.

No Rotten Apple?

Apple restated its pledge to provide safe working conditions for workers assembling of its products after environmental groups in China released a report criticizing the tech company for failing to be transparent about its suppliers.

“Apple is committed to ensuring the highest standards of social responsibility throughout our supply base,’’ says Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu in a statement.

The company requires all suppliers to sign Apple's code of conduct before the contracts are made. Compliance is then monitored through factory audits and measures to correct violations.

However, Apple would not directly comment on the report, which had the backing of 36 environmental groups from China.

Titled “The Other Side of Apple,” the report faulted the tech giant for failing to respond to inquiries related to the working and environmental conditions at its suppliers, while also refusing to disclose who the company's suppliers are.

The 26-page document pointed to suppliers reportedly connected to Apple that had violated environmental regulations or poisoned workers because of working conditions.

“Apple is so famous for their products. They are fashionable and user-friendly. But the company also should take care of the ones are who making these products,’’ says Wang Jing Jing, vice director of the Institute of Environmental and Public Affairs, one the groups behind the report.

Apple says it is actively working to improve working conditions at its suppliers' facilities, and has even made progress reports available online.

Closer Ties Urged

Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar, whose stock is a key piece in many American retirement funds, is urging a stronger trade relationship between the United States and China on the heels of the Chinese president's visit to the States.

The Peoria, Ill., company, the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, says it’s inked a memorandum of understanding as part of the U.S.-China Trade and Economic Forum that it hopes will support greater American exports from Caterpillar in the future.

China is already one of the largest export markets for Caterpillar products, with more than $2 billion in products delivered there in the last five years. Caterpillar has more than 7,700 employees across China.

“We realize there are important and substantive issues that exist between the United States and China, from currency valuations to the protection of intellectual property, and that these need to be resolved with a sense of urgency,’’ says Rich Lavin, Caterpillar group president with responsibility for growth markets, including China.

“But we also know the way we resolve disagreements is important,’’ Lavin says. “Caterpillar will continue to urge policymakers in both the United States and China to resolve differences in an atmosphere of mutual respect — not by threatening a trade war. We continue to believe that quiet diplomacy and multilateral forums offer a preferred path for resolving differences.’’

Caterpillar's statement comes after Chinese President Hu Jintao's high-profile state visit to the United States. The visit resulted in job-creating business deals worth billions of dollars to U.S. companies.

The business deals were among the highlights of a trip seen as key to building trust between the world's top two powers. The two sides played down differences and stressed areas of cooperation, though Hu faced a critical audience when he met with American lawmakers.

A Green Planet Takes Work

You want to go green and buy environment-safe products, but the labeling and packaging does nothing except confuse and mislead you? Help may be on the way for marketers and consumers who want to make and save money, respectively, while helping the planet.

The Federal Trade Commission has proposed revisions to the “Green Guides” that it gives marketers to help them avoid making misleading environmental claims. The changes are intended to update the guides and make them easier for companies to understand and use.

The proposals include new directions on marketers’ use of product certifications and seals of approval, “renewable energy” claims, “renewable materials” claims, and “carbon offset” claims. The FTC is seeking public comment on the changes until Dec. 10, and then the agency will decide which proposals to make final.

“In recent years, businesses have increasingly used ‘green’ marketing to capture consumers’ attention and move Americans toward a more environmentally friendly future. But what companies think green claims mean and what consumers really understand are sometimes two different things,” says FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “The proposed updates to the Green Guides will help businesses better align their product claims with consumer expectations.”

Leibowitz hits on some valid points, especially when he makes a distinction between the wording of claims on a product and how the public interprets the meaning. As a former journalist in search of facts, not fiction, I can appreciate the FTC’s efforts toward eliminating confusion by consumers and deceptive advertising by marketers.

The Green Guides were first issued in 1992, and revised in 1996 and 1998, to help marketers ensure the claims they make are true and substantiated. The guidance includes: 1) general principles that apply to all environmental marketing claims; 2) how consumers are likely to interpret particular claims and how marketers can substantiate these claims; and 3) how marketers can qualify their claims to avoid deceiving consumers.

Proposed Revisions To The Guides

The revised guides caution marketers not to make blanket, general claims that a product is “environmentally friendly” or “eco-friendly” because the FTC’s consumer perception study confirms such claims are likely to suggest the product has specific and far-reaching environmental benefits. Very few products, if any, have all the attributes consumers seem to perceive from such claims, making these claims nearly impossible to verify.

The proposed guides also caution marketers not to use unqualified certifications or seals of approval – those that do not specify the basis for the certification. The guides more prominently state that unqualified product certifications and seals of approval likely constitute general environmental benefit claims, and they advise marketers that the qualifications they apply to certifications or seals should be clear, prominent, and specific.

Next, the proposed revised guides advise marketers how consumers are likely to understand certain environmental claims, including that a product is degradable, compostable, or “free of” a particular substance. For example, if a marketer claims that a product that is thrown in the trash is “degradable,” it should decompose in a “reasonably short period of time” – no more than one year.

Christopher Cole, an advertising-law specialist and partner with the law firm Manatt Phelps & Phillips in Washington, says the guides could render most of the more than 300 environmental seals of approval now on packaging and products largely useless and possibly in violation of FTC standards.

Cole says they could also influence efforts, seemingly stalled, by retailers such as Walmart to institute a sustainability-rating system for products, according to Ad Age.

“The headline issue is going to be no more unqualified green claims,” Ad Age quotes Cole. “…You’re not going to be able to say ‘eco-friendly’ without saying … ‘based on the ability to recycle it.’ …That’s going to change practices a lot.”

Your Comments Can Change Things

The FTC is seeking public comment on all aspects of its proposal. Examples include:

•How should marketers qualify “made with renewable materials” claims, if at all, to avoid deception?

•Should the FTC provide guidance concerning how long consumers think it will take a liquid substance to completely degrade?

•How do consumers understand “carbon offset” and “carbon neutral” claims? Is there any evidence of consumer confusion concerning the use of these claims?

WMB believes talk is cheap and results are what really count. The FTC is trying to strike a balance that allows for fair marketing of products and consumer awareness of the products they choose to use. Knowledge is power, and competition can handle the rest of the equation.

If you care about saving the planet, this public comment period by the agency represents an excellent way to help government help us. Sure, it’s easy to whine about how “things never change,” but WMB believes reform begins with all our active involvement.

If you took the time to read this post (and WMB's earlier one on "Going Green" requiring trust), why not spend a few minutes more and check out the FTC’s website links? These Green Guides are key steps in the right direction, your tax dollars truly at work in the form of a government agency doing its job.

As for me, I practice what I preach at writenowworks.com. If you like this post, please share it with family, friends and colleagues!