Good job! And high-time! I couldn't have said it as well, much less better.
While the dispassionate tone is properly neutral (and scientifically
disciplined) by sticking to facts and avoiding "politics," 'We, The People'
may need stronger stuff to get the point, the bottom-line. This is the
proper role of science-writers and reporters, and others who can interpret
it for 'US.'
This paragraph does not hide anything, but neither does it
interpret--"feedstock" for writers and reporters:
"Demand for biofuels drives conversion of prime agricultural land, expansion
into marginal agricultural lands and reopening of reserves. To meet current
US energy demand through biofuels alone would require conversion of 41% of
US land to corn, 56% to switchgrass, or 66% to rapeseed, but potentially
only 3-13% to algae. Drought tolerance, fast growth and pest resistance,
traits that make plants fine candidates for biofuel feedstocks, also make
them fine candidates for becoming invasive."
For example, reporters could write about "conversion" of prime agricultural
land, telling in simple language what that really means, and noting that
agricultural land itself was the result of "conversion" (loss) of complex
ecosystems to monocultures. "We" may not yet be ready for the more complex
and deeper implications of this (taking our food away might not set well
with "US" emotionally and in a practical sense).
"They" could write about what the percentages actually mean--for example,
that those figures are based on total land area, not necessarily the
percentage of the land actually available and suitable for "production," and
the associated effects such as the energy required to bring those
"feedstocks" to the point of useful work and the effects on land and
ecosystems. They could write about how the science, if it were done, would
conclude that these figures really mean that "you just can't get there from
here," as the old "Downeaster" joke goes.
"Drought-tolerance" appears to be widely misunderstood, even to some
ecologists. So this gap needs to be addressed within the discipline, and the
truth about drought-tolerance translated for "US." The ratio of biomass to
water uptake, for example, not to mention (as it were) additional soil water
losses induced by cultivation and/or harvesting--especially when compared to
the ecosystem that was replaced or even modified in the process.
I could go on and on, and I hope y'all will too.
WT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Liza Lester" <lles...@esa.org>
To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 12:19 PM
Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Chesapeake oysters, big river conservation, biofuels:
April highlights from Ecological Society of America journals
This month in ecology: oysters, big rivers, biofuels
April highlights from Ecological Society of America journals
For the full news release, see:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/esoa-tmi041613.php
*Ecological dimensions of biofuels: a report on the state of the science.
Are biofuels a renewable, environmentally friendly energy source? The
Ecological Society of America reviews bioethanol and biodiesel in
conventional production as well as feedstocks still in development.
Ecological Dimensions of Biofuels. Cifford S. Duke, Richard Pouyat, Philip
Robertson, and William J. Parton. Issues in Ecology No. 17, Spring 2013.
*Looking to tributaries for conservation gains: a case study in large river
fish of the Mississippi Basin.
On big rivers like the Mississippi, the infrastructure of modern
civilization - dams, locks, dikes, power plants, cities - has made life
easier for people, but harder for fish and other denizens of the river.
Enhancing conservation of large-river biodiversity by accounting for
tributaries (2013) Brenda M Pracheil, Peter B McIntyre, and John D Lyons.
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 11(3): 124-128
*Oyster reefs buffer acidic inputs to Chesapeake Bay.
When European settlers arrived on Chesapeake Bay, it was encrusted with a
treasure trove of oysters and other bivalves. The living oyster reef and its
stockpile of empty shells was voluminous enough to influence the water
chemistry of the bay, says marine ecologist George Waldbusser and
colleagues.
Ecosystem effects of shell aggregations and cycling in coastal waters: An
example of Chesapeake Bay oyster reefs. (2013) George G. Waldbusser, Eric N.
Powell, and Roger Mann. Ecology 94(4): 895-903.
__________________________
__________________________
Liza Lester
Communications Officer
Ecological Society of America
1990 M Street, NW
Suite 700
Washington DC 20036
202.833.8773 ext. 211
lles...@esa.org
http://www.esa.org/esablog/
@esa_org
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