Informal Northern Thai Group Bulletin 18 February 2018
1. LAST MEETING (429th): Tuesday, 06 February, 2018: “The Great Insect Die-Off: Facing the Challenge”. A Talk by Peter Davey. 2. NEXT MEETING (430th): Tuesday, 20 February, 2018, 7:30 pm at the Alliance Française, Chiang Mai: “Chiang Mai Burning Season: What new data can (and can’t) tell us about the problem”. A Talk by Craig Houston. 3. MARCH MEETING (431st): Tuesday, 13 March, 2018, 7:30 pm at the Alliance Française, Chiang Mai: “Urban Trees, Green Spaces, and Human Health: The Empirical Evidence ”. A Talk by Pongsakorn Suppakittpaisarn. 4. MAILING PROBLEMS. 5. LIST OF FUTURE MEETINGS. 6. INTG CONTACTS: CONVENOR - SECRETARY - WEBSITE.
1. LAST MEETING (429th): Tuesday, 6 February, 2018 “The Great Insect Die-Off: Facing the Challenge” A Talk by Peter Davey
1.1. PRESENT: Jean Amabile, Martine Augait, Dianne Barber-Riley, Mark Barber-Riley, Mike Barraclough, Klaus Betenhausen, Chada Romcai, Andy Corwin, Polly Czantor, Peter Gamble Beresford, Louis Gabaude, Terence Harkin, Peter Hoare, Alan Hincks, Reinhard Hohler, Craig Houston, Gerry Ivanochko, Martin Jelenc, Paul King, Nolwenn Lacoume, Bill Lanz, Caroline Marsh, George McBride, Marie McBride, John Melton, Patrick Morel, Pilaiporn Nunma, James Pratt, Stephen Rogers, Suriya Smutkupt, Peter Sutcliffe, Mike Taylor, Rebecca Weldon. Signed: 31; Counted: 46.
1.2. THE TALK: “The Great Insect Die-Off: Facing the Challenge”
A. A Global Perspective
B. A European Perspective
C. A Lepidoptera Research Initiative in Slovenia
A. A Global Perspective
A.1. Mass Extinction Events On Planet Earth
Historically, mass extinctions have involved monumental loss of life where between 50% and 96% of all plant and animal species disappear over short geological time periods across the planet: • Ordovician–Silurian extinction event ... 439 million years ago where low carbon dioxide levels due to too many plants caused global cooling and falling sea levels (86% lost) • Late Devonian extinction event ... 364 million years ago where algal blooms in nutrient-rich oceans due to deep-rooted plants, depleted oxygen levels (75% lost) • Permian–Triassic extinction event ... 251 million years ago where high carbon dioxide levels from volcanic activity caused global warming (96% lost) • Triassic–Jurassic extinction event ... 200 million years ago where high carbon dioxide levels from flood basalt activity caused global warming (50% lost) • Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event ... 65 million years ago where high carbon dioxide levels from volcanic activity and asteroid impact caused global warming (76% lost including the dinosaurs)
A.2. Sixth Mass Extinction, this time in the Holocene?
Human activity is triggering species extinction up to 100 times faster than without humans. The primary causes? Green-house gas emissions and loss of natural habitat ... specifically:
• Carbon dioxide (CO2): combustion of fossil fuels in cars and factories, plus production of electricity • Methane: emitted by landfill and livestock digestive systems. Methane molecule is 20 times more warming
than a CO2 molecule
• Nitrous oxide: released from fertilisers. Nitrous Oxide molecule is 300 times more warming than a CO2 molecule • Chlorofluorocarbons: via refrigeration and industrial processes. Chlorofluorocarbon molecule is 1000 times
more warming than a CO2 molecul
• Since 1990, annual emissions have added about 6 billion metric tons of “CO2 equivalent" worldwide: a 20% increase in existing levels
• Loss of natural habitat, especially forest that would otherwise store CO2 - for example, a 40% reduction in Brazil’s rainforests by 2030 is predicted
A.3. The Warming Trend in the Northern Hemisphere
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A.4. Impacts of Human Activity on Nature
A climate change rate 200,000 times more rapid than historic levels increases vulnerability in native species from: niche microhabitat loss, food chain disruption, out-competing hardier newcomers, pole-ward dispersal. • Increasing levels of pest outbreaks and disease pathogens, some exotic and moving northward, afflict crops, forest and natural habitats • Species-rich habitats fragment, deteriorate and disappear due to farmers and foresters transforming existing landscapes • Increasing levels of toxins released into the environment by farmers who attempt to protect their livelihood against new threats
Example: A 90% decline in numbers of the emblematic Monarch butterfly since 1995 due to herbicide use (Roundup) decimating milkweed plants in the USA, and illegal logging activities removing winter roost sites in Mexico.
B. A European Perspective
B.1. The Desertification of Europe
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Changes in summer rainfall and summer temperatures over time. Madrid lies 500 kilometers south of Toulouse. 50 years ago Toulouse had a temperate oceanic climate. It is now tending towards a warm, arid, Mediterranean climate.
B.2. Impact of Human Activity on Lepidoptera
Definition: Lepidoptera comprises butterflies and moths. Lepidoptera species have two pairs of wings covered with fragile scales plus mouthparts specialised as a suctorial proboscis. They also have four developmental stages: egg, larva, pupa, adult.
• Declines in Lepidoptera populations have occurred in parallel with a 76% decline in airborne insect biomass between 1989 and 2016
• A car journey undertaken on a warm summer day in Europe would once have resulted in insect-splattered windscreens, but in recent years this phenomenon has all but vanished.
• 10% of European Lepidoptera species risk extinction at the present time due to habitat loss; 10% is roughly 2000 species
• 50% of Europe’s grassland butterfly species have declined in abundance between 1990 and 2011
B.3. Northward Movement in a Lepidoptera Species
10000
1000
numbers 100
10 H. armigera H.
1 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Year
A case study of a sub-tropical moth species that prior to 1970 was rarely observed in the UK, shows a ten-fold increase every 13 years, on average, between 1970 and 2008 in numbers of Scarce Bordered Straw or Old World Bollworm moth (Helicoverpa armigera); its changing distribution is aligned with isotherms moving 15km north each year. This species is a polyphagous pest of agricultural crops, causing, for example, a 225 million dollar loss to agriculture in Australia in 2013.
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C. A Lepidoptera Research Initiative in Slovenia
C.1. Life Cycle of Research Project
Define Project Aims: To locate endangered Lepidoptera species occurring in Park Goričko and to highlight their existence to stakeholders.
Preparation: Locate a range of sites that contain species-rich natural habitat. Select those where one or more of twelve key habitats exist. Quantify the range of vegetation types that occur at each site.
Field Work: Visit each site five times every season to record as many species as possible. For the moths, select the warmest nights to anticipate high insect activity.
Identification: Become proficient at identifying up to 2000 moth and butterfly species that one may encounter. Retain/dissect doubtful species.
Communication: Produce a report annually, detailing all species observed, and highlight all endangered species plus the plant species and habitat types each needs to survive.
C.2. The Fragility of Park Goričko in north-eastern Slovenia
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• The Park authority owns less than 100 hectares within the 46,200 hectares (462 square kilometers) that comprise Goričko
• The Park authority is not empowered to prevent the destruction of species-rich habitats within its boundaries
• The loss-of-diversity rate in the Park has accelerated due to aggressive farming and forestry practices post- Maastricht Treaty signed 25 years ago
• Non-native plant species such as Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and Golden-rod (Solidago canadensis), invade and swamp species-rich habitat
• 10% of the total area of species-rich sites is sufficiently diverse to warrant protection at the EU level ... so upwards of 90% of such sites is NOT
• It proved difficult to locate species-rich habitat to do meaningful research; Park Goričko has thus lost much of its natural heritage
• The Park authority is allocated 405,000 euros of EU money per annum to cover all Park management, or, 9 euros per hectare, before salaries.
C.3. Location of 10 Research Sites and their Key Habitat Type(s): broad classification
Location of 10 Research Sites and their Key Habitat Type(s) (Broad Classifications)
1 Ropoca Wetland, Fen 7 3 6 2 Sotina Valley Wetland, River Valley 10 2 9 3 Budinci Unimproved Damp Grassland AND Orchard and Vineyard 8 1 4 Panovci Unimproved Dry Grassland 5 4 5 Peskovci Disturbed Ground &Wayside
6 Dolenci Forest Edge and Scrub
Park Gori?ko
10 kilometers 7 Cepinci Deciduous Woodland AND Ericaceous, Acidic Soils 8 Domanjševci Coniferous Woodland
9 Salovci Understory and Forest Floor
10 Sotinski Breg Rocky, Alkaline, Xerothermic Ground
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C.4. Individual Vegetation Types Occurring in Park Goričko: fine classifications
C.5. Two of twelve habitats researched: wetland at Rapoca and dry unimproved grassland at Panovci
C.5.1. Rapoca
Deltote uncula 22mm Simyra albovenosa 36mm SteganiaStegania dilectaria 22mm
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C.5.2. Panovci
36mm60mm Maculinea arion 37mm Nemophora metallica 17mm Hyles euphorbiae 52mm
C.6. Extent of Endangered Habitat at Each Site
Site 1: Ropoča ... 36% Site 2: Sotina Valley ... 9% Site 3: Budinci ... 13% Site 4: Panovci ... 8% Site 5: Peskovci ... 9% Site 6: Dolenci ... 6% Site 7: Cepinci ... 2% Site 8: Domanjševci ... 1% Site 9: Salovci ... 7% Site 10: Sotinski Breg ... 6%
An average of around 10% endangered habitat per site, implying up to a maximum of 90% lost, mostly to farming and forestry practices.
C.7. Research Project Results To Date
• 150 visits made to all 10 research sites between 2014 and 2017 • Over 20,500 Lepidoptera records accumulated over the 4 years • A total of 109,000 individual butterflies and moths logged • 1354 Lepidoptera species observed which is roughly one-third of the total number of species found in Slovenia • 561 Lepidoptera species flagged to Park Goričko that merit protection due to loss of habitat and by implication, loss of host foodplants • 238 individual host foodplant species identified and recorded that are used by the caterpillars of the observed Lepidoptera species.
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Conclusion: What Can Be Done To Avoid Extinction?
We knew that the earth was flat; we knew that the earth lay at the centre of the universe; we knew that a heavier-than-air piece of machinery could not take flight; we know global warming is just a natural phase; we know we cannot engineer negative entropy as it violates the second law of thermodynamics
We have the ability to halt the destruction of life on this planet by doing away with conventional energy sources. Unfortunately the unholy alliance between corporate energy cartels, an intransigent scientific community and a voodoo-science-averse patent office, prevents making available to the world:
– free energy ... from a vacuum (zero point energy)
– free energy ... from cold fusion (fire from water)
It will take a paradigm shift to halt the suppression that has blocked scientific research into alternative energy sources over the past 30 years
In the absence of any government ordering scientists to do the necessary research in the manner of The Manhatten Project, the only alternative is to keep communicating the problem and keep on communicating solutions.
2. NEXT MEETING (430th) Tuesday, 20 February, 2018, 7:30 pm at the Alliance Française, Chiang Mai “Chiang Mai Burning Season: What new data can (and can’t) tell us about the problem” A Talk by Craig Houston
The Talk: Each year the citizens of Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution during the annual burning season. The arrival of the smoke sparks an annual debate about whether the problem is getting better or worse, when is the best time to leave the city, which parts of the city experience the worst of the burning, and what can be done to protect your health. This talk will answer all of these questions and share the exciting advances in low cost sensor technology that are enabling us to build a much more detailed picture of the problem. We will include a live demonstration of the air pollution sensor we are using to create a citizens’ air monitoring network in Northern Thailand.
The Speaker: Craig Houston holds a Masters Degree in Aeronautical Engineering and spent the last decade working on renewable energy projects in the UK, Spain, Mexico, and China. He now lives in Chiang Mai and focuses his time on building data visualizations and web applications in the fields of renewable energy, cities, and the environment. Craig was recently awarded the Secretary of State's Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad for his work on air pollution. He got his first taste of air pollution living in Beijing, and, after the arrival of his son in Chiang Mai, decided to work on understanding the air pollution problem in Northern Thailand.
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3. MARCH MEETING (431st) Tuesday, 13 March, 2018, 7:30 pm at the Alliance Française, Chiang Mai “Urban Trees, Green Spaces, and Human Health: The Empirical Evidence” A Talk by Pongsakorn Suppakittpaisarn
The Talk: Urban trees are not just beautiful decorations for a city. They can make you healthier and happier. In this talk, the speaker presents the theories and scientific evidence that links trees and parks with human health and well-being. He will also discuss how one can use the existing trees and parks to improve every day's life experiences based on what the public health scientists, environmental psychologists, and neuroscientists have discovered.
The Speaker: Pongsakorn Suppakittpaisarn is a lecturer in landscape design and environmental management in Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University. He is interested in landscape optimization: how we can use the limited urban spaces to create food, jobs, human wellbeing, and ecological benefits. His previous works focuses on landscapes that manage rainwater and how they impact people's wellbeing and perception of a city.
4. MAILING PROBLEMS
1. All mail addresses including "@loxinfo.co.th" or "@cmu.ac.th" are now being systematically refused by those servers for security reasons, at least for cmu. Consequently, I have phased them out of the INTG mailing list. If anyone knows how to cope with this problem, I am open.
2. Here is the list of all the addresses which do not work and have been suppressed from the list. If anyone knows any valid address please sent it to
[email protected]
5. LIST OF FUTURE INTG MEETINGS
Tuesday, 20 February, 2018, 7:30 pm at the Alliance Française, Chiang Mai: “Chiang Mai Burning Season: What new data can (and can’t) tell us about the problem”. A Talk by Craig Houston.
Tuesday, 13 March, 2018, 7:30 pm at the Alliance Française, Chiang Mai: “ Urban Trees, Green Spaces, and Human Health: The Empirical Evidence”. A Talk by Pongsakorn Suppakittpaisarn.
6. INTG CONTACTS: Convenor - Secretary - Website
1) Convenor: Rebecca Weldon: e-mail:
Five out the 28 Buddhas, Wat Ban Pang, T. Siwichai, A. Li, P. Lamphun, Thailand Sketch from: Phonsin Rattanachudet, Phap Lai Sen Phutthasin Lan Na, Chiang Mai, 2554
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Informal Northern Thai Group (INTG) 1984-2018 = 34th years of Talks! ______
CHIANG MAI BURNING SEASON DATA & PROBLEM
A Talk by Craig Houston Tuesday, 20 February 2018, 7:30 pm At The Alliance Française - Chiang Mai
138, Charoen Prathet Road (Opposite EFEO)
Informal Northern Thai Group (INTG) 1984-2018 = 34th years of Talks! ______
URBAN TREES, GREEN SPACES, AND HUMAN HEALTH
A Talk by Pongsakorn Suppakittpaisarn
Tuesday, 13 March 2018, 7:30 pm At The Alliance Française - Chiang Mai