Viability of Carbon Offset Generating Projects in Boreal Ontario

Carbon offsets generated under the Kyoto Protocol should be included in the management options that resource managers are considering. This paper investigates investments in afforestation for the generation of KP compliant carbon offsets in the Timmins Management Unit, concentrating on the availability of quality carbon budget models, domestic carbon market concerns and the presence of an enabling environment. A modelling exercise is undertaken using GORCAM-WC1, with ownership, leading species, investment horizon, site productivity and carbon price as variables. Under current institutional frameworks, afforestation projects with the purpose of generating carbon offsets in the TMU are not viable investments for the first commitment period, though such projects will be profitable under certain conditions if constraints are removed and investment is long term.Afforestation, Kyoto Protocol, Boreal Ontario, Carbon Sequestration

Carbon Sequestration in Forest Ecosystems as a Strategy for Mitigating Climate Change

Under Kyoto, forestry activities that sequester carbon can be used to create CO2 offset credits that could obviate the need for lifestyle-changing reductions in fossil fuel use. Credits are earned by storing carbon in forest ecosystems and wood products, although CO2 emissions are also mitigated by delaying deforestation, which accounts for one-quarter of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Non-permanent carbon offsets from forest activities are difficult to compare with each other and with mitigation strategies because they differ in how long they prevent CO2 from entering the atmosphere. In this paper, we investigate issues of carbon sequestration in detail, but in particular we expand in comprehensive fashion on earlier work comparing carbon mitigation activities according to how long they can lower atmospheric CO2 levels. The duration problem is modeled theoretically. Meta-regression analysis with 1047 observations from 68 studies is then used to determine whether the duration problem leads to inconclusive results between carbon-uptake costs and carbon sequestration. In addition, from the regression analysis, it is possible to estimate potential costs of carbon uptake via forestry activities for various scenarios. It turns out that forestry activities are competitive with emissions reduction in tropical regions and, perhaps, in boreal regions, but certainly not in Europe.climate change, carbon offset credits from forestry activities, meta-regression analysis, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q54, R15, Q23, Q27,

Costs of Creating Carbon Offset Credits via Forestry Activities: A Meta-Regression Analysis

The main focus of efforts to mitigate climate change is on the avoidance of fossil fuel emissions. However, the Kyoto rules permit the use of forestry activities that create carbon offset credits. These could obviate the need for lifestyle-changing reductions in fossil fuel use. It is necessary for policy purposes, therefore, to determine the cost effectiveness of creating forest sink carbon credits. In this study, meta-regression analyses with 1047 observations from 68 studies are used to determine factors that affect carbon sequestration costs. Results indicate that soil carbon is not very important, but that forest plantations and use of biomass for energy make forestry activities more attractive. It also turns out that forestry activities are competitive with emissions reduction in tropical regions and, perhaps, boreal regions, but certainly not in Europe. Finally, the regression estimates are used to project the potential costs of carbon uptake for various forest management scenarios.climate mitigation, forest carbon offset credits, meta-regression analysis

Resolving Canada-U.S. Trade Disputes in Agriculture and Forestry: Lessons from Lumber

Prominent trade disputes between Canada and the U.S. involve agriculture and forestry, with lack of transparency caused by Canadian non-market institutions a source of U.S. objections. Though there has been a recent flurry of activity in the binational dispute resolution panel on Canadian exports of wheat, one of every six panels since 1989 has involved softwood lumber. We examine lessons from the lumber dispute to shed light on U.S. objections to the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB). We argue that U.S. lumber lobbyists will continue to use perceived Canadian institutional obscurity to keep pressure on policymakers, while the CWB system enables similar agricultural interests in to agitate for trade sanctions. Traditional strategies such as dispute resolution boards, appeals to the WTO, and bilateral policy reform can only buy Canada time – new strategies are needed if Canada is to maintain sovereignty over its trade institutions.

Non-invasive genetic monitoring involving citizen science enables reconstruction of current pack dynamics in a re-establishing wolf population

Background: Carnivores are re-establishing in many human-populated areas, where their presence is often contentious. Reaching consensus on management decisions is often hampered by a dispute over the size of the local carnivore population. Understanding the reproductive dynamics and individual movements of the carnivores can provide support for management decisions, but individual-level information can be difficult to obtain from elusive, wideranging species. Non-invasive genetic sampling can yield such information, but makes subsequent reconstruction of population history challenging due to incomplete population coverage and error-prone data. Here, we combine a collaborative, volunteer-based sampling scheme with Bayesian pedigree reconstruction to describe the pack dynamics of an establishing grey wolf (Canis lupus) population in south-west Finland, where wolf breeding was recorded in 2006 for the first time in over a century. Results: Using DNA extracted mainly from faeces collected since 2008, we identified 81 individual wolves and assigned credible full parentages to 70 of these and partial parentages to a further 9, revealing 7 breeding pairs. Individuals used a range of strategies to obtain breeding opportunities, including dispersal to established or new packs, long-distance migration and inheriting breeding roles. Gene flow occurred between all packs but inbreeding events were rare. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that characterizing ongoing pack dynamics can provide detailed, locally-relevant insight into the ecology of contentious species such as the wolf. Involving various stakeholders in data collection makes these results more likely to be accepted as unbiased and hence reliable grounds for management decisions.Peer reviewe

The nature and strength of the relationship between expenditure on alcohol and food: an analysis of adult-only households in the UK

Introduction and Aims. Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours can cluster to produce more detrimental overall health consequences than expected with a simple additive effect. This study aims to expand current knowledge of the nature and strength of the relationship between two such health behaviours, alcohol and diet, through analysis of household expenditure on food and drink from a nationally representative UK sample. Design and Methods. Data from the Expenditure and Food Survey for 2005–2006 was used to analyse expenditure on alcohol and diet for 3146 UK households. The classification of a food as healthy or unhealthy was determined using dietary advice provided by the Food Standards Agency. Alcohol expenditure was disaggregated into spending in pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants (on-trade expenditure) and spending in off-licenses and supermarkets (off-trade expenditure). Analyses were stratified according to household disposable income quintile and household beverage preference. Results. As household expenditure on alcohol increases, spending on both healthy and unhealthy food decreases. Higher income households spend proportionately more on on-trade alcohol and healthy food than lower income households, and less on unhealthy food. Off-trade alcohol expenditure does not differ significantly according to household income. Households that prefer to purchase wine have healthier expenditure patterns than those that prefer to buy beer or spirits, even after controlling for income. Discussion and Conclusions. Low-income households and those that purchase more beer or spirits than wine could be targeted for health promotion interventions to reduce their risk of negative health outcomes from the clustering of alcohol consumption and unhealthy diet

Associations between daily sitting time and the combinations of lifestyle risk factors in men

Background: Understanding the reciprocal role that multiple problematic behaviours play in men's health is important for intervention delivery and for reducing the healthcare burden. Data regarding the concurrence of problematic health behaviours is currently limited but offers insights into risk profiles, and should now include total time spent sitting/day. Methods: Self-reported data on lifestyle health behaviours was collected from 232 men aged ≥18 years who engaged in a men's health promotion programme delivered by 16 English Premier League Clubs. Results: Men at risk due to high sitting display multiple concurrent lifestyle risk factors, 88.6% displayed at least two ancillary risk factors and were three times more likely to report ≥2 lifestyle risk factors (OR. =3.13, 95% confidence interval (CI). =1.52-6.42) than those with low sitting risk. Significant differences in the mean number of risk factors reported between those participants in the higher risk (2.43. ±. 0.90) and lower risk (2.13. ±. 0.96) sitting categories were also found (P=0.015). Conclusions: Hard-to-reach men displayed multiple problematic concurrent behaviours, strongly linked to total sitting time. © 2012 WPMH GmbH

Associations between fruit and vegetable intake, leisure-time physical activity, sitting time and self-rated health among older adults : cross-sectional data from the WELL study

BackgroundLifestyle behaviours, such as healthy diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour, are key elements of healthy ageing and important modifiable risk factors in the prevention of chronic diseases. Little is known about the relationship between these behaviours in older adults. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake, leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and sitting time (ST), and their association with self-rated health in older adults.MethodsThis cross-sectional study comprised 3,644 older adults (48% men) aged 55-65 years, who participated in the Wellbeing, Eating and Exercise for a Long Life ("WELL") study. Respondents completed a postal survey about their health and their eating and physical activity behaviours in 2010 (38% response rate). Spearman\u27s coefficient (rho) was used to evaluate the relationship between F&V intake, LTPA and ST. Their individual and shared associations with self-rated health were examined using ordinal logistic regression models, stratified by sex and adjusted for confounders (BMI, smoking, long-term illness and socio-demographic characteristics).ResultsThe correlations between F&V intake, LTPA and ST were low. F&V intake and LTPA were positively associated with self-rated health. Each additional serving of F&V or MET-hour of LTPA were associated with approximately 10% higher likelihood of reporting health as good or better among women and men. The association between ST and self-rated health was not significant in the multivariate analysis. A significant interaction was found (ST*F&V intake). The effect of F&V intake on self-rated health increased with increasing ST in women, whereas the effect decreased with increasing ST in men.ConclusionThis study contributes to the scarce literature related to lifestyle behaviours and their association with health indicators among older adults. The findings suggest that a modest increase in F&V intake, or LTPA could have a marked effect on the health of older adults. Further research is needed to fully understand the correlates and determinants of lifestyle behaviours, particularly sitting time, in this age group

Major population splits coincide with episodes of rapid climate change in a forest-dependent bird

Climate change influences population demography by altering patterns of gene flow and reproductive isolation. Direct mutation rates offer the possibility for accurate dating on the within-species level but are currently only available for a handful of vertebrate species. Here, we use the first directly estimated mutation rate in birds to study the evolutionary history of pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca). Using a combination of demographic inference and species distribution modelling, we show that all major population splits in this forest-dependent system occurred during periods of increased climate instability and rapid global temperature change. We show that the divergent Spanish subspecies originated during the Eemian-Weichselian transition 115-104 thousand years ago (kya), and not during the last glacial maximum (26.5-19 kya), as previously suggested. The magnitude and rates of climate change during the glacial-interglacial transitions that preceded population splits in pied flycatchers were similar to, or exceeded, those predicted to occur in the course of the current, human-induced climate crisis. As such, our results provide a timely reminder of the strong impact that episodes of climate instability and rapid temperature changes can have on species' evolutionary trajectories, with important implications for the natural world in the Anthropocene