Pricing the urban cooling benefits of solar panel deployment in Sydney, Australia.

Cities import energy, which in combination with their typically high solar absorption and low moisture availability generates the urban heat island effect (UHI). The UHI, combined with human-induced warming, makes our densely populated cities particularly vulnerable to climate change. We examine the utility of solar photovoltaic (PV) system deployment on urban rooftops to reduce the UHI, and we price one potential value of this impact. The installation of PV systems over Sydney, Australia reduces summer maximum temperatures by up to 1 °C because the need to import energy is offset by local generation. This offset has a direct environmental benefit, cooling local maximum temperatures, but also a direct economic value in the energy generated. The indirect benefit associated with the temperature changes is between net AUD$230,000 and $3,380,000 depending on the intensity of PV systems deployment. Therefore, even very large PV installations will not offset global warming, but could generate enough energy to negate the need to import energy, and thereby reduce air temperatures. The energy produced, and the benefits of cooling beyond local PV installation sites, would reduce the vulnerability of urban populations and infrastructure to temperature extremes.

Why is the choice of future climate scenarios for species distribution modelling important?

Species distribution models (SDMs) are common tools for assessing the potential impact of climate change on species ranges. Uncertainty in SDM output occurs due to differences among alternate models, species characteristics and scenarios of future climate. While considerable effort is being devoted to identifying and quantifying the first two sources of variation, a greater understanding of climate scenarios and how they affect SDM output is also needed. Climate models are complex tools: variability occurs among alternate simulations, and no single 'best' model exists. The selection of climate scenarios for impacts assessments should not be undertaken arbitrarily - strengths and weakness of different climate models should be considered. In this paper, we provide bioclimatic modellers with an overview of emissions scenarios and climate models, discuss uncertainty surrounding projections of future climate and suggest steps that can be taken to reduce and communicate climate scenario-related uncertainty in assessments of future species responses to climate change.

Global climate change: time to mainstream health risks and their prevention on the medical research and policy agenda.

Climate change is unequivocal. The fourth assessment report of the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change has recently projected that global average surface temperature will increase by 1.1 to 6.4 degrees C by 2100. Anthropogenic warming during the twenty-first century would be much greater than that observed in the twentieth century. Most of the warming observed over the last six decades is attributable to human activities. Climate change is already affecting, and will increasingly have profound effects on human health and well-being. Therefore, there is an urgent need for societies to take both preemptive and adaptive actions to protect human populations from adverse health consequences of climate change. It is time to mainstream health risks and their prevention in relation to the effects of climate change on the medical research and policy agenda.

An overview of the biology of the wharf borer beetle (Nacerdes melanura L., Oedemeridae) a pest of wood in marine structures.

The UK distribution of N. melanura is reported, based on records from museum collections, government laboratories and a field survey of wooden marine structures and driftwood along the English and Welsh coastlines. The global distribution is also reported, based on a questionnaire survey. The life cycle of the wharf borer under different environmental conditions is described and the environmental conditions over the adult emergence period presented. The cellulase complex, xylanase and a range of dissacharases were present in the larval digestive tract when tunnelling archaeological oak.

Assessment of effects of chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated timber on nontarget epibiota by investigation of fouling community development at seven European sites.

To assess the effect of the anti-marine-borer timber preservative CCA (a pressure-impregnated solution of copper, chromium, and arsenic compounds) on nontarget epibiota, fouling community development was investigated. Panels of Scots pine treated to target retentions of 12, 24, and 48 kg CCA per m3 of wood (covering the range of retentions recommended for marine use) plus untreated controls were submerged at seven coastal sites (Portsmouth, UK; La Tremblade [two sites], France; Ria Formosa, Portugal; Sagres, Portugal; Kristineberg, Sweden; Athens, Greece). The fouling community on the surfaces of the panels was assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively after 6, 12, and 18 months of exposure. Multivariate statistical methods were used to compare community structure between panel treatments. Panels treated to the three CCA loadings supported very similar fouling assemblages, which in most cases had higher numbers of taxa and individuals than assemblages on untreated panels. No detrimental effects on epibiota due to CCA preservatives were detected at any of the treatment levels at all seven exposure sites, suggesting that the range of environmental conditions at the sites had no bearing on preservative impact on fouling biota. Differences in community structure between CCA-treated and untreated panels may be due to enhanced larval settlement on CCA-treated timber by some species as a result of modifications to the surface properties of the timber by the preservative. Possible reasons for the higher numbers of certain species on the surface of CCA-treated panels are discussed.

Surfboard-riding injuries.

The results of a study aimed at determining the nature, rate, and cause of traumatic surfing injuries by gathering injury data directly from surfers rather than by retrospective analysis of hospital or first-aid station records are reported. Three hundred and forty-six surfers of varying ages, experience, and competence reported 337 injuries sustained over a two-year period. The most common injuries requiring medical attention or resulting in inability to surf were lacerations (41%) and soft-tissue injuries (35%). The high incidence of back and shoulder sprains and strains has not previously been reported. As the rate of moderate and severe injuries among the sample was calculated to be 3.5 injuries per 1000 surfing days, and because more than 25% of the lacerations were caused by the sharp fin, or by the tail, or by the nose of the surfboard, some safety modifications in board design or structure may be necessary.