Expansion into unexploited fishing grounds allowed global catches to increase for decades, and disguised the fact that older areas were being depleted, according researchers at the University of British Columbia and National Geographic.

“We knew the expansion was going on, but this is the first time we have quantified it,” said Daniel Pauly, a scientist at the Vancouver-based university who co-authored the report published in the online journal PLoS ONE.

About 19 million tonnes of fish were landed in 1950, and that increased to a peak of 90 million tonnes a year in the late 1980s, according to the researchers, who looked at data from 1950 to 2005.

The researchers tracked the expansion of fishing activity using computer models that examine both the total number of fish caught and the impact that catching different types of fish has had on the ocean’s productivity.

By the late 1990s, the world’s fishing fleets had largely run out of new fishing grounds to exploit, the researchers said.

Consumers have a romantic view of fishers being local business people, but most fishing is done by large companies, according to Pauly, who said these companies can ignore the decline of older stocks by simply moving to new areas.

The data shows more must done to ensure existing fish stocks are protected, said the researchers, who have done other studies outlining problems with the world’s fish supplies.

“The sooner we come to grips with it … the sooner we can stop the downward spiral by creating stricter fishing regulations and more marine reserves,” co-author Enric Sala said in a statement.

The researchers said that in 1950 most heavy fishing was done in the North Atlantic and the Western Pacific, but by the mid 1990s, a third of the world’s oceans and two-thirds of the continental shelves were exploited.

That expansion has left only unproductive fishing areas on the high seas and the ice-covered waters of the Arctic and Antarctic for boats to move into.

Some other researchers have complained that recent studies warning the oceans are being depleted of larger fish are making the situation appear worse than it really is.

Pauly said those critics have ignored the role that the move of the fleet into new fishing grounds has on fish-catch data, which is documented in the current study.  In a few generations the only fishing to be found might be online!

Species that are moved away from their natural predators back home can displace native species in their new habitats, and scientists say the problem already costs Europe 12 billion euros ($16 billion) a year.

The study, which is likely to hold true for other continents too, means that the seeds of future, perhaps bigger, problems have literally already been sown.

The study compared the effects of “alien species””such as American ragweed, Canada geese or Japanese deer in 28 European countries.

The study’s findings indicated that it can take decades to figure out which alien species will be disruptive, and looking at those that arrived in 1900 was a better indicator of current problems than looking at those from 2000.

“This lag in the cause-and-effect relationship would mean that … the seeds of future invasion problems have already been sown,” said the study, published in the U.S. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Birds and insects were quickest to get established in new habitats, helped by their mobility. Others took far longer to reach the critical numbers to become invasive.

Introductions to Europe from the 19th century included ragweed, whose pollen is blamed for some hay fever, and the black locust tree, also from North America, which can damage European grassland with its ability to store nitrogen.

Increasing trade and travel during the 20th and 21st centuries means that the problems are likely to worsen unless checks on everything from the ballast tanks of ships to coffee or grain imports are tightened.

“We should do more about this problem now,” said Stefan Dullinger, of the University of Vienna, Austria, who was among authors of the study from institutes in New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Italy and France.

“Otherwise, things can become even much worse than they are in a few decades,” he said. The findings for Europe were likely to be mirrored elsewhere in the world.

The study also recommended that Europe should target controls at animal and plant species that were so far causing no damage but were known to be invasive in other habitats.

Climate change could also add to the spread. “Warmer temperatures could trigger the spread of invasive species that are limited by climate now,” Dullinger said.

I always start my eco-friendly Christmas shopping at the Coop La Maison Verte (5785 Sherbrooke St. W.) New at the Coop this season: Gerrie’s Crazy Scarves ($40), hand-knit from the leftovers of 50 years of family knitting projects, these are whimsical, straggly, patchwork beauties. And to make you feel even better, 25 per cent of the price goes to local charities. I also like the Eco-Chic sweaters for kids ($45), colourful little sweaters made from former big sweaters, but shrunk and felted, hence the cosy, unusual texture. You’ll also find great eco-stocking stuffers at the Coop, like

handkerchiefs (package three Hankettes for $15.99) and Preserve toothbrushes made from recycled yogurt cups ($5 for adults, $4 for kids).

Next on my itinerary was Encore (5670 Sherbrooke St. W.), a used book store that also sells old CDs, records, VHS tapes, and even sheet music. You can save a lot of trees and cash by buying books used instead of new, and also show some originality.

Somebody on your list heading to Greece? Why not a beautiful, vintage Greek-English dictionary for only $2? Somebody on your list having an existential crisis? For $4.95 you can pick up timeless inspirational tomes, like The Celestine Prophecy by James Radfield. Encore also has a few vintage electronics and gadgets, including a couple of turntables. What a great way to resurrect those old vinyls.

Next, I hit The Plateau, where more and more businesses are catering to the green-minded. At Dans Ta Bulle (316 Mont Royal E.), I found some gorgeous, hand-crafted soaps by Amarille. Shaped like scrumptious cupcakes and cake slices, these soaps ($9.99 each) contain no synthetic ingredients and are scented with essential oils. This shop carries only locally made goods and carries a good selection of non-toxic cosmetics, like Noblessence lipstick ($16) and eyeliner ($11).

At Rien a Cacher (4141 St. Denis St.), you’ll find designer clothing and accessories made from organic cotton, recycled fabric and leather. This year, I like the simple black Oom tuques ($30) and the fabulous one-piece hood-scarf combos by Noujica ($76).

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This fall, it will send cups used at its Chicago stores to Green Bay, where a Georgia Pacific paper mill will turn them into Starbucks napkins. The effort is a major push by Starbucks to create a commercial market for its used cups, which include 1 billion plastic cups for cold drinks.

Over the past few weeks, it has put recycle and compost bins into 90 Seattle stores to comply with a new city ordinance.

By Thursday, every grocery store, restaurant and coffee shop in Seattle will be required to recycle and compost, and to provide recyclable or compostable to-go packaging for everything from ground beef to lattes. The new ordinance will prevent 6,000 tons of food and service ware from piling onto garbage heaps. Starbucks’ cups also are recycled or composted in San Francisco and Ontario, because of laws there.

In areas without such mandates, commercial demand determines which products are recycled.

“The biggest roadblock to recycling is the lack of demand” for old paper, said Jim Hanna, Starbucks’ director of environmental impact and global responsibility. “We need to create demand for recyclers for our products.”

The effort is similar to something Coca-Cola has done in South Carolina, where it invested $60 million in a plant that makes soda pop bottles from old soda bottles and other recycled plastic.

Environmental activists at the As You Sow Foundation in San Francisco, which led a shareholder initiative earlier this year to push Starbucks to recycle more, is impressed with its latest efforts. The initiative received 11 percent of the vote, a healthy chunk considering that mutual funds and other institutions own three-quarters of Starbucks’ stock.

“Their goal is not just to have recycling bins in stores by 2015, but to find markets so all those paper cups actually get recycled,” said Conrad MacKerron, director of corporate social responsibility at the nonprofit. Finding a market for paper cups is harder than for items like aluminum cans, he said.

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The son of Lithuanian immigrants, Antanas Mockus is a Colombian mathematician, philosopher and politician. After serving as rector at Bogota’s Universidad Nacional, Mockus went on to become mayor of Bogota twice. He is renowned for his eccentric, outside the box thinking, which has led him to perform some unusual but thought-provoking stunts.

It said environmentally friendly industries could provide export-dependent regional economies with new sources of growth to help make up for weakened demand in crisis-hit United States and Europe.

“The impact of the crisis has revealed the vulnerability of the region to external shocks,” the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific said in its annual economic and social survey of the region.

“Asian and Pacific countries therefore need to find new sources of domestic and regional demand … to help sustain their dynamism and allow for a gradual unwinding of global imbalances.”

The UN praised efforts by China and South Korea for their “significant initiatives” to promote green technology as well as shift domestic consumption and production patterns to a more “environmentally sustainable path”.

Government-backed investment in “energy and material-saving innovations” could see “greener” industries and businesses become drivers of growth as well as provide more affordable products for the poor, the report said.

But it was essential developed countries share their green expertise with poorer nations who cannot afford the technology, Aynul Hasan, head of macroeconomic policy and development, told a news conference.

“That technology should be shared,” Hasan told reporters.

“This is where regional cooperation as well as the support of developed countries will be very, very important.”

China invested 34.6 billion dollars in clean energy in 2009, up more than 50 percent on the previous year — making it the world’s biggest investor in energy-efficient technology, it said.

South Korea plans to inject 84 billion dollars in environmentally friendly industries over the next five years, the report said.

“China is playing an important role … in terms of promoting green technology dealing with the environmental issues,” said Hasan.

While China was expected to continue leading the Asian recovery from the financial crisis, much depended on Japan, the world’s number two economy, where domestic demand and business investment remained weak, the UN said.

Another major threat to the recovery was growing inflationary pressures and asset price bubbles as “excessive liquidity from developed economies finds its way to emerging economies in Asia”, Hasan warned.

“It’s a major challenge for these countries to control inflation without hurting the growth momentum,” he said.

The UN also called on regional leaders to strengthen their social safety nets and give more people access to basic financial services to generate jobs, fuel domestic spending and ensure sustained economic growth.

A revolutionary roadtrain system that would allow cars to “drive themselves” as part of a convoy of vehicles on the motorway is set to undergo testing next year.

The EU project, known as Safe Road Trains for the Environment (Sartre), has been co-ordinated with the help of a UK company to develop technology that will allow a “lead” vehicle, such as a bus or taxi, to assume “normal” driving practice, which the pursuing vehicles will then follow. Once formed, the roadtrains will allow drivers to relax behind the wheel in a similar fashion to current cruise control systems, with a navigation system and a transmitter/receiver taking over driving duties until the driver is ready to leave the motorway.

The system has been designed to increase safety and reduce the environmental impact of motorway driving by exploiting the slipstream that is generated by a convoy of vehicles moving at speed. This passageway of “clean” air reduces the overall drag placed on the car, cutting the amount of fuel used over the course of a long journey.

BMW already is preparing for that launch. Its yearlong trial with the Mini E electric car has opened the auto marketer’s eyes to the maze of regulations facing plug-in electric cars.

“We are learning a heck of a lot just about the sheer infrastructure,” says Jim O’Donnell, CEO of BMW of North America. “When we bring out another electric car, we will be in a great position because we know all the wrinkles.”

BMW has 450 Mini E electric cars running in a yearlong trial in metropolitan New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles. There should be more cars on the roads. But after more than six months of addressing regulatory hurdles, Mini has yet to get approval to install more than 30 additional fast-charge boxes in New Jersey. With a 240-volt box, the Mini E can be recharged in three hours rather than the 21 hours needed using 110-volt power.

“If you are in a house with a normal supply and you want to bring a 240-volt [charger], you have to have an agreement from the power utility,” O’Donnell says. “New Jersey is the most difficult because there are so many local authorities.”

An inspector from each municipality has to approve the installation to make sure it complies with local codes. The cost of the box ranges from $1,500 to $1,800. The box had to be approved by Underwriters Laboratories Inc.

What O’Donnell calls “the New Jersey problem” is compounded because “all the components are certified, but they say the system isn’t certified,” he says. A BMW spokesman says the Mini E experience is a prelude to a more widespread launch of electric vehicles. I just gotta get me one of these beauties, maybe when I retire.

The Don Quixote-inspired windmill was sold at the “Dreams Happen” auction, the primary fundraiser for the charity that provides free home repair services to those in need. Recipients of these services are senior citizens, single parents, grandparents raising grand-kids, the disabled, low-income families with children, veterans, children caring for ailing parents, and the sick or poor in health.  I have always had an affinity towards windmills, if find watching them relaxing.

It’s important to remember that swine flu is just an influenza virus, similar to the one that circulates every winter. “The same basic rules apply to stop the spread of infection,” Imus writes. “Stay home if you think you are sick, wash your hands frequently (use a healthy hand sanitizer when soap and water are unavailable), and cover your coughs and sneezes.” By “healthy hand sanitizers,” Imus means those that use essential oils, rather than synthetic pesticides, to fight bacteria; antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers often contribute to the evolution of drug-resistant bacteria and other environmental problems, and are blamed for thousands of poisonings every year.