Environmental Encyclopedia

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Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Joseph Wood Krutch

Krill. (McGraw-Hill Inc. Reproduced by permission.)

healing process after such devastation. See also Mount Pina-

tubo, Philippines; Mount Saint Helens, Washington;

Volcano

[Nathan H. Meleen]

ESOURCES

OOKS

Nardo, D. Krakatoa. World Disasters Series. San Diego: Lucent Books,

1990.

Simkin, T., and R. Fiske. Krakatau 1883: The Volcanic Eruption and Its

Effects. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books, 1983.

ERIODICALS

Ball, R. “The Explosion of Krakatoa,” National Geographic 13 (June 1902):

200–203.

Plage, D., and M. Plage. “Return of Java’s Wildlife,” National Geographic

167 (June 1985): 750–71.

Krill

Marine crustaceans in the order Euphausiacea. Krill are

zoo-

plankton

, and most feed on microalgae by filtering them

from the water. In high latitudes, krill may account for a

large proportion of the total zooplankton. Krill often occur

in large swarms and in a few

species

these swarms may

reach several hundred square meters in size with densities

over 60,000 individuals per square meter. This swarming

behavior makes them valuable food sources for many species

whales

and seabirds. Humans have also begun to harvest

krill for use as a dietary protein supplement.

Joseph Wood Krutch (1893 – 1970)

American literary critic and naturalist

797

Through much of his career, Krutch was a teacher of criti-

cism at Columbia University and a drama critic for The

Nation. But then respiratory problems led him to early retire-

ment in the

desert

near Tucson, Arizona. He loved the

desert and there turned to biology and geology, which he

applied to maintain a consistent, major theme found in all of

his writings, that of the relation of humans and the universe.

Krutch subsequently became an accomplished naturalist.

Readers can find the theme of man and universe in

Krutch’s early work, for example The Modern Temper (1929),

and in his later writings on human-human and human-

nature relationships, including natural history—what Rene

Jules Dubos described as “the social philosopher protesting

against the follies committed in the name of technological

progress, and the humanist searching for permanent values

in man’s relationship to nature.” Assuming a pessimistic

stance in his early writings, Krutch despaired about lost

connections, arguing that for humans to reconnect, they

must conceive of themselves,

nature

, “and the universe in

a significant reciprocal relationship.”

Krutch’s later writings repudiated much of his earlier

despair. He argued against the dehumanizing and alienating

forces of modern society and advocated systematically reas-

sembling—by reconnecting to nature—"a world man can

live in.” In The Voice of the Desert (1954), for instance, he

claimed that “we must be part not only of the human commu-

nity, but of the whole community.” In such books as The

Twelve Seasons (1949) and The Great Chain of Life (1956),

he demonstrated that humans “are a part of Nature...what-

ever we discover about her we are discovering also about

ourselves.” This view was based on a solid anti-deterministic

approach that opposed mechanistic and behavioristic theo-

ries of

evolution

and biology.

His view of modern technology as out of control was

epitomized in the

automobile

. Driving fast prevented peo-

ple from reflecting or thinking or doing anything except

controlling the monster: “I’m afraid this is the metaphor of

our society as a whole,” he commented. Krutch also disliked

the proliferation of suburbs, which he labeled “affluent

slums.” He argued in Human Nature and the Human Condi-

tion (1959) that “modern man should be concerned with

achieving the good life, not with raising the [material] stan-

dard of living.”

An editorial ran in The New York Times a week after

Krutch’s death: today’s younger generation, it read, “unfamil-

iar with Joseph Wood Krutch but concerned about the

envi-

ronment

and contemptuous of materialism,” should “turn

to a reading of his books with delight to themselves and

profit to the world.”

[Gerald L. Young Ph.D.]

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Kudzu

ESOURCES

OOKS

Krutch, J. W. The Desert Year. New York: Viking, 1951.

Margolis, J. D. Joseph Wood Krutch: A Writer’s Life. Knoxville: The University

of Tennessee Press, 1980.

Pavich, P. N. Joseph Wood Krutch. Western Writers Series, no. 89. Boise:

Boise State University, 1989.

ERIODICALS

Gorman, J. “Joseph Wood Krutch: A Cactus Walden.” MELUS: The Journal

of the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States

11 (Winter 1984): 93–101.

Holtz, W. “Homage to Joseph Wood Krutch: Tragedy and the Ecological

Imperative.” The American Scholar 43 (Spring 1974): 267–279.

Lehman, A. L. “Joseph Wood Krutch: A Selected Bibliography of Primary

Sources.” Bulletin of Bibliography 41 (June 1984): 74–80.

Kudzu

Pueraria lobata or kudzu, also jokingly referred to as “foot-

a-night” and “the vine that ate the South,” is a highly aggres-

sive and persistent semi-woody vine introduced to the United

States in the late nineteenth century. It has since become a

symbol of the problems possible for native ecosystems caused

by the introduction of

exotic species

. Kudzu’s best known

characteristic is its extraordinary capacity for rapid growth,

managing as much as 12 in (30.5 cm) a day and 60–100 ft

(18–30 m) a season under ideal conditions. When young,

kudzu has thin, flexible, downy stems that grow outward as

well as upward, eventually covering virtually everything in

its path with a thick mat of leaves and tendrils. This lateral

growth creates the dramatic effect, common in southeastern

states such as Georgia, of telephone poles, buildings, ne-

glected vehicles, and whole areas of woodland being en-

shrouded in blankets of kudzu. Kudzu’s tendency towards

aggressive and overwhelming colonization has many detri-

mental effects, killing stands of trees by robbing them of

sunlight and pulling down or shorting out utility cables.

Where stem nodes touch the ground, new roots develop

which can extend 10 ft (3 m) or more underground and

eventually weigh several hundred pounds. In the nearly ideal

climate

of the Southeast, the prolific vine easily overwhelms

virtually all native competitors and also infests cropland

and yards.

A member of the pea family, kudzu is itself native to

China and Japan. Introduced to the United States at the

Japanese garden pavilion during the 1876 Philadelphia Cen-

tennial Exhibition, kudzu’s broad leaves and richly fragrant

reddish-purple blooms made it seem highly desirable as an

ornamental plant in American gardens. It now ranges along

the eastern seaboard from Florida to Pennsylvania, and west-

ward to Texas. Although hardy, kudzu does not tolerate

cold weather and prefers acidic, well-drained soils and bright

798

sunlight. It rarely flowers or sets seed in the northern part

of its range and loses its leaves at first frost.

For centuries, the Japanese have cultivated kudzu for

its edible roots, medicinal qualities, and fibrous leaves and

stems, which are suitable for paper production. After its

initial introduction as an ornamental, kudzu also was touted

as a forage crop and as a cure for

erosion

in the United

States. Kudzu is nutritionally comparable to alfalfa, and its

tremendous durability and speed of growth were thought to

outweigh the disadvantages caused for cutting and baling

by its rope-like vines. But its effectiveness as a ground cover,

particularly on steeply-sloped terrain, is responsible for kud-

zu’s spectacular spread. By the 1930s, the United States

Soil Conservation Service

was enthusiastically advocating

kudzu as a remedy for erosion, subsidizing farmers as well

as highway departments and railroads, with as much as $8

an acre to use kudzu for

soil

retention. The Depression-era

Civilian Conservation Corps also facilitated the spread of

kudzu, planting millions of seedlings as part of an extensive

erosion control project.

Kudzu also has had its unofficial champions, the best

known of whom is Channing Cope of Covington, Georgia.

As a journalist for Atlanta newspapers and popular radio

broadcaster, Cope frequently extolled the virtues of kudzu,

dubbing it the “miracle vine” and declaring that it had re-

placed cotton as “King” of the South. The spread of the

vine was precipitous. In the early 1950s, the federal govern-

ment began to question the wisdom of its support for kudzu.

By 1953, the Department of Agriculture stopped recom-

mending the use of kudzu for either fodder or ground cover.

In 1982, kudzu was officially declared a weed.

Funding is now directed more at finding ways to eradi-

cate kudzu or at least to contain its spread. Continuous over-

grazing by livestock will eventually eradicate a field of kudzu,

as will repeated applications of defoliant herbicides. Even

so, stubborn patches may take five or more years to be

completely removed. Controlled burning is usually ineffec-

tive and attempting to dig up the massive root system is

generally an exercise in futility, but kudzu can be kept off

lawns and fences (as an ongoing project) by repeated mowing

and enthusiastic pruning.

A variety of new uses are being found for kudzu, and

some very old uses are being rediscovered. Kudzu root can

be processed into flour and baked into breads and cakes; as

a starchy sweetener, it also may be used to flavor soft drinks.

Medical researchers investigating the scientific bases of tradi-

tional herbal remedies have suggested that isoflavones found

in kudzu root may significantly reduce craving for alcohol

in alcoholics. Eventually, derivatives of kudzu may also prove

to be useful for treatment of high blood pressure.

Methane

and

gasohol

have been successfully produced from kudzu,

and kudzu’s stems may prove to be an economically viable

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Kyoto Protocol/Treaty

source of fiber for paper production and other purposes.

The prolific vine has also become something of a humorous

cultural icon, with regional picture postcards throughout the

south portraying spectacular and only somewhat exaggerated

images of kudzu’s explosive growth. Fairs, festivals, restau-

rants, bars, rock groups, and road races have all borrowed

their name and drawn some measure of inspiration from

kudzu, poems have been written about it, and kudzu cook-

books and guides to kudzu crafts are readily available in

bookstores.

[Lawrence J. Biskowski]

ESOURCES

ERIODICALS

Dolby, V. “Kudzu Grows Beyond Erosion Control to Help Control Alco-

holism.” Better Nutrition 58, no. 11 (November 1996): 32.

Hipps, C. “Kudzu.” Horticulture 72, no. 6 (June 1994): 36–9.

Tenenbaum, D. “Weeds from Hell,” Technology Review 99, no. 6 (August

1996): 32–40.

Kwashiorkor

One of many severe protein energy malnutrition disorders

that are a widespread problem among children in developing

countries. The word’s origin is in Ghana, where it means a

deposed child, or a child that is no longer suckled. The

disease usually affects infants between one and four years of

age who have been weaned from breast milk to a high starch,

low protein diet. The disease is characterized by lethargy,

apathy, or irritability. Over time the individual will experi-

ence retarded growth processes both physically and mentally.

Approximately 25% of children suffer from recurrent relapses

of kwashiorkor, interfering with their normal growth.

Kwashiorkor results in amino

acid

deficiencies which

inhibit protein synthesis in all tissues. The lack of sufficient

plasma

proteins, specifically albumin, results in

systemic

pressure changes, ultimately causing generalized edema. The

liver swells with stored fat because there are no hepatic

proteins being produced for digestion of fats. Kwashiorkor

additionally results in reduced bone density and impaired

renal function. If treated early on in its development the

disease can be reversed with proper dietary therapy and

treatment of associated infections. If the condition is not

reversed in its early stages, prognosis is poor and physical

and mental growth will be severely retarded. See also Sahel;

Third World

799

Kyoto Protocol/Treaty

In the mid-1980s, a growing body of scientific evidence

linked man-made greenhouse gas emissions to global warm-

ing. In 1990, the United Nations General Assembly issued

a report that confirmed this link. The Rio Accord of 1992

resulted from this report. Formally called the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), the

accord was signed by various nations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

and committed industrialized nations to stabilizing their

emissions at 1990 levels by 2000.

In December 1997, representatives of 160 nations met

in Kyoto, Japan, in an attempt to produce a new and im-

proved treaty on climate change. Major differences occurred

between industrialized and still developing countries with

the United States perceived, particularly by representatives

of the

European Union

(EU), as not doing its share to

reduce emissions, especially those of

carbon dioxide

The outcome of this meeting, the Kyoto Protocol

to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change (UNFCCC), required industrialized nations to re-

duce their emissions of

carbon

dioxide,

methane

nitrous

oxide

, hydrofluorocarbons, sulfur dioxides, and perfluoro-

carbons below 1990 levels by 2012. The requirements would

be different for each country and would have to begin by

2008 and be met by 2012. There would be no requirements

for the developing nations. Whether or not to sign and ratify

the treaty was left up to the discretion of each individual

country.

Global warming

The organization that provided the research for the

Kyoto Protocol was the

Intergovernmental Panel on Cli-

mate Change

(IPCC), set up in 1988 as a joint project of

the

United Nations Environment Programme

(UNEP)

and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). In

2001 the IPCC released a report, “Climate Change, 2001".

Using the latest climatic and atmospheric scientific research

available, the report predicted that global mean surface tem-

peratures on earth would increase by 2.5–10.4°F (1.5–5.9

°C) by the year 2100, unless greenhouse gas emissions were

reduced well below current levels. This warming trend was

seen as rapidly accelerating, with possible dire consequences

to human society and the

environment

. These accelerating

temperature changes were expected to lead to rising sea

levels, melting glaciers and polar ice packs, heat waves,

droughts and wildfires, and a profound and deleterious effect

on human health and well-being.

Some of the effects of these temperature changes may

already be occurring. Most of the United States has already

experienced increases in mean annual temperature of up to

4°F (2.3°C). Sea ice is melting in both the

Antarctica

and

the Arctic. Ninety-eight percent of the world’s glaciers are

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Kyoto Protocol/Treaty

shrinking. The sea level is rising at three times its historic

rate. Florida is already feeling the early effects of global

warming with shorelines suffering from

erosion

, with dying

coral reefs, with saltwater polluting the fresh water sources,

with an increase in wildfires, and with higher air and water

temperatures. In Canada, forest fires have more than doubled

since 1970, water

wells

are going dry, lake levels are down,

and there is less rainfall.

Controversy

Since its inception, the Kyoto Protocol has generated

a great deal of controversy. Richer nations have argued that

the poorer, less developed nations are getting off easy. The

developing nations, on the other hand, have argued that

they will never be able to catch up with the richer nations

unless they are allowed to develop with the same degree of

pollution

as that which let the industrial nations become

rich in the first place.

Another controversy rages between environmentalists

and big business. Environmentalists have argued that the

Kyoto Protocol doesn’t go far enough, while

petroleum

and industry spokespersons have argued that it would be

impossible to implement without economic disaster.

In the United States, the controversy has waxed espe-

cially high. The Kyoto Protocol was signed under the admin-

istration of President Bill Clinton, but was never ratified

by the Republican-dominated U.S. Senate. Then in 2001,

President George W. Bush, a former Texas oilman, backed

out of the treaty, saying it would cost the U.S. economy

400 billion dollars and 4.9 million jobs. Bush unveiled an

alternative proposal to the Kyoto accord that he said would

reduce

greenhouse gases

, curb pollution and promote

en-

ergy efficiency

. But critics of his plan have argued that by

the year 2012 it would actually increase the 1990 levels of

greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30%.

Soon after the Kyoto Protocol was rejected by the Bush

administration, the European Union criticized the action. In

particular, Germany was unable to understand why the Ky-

oto restrictions would adversely effect the American econ-

omy, noting that Germany had been able to reduce their

emissions without serious economic problems. The Germans

also suggested that President Bush’s program to induce vol-

untary reductions was politically motivated and was designed

to prevent a drop in the unreasonably high level of consump-

tion of greenhouse gases in the United States, a drop that

would be politically damaging for the Bush administration.

In rejecting the Kyoto Protocol, President Bush

claimed that it would place an unfair burden on the United

States. He argued that it was unfair that developing countries

such as India and China should be exempt. But China had

already taken major steps to affect climate change. According

to a June report by the

World Resources Institute

, a Wash-

ington, D.C.-based environmental think tank, China volun-

800

tarily cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 19% between 1997

and 1999. Contrary to Bush’s fears that cutting carbon diox-

ide output would inevitably damage the United States econ-

omy, China’s economy grew by 15% during this same two-

year period.

Politics has always been at the forefront of this debate.

The IPCC has provided assessments of climate change that

have helped shape international treaties, including the Kyoto

Protocol. However, the Bush administration, acting at the

request of ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company, and

attempting to cast doubts upon the scientific integrity of the

IPCC, was behind the ouster in 2002 of IPCC chairperson

Robert Watson, an atmospheric scientist who supported

implementing actions against global warming.

The ability of trees and plants to fix carbon through

the process of

photosynthesis

, a process called carbon or C

sequestration, results in a large amount of carbon stored in

biomass

around the world. In the framework of the Kyoto

Protocol, C sequestration to mitigate the

greenhouse effect

in the terrestrial

ecosystem

has been an important topic of

discussion in numerous recent international meetings and

reports. To increase C sequestration in soils in the dryland

and tropical areas, as a contribution to global reductions

of atmospheric CO

, the United States has promoted new

strategies and new practices in agriculture, pasture use and

forestry, including

conservation

agriculture and

agro-

forestry

. Such practices should be facilitated particularly by

the application of article 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol covering

the additional activities in agriculture and forestry in the

developing countries and by appropriate policies.

Into the future

In June 2002, the 15 member nations of the European

Union formally signed the Kyoto Protocol. The ratification

by the 15 EU countries was a major step toward making

the 1997 treaty effective. Soon after, Japan signed the treaty,

and Russia was expected to follow suit.

To take effect, the Kyoto Protocol must be ratified by

55 countries, but these ratifications have to include industri-

alized nations responsible for at least 55% of the 1990 levels

of greenhouse gases. As of 2002, over 70 countries had

already signed, exceeding the minimum number of countries

needed. If Russia signs the treaty, nations responsible for

over 55% of the 1990 levels of greenhouse gas pollution will

have signed, and the Kyoto Protocol will take effect.

Before the EU ratified the protocol, the vast majority

of countries that had ratified were developing countries.

With the withdrawal of the United States, responsible for

36.1% of greenhouse gas emissions in 1990, ratification by

industrialized nations was crucial. For example, environmen-

talists hope that Canada will ratify the treaty as it has already

committed compliance.

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Kyoto Protocol/Treaty

Although the Bush administration opposed the Kyoto

Protocol, saying that its own plan of voluntary restrictions

would work as well without the loss of billions of dollars

and without driving millions of Americans out of work, the

EPA, under its administrator Christine Todd Whitman, in

2002 sent a climate report to the United Nations detailing

specific, far-reaching, and disastrous effects of global warm-

ing upon the American environment and its people. The

EPA report also admitted that global warming is occurring

because of man-made carbon dioxide and other greenhouse

gases. However, it offered no major changes in administra-

tion policies, instead recommending adapting to the inevita-

ble and catastrophic changes.

Although the United States was still resisting the Ky-

oto Protocol in mid-2002, and the treaty’s implications for

radical and effective action, various states and communities

decided to go it alone. Massachusetts and New Hampshire

enacted legislation to cut carbon emissions. California was

considering legislation limiting emissions from cars and

small trucks. Over 100 U.S. cities had already opted to

cut carbon emissions. Even the U.S business community,

because of their many overseas operations, was beginning

to voluntarily cut back on their greenhouse emissions.

[Douglas Dupler]

ESOURCES

OOKS

Brown, Paige. Climate, Biodiversity and Forests: Issues and Opportunities

Emerging from the Kyoto Protocol. Washington, DC: World Resources Insti-

tute, 1998.

801

Gelbspan, Ross. The Heat is On: The Climate Crisis, the Cover-up, the

Prescription. New York: Perseus Book, 1998.

McKibbin, Warwick J., and Peter Wilcoxen. Climate Change Policy After

Kyoto: Blueprint for a Realistic Approach. Washington DC: The Brookings

Institution Press, 2002.

Victor, David G. Collapse of the Kyoto Protocol and the Struggle to Slow

Global Warming. Boston: Princeton University Press, 2002.

ERIODICALS

Benedick, Richard E. “Striking a New Deal on Climate Change.” Issues

in Science and Technology, Fall 2001, 71.

Gelbspan, Ross. “A Modest Proposal to Stop Global Warming.” Sierra,

May/June 2001, 63.

McKibben, Bill. “Climate Change 2001: Third Assessment Report.” New

York Review of Books, July 5, 2001, 35.

Rennie, John. “The Skeptical Environmentalist Replies.” Scientific American,

May 2002, 14.

THER

“Guide to the Kyoto Protocol.” Greenpeace International Web Site. 1998

[cited July 2002]. <http://www.greenpeace.org>.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Web Site. [cited July 2002].

<http://www.ipcc.ch>.

“Kyoto Protocol.” United Nations Convention of Climate Change. 1997

[cited July 1997]. <http://unfccc.int>.

Union of Concerned Scientists Global Warming Web Site. [cited July 2002].

<http://www.ucsusa/warming>.

RGANIZATIONS

IPCC Secretariat, C/O World Meteorological Organization, 7bis Avenue

de la Paix, C.P. 2300, CH- 1211, Geneva, Switzerland 41-22-730-8208,

Fax: 41-22-730-8025, Email: ipcc.sec@gateway.wmo.ch, <http://

www.ipcc.ch>

UNIDO—Climate Change/Kyoto Protocol Activities, UNIDO New York

Office, New York, NY USA 10017 (212) 963-6890, Email:

office.newyork@unido.org, <http://www.unido.org/doc/310797.htmls>

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

La Nin

a, Spanish for “the little girl,” is also called a cold epi-

sode, “El Viejo” (The Old Man), or anti-El Nin

o. It is one of

two major changes in the Pacific Ocean surface temperature

that affect global weather patterns. La Nin

a and

El Nin

("the

little boy") are the extreme phases of the El Nin

o/Southern

Oscillation, a

climate

cycle that occurs naturally in the eastern

tropical Pacific Ocean. The effects of both phases are usually

strongest from December to March. In some ways, La Nin

ais

the opposite of El Nin

o. For example, La Nin

a usually brings

more rain to

Australia

and Indonesia, areas that are suscepti-

ble to

drought

during El Nin

La Nin

a is characterized by unusually cold ocean sur-

face temperatures in the equatorial region. Ordinarily, the sea

surface temperature off the western coast of South America

ranges from 60–70°F (15–21°C). According to the

National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA), the

temperature dropped by up to 7°F (4°C) below normal during

the 1988–1989 La Nin

a. In the United States, La Nin

usually brings cooler and wetter than normal conditions in

the Pacific Northwest and warmer and drier conditions in

the Southeast. In contrast, during El Nin

o, surface water

temperatures in the tropical Pacific are unusually warm.

Because water temperatures increase around Christmas, peo-

ple in South America called the condition “El Nin

o” to

honor the Christ Child.

The two weather phenomena are caused by the interac-

tion of the ocean surface and the

atmosphere

in the tropical

Pacific. Changes in the ocean affect the atmosphere and

climate patterns around the world, with changes in the atmo-

sphere in turn affecting the ocean temperature and currents.

Before the onset of La Nin

a, there is usually a build-up of

cooler than normal subsurface water in the tropical Pacific.

The cold water is brought to the surface by atmospheric

waves and ocean waves. Winds and currents push warm

water towards Asia. In addition, the system can drive the

polar jet stream (a stream of winds at high altitude) to the

north; this affects weather in the United States.

803

The effects of La Nin

a and El Nin

o are generally seen

in the United States during the winter. The two conditions

usually occur every three to five years. However, the period

between episodes may be from two to seven years. The

conditions generally last from nine to 12 months, but epi-

sodes could last as long as two years.

Since 1975, El Nin

os have occurred twice as frequently

as La Nin

as. While both conditions are cyclical, a La Nin

episode does not always follow an El Nin

o episode. La Nin

in the twentieth century occurred in 1904, 1908, 1910, 1916,

1924, 1928, 1938, 1950, 1955, 1964, 1970, 1973, 1975,

1988, 1995, and 1998. Effects of the 1998 La Nin

a included

flooding

in Mozambique in 2000 and a record warm winter

in the United States. Nationwide temperatures averaged

38.4°F (3.5°C) from December 1999 through February 2000,

according to the NOAA. In addition, that three-month

period was the sixteenth driest winter in the 105 years that

records have been kept by National Climatic Data Center.

The 1998 La Nin

a was diminishing by November 2000;

another La Nin

a had not been projected as of May 2002.

Scientists from the NOAA and other agencies use

various tools to monitor La Nin

a and El Nin

o. These tools

include satellites and data buoys that are used to monitor

sea surface temperatures. Tracking the two weather phenom-

ena can help nations to prepare for potential disasters such

as floods. In addition, knowledge of the systems can help

businesses plan for the future. In a March 1999 article in

Nation’s Restaurant News, writer John T. Barone described

the impact that La Nin

a could have on food and beverage

prices. Barone projected that drought conditions in Brazil

could bring an increase in the price of coffee.

[Liz Swain]

ESOURCES

OOKS

Caviedes, Cesar. El Nin

o in History: Storming Through the Ages. Gainesville,

FL: University Press of Florida, 2001.

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

La Paz Agreement

Glantz, Michael. Currents of Change: Impacts of El Nin

o and La Nin

aon

Climate and Society. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

ERIODICALS

Barone, John T. “La Nin

a to Put a Chill in Prices this Winter.” Nation’s

Restaurant News (December 6, 1999): 78.

Le Comte, Douglas. “Weather Around the World.” Weatherwise (March

2001): 23.

RGANIZATIONS

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 14th Street &

Constitution Avenue, NW, Room 6013, Washington, DC USA 20230

(202) 482-6090, Fax: (202) 482-3154, Email: answers@noaa.gov, <http://

www.noaa.gov>

La Paz Agreement

The 1983 La Paz Agreement between the United States

and Mexico is a pact to protect, conserve, and improve the

environment

of the border region of both countries. The

agreement defined the region as the 62 mi (100 km) to

the north and south of the international border. This area

includes maritime (sea) boundaries and land in four Ameri-

can states and six Mexican border states.

Representatives from the two countries signed the

agreement on Aug. 14, 1983, in La Paz, Mexico. The

agreement took effect on Feb. 16, 1984. It established six

workgroups, with each group concentrating on an environ-

mental concern. Representatives from both countries serve

on the workgroups that focus on water, air, hazardous and

solid waste

pollution

prevention, contingency planning

and emergency response, and cooperative enforcement and

compliance.

In February of 1992, environmental officials from the

two countries released the Integrated Environmental Plan

for the Mexican-U.S. Border Area. The Border XXI Pro-

gram created nine additional workgroups. These groups fo-

cus on environmental information resources,

natural re-

sources

, and

environmental health

Border XXI involves federal, state, and local govern-

ments on both sides of the border. Residents also participate

through activities such as public hearings.

[Liz Swain]

Lagoon

A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger,

open body of water. It is typically associated with the ocean,

such as coastal lagoons and

coral reef

lagoons. Lagoon also

can be used to describe shallow areas of liquid waste material

as in sewage lagoons. Oceanic lagoons can be formed in

several ways. Coastal lagoons are typically found along coast-

lines where there are sand bars or barrier islands that separate

804

the open ocean from the near shore body of water. Coral

reef lagoons can form in two ways. The first type is found

in barrier reefs such as those in

Australia

and Belize, where

there is a body of water (lagoon) which is separated from

the open ocean by the reef formed many miles off shore.

Another type of lagoon is that formed in the center of atolls,

which are circular or horse-shoe shaped bodies of water in

the middle of partially sunken volcanic islands with coral

reefs growing around their periphery. Some of these atoll

lagoons are more than 30 mi (50 km) across and have breath-

taking

visibility

, thus providing superb sites for SCUBA

diving.

Lake Baikal

The

Great Lakes

are a prominent feature of the North

American landscape, but Russia holds the distinction of

having the “World’s Great Lake.” Called the “Pearl of Sibe-

ria” or the “Sacred Sea” by locals, Lake Baikal is the world’s

deepest and largest lake by volume. It has a surface area of

12,162 sq miles (31,500 sq km), a maximum depth of 5,370

ft (1,637 m), or slightly more than 1 mile, an average depth

of 2,428 ft (740 m), and a volume of 30,061 cu yd (23,000 cu

m). It thus contains more water than the combined volume of

all of the North American Great Lakes—20 percent of the

world’s fresh water (and 80 percent of the fresh water of the

former Soviet Union).

Lake Baikal is located in Russia in south-central Sibe-

ria near the northern border of Mongolia. Scientists estimate

that the lake was formed 25 million years ago by tectonic

(

earthquake

) displacement, creating a crescent-shaped,

steep-walled basin 395 miles (635 km) long by 50 miles (80

km) wide and nearly 5.6 miles (9 km) deep. In contrast, the

Great Lakes were formed by glacial scouring a mere 10,000

years ago.

Although

sedimentation

has filled in 80 percent of

the basin over the years, the lake is believed to be widening

and deepening ever so slightly with time because of recurring

crustal movements. The area surrounding Lake Baikal is

underridden by at least three crustal plates, causing frequent

earthquakes. Fortunately, most are too weak to feel.

Like similarly ancient Lake Tanganyika in Africa, the

waters of Lake Baikal host a great number of unique

species

Of the 1,200 known animal and 600 known plant species,

more than 80 percent are endemic to this lake. These include

many species of fish, shrimp, and the world’s only fresh

water sponges and

seals

. Called nerpa or nerpy by the natives,

these seals (Phoca sibirica) are silvery-gray in color and can

grow to 5 ft (1.5 m) long and weigh up to 286 lb (130 kg).

Their diet consists almost exclusively of a strange-looking

relict fish called golomyanka (Comephorus baicalensis), ren-

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Lake Baikal

A view of the Strait of Olkhon, on the west coast of Lake Baikal, Russia. (Photograph by Press Agency, Science Photo

Library. Photo Researchers Inc. Reproduced by permission.)

dered translucent by its fat-filled body. Unlike other fish,

they lack scales and swim bladders and give birth to live

larvae rather than eggs. The seal population is estimated

at 60,000. Commercial hunters are permitted to kill 6,000

each year.

Although the waters of Lake Baikal are pristine by

the standards of other large lakes, increased

pollution

threat-

ens its future. Towns along its shores and along the stretches

of the Selenga River, the major tributary flowing into Baikal,

add human and industrial wastes, some of which is non-

biodegradable and some highly toxic. A hydroelectric dam

on the Angara River, the lake’s only outlet, raised the water

level and placed spawning areas of some fish below the

optimum depth. Most controversial to the people who de-

pend on this lake for their livelihood and pleasure, however,

was the construction of a large cellulose plant at the southern

end near the city of Baikalsk in 1957. Built originally to

manufacture high-quality aircraft tires (ironically, synthetic

tires proved superior), today it produces clothing from

bleached cellulose and employs 3,500 people. Uncharacteris-

tic public outcry over the years has resulted in the addition

805

of advanced

sewage treatment

facilities to the plant. Al-

though some people would like to see it shut down, the

local (and national) economy has taken precedence.

In 1987 the Soviet government passed legislation pro-

tecting Lake Baikal from further destruction.

Logging

was

prohibited anywhere close to the shoreline and

nature

re-

serves and national parks were designated. However, with

the recent political turmoil and crippling financial situation

in the former Soviet Union, these changes have not been

enforced and the lake continues to receive pollutants. Much

more needs to be done to assure the future of this magnificent

lake. See also Endemic species

[John Korstad]

ESOURCES

OOKS

Feshbach, M., and A. Friendly, Jr. Ecocide in the USSR. New York: Basic

Books, 1992.

Matthiessen, P. Baikal: Sacred Sea of Siberia. San Francisco: Sierra Club

Books, 1992.

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Lake Erie

ERIODICALS

Belt, D. “Russia’s Lake Baikal, the World’s Great Lake.” National Geo-

graphic 181 (June 1992): 2–39.

Lake Erie

Lake Erie is the most productive of the

Great Lakes

. Lo-

cated along the southern fringe of the Precambrian Shield

of North America, Lake Erie has been ecologically degraded

by a variety of

anthropogenic

stressors including

nutrient

; extensive

deforestation

of its

watershed

that

caused severe

siltation

and other effects; vigorous

commer-

cial fishing

; and

pollution

by toxic

chemicals

The watershed of Lake Erie is much more agricultural

and urban in character than are those of the other Great

Lakes. Consequently, the dominant sources of

phosphorus

(the most important nutrient causing eutrophication) to

Lake Erie are agricultural

runoff

and municipal point

sources. The total input of phosphorus to Lake Erie (stan-

dardized to watershed area) is about l.3 times larger than to

Lake Ontario and more than five times larger than to the

other Great Lakes.

Because of its large loading rates and concentrations

of nutrients, Lake Erie is more productive and has a larger

standing crop of

phytoplankton

, fish, and other biota than

the other Great Lakes. During the late 1960s and early

1970s, the eutrophic western basin of Lake Erie had a sum-

mer-chlorophyll concentration averaging twice as large as in

Lake Ontario and 11 times larger than in

oligotrophic

Lake

Superior. However, since that time the eutrophication of

Lake Erie has been alleviated somewhat, in direct response

to decreased phosphorus inputs with sewage and

deter-

gents

. A consequence of the eutrophic state of Lake Erie

was the development of anoxia (lack of oxygen) in its deeper

waters during summer

stratification

. In the summer of

1953, this condition caused a collapse of the population of

benthic mayfly larvae (Hexagenia spp.), a phenomenon that

was interpreted in the popular press as the “death” of

Lake Erie.

Large changes have also taken place in the fish com-

munity of Lake Erie, mostly because of its fishery, the dam-

ming of streams required for spawning by anadromous fishes

(fish that ascend rivers or streams to spawn), and

sedimenta-

tion

of shallow-water

habitat

silt

eroded from deforested

parts of the watershed. Lake Erie has always had the most

productive fishery on the Great Lakes, with fish landings

that typically exceed the combined totals of all the other

Great Lakes. The peak years of commercial fishery in Lake

Erie were in 1935 and 1956 (62 million lb/28 million kg),

while the minima were in 1929 and 1941 (24 million lb/11

million kg). Overall, the total catch by the commercial fishery

has been remarkably stable over time, despite large changes

806

species

, effort, eutrophication, toxic pollution, and other

changes in habitat.

The historical pattern of development of the Lake Erie

fishery was characterized by an initial exploitation of the

most desirable and valuable species. As the populations of

these species collapsed because of unsustainable fishing pres-

sure, coupled with habitat deterioration, the fishery diverted

to a progression of less-desirable species. The initial fishery

focused on lake white fish (Coregonus clupeaformis), lake trout

(Salvelinus namaycush), and lake herring (Leucichthys artedi),

all of which rapidly declined to

scarcity

extinction

. The

next target was “second-choice” species, such as blue pike

(Stizostedion vitreum glaucum) and walleye (S. v. vitreum),

which are now extinct or rare. Today’s fishery is dominated

by species of much smaller economic value, such as yellow

perch (Perca flavescens), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax),

and carp (Cyprinus carpio).

In 1989 an invasive species—the

zebra mussel

(Dreis-

sena polymorpha—reached Lake Erie and began to have a

significant ecological impact on the lake. Zebra mussels are

filter feeders, and each adult mussel can filter a liter of water

per day, removing every microscopic plant (phytoplankton

or algae) and animal (

zooplankton

) in the process. Zebra

mussel densities in Lake Erie have reached such a level that

the entire volume of the lake’s western basin is filtered each

week. This has increased water clarity up to 600 percent

and reduced some forms of phytoplankton in the lake’s food

web by as much as 80 percent. In addition, the increased

clarity of the water allows light to penetrate deeper into the

water, thus facilitating the growth of rooted aquatic plants

and increasing populations of some bottom-dwelling algae

and tiny animals. Zebra mussels also concentrate 10 times

toxins

than do native mussels, and these contaminants

are passed up the food chain to the fish and birds that eat

zebra mussels. Since

bioaccumulation

of toxins has already

led to advisories against eating some species of Great Lakes

fish, the contribution of zebra mussels to contaminant cy-

cling in lake species is a serious concern. See also Cultural

eutrophication; Water pollution

[Bill Freedman Ph.D.]

ESOURCES

OOKS

Ashworth, W. The Late, Great Lakes: An Environmental History. New York:

Knopf, 1986.

Freedman, B. Environmental Ecology. 2nd edition San Diego: Academic

Press, 1995.

ERIODICALS

Regier, H. A., and W. L. Hartman. “Lake Erie’s Fish Community: 150

Years of Cultural Stresses.” Science 180 (1973): 1248–55.