New Report Shows Colombian Biodiversity Endangered by Humans

Posted on November 30, 2014 by GarryRogers

BOGOTA – Biodiversity in Colombia, one of the richest on the planet, faces a “discouraging” future after centuries of human degradation of the continental ecosystems, according to a report released in Bogota.

The 2014 Biodiversity Report, prepared by the Alexander von Humboldt Research Institute, offers an exhaustive analysis of the status, trends and challenges of biodiversity in Colombia.l

Source: laht.com

GR: The human impact has many facets, but at its root is population growth. Construction, invasive species, deforestation, toxic chemicals, and greenhouse gas are all increasing along with population. Colombia, growing slower than many other countries, has tripled its population to near 50,000,000 since 1960, and shows no signs of slowing.

Westerners want to save the sage-grouse (and so do I) – Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Posted on November 27, 2014 by GarryRogers

In the West we still have a chance to conserve sage-grouse, the Sagebrush Sea and all its inhabitants.

“A new poll conducted by Tulchin Research for Defenders of Wildlife found that the majority of voters in western states want to see sage-grouse protected, even if that means listing the bird under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Add to that one New Jerseyan. I didn’t know what a sage-grouse was before I began working for Defenders of Wildlife. Now I consider myself, like the majority of westerners, an advocate for their protection.

“Sage-grouse are a special bird. They have a long and storied history in our country and are an iconic ambassador of a quintessentially western landscape, the Sagebrush Sea. Today, greater sage-grouse range has been reduced by nearly half and populations have declined by up to 90 percent.”

Source: www.defendersblog.org

GR: Beautiful birds. In the western U. S., saving any part of nature is a struggle. During the past century of human occupation, the sagebrush landscape has taken a severe beating. Invasive plants and relentless livestock grazing have destroyed much of the original vegetation. Saving the sage-grouse is a battle that, if it is won, will save some of the native plants and animals that create the magnetic charm of the sagebrush sea’s quiet solitude.

NASA: October 2014 Tied For Hottest on Record

Posted on November 20, 2014 by GarryRogers

At the same time we have developers wiping out habitat, we have the progress machine spewing out smoke and toxic waste. It’s as if we humans have made a careful analysis and found every possible move we can make to damage our environment.

robertscribbler

(October was again a global temperature record setter. Image source: NASA.)

NASA’s monthly global temperature analysis is in and the results are once again record-making. For according to NASA’s global monitor, world temperatures were 0.76 degrees Celsius above the Earth average for the mid 20th Century.

This high temperature departure ties 2005 for hottest in NASA’s 136 year record. A temperature level that global ice core data points toward being hotter than at any time in the past 400,000 years. A record hot month in a string of record hot months for 2014. A resurgence to record high marks amidst an unprecedented spate of rising temperatures that has lasted now for more than a century running.

(Global temperatures have risen by more than 1 degree C above their low mark at the start of the 20th Century. It is a human-driven pace of warming 15-20 times faster than at…

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China’s New Great Wall Threatens One Quarter of World’s Shorebirds

Posted on November 20, 2014 by GarryRogers

GR: Human disregard for other species is disgusting.

The following by Richard Conniff.

Every spring, tens of thousands of plump, russet-breasted shorebirds drop down onto the wetlands of China’s Bohai Bay, ravenous after traveling 3,000 miles from Australia.

This Yellow Sea stopover point is crucial for the birds, called red knots, to rest and refuel for the second leg of their journey, which will take them another 2,000 miles up to the Arctic tundra.

Unfortunately for the red knots, the intertidal flats of Bohai Bay are rapidly disappearing, cut off from the ocean by new sea walls and filled in with silt and rock, to create buildable land for development. In a society now relentlessly focused on short-term profit that seems like a wonderful bargain, and the collateral loss of vast areas of shorebird habitat merely an incidental detail. As a result, China’s seawall mileage has more than tripled over the past two decades, and now covers 60 percent of the mainland coastline. This “new Great Wall” is already longer than the celebrated Great Wall of China, according to an article published Thursday in Science, and it’s just getting bigger every year—with catastrophic consequences for wildlife and people.

Source: strangebehaviors.wordpress.com

PEER – BLM Grazing Reform

Posted on November 16, 2014 by GarryRogers

GR: PEER’s interactive maps give you BLM’s land health assessment, and let you zoom in to see actual conditions on the ground.

In 2012, BLM respond to a PEER statement that grazing allotment health was not accurately reported (http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/grazing.html). The BLM did not explain why many allotments described as healthy have large areas that have been overgrazed and trampled excessively.

A highly degraded allotment in OR that BLM records as “All Standards Met” (Photo from PEER.org).

Using the Peer maps, citizen naturalists can visit nearby BLM grazing allotments and perform their own assessment. Weeds, trampled shrubs, barren trails, and more are visual testaments to excessive cattle use. Once problems are reported, BLM will make necessary corrections.

Thanks to Ralph Maughan of The Wildlife News for spotting the PEER maps.

The following is from PEER.org.

“On more than 250 million acres of public lands in the American West, grazing by domestic livestock constitutes by far the most widespread human-caused impact on fundamental range conditions, including habitat quality, riparian functioning, and endangered species. More extensive than the impacts of logging and mining combined, commercial livestock grazing exacts an enormous toll on native ecosystems and wildlife throughout the American West. It is a contributing factor to the endangerment of 22 percent of all federally listed threatened and endangered species, and a major contributor to non-point source water pollution and desertification.

“The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the nation’s largest public lands-managing agency and administrator of grazing permits, is required to monitor the ecological impacts of grazing on its lands. BLM conducts evaluations of whether its grazing allotments meet “Land Health Standards” (LHS), but until now the results of these evaluations have been largely inaccessible to those outside the agency and their results have escaped independent review.”

Source: www.peer.org

Economic growth and climate change

Posted on November 11, 2014 by GarryRogers

dust-storm-002 Climate change isn’t the only problem with our addiction to growth. Growth is causing a Great Death of species and ecosystems. Perhaps no economist and few politicians care if they ever see a bird or blade of grass again, but is a silent planet of stone and dust truly their goal? Do they believe that a magical door in space will let them go to a better world when this one is dead? I guess they are so concerned with growth that they don’t consider other issues. They’re like a driver checking their bank balance as their BMW races toward the red taillights ahead.

The following by christopherwrightau on Climate Change, Politics

With the coming G20 talks about to kick off in Brisbane, the focus of the agenda centres on economic growth as the panacea for all our troubles. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey have been adamant in their focus upon the need to increase economic growth globally. It’s rare, if not impossible to find anyone in the mainstream public debate who questions the wisdom of ever-increasing economic growth. And yet there is a major underlying problem in our collective worship and addiction to growth – climate change.

Economic growth, rising affluence and a growing world population have been the major contributors to the environmental crisis we now face. Witness for instance our ever-escalating global greenhouse gas emissions. Despite four decades of political discussion about the urgency of climate change, the only times we have been able to halt this inexorable rise has been during periods of economic recession, such as our recent global financial crisis.

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LA Planners Do Not Want City Council to Ban Fracking

Posted on November 11, 2014 by GarryRogers

Anne C. Mulkern, E&E Reporter: “Los Angeles planners after a nine-month review are advising their City Council not to attempt a ban on fracking and other unconventional oil drilling.” (Source: http://www.eenews.net)

GR: The photograph: Smart Growth joins Sustainable Development in the Urban planner’s arsenal of deceptive terms. They don’t realize how oxymoronic they are.

GR: Planners are always on the side of growth and development. Society’s “progress” syndrome prepares young people for their final brainwashing in college. Imaginations constrained by courses, teachers, and fellow students, planners can’t conceive of a world without growth. Quality planning becomes full utilization of space for human benefit.

Ninety Companies Produced Two-Thirds of Global Warming Emissions

Posted on November 10, 2014 by GarryRogers

Oil, coal and gas companies are contributing to most carbon emissions, causing climate change and some are also funding denial campaigns. Photograph: David Gray/Reuter.

Suzanne Goldenberg: “Chevron, Exxon and BP among companies most responsible for climate change since dawn of industrial age, figures show

“The climate crisis of the 21st century has been caused largely by just 90 companies, which between them produced nearly two-thirds of the greenhouse gas emissions generated since the dawning of the industrial age, new research suggests.

“The companies range from investor-owned firms – household names such as Chevron, Exxon and BP – to state-owned and government-run firms.

“The analysis, which was welcomed by the former vice-president Al Gore as a “crucial step forward” found that the vast majority of the firms were in the business of producing oil, gas or coal, found the analysis, which has been published in the journal Climatic Change.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

GR: They’re not going to stop are they?

What if humans abandoned half the planet to wildlife?: A conversation with E.O. Wilson

Posted on November 4, 2014 by GarryRogers

“E.O. Wilson is a scientist and author who’s concerned with everything from insect society to the consciousness of humans. Over the past 60 years, he’s uncovered fascinating facts about the altruism of ants, won two Pulitzer Prizes for non-fiction, and created the field of sociobiology — the study of how evolution affects our behavior today.

“His latest book, The Meaning of Human Existence, features his scientifically driven musings about the nature of humanity and the biggest challenges we face as a species. I recently spoke to him about what scientific disciplines he thinks are key to solving them — and why he believes we need to set aside half the Earth for other species as soon as possible.”

Source: www.vox.com

GR: In this interview, Wilson also talks about his next book, the one that argues for half the planet for wildlife.