Climate: Study tracks loss of biodiversity near melting Antarctic glaciers

Posted on November 14, 2015 by GarryRogers

“A series of research dives around the Antarctic Peninsula suggest that melting glaciers are diminishing the region’s biodiversity. Scientists think the main cause may be increased levels of sediment in the water.
“Over the past five decades, temperatures have risen nearly five times as rapidly on the western Antarctic Peninsula than the global average. Yet the impacts of the resulting retreat of glaciers on bottom-dwelling organisms remain unclear.” More at: summitcountyvoice.com

GR: This could be titled Chronicling Earth’s demise: . . .. Unlike the medical report on the progress of a fatal disease, however, there may be no one to read the chronicle of our planetary disaster. Most people already know our climate system is failing, so the educational value is small. Should we make these records to give insight to alien archaeologists who want to understand what happened to our planet? Or should we spend our energy trying to stop the change?

Can we halt biodiversity loss in 15 years? Yes we can!

Posted on November 13, 2015 by GarryRogers

“Is the aspiration to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2030 – enshrined in the UN’s new Sustainable Development Goals – a fairy tale? It’s ambitious, writes Richard Pearson, but there are plenty of signs that the world is acting effectively to conserve its endangered habitats and species. With extraordinary effort, we can do it.” Read more at: www.theecologist.org

GR: Because it fails to mention human population control, Pearson’s argument fails to show that we can stop biodiversity loss by 2030, or ever. The nonsensical nature of the argument hints that its true purpose is support of continued development–business as usual.

World’s Largest Ecological Study on Palm Oil Deforestation Releases Five Year Review

Posted on November 10, 2015 by GarryRogers

Working with SAFE, climate scientist Stephen Hardwick found that palm oil plantations are on average 6.5 degrees Celsius hotter that primary (never logged) rainforest. This disparity means the difference between life and death for sensitive species like termites and earthworms that play a drastically important role in the rainforest ecosystem by controlling the rate at which things decompose. Even lightly logged forest was 2.5 degrees hotter than primary forests. In these forests, Hardwick found that the hotter it got, the more water trees used and the more vulnerable they became to droughts. This discovery casts doubt on the eco-friendliness of selective harvesting – a method of logging that in which only trees above a certain size are felled and which was previously perceived as sustainable.

“That doubt that was furthered by studies showing how the extra, unclaimed logs left behind in selective harvesting are actually doing harm to the environment. Living trees suck CO2 out of the air, but dead trees actually release it. The significant number of dead trees in partially logged rainforests could be emitting more carbon than was previously thought, potentially nullifying what air quality improvements result from not completely cutting a forest down. This oversight could mean that partially logged forests (which make up 30 percent of rainforests worldwide) thought to be carbon sinks are actually sources of CO2 emission, and suggests that global calculations for CO2 are wrong 30 percent of the time.” More at: cleanmalaysia.com

GR: Here’s another study finding that logging is bad for forest ecosystems and it is bad for global climate. It’s time to stop.

Nature News Digests

Posted on October 10, 2015 by GarryRogers

Nature News Digests:

How protecting the biodiversity of our planet protects us all

Posted on September 24, 2015 by GarryRogers

“The number of living animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, has been halved since 1970, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report. The pace at which species are becoming extinct is 1000 times higher than the natural rate of extinction, and we are currently experiencing the largest extinction wave since the disappearance of the dinosaurs. We are destroying life on earth at an unprecedented pace.

“All human activities depend on healthy ecosystems. These ecosystems provide services such as clean water, arable land for agriculture, fish, timber, pollination and nutrient cycling required for crops, which enable us to grow and harvest the food we need to feed our increasing population and to build our economies. Furthermore, robust, intact ecosystems are more resilient to a changing climate. So protecting biodiversity is not about saving charismatic species for the sake of curiosity and science, but it is crucial for life on earth.” From: agenda.weforum.org

GR: This needs more detail, but the generalities are essentially correct.

How does climate change affect biodiversity

Posted on August 31, 2015 by GarryRogers

https://www.youtube.com/v/aoQzK7nbmIc?fs=1&hl=fr_FR

Great animation from the California Academy of Sciences about climate change (induced by global warming) and its effects on biodiversity. Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.youtube.com

GR: This is one of three excellent presentations. I highly recommend them to anyone who wishes to learn more or teach more about these critical subjects.

Banned pesticides pose a greater risk to bees than thought, EU experts warn

Posted on August 26, 2015 by GarryRogers

“Three pesticides banned in Europe for their potential to damage bee populations could pose an even greater threat than was thought, according to a new assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa).

“Already proscribed for seed treatments and soil applications, the Efsa analysis says that clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam also pose a ‘high risk’ to bees when sprayed on leaves.

“The UK is currently facing a legal challenge to an emergency exemption it granted, allowing use of two of the substances, after protests by the National Farmers Union.

“But far from supporting the British case, the advisory expert assessment will add to pressure for an extension of the ban to apply to fruit orchards after blooming, and crops gown in greenhouses, Greenpeace says.

“The commission should expand the EU-wide ban to cover all uses of neonicotinoids on all crops, and end the self-service approach to derogations. Viable non-chemical alternatives exist and the EU should encourage farmers to use them,” said the group’s agriculture policy director, Marco Contiero.” Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.theguardian.com

GR: The rest of the world needs to pay attention here and see the need to escape from the chemistry industry’s death grip.

Fossil Fuel Ecocide Forces Starving Polar Bear to Hold Breath For Three Minutes in Seal Hunt

Posted on August 8, 2015 by GarryRogers

Image courtesy of the American Dream (The gaunt, emaciated and obviously starving polar bear that broke the recent diving record in a photo by Rinie van Meurs. Image source: Meurs Study and The Weather Network).

Like so many other innocent creatures on this planet, polar bears are facing ever-worsening life-threatening conditions due to the fossil fuel industry’s insistence to keep burning, and to keep us dependent on their horrific energy sources. The bears’ Arctic home has been transformed in ways that are profound and terrible. The sea ice they used for hunting grounds is greatly depleted. The seals they hunted for prey have ever-more-numerous avenues of escape into dark and warming waters. Sourced through Scoop.it from: robertscribbler.com

GR: Painful to see knowing that this is just one victim of our American dream.

Biodiversity conservation: The key is reducing meat consumption

Posted on August 8, 2015 by GarryRogers

RT @mzaraska: Meat consumption is a threat to biodiversity, study shows http://t.co/A4CXgpVXwG http://t.co/AzUj9Qzn4h. Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.sciencedirect.com