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Climate Change

Global Climate Change: What you must know Today

By |2021-05-13T15:34:30+01:00February 3rd, 2021|

Climate change links with disturbance in the concentration of greenhouse gases, resulting in the rise of average global temperature. As goes by the studies, the effects of global climate change are impacting every sphere of life today.

While this is very much told about climate change in the current sources of information, some facts still lie unknown. This article presents you with facets that will probably change your perception of this global crisis.

The last 20 years have been recorded in the past 22 years 

As per the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, 2018 the warmest years on the record have occurred in the last 22 years. The degree of temperature has only directed upward and the extent has been exceptional both on land and water. Records state that since 1880, the years from 2015 to 2020 have been following the pace of the highest temperature trend. And the forthcoming year of 2020 is yet to set a benchmark next! 

Are you still not worried about the future?

The impact of global climate change on humans is terrifying 

The rising earth temperature has facilitated issues like:

  • Poor air quality
  • Adversely affecting the crop production
  • The spread of infectious diseases
  • Coercing the freshwater reservoirs

The impact of the following conditions has severely impacted human health. Meanwhile, lack of adaptive potentials has led to an increase in heat-related deaths. 

And the consequences don’t end here. Global climate change has intensified natural disasters. The rates of wildfires ripping through the forests might have reduced but the intensity of the blazes has increased. Also, the radical hurricanes of the highest frequencies ranked as 4 and 5 have become frequent. And this has not only affected human life but also the wildlife, disturbing their natural habitats and migration patterns.

The effects of climate change can be irreversible by 2030

Heeding the special report of IPCC on Global Warming 1.5° C, we only have ten years to curtail the worst impacts of climate change. Yet not much has been done concerning the release of greenhouse gas emissions. Hereafter, subsequent reports have warned that our planet will undergo catastrophically irreversible damage if global carbon emission isn’t cut half within the next decade. We have already entered this crucial decade and yet are far fetched from the reality of the crisis!

More than 1.5 million species are on the verge of extinction 

Experts estimate that we are on the verge of the sixth mass extinction—one that’s mostly a result of human activities. And analyzing the change we are throwing at the special diversities, nearly 30 to 50 percent of the total species are to disappear soon. 

Conclusion:

It’s high time to act upon the inaction towards global climate change and seek a better approach towards the crisis. Know that climate change is real and requires most of our potential to avert its consequences.

The post Global Climate Change: What you must know Today appeared first on Nature Talkies – We Talk about Nature.

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Resisting Climate Change Apocalypticism: Environmental Justice Activism from the South Pacific

By |2021-05-13T15:37:48+01:00January 28th, 2021|

By Hanna Straß-Senol

In late 2013, an Australian newspaper reported that a man from Kiribati “stood to make history as the world’s first climate refugee.” The New Zealand High Court, before which the man appeared, rejected the claim because the category of climate refugee was not included under the United Nation’s provisions for refugees.

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Global Warming, Sea-Ice Loss Intensify Polar Bear Decline

By |2021-05-13T15:34:35+01:00January 28th, 2021|

The unabated global warming and the melting Arctic sea ice can result in the extinction of Polar years in the near-century, say the scientists. Meanwhile, studies show that all the 19 subpopulations of polar bears have experienced ice loss over the current times.

If not taken charge, the situation would worsen, forcing the animals to walk towards the lands and away from their food supplies. Whereafter, prolonged fasting and mothers failing to nurse their cubs will result in drastic declines in reproduction and survival of the polar bears.

Impact of global warming on polar bears

Global warming has led to the rise in the Arctic’s temperature, which is twice as fast as the global average. And as a result of this, the sea ice cover is seen diluting by four percent every decade.

Following a 2018 study providing the metabolic analysis of the species, it is found that the animals’ caloric needs are 60 percent greater than the one formerly believed. And they burn out nearly 12,325 calories every day. In order to sustain this need, their diet consists of calorie-rich food as that of ringed and bearded seals, whose population is likewise declining with the loss of sea ice.

When the land-fast sea ice melts, it compels polar bears back to the lands where they don’t get any access to seals. In the seals’ scarcity, the animals are known to hunt for caribou and whale carcasses washed ashore, which does not fulfill their caloric needs. Hereafter the polar bears begin to fast, struggling to maintain a healthy weight for their survival.

The disturbing factors

The consequences of global warming and conditions of sea ice levels are different in different Arctic regions. And not all polar bear populations are to respond the same way. In the Western Hudson Bay and Southern Beaufort Sea, the past or present decline in the Polar bear populations is directly associated with the loss of sea-ice. 

However, moving elsewhere, other factors including shipping, hunting, tourism, oil and gas activities, prey availability tends to determine the lesser or greater extents affecting the subpopulation trends. This further complicates the picture and calls for a matter of concern. 

Ways to reduce the impact of global warming on polar bears

There’s a lot we can contribute to saving polar bears and other endangered species from extinction. One of the significant causes of intense sea-ice loss and polar bear decline is global warming. Hence the solution lies in curtailing the abruptly rising temperature of the earth.

Concerning this, here are a few steps you can take to help reduce global warming:

  • Equip your home with renewable energy resources.
  • Opt for a fuel-efficient vehicle or better encourage carpooling and use of public transports.
  • Recycle waste and adopt responsible consumption practices.
  • Promote better use of natural resources, preventing deforestation, and massive use of fossil fuels.

The most important factor to work upon in order to improve the long-term survival of polar bear populations is reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. This is also to stabilize the Arctic sea ice levels to secure the polar bear habitats.

The post Global Warming, Sea-Ice Loss Intensify Polar Bear Decline appeared first on Nature Talkies – We Talk about Nature.

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Increasing Natural Disasters Are “Not So Natural” Afterall

By |2021-05-13T15:34:39+01:00January 12th, 2021|

Do you ever wonder why the news channels are always flashing news about a natural disaster raging in some or the other part of the world? The Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) states that the occurrence of natural disasters has hiked three-fold merely in the last four decades. 

When the world is standing amidst a climate crisis and facing multiple threats from nature, we really need to ponder what all this rage is about and how we can fix our ways for a healthier and safer planet.

What is a natural disaster?

The Oxford Dictionary explains a natural disaster as a natural phenomenon that causes great loss of life and property. Phenomena like floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes are natural; the overflowing of a river and flooding the shores is natural, but if there’s a human settlement that is disturbed by this flood, it’s a natural disaster. 

According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), natural disasters are simply a result of a lack of planning and prevention in a natural phenomenon. In other words, it’s not nature but human interference and mismanagement that causes a natural disaster.

How do human activities result in a natural disaster?

  • Deforestation

While large-scale deforestation results in increased carbon levels in the atmosphere and decreased resources for forest-dependent communities, it contributes to an increased number of small-scale natural disasters. Since tall and robust trees bind the soil together, cutting them results in washing off the forest soil — a phenomenon called soil erosion. 

When there’s heavy rainfall, the soil of the forest is able to absorb excess water, preventing soil, and in the very same manner, it can prevent dry land or droughts. The number of people suffering from food crises due to natural disasters has tripled over the last three decades.

  • Agriculture

Just like deforestation, agriculture also destroys the topsoil of a land area, decreasing its possibility to absorb rainwater. This excess water is then rushed down to the rivers, and consequently, the river system becomes overloaded, again causing floods, cyclones, and tsunamis.

  • Urban Development

In the very same manner, increased urban development makes that geographical area more prone to natural disasters. Town and city surfaces are covered with cement and asphalt, which is not able to absorb any rainwater, burdening the nearby river system. 

  • Building Dams

Hydroelectric power production is impossible without dam construction. Levees and dams used to hold river water again make that area prone to damaging floods as there is a possibility of the levee or dam wall breaking and spreading water in the surroundings. Building dams also makes the place vulnerable to earthquakes due to the large mass of water, putting immense pressure behind the dam. 

  • Natural Wetland Destruction

Destruction of natural wetlands is another major root cause behind floods. When swamps are ditched and natural obstacles for water are destroyed, water finds new ways that tend to be close to human settlements, resulting in a massive loss of life and property.

The post Increasing Natural Disasters Are “Not So Natural” Afterall appeared first on Nature Talkies – We Talk about Nature.

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Understanding Ecology: A beginner’s handbook

By |2021-05-13T15:34:42+01:00January 7th, 2021|

Ecology, as we have all studied in our school times, is the study of organisms and how they interact with their surrounding environment. All living beings make up the biotic component while the nonliving things of our ecosystem comprise the abiotic component. 

Changes occurring in the ecosystem due to different factors like increase in temperature, overexploitation of natural resources, excessive fishing, deforestation, and other human activities disturb the balance in the environment. These ecological changes affect the living and nonliving components of the ecosystem that are interdependent for their survival. 

Understanding ecology and the gradual changes in our ecosystem can help ecologists anticipate future ecological challenges. Such prior knowledge helps scientists and policymakers to find a way out to combat any local ecosystem challenges that can arise in the near future.

What is an Ecosystem?

In simpler words, the ecosystem is a geographical area consisting of plants, animals, and other living and nonliving beings. All the members of an ecosystem are dependent on members of their same species and on members of different species in that ecosystem for their survival.

Understanding ecology and the components of the ecosystem

  • Like a human family, every member of an ecosystem has a role to play for a balanced functioning of that ecosystem.
  • Plants, especially the green ones, are called Primary Producers as they can make their own food by Photosynthesis. 
  • Next, in the ecosystem, we have Consumers who are dependent on plants for their food requirements. Organisms like herbivores directly feeding on plants are the Primary consumers. Carnivorous and omnivorous animals feeding on other animals are Secondary Consumers, and the chain goes on.
  • Fungi, bacterias, and other saprophytes feeding on dead bodies come in the category of decomposers.
  • All these forms the food chains and food webs in the ecosystem. Understanding the ecology behind it helps us in understanding the inter-dependability of living beings on each other.

What is population ecology?

Population ecology is the study of the processes which affect the distribution and abundance of animal and plant populations. You have probably read about this in your science classes at school. Read on for a recap:

  • A population confined to a small geographic area is easier to study as compared to the widespread one. 
  • Moreover, the population that undergoes asexual reproduction shows less genetic and phenotypic variability than that reproducing sexually.
  • These variations make them more adaptable to the changing environmental conditions around them.
Ecology and the homo sapiens

Humans have always manipulated and overexploited the ecosystem. Here are some of the endless ways in which human activities are disturbing the ecological balance and leading humanity to a deteriorating planet. 

  • Air pollution by the factory and vehicular emission
  • Water pollution by factory discharge
  • Soil pollution by inorganic farming
  • Contamination of the food web by agricultural chemicals 

Understanding ecology has become all the more critical in this age of science and industrialization to spot our mistakes and find out alternatives to our modern lifestyles for a safer, cleaner, and greener world.

The post Understanding Ecology: A beginner’s handbook appeared first on Nature Talkies – We Talk about Nature.

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Climate Change: How Did We End Up Here?

By |2021-05-13T15:34:51+01:00December 15th, 2020|

If we take our eyes off of the money and power for a moment, we are exposed to bigger issues that we have been ignoring for a long while now. Yes, we are talking about climate change. 

It is probably the only matter that humans, as a race, should be really concerned about. After all, it could take our lives much earlier than we thought. 

The primary reason why climate change is an alarming cause is our negligence and exploitative nature. Let’s have a closer look at how we ended up here. 

The emissions of Greenhouse Gases

It is a widely known fact that greenhouse gases are responsible for trapping heat in the environment. Scientists discovered this in the 1800s itself. While there are many greenhouse gases, Carbon Dioxide is single-handedly accountable for shooting up global warming by a disturbing percentage. 

If we look at carbon dioxide emissions because of human activities from all across the world, we will all drop our jaws. They increased by a whopping 400 percent since the 1950s. This is why global warming is not to be taken lightly. 

If you think about some 800,000 years ago, you will see a pattern of Earth’s natural climate cycle. This all happened between warmer interglacial periods and the ice ages. The last ice age ended 20,000 years ago, and the average temperature across the globe increased by 3 degrees Celsius to 8 degrees Celsius. This happened during a period of 10,000 years. 

The rises in temperature that occurred during the last 200 years have a direct connection to the increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Everything is interconnected, and human greed is to be blamed. 

Solar influences

When talking about Climate Change, it would be unfair not to include the main source of all heat on our Planet Earth. The closest Star, The center of the Solar System; The Sun. We cannot just rule out the possibility that even the slightest change in its output heat and light can affect the terrestrial ecosystems in significant ways. The light and heat coming from the Sun is called Solar Irradiance and is highly responsible for Climate Change lately. 

The sun goes through 11-year cycles of activity when it goes from stormy to quiet and then back to the solar storms again. When it’s stormy, Scientists like Thomas Woods at NASA have been using SORCE (Solar Radiation and Climate Experiments) to measure the most significant storms on the Sun. They have stated, “The fluctuations in the solar cycle impact Earth’s global temperature by about 0.1 degree Celsius, slightly hotter during solar maximum and cooler during solar minimum.”

While we have tried our best to walk you through the main reasons behind climate change, there are always more explanations. The best way to stay informed and safe is by reading about the observations that scientists have made.

The post Climate Change: How Did We End Up Here? appeared first on Nature Talkies – We Talk about Nature.

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