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Editorial

Thoughts on saving the planet

2023 could mark a turning point for the Amazon rainforest

By |2025-01-09T12:14:56+00:00January 1st, 2023|

New political leaders in Brazil and Colombia have promised to protect the rainforest, raising hopes of saving the ecosystem from becoming savannah

From the New Scientist, 31 December 2022

By Luke Taylor

Potaro-river-running-through-the-Amazon

The Potaro river running through the Amazon rainforest in Guyana

After four years of runaway deforestation in the Amazon under Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who takes office on 1 January, could be a decisive turning point.

Lula has pledged to aim for net-zero deforestation – the first Brazilian president to do so. “A standing tree is worth more than thousands of logs,” he said in his victory speech on 31 October. “That is why we will resume the surveillance of the entire Amazon and any illegal activity.”

As well as the restoration of monitoring and surveillance efforts, Lula is proposing several ambitious projects, such as a national climate authority and a sustainable farming scheme. But without a majority in Brazil’s Congress, it is unclear whether he will be able to deliver on these pledges. It will also take time to dislodge the illegal industries that have taken hold in the Amazon, such as gold mining.

Despite the challenges ahead, Lula’s win has made researchers and conservationists more optimistic that the Amazon could be saved, even as there are signs it is hitting a tipping point that would see it transform into savannah. “The election of Lula is a great reason for hope,” says Mark Plotkin, an ethnobotanist and co-founder of non-profit organisation the Amazon Conservation Team.

The impact of Lula’s environmental policy should be magnified by the recent election of eco-conscious governments elsewhere in South America that have campaigned to protect the rainforest.

In Colombia, which is home to some of the Amazon’s most biodiverse regions, President Gustavo Petro is also positioning himself as a regional steward of the rainforest, after taking office in August 2022. Petro is pushing for high-income countries to support South America’s defence of the rainforest and he is also overseeing a total rethink of Colombia’s conservation strategy.

After decades of criminalising farmers who clear the forest for agriculture, the Colombian government now plans to offer them financial support to transition to more sustainable practices, such as harvesting Amazonian fruits from the trees.

The country’s environment minister also proposes diverting all carbon tax revenue directly to conservation schemes and forging an “Amazon Bloc” with other South American nations, so that they will have more leverage to secure international funds.

With Petro, Lula and US president Joe Biden all having been elected after campaigning to protect the Amazon, researchers say they have the political and public support to move forward with plans to conserve and restore the rainforest.

There may also be more opportunities for collaboration between different countries and groups. Bolsonaro blocked conservation in the wider region, not just Brazil, says Martín von Hildebrand, founder of the non-profit organisation Gaia Amazonas. Alliances between NGOs, scientists and Indigenous peoples can now be strengthened and their plans enacted, he says.

Restoring the forest

This could be the year that decades of damage begin to be reversed, says von Hildebrand. The anthropologist is working with researchers and Indigenous communities to draw up a reforestation project that would create a wildlife corridor stretching from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean. “We’ve been waiting for a long time for political will to implement change and I think we are finally going to get it,” he says.

Carlos Nobre at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, believes that conservationists can capitalise on political support and the growing urgency of climate change to spur efforts towards reforestation.

At the COP27 climate summit in November 2022, Nobre presented a project to restore more than 1 million square kilometres of rainforest that would, he says, “store 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year for decades to come and prevent the Amazon from reaching a tipping point”.

Though the Amazon’s future remains uncertain, the importance of its conservation for climate change will only become more obvious in 2023, says von Hildebrand.

“It’s not only a carbon sink and a haven of biodiversity, but with its flying rivers [currents of water vapour], it’s a water pump for the entire Amazon, the Andes and beyond,” he says. “The forest is absolutely necessary. If we lose the forest, we simply won’t have water in this part of the world.”

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Wild Winter Weather

By |2025-01-09T09:37:41+00:00December 23rd, 2022|

[ posted earlier at facebook ]

The image on the right shows a forecast of very low temperatures over North America with a temperature of -40 °C / °F highlighted (green circle at center) for December 23, 2022 14:00 UTC.

As the image shows, temperatures over large parts of North America are forecast to be even lower than the temperature at the North Pole.
The combination image below illustrates this further, showing temperatures as low as -50.3°C or -58.6°F in Alaska on December 22, 2022 at 17:00 UTC, while at the same time the temperature at the North Pole was -13.6°C or 7.4°F.
The Jet Stream
The image below shows the Jet Stream (250 hPa) on December 13, 2022, stretched out vertically and reaching the North Pole as well as the South Pole, while sea surface temperature anomalies are as high as 11°C or 19.7°F from 1981-2011 at the green circle.
The Jet Stream used to circumnavigate the globe within a narrow band from West to East (due to the Coriolis Force), and it used to travel at relatively high speed, fuelled by the temperature difference between the tropics and the poles.
[ posted earlier at facebook ]
As the above image shows, the Pacific Ocean is currently cooler at the tropics and warmer further to the north (compared to 1981-2011), which narrows this temperature difference and in turn makes the Jet Stream wavier. Accordingly, the Jet Stream is going up high into the Arctic before descending deep down over North America.
The image on the right shows air pressure at sea level on December 22, 2022. High sea surface temperatures make air rise, lowering air pressure at the surface to levels as low as 973 hPa over the Pacific. Conversely, a more wavy Jet Stream enables cooler air to flow from the Arctic to North America, raising air pressure at the surface to levels as high as 1056 hPa.
On December 22, 2022, the Jet Stream reached very high speeds over the Pacific, fuelled by high sea surface temperature anomalies. The image on the right shows the Jet Stream moving over the North Pacific at speeds as high as 437 km/h or 271 mph (with a Wind Power Density of 349.2 kW/m², at the green circle).
The Jet Stream then collides with higher air pressure and moves up into the Arctic, and subsequently descends deep down over North America, carrying along cold air from the Arctic. Distortion of the Jet Stream also results in the formation of circular wind patterns that further accelerate the speed of the Jet Stream.
The image on the right shows the Jet Stream moving over North America at speeds as high as 366 km/h or 227 mph (green circle). The image also shows high waves in the North Pacific.
La Niña / El Niño
The low sea surface temperature anomalies in the Pacific Ocean are in line with the current La Niña.
The fact that such extreme weather events occur while we’re in the depth of a persistent La Niña is worrying. The next El Niño could push up temperatures further, which would hit the Arctic most strongly. This would further narrow the difference between temperatures at the Equator and the North Pole, thus making the Jet Stream more wavy, which also enables warm air to move into the Arctic, further accelerating feedbacks in the Arctic.
The image below, from NOAA, indicates that the next El Niño is likely to emerge soon.

Conclusion

The situation is dire and calls for immediate, comprehensive and effective action as described in the Climate Plan.

Links

• nullschool
• Jet Stream
• Coriolis Force
• Wind Power Density

• Extreme Weather
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/extreme-weather.html

• Feedbacks in the Arctic
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/feedbacks.html

• NOAA – Multivariate ENSO Index Version 2 (MEI.v2)
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The short lifespan of technological civilizations and the future of Homo sapiens

By |2025-01-09T11:55:15+00:00December 17th, 2022|

by Andrew Glikson

In his book ‘Collapse’ (2011) Jared Diamond portrays the fate of societies which Choose to Fail or Succeed. On a larger scale the Fermi’s paradox suggests that advanced technological civilizations may constitute ephemeral entities in the galaxy, destined to collapse over short periods. Such an interpretation of Fermi’s paradox, corroborated by recent terrestrial history, implies that the apparent absence of radio signals from Milky Way planets and beyond may be attributed to an inherently self-destructive nature of civilizations which reached the ability to propagate radio waves, consistent with Carl Sagan’s views. It can be expected therefore that the number of advanced technological societies in the universe will be proportional to their average lifetime, perhaps lasting no more than a few centuries. Inexplicably, the behavior of Homo “sapiens” reveals the reality of Fermi’s paradox, unless humans can wake up in time.

Since the onset of the Neolithic about ~10,000 years ago open-ended combustion of wood, coal, oil, methane and gas for production of steam power and electricity (Figure 1), and of uranium to generate nuclear power, constrain the life expectancy of industrial civilizations through proliferation of greenhouse gases, alteration of the chemistry of the atmosphere and proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, testifying to the relevance of Fermi’s paradox in the 20-21 centuries.

Geological and astronomical studies establish Earth is unique among the terrestrial planets in harboring advanced life forms, including colonial life since as early as ~3.5 billion years ago. Should the fate of Homo sapiens be recorded, history would tell that, while the atmosphere was overheating, oceans acidifying and radioactivity rising, humans never ceased to saturate the atmosphere with greenhouse gases, mine uranium, unleash fatal wars and fire rockets at the planets. All the time indulging in sports games and inundating the airwaves with gratuitous words, false promises, misconstrued assumptions and simple lies ─ betraying their future generations and a multitude of species on the only haven of life known in the solar system.

Fig. 1. A combined night lights image of Earth signifying global civilization. NASA

In a new paper titled ‘Global warming in the pipeline’, Hansen et al. (2022) state: “glacial-to-interglacial global temperature change implies that fast-feedback equilibrium climate sensitivity is at least ~4°C for doubled CO₂ with likely range 3.5-5.5°C. Greenhouse gas (GHG) climate forcing is 4.1 W/m² larger in 2021 than in 1750, equivalent to 2xCO₂ forcing. Global warming in the pipeline is greater than prior estimates. Eventual global warming due to today’s GHG forcing alone — after slow feedbacks operate — is about 10°C. Human-made aerosols are a major climate forcing, mainly via their effect on clouds … A hinge-point in global warming occurred in 1970 as increased GHG warming outpaced aerosol cooling, leading to global warming of 0.18°C per decade.”

The inevitable consequence is a shift in the position of the Earth’s climate zones, a decline in the Earth’s albedo (a climatologically significant ~0.5 W/m² decrease over two decades), a rise in greenhouse gases at a geologically unprecedented rate of 2-3 ppm/year), acidification of the oceans (by about 26 percent), receding ice sheets, rising sea levels (~20 cm since 1900), changes in vegetation, forests and soils, a shift in state of the climate and mass extinction, with humans are driving around one million species to extinction.

For longer than 50 years few were aware that a rise in atmospheric CO₂ on the scale of ~100 ppm CO₂ at the annual rate of 2 – 3 ppm per year, could lead to the unhabitability of large parts of Earth (The Uninhabitable Earth, by David Wallace-Wells) (Figure 2A). Now we find ourselves surrounded by the consequences ─ hydrocarbon saturation of air and water, runaway global heating, acidification, dissemination of micro-plastics, habitat destruction, radioactive overload, proliferation of chemical weapons ─ In confirmation of the reality of Fermi’s Paradox.

But just at the time the world was increasingly overwhelmed by extreme weather events, severe fires and floods, climate scientists were increasingly ignored, replaced by politicians, bureaucrats, economists, strategists and vested interests ignorant of the basic laws of physics and of the principles which control the atmosphere-ocean system. Policies and promises guided by the science have been betrayed and meaningful mitigation and adaptation negated by the opening of new coal mines and gas fields. Cold war strategies violating the United Nation charter were depleting the resources required for mitigation of the looming climate catastrophe. Within a blink of geological eye, at a rate unprecedented since the extinction of the dinosaurs, large regions of Earth were becoming increasingly uninhabitable for a multitude of species, surpassing 350 ppm CO₂ and approaching Miocene (5.3 – 23.0 Ma)-like conditions (Figure 2B). All along humans continued busily developing a veritable doomsday machine near 1300 nuclear warheads-strong threatening release within seconds.
Fig. 2. (A) Upper Holocene temperatures. (B). The Middle Miocene long-term continental (brown) and marine (blue) temperature change. Red arrow points to the present (2022) average global temperature of 13.9°C NOAA.
That humans are capable of committing the most horrendous crimes upon each other, on other species and on nature, including mass exterminations, has been demonstrated during the 20th century by the Nazi concentration camps and by genocidal conflicts such as in Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos, Rwanda, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Ukraine ─ the list goes on …
Fig. 3. Tsar Bomba, exploded above Novaya Zemlya
The ultimate step toward the Fermi’s paradox has been reached following nuclear experiments in New Mexico, Novaya Zemlya (Figure 3), the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the rising prospects of a nuclear war, with consequent firestorms, radiation from fallout, a nuclear winter, and electromagnetic pulses looming ever greater. According to a paper by Robock and Toon (2012) ‘Self-assured destruction: The climate impacts of nuclear war’, a thermonuclear war could lead to the end of modern civilization, due to a long-lasting nuclear winter and the destruction of crops. In one model the average temperature of Earth during a nuclear winter, where black smoke from cities and industries rise into the upper stratosphere, lowers global temperatures by 7 – 8° Celsius for several years.

As stated by Hansen et al. (2012): “Burning all fossil fuels would create a different planet than the one that humanity knows. The paleoclimate record and ongoing climate change make it clear that the climate system would be pushed beyond tipping points, setting in motion irreversible changes, including ice sheet disintegration with a continually adjusting shoreline, extermination of a substantial fraction of species on the planet, and increasingly devastating regional climate extremes”.

A nuclear war in the background of carbon saturated atmosphere can only lead to extreme damage to the life support systems of the planet. The propensity of “sapiens” to genocide and ecocide, are hardly masked by the prevailing Orwellian language of politicians in the absence of meaningful action to avert the demise of the biosphere as we know it. Whereas the ultimate consequences of global heating are likely to occur within a century, including temperature polarities including heat waves and regional cooling of ocean regions by ice melt flow from Antarctica and Greenland ice sheets (Gikson 2019), a nuclear war on the scale of the MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) can erupt on a time scale of minutes …

On July 16, 1945, witnessing the atomic test at the Trinity site, New Mexico, Robert Oppenheimer, the chief nuclear scientist (Figure 4), cited the Hindu scripture of Shiva from the Bhagavad Gita: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”. Then, as stated by Albert Einstein: “The splitting of the atom has changed everything, except for man’s way of thinking, and thus we drift into unparalleled catastrophes”.

Andrew Glikson

A/Professor Andrew Glikson

Earth and Paleo-climate scientist
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
The University of New South Wales,
Kensington NSW 2052 Australia

16 December 2022
 

Books:
The Asteroid Impact Connection of Planetary Evolution
https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789400763272
The Archaean: Geological and Geochemical Windows into the Early Earth
https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319079073
Climate, Fire and Human Evolution: The Deep Time Dimensions of the Anthropocene
https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319225111
The Plutocene: Blueprints for a Post-Anthropocene Greenhouse Earth
https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319572369
Evolution of the Atmosphere, Fire and the Anthropocene Climate Event Horizon
https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789400773318
From Stars to Brains: Milestones in the Planetary Evolution of Life and Intelligence
https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783030106027
Asteroids Impacts, Crustal Evolution and Related Mineral Systems with Special Reference to Australia
https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319745442
The Event Horizon: Homo Prometheus and the Climate Catastrophe
https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030547332
The Fatal Species: From Warlike Primates to Planetary Mass Extinction
https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030754679

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Antarctic sea ice in rapid decline

By |2025-01-09T09:41:42+00:00December 16th, 2022|

Earlier this year, on February 25, Antarctic sea ice extent was at an all-time record low of 1.924 million km², as the above image shows. Throughout the year, Antarctic sea ice extent has been low. On December 14, 2022, Antarctic sea ice was merely 9.864 million km² in extent. Only in 2016 was Antarctic sea ice extent lower at that time of year, and – importantly – 2016 was a strong El Niño year.

The NOAA image on the right indicates that, while we’re still in the depths of a persistent La Niña, the next El Niño looks set to strike soon.

Meanwhile, ocean heat content keeps rising due to high levels of greenhouse gases, as illustrated by the image on the right.

Rising ocean heat causes sea ice to melt from below, resulting in less sea ice, which in turn means that less sunlight gets reflected back into space and more sunlight gets absorbed as heat in the ocean, making it a self-reinforcing feedback loop that further speeds up sea ice loss.

The currently very rapid decline in sea ice concentration around Antarctica is illustrated by the animation of Climate Reanalyzer images on the right, showing Antarctic sea ice on November 16, November 29 and December 15, 2022.

In 2012, a research team led by Jemma Wadham studied Antarctica, concluding that an amount of 21,000 Gt or billion tonnes or petagram (1Pg equals 10¹⁵g) of organic carbon is buried beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet, as discussed in an earlier post.

The potential amount of methane hydrate and free methane gas beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet could be up to 400 billion tonnes.
The predicted shallow depth of these potential reserves also makes them more susceptible to climate forcing than other methane hydrate reserves on Earth, describes the news release.

“We are sleepwalking into a catastrophe for humanity. We need to take notice right now. It is already happening. This is not a wait-and-see situation anymore,” Jemma Wadham said more recently.

Ominously, high concentrations of methane have been recorded over Antarctica recently. The image below shows methane as recorded by the Metop-B satellite on November 28, 2022 pm at 399 mb.

The situation is dire and the right thing to do now is to help avoid or delay the worst from happening, through action as described in the Climate Plan.

Links

• NSIDC – Interactive sea ice graph
https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/charctic-interactive-sea-ice-graph

• NOAA – ENSO: Recent Evolution, Current Status and Predictions
https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/lanina/enso_evolution-status-fcsts-web.pdf

• NOAA – ocean heat content
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/global-ocean-heat-content/index.html

• Climate Reanalyzer sea ice concentration
https://climatereanalyzer.org/wx/todays-weather/?var_id=seaice-snowc&ortho=7&wt=1

• Potential methane reservoirs beneath Antarctica – Press release University of Bristol (2012)
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2012/8742.html

• Potential methane reservoirs beneath Antarctica – by Jemma Wadham et al. (2012)
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11374

• A new frontier in climate change science: connections between ice sheets, carbon and food webs

• Metop-B satellite readings

• Climate Plan
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/climateplan.html

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Politicians for sale

By |2025-01-09T12:00:50+00:00December 12th, 2022|

Are politicians for sale?

How can it be measured whether politicians are for sale and to what extent this occurs?

One measure of how much looters and polluters are buying politicians could be this: How fast is methane accelerating?

Rise in methane and rise in temperature
The rise in methane is vitally important, given methane’s potential to rapidly push up temperatures.

Arguably the most important metric related to climate change is surface temperature on land, as illustrated by the image below from an earlier post. The image was created with a July 16, 2022 screenshot from NASA customized analysis plots and shows that the February 2016 (land only) anomaly from 1886-1915 was 2.94°C or 5.292°F.

Extinction

Land-only anomalies are important. After all, most people live on land, where temperatures are rising even faster than they are rising globally, and humans will likely go extinct with a rise of 3°C above pre-industrial, as illustrated by the image below, from an analysis in earlier post.

Note that in the above plot, anomalies are measured versus 1886-1915, which isn’t pre-industrial. The image raises questions as to what the temperature rise would look like when using a much earlier base, and how much temperatures could rise over the next few years.

What can be done about it?

The next question is: What can be done about it? To avoid politicians getting bought by looters and polluters, action on climate change is best implemented locally, with Local People’s Courts ensuring that implementation is science-based.

Conclusions
The situation is dire and the right thing to do now is to help avoid or delay the worst from happening, through action as described in the Climate Plan and posts at Arctic-news.blogspot.com
Links
• Human Extinction by 2025?
• NASA customized analysis plots

• When will we die?
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/when-will-we-die.html

• Pre-industrial

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Arctic Ocean overheating

By |2025-01-09T09:42:50+00:00December 5th, 2022|

Arctic sea ice extent was 10.31 million km² on December 4, 2022. At this time of year, extent was smaller only in two years, i.e. in 2016 and 2020, both strong El Niño years. With the next El Niño, Arctic sea ice extent looks set to reach record lows.

The NOAA image on the right indicates that, while we’re still in the depths of a persistent La Niña, the next El Niño looks set to strike soon.

The image below shows high sea surface temperature anomalies near the Bering Strait on December 2, 2022, with a “hot blob” in the North Pacific Ocean where sea surface temperature anomalies are reaching as high as 7°C or 12.6°F from 1981-2011. The Jet Stream is stretched out vertically from pole to pole, enabling hot air to enter the Arctic from the Pacific Ocean and from the Atlantic Ocean.

The image below shows a forecast for December 5, 2022, of 2m temperature anomalies versus 1979-2000, with anomalies over the Arctic Ocean near the top end of the scale.

The situation is dire and the right thing to do now is to help avoid or delay the worst from happening, through action as described in the Climate Plan.

Links

• Vishop sea ice extent
https://ads.nipr.ac.jp/vishop/#/extent

• NOAA ENSO: Recent Evolution, Current Status and Predictions
https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/lanina/enso_evolution-status-fcsts-web.pdf

• nullschool.net
https://earth.nullschool.net

• Climate Reanalyzizer
https://www.tropicaltidbits.com

• Climate Plan
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/climateplan.html

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There is no Carbon Budget

By |2025-01-09T11:58:14+00:00November 12th, 2022|

In the above image, the atmosphere is presented as a “bucket” filling with greenhouse gas pollution from fossil fuel use from 1870 to 2020. The image depicts the idea that there is some carbon budget left, before 1.5°C above pre-industrial will be reached. The Global Carbon Project has just issued an update of what it refers to as the Global Carbon Budget.

The Global Carbon Project insists that there still is some carbon budget left, even as global fossil fuel C₂O emissions in 2021 were higher than 2020, and are projected to be higher again in 2022 than 2021, as illustrated by the image on the right.

Arctic-news has long said that the suggestion of a carbon budget is part of a narrative that polluters seek to spread, i.e. that there was some budget left to be divided among polluters, as if polluters could safely continue to pollute for years to come before thresholds would be reached that could make life uncomfortable, such as a rise of 1.5°C above pre-industrial.

For starters, an earlier analysis warns that the 1.5°C threshold may have already been crossed long ago. The situation looks set to soon become even more catastrophic. The upcoming El Niño could make a difference of more than 0.5°C over the next few years. Additionally, there will be a growing impact of sunspots, forecast to peak in July 2025.

Arctic-news has long warned about rising temperatures, not only due to high greenhouse gas levels, but also due to a number of events and developments including a rise of up to 1.6°C due to loss of Arctic sea ice and permafrost, and associated changes, a rise of up to 1.9°C due to a decrease in cooling aerosols, and a rise of up to 0.6°C due to an increase in warming aerosols and gases as a result of more biomass and waste burning and forest fires.
More recent posts also warn that the rise could cause the clouds tipping point at 1200 ppm CO₂e to be crossed. Accordingly, the total temperature rise could be as high as 18.44°C from pre-industrial by 2026. Keep in mind that humans are likely to go extinct with a rise of 3°C, as discussed in an earlier post.
[ image from quotes, text from 2013 post ]

So, there is no carbon budget left. There is just a huge amount of carbon to be removed from the atmosphere and oceans, a “debt” that polluters would rather be forgotten or passed on to future generations.

This “debt” has been growing since well before the industrial revolution started. Long ago, people should have started to reduce emissions and remove greenhouse gases, as well as take further action to improve the situation, and Arctic-news has long said that comprehensive and effective action must be taken without delay.

The situation is dire and the right thing to do now is to help avoid or delay the worst from happening, through action as described in the Climate Plan and at the recent post Transforming Society.

Links

• Global Carbon Project – Global Carbon Budget 2022
https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/index.html

• The upcoming El Nino and further events and developments
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-upcoming-el-nino-and-further-events-and-developments.html

• Arctic Methane Monster
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/09/arctic-methane-monster.html

• The Clouds Feedback and the Clouds Tipping Point
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/clouds-feedback.html

Methane levels threaten to skyrocket

• Transforming Society
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US rejoins coalition to achieve 1.5C goal at UN climate talks

By |2021-11-02T13:20:51+00:00November 2nd, 2021|

From The Guardian, 2nd November 2021:

The US has rejoined the High Ambition Coalition at the UN climate talks, the group of developed and developing countries that ensured the 1.5C goal was a key plank of the Paris agreement.

The decision by the world’s biggest economy and second biggest emitter, after China, to return to the High Ambition Coalition group of countries marks a significant boost to attempts to focus the Cop26 summit on limiting temperature rises to 1.5C, the tougher of the two goals of the Paris agreement.

A firefighter extinguishes a forest fire near the town of Manavgat, east of the resort city of Antalya, Turkey

A firefighter extinguishes a forest fire near the town of Manavgat, east of the resort city of Antalya, Turkey

The coalition, which numbered scores of countries at the 2015 Paris talks, will on Tuesday call on governments to step up their efforts on greenhouse gas emissions and phasing out coal, consistent with a 1.5C limit, and urge rich nations to double the amount of climate finance they make available for poor countries to adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis. They also want to bring an end to subsidies for fossil fuels.

A senior US official said: “The High Ambition Coalition was instrumental in Paris in making sure that high ambition was written into the Paris agreementand will be instrumental in Glasgow in making sure it’s delivered.”

Tina Stege, the climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, said: “The High Ambition Coalition has set the bar for what needs to happen at this Cop: getting on track to limiting temperature rise to 1.5C with enhanced [nationally determined contributions] and with real, actual actions, like phasing out coal; a sea-change on adaptation, with at least a doubling of current levels of adaptation financing; and making sure that we all have the resources we need to face this crisis, including the loss and damage we’re already experiencing today.

“These heads of state have given their marching orders for ambition.”

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Nature’s truly brilliant camouflage

By |2021-11-02T13:10:08+00:00November 2nd, 2021|

The beautiful Spiny Flower Mantis

Margaret Neville was amazed by a beautiful creature that she saw during a stroll on her farm in South Africa. It is most remarkable for appearing to be covered in lots of tiny flowers, coloured green and white. Also, it complements these with a number of white or lilac protrusions to make them blend in with surrounding plants – a truly brilliant camouflage. They are small, being approximately 1.5 to 2 inches long and when threatened, will stand upright and spread their wings which reveal two “eyes” to scare off predators.

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The Anglophone Dilemma in the Environmental Humanities

By |2025-01-09T12:11:55+00:00July 28th, 2021|

By Dan Finch-Race and Katie Ritson

Transnational discussions of the climate crisis generally use English as a primary language so as to facilitate direct communication among a high number of stakeholders. Translations into other languages tend to be limited, if available at all. We believe that multilingualism should be an important feature of research into interactions between the human and the more-than-human.

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Why Ecocriticism Needs the Social Sciences (and Vice Versa)

By |2025-01-09T12:13:27+00:00July 21st, 2021|

By Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, Alexa Weik von Mossner, W.P. Malecki, and Frank Hakemulder

it. This is the situation we find ourselves in today. Most environmental scholars, thinkers, and activists agree that to respond to the existential socio-ecological challenges we currently face, we need new narratives of who we are, how we are entangled with the rest of the natural world, and how we might think, feel, and act to preserve a stable biosphere and a livable future. But what kinds of stories should we tell? To which audiences? Are some stories more impactful than others? Might some even be counterproductive?

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The Great Blasket Island, Storytelling, and the Environment

By |2025-01-09T12:16:17+00:00June 28th, 2021|

By Matthias Egeler and Anna Pilz

We are standing on the headland of Dunmore Head on the western edge of Dingle Peninsula, on the western edge of Ireland, on the western edge of Europe. One moment, the slope is speckled with light, the next it is in the shadow of a heavy rain cloud. Then the winds push away the rain leaving behind a sparkling rainbow that disappears after five minutes.

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Celebrating Earth Day 2021 !

By |2021-04-23T14:27:06+01:00April 21st, 2021|

The theme for Earth Day 2021 is ‘Restore Our Earth’, urging everyone to focus on how we can both reduce our impact on the planet and actively repair ecosystems.

EARTHDAY.ORG™ works in countries around the world to drive meaningful action for our planet across:

  • Food & Environment: Simply put, the event’s organisers want you to combat climate change by changing your diet – better known as reducing your “foodprint.” While we should all be working to reduce our foodprints, there are several factors to consider, such as access, availability, health, and sustainability.

  • Climate Literacy: Climate and environmental awareness, when combined with civic education, is expected to create jobs, develop a green consumer market, and enable people to meaningfully engage with their governments in the fight against climate change, according to Earth Day organisers. They believe that climate and environmental education should be mandatory, measured, and include a strong civic participation aspect in every school around the world.

  • The Canopy Project: By planting trees all over the world, this initiative aims to enhance our common climate. Since 2010, Earth Day organisers have worked with global partners to plant tens of millions of trees with The Canopy Project, reforesting areas in desperate need of rehabilitation.

  • The Great Global Clean Up: Did you know that unregulated burning of household waste causes 270,000 premature deaths per year, and that 2 billion people lack access to waste collection services? It’s also reported that 79 percent of all plastics ever made have ended up in landfills or the natural environment.

  • Global Earth Challenge: Begun in April 2020 and aims to involve millions of people by incorporating billions of data points from new and ongoing citizen science initiatives. Essentially, the Global Earth Challenge aims to become the world’s largest organised citizen science initiative by creating a new mobile app that allows public volunteers to contribute to scientific research.

This year’s focus is on assisting local communities, with a particular emphasis on areas that are disproportionately impacted by environmental concerns. Many who live on the front lines of environmental disasters don’t always have the money to repair the damage.

DONATE TO EARTHDAY.ORG™ HERE ! DONATE

 

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Nine-year-old is first UK person to have air pollution listed on death certificate

By |2021-04-21T21:41:01+01:00April 21st, 2021|

The Government has been urged to set much tougher legally binding pollution targets by the coroner in an inquest into a nine-year-old girl who died of a fatal asthma attack after being exposed to toxic air.

Philip Barlow, assistant coroner for Inner South London, ruled in a landmark second inquest last year that air pollution contributed to the death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah from an asthma attack.

In a report to prevent future deaths, he said legally binding targets for particulate matter in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines would reduce the number of deaths from air pollution in the UK and the Government should take action to address the issue.

The WHO limit is 10 micrograms of tiny “particulate” matter per cubic metre – and if the UK were to introduce such a limit about 15 million people would be living in areas with illegally high levels of pollution.The current UK – and EU – limit is 25 micrograms per cubic metre, which far exceeds the level of air pollution any part of the country, yet air pollution is responsible for an estimated 36,000 early deaths a year.

Mr Barlow also said greater public awareness of air pollution information would help individuals reduce their personal exposure.

And he warned the adverse effects of pollutants were not being sufficiently communicated to patients and their carers by medical staff

Responding to the report, Ella’s mother Rosamund Kissi-Debrah called on the Government to act on the recommendations in the coroner’s report, warning “children are dying unnecessarily because the Government is not doing enough to combat air pollution”.

Ella was the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as the cause of death on their death certificate, following the inquest ruling by Mr Barlow last December.

She lived 25 metres from the South Circular Road in Lewisham, south-east London – one of the capital’s busiest roads.

Ella Kissi-Debra named as the first person to die of air pollution in the UK

Ella Kissi-Debrah

She died in February 2013, having endured numerous seizures and made almost 30 hospital visits over the previous three years.

A previous inquest ruling from 2014, which concluded Ella died of acute respiratory failure, was quashed by the High Court following new evidence about the dangerous levels of air pollution close to her home.

In his report following the second inquest, published this morning, Mr Barlow said national limits for particulate matter – a dangerous form of air pollutant – were set far higher than WHO guidelines.

“The evidence at the inquest was that there is no safe level for particulate matter and that the WHO guidelines should be seen as minimum requirements.

“Legally binding targets based on WHO guidelines would reduce the number of deaths from air pollution in the UK,” the report said.

He said Government departments for environment, health and transport should address the issue, while local and national governments should address the lack of public awareness about pollution information.

Health bodies and professional organisations needed to tackle the failure by doctors and nurses to communicate the adverse effects of air pollution on health to patients, he said.

Ms Kissi-Debrah said she would be contacting Environment Secretary George Eustice to urge him to put the WHO pollution guidelines into law in the Environment Bill and achieve them in the shortest possible time.

She also said there needed to be improved public information about the levels of pollution that people are exposed to and the health risks.

“As the parent of a child suffering from severe asthma, I should have been given this information but this did not happen.

“Because of a lack of information I did not take the steps to reduce Ella’s exposure to air pollution that might have saved her life. I will always live with this regret.

“But it is not too late for other children.”

And she said: “I invite the Government to act now to reduce air pollution. Immediately. Not in eighteen months, not in five years – that’s not fast enough.

“People are dying from air pollution each year. Action needs to be taken now or more people will simply continue to die.”

A Government spokesman said: “Our thoughts continue to be with Ella’s family and friends.”

The spokesman added that the Government is delivering a £3.8bn plan to clean up transport and tackle nitrogen pollution, and going further in protecting communities from air pollution, particularly particulate matter known as PM2.5.

“Through our landmark Environment Bill, we are also setting ambitious new air quality targets, with a focus on reducing public health impacts.

“We will carefully consider the recommendations in the report and respond in due course.”

As reported by By Tom Bawden, Science & Environment Correspondent, inews.co.uk

April 21, 2021 11:24 am

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A Sketch for Teaching the Anthropocene in the Alps

By |2025-01-09T12:17:22+00:00February 15th, 2021|

By Heidi E. Danzl (trans. Kristy Henderson)

The Alps can be considered a hot spot for climate change due to changing growing seasons and tree lines, species migration, more intense weather events, increased glacial melt, droughts, mudslides, avalanches, flooding, and the omnipresence of micro-technofossils. They are therefore well suited to teaching the Anthropocene and exploring its impacts. In the following, I sketch several ideas for teaching the Anthropocene based on existing cultural events, institutions, and practices within contemporary Alpine communities.

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Global Climate Change: What you must know Today

By |2025-01-09T12:20:57+00:00February 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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Dazzling and Dangerous: Epidemics, Space Physics, and Settler Understandings of the Aurora Borealis

By |2025-01-09T09:45:55+00:00February 3rd, 2021|

By Jennifer Fraser and Noah Stemeroff

Earlier this year, Explore, a multimedia company that operates the largest live nature camera network on the planet, noticed that one of its livestreams was going viral. The feed in question broadcasts from Churchill, Manitoba. Positioned directly beneath the auroral oval, this camera offers viewers a chance to catch a glimpse of the spectacular auroral displays that grace the city’s skyline nearly three hundred days of every year.

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

By |2025-01-09T09:39:39+00:00January 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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Animal Cruelty: It’s Time You Actively Fight The Menace

By |2025-01-09T12:22:22+00:00January 28th, 2021|

Animal cruelty practices are making over the world every day where millions of animals are killed ruthlessly. And perhaps there seems no end to this brutality of people starving their dogs to death or killing them to dine on a delicious meal for the day.

The animal cruelty cases present several menaces acts, including intentional abuse, animal hoarding, simple or gross neglect, and animal sexual assault. This calls for an urgent need to implement strict laws guarding the lives of various innocent creatures who’ve got no one combating for their rights.

Causes of animal cruelty

There roots in no specific reason behind animal cruelty, and people, practicing it look no different than your neighbor, friend, or boss. However, many of the motives arise out of human self-interest that aligns similar to practices of child abuse or domestic violence. Herein one doesn’t see animal abuse as an immoral offense and can justify his/her behavior in myriad ways.

Yet, recent studies formulated some of the inflicts resulting in animal barbarity, including:

  • Animal use for monetary gains: Animals have been an easy source of earning profits. Selling animal meat, furs, pelts, or by-products, casting animal entertainment shows, etc., are popular money-making trades promoting the act of animal cruelty as a justifiable offense.
  • Disregarding animal emotions: Some people believe that animals don’t have any true feelings and that any behavior or action towards animals projects no harm to their well being. Nonetheless, the truth is that animals truly emote to their surroundings and feel every emotion from pain, joy, despair, hope, and loneliness.
  • Using animals as an object: Animals are often viewed merely as objects and not as sentient beings. They’re victimized as a means to dump and satisfy human emotions or needs. For instance, a hunter may view a rabbit as food for his family and not as a beautiful creature shot down in his rifle.

How can you fight this menace?

Now that you know how brutally these animals are being treated by us humans, it’s about time we take some meaningful steps towards curbing this.

For this, we all need to pledge collectively to ensure that these poor souls can peacefully (and fearlessly) live on the planet.

Here’s a quick rundown of some ways in which you can help eradicate animal cruelty:

  • It all starts with spreading awareness about the gravity of the situation. Kids can be taught from an initial level so that they learn to respect the lives of animals.
  • Shifting to the vegan diet can be a viable solution when it comes to shaking the prevalent roots of animal cruelty.
  • Next up, you can be mindful of consuming only those food products that are animal cruelty-free certified.
  • Your beauty accessories might also be the culprit because this industry has had a terrible reputation for its regard for animals.
  • Lastly, check the clothing you buy to ensure it doesn’t include animal-based leather or any other aspect that might point towards animal cruelty.

The post Animal Cruelty: It’s Time You Actively Fight The Menace appeared first on Nature Talkies – We Talk about Nature.

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Global Warming, Sea-Ice Loss Intensify Polar Bear Decline

By |2025-01-09T12:02:36+00:00January 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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Book Review: Elizabeth Hennessy, On the Backs of Tortoises: Darwin, the Galápagos, and the Fate of an Evolutionary Eden

By |2025-01-09T12:50:35+00:00January 22nd, 2021|

By Rodrigo Salido Moulinié

The reports said they wanted to kill the turtle. They surrounded the research station and refused to let supplies go through to the 33 people—and the colony of reptiles—inside the building. Yet the fishermen went on strike and took the building not because they hated that turtle (they did not even intend to harm it), but because of what it meant: an allegory of the politics of conservationism, development, and the local making of science.

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Increasing Natural Disasters Are “Not So Natural” Afterall

By |2025-01-09T12:23:52+00:00January 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 |2025-01-09T12:25:04+00:00January 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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Air Pollution: Is There Any way Out?

By |2025-01-09T12:29:46+00:00December 25th, 2020|

If you look at the world that we live in, you will see both luxury and misery. However, that’s just the surface level observation — beneath it all exists the misery that nature endures due to our luxury. Pollution and air pollution mainly is what we are talking about. We gave birth to it, and now it is coming to take our lives. There must be a way out, though. While completely getting out of it by ourselves might sound like a dream, we can still protect ourselves from it.

Let’s discuss :

Stay indoors

We know it’s practically impossible to never go out of your house. It is not healthy for you either. However, you must check air pollution levels on a daily basis. Whenever you see that it is higher than usual, stay indoors.

Don’t exercise in areas where air pollution is too high

You will always find parks near highways or busy roads. While the government thinks it is going to bring down the pollution level, it is not a good idea for you to exercise in areas where air pollution is too high.

Use less energy

If you want to help yourself and others at the same time, use less energy at home. Try saving as much electricity as you can, be it day or night. This way you will be able to save money and the planet too. It is like hitting two targets with one stone.

Quit smoking 

Smoking is like a slow death, not just for you but the planet as well. So, quit smoking as soon as you can. It might take some time for you to adjust to your new lifestyle, but it is what’s best for you. Moreover, you will also be saving the money that you would otherwise be spending on cigarettes.

Don’t burn trash

A lot of people are in the habit of burning their trash in their backyard or terrace. It is one of the most terrible things to do to the planet. Always dump your trash precisely where you are supposed to. Also, avoid burning firewood.

Walk more

Avoid driving whenever you can. Fuel emissions from vehicles are one of the main reasons behind the soaring air pollution we are forced to live with. Walk more or use a bicycle. It is an excellent way to keep up with your fitness while looking after the environment.

Wear a mask

If you have to go out in an area where air pollution levels are too high, don’t forget to wear a mask. Besides, make sure that your mask is capable of filtering the air that you breathe. Otherwise, it defeats the whole purpose.

Install an air purifier at your home 

It might sound like a significant investment, but it is a good one. In fact, it is a need of time to install an air purifier at your home. You can spend some money and get fresh air. It does sound like a great deal.

So, these were some handy tips for you to keep yourself from the barbaric effects of air pollution. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

The post Air Pollution: Is There Any way Out? appeared first on Nature Talkies – We Talk about Nature.

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Climate Change: How Did We End Up Here?

By |2025-01-09T12:31:12+00:00December 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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Top Reasons Why We Should Properly Recycle E-Waste

By |2025-01-09T12:32:04+00:00December 14th, 2020|

We live in a “futuristic” digital era, driven by innovativeness and a forward-looking approach. Each day we witness the emergence of a new technology that discards the ideas from the past. This might seem fascinating but unknowingly, technology advancement is resulting into exponential amounts of electronic trash every year. As such, proper e-waste recycling has become more important than ever.

Should We Worry About E-Waste?

The answer is: yes. That is because we are gradually reaching up to the brim with e-waste.

According to a report published by the United Nations in 2019, named “A New Circular Vision for Electronics, Time for a Global Reboot,” people discards over 44 million tonnes worth of electronics every year, while only 20% are recycled in a sustainable manner.

Another study by the Global E-Waste Monitor reveals that in 2019, consumers discarded 53.6 million tonnes worth of electronics globally. This number is up by 20% in the last years. Even India is one of the biggest contributors to electronic waste, generating 3.2 million tonnes of e-waste in 2019. This made the country rank third after China and the United States.

A joint report by ASSOCHAM-EY shows that India is estimated to generate 5 million tonnes of e-trash by 2021. The report further identified mobile phones and computer equipment to be the primary electronic waste generators in India.

The statistics are shocking and clearly indicate why we should be more aware and responsible about proper e-waste recycling.

Importance of E-Waste Management

Lack of proper measures to dispose and recycle e-waste may result in landfills, degrading soil quality and causing pollution. On the other hand, a major part of this e-waste is exported to the unregulated markets, mostly to Asia. These informal sectors collect electronic trash in bulk, retrieve a few metals from the same, and send the rest to the landfills.

To extract the metals from electronic waste, they use hazardous chemicals such as mercury that leach into the soil and damage it forever. This leaching of metals then cause pollution and even contaminate water in the oceans with liquid or gaseous toxins. A study conducted by the SRM University, Tamil Nadu, reveals shocking facts that the soil from “informal electronic recycling sites that recover metals” contain high levels of contamination across major cities like Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

The rate at which electronic trash is impacting our environment and our lives, taking effective measures for e-waste recycling has become imperative today.

Top Reasons Why Proper E-Waste Recycling is Important

If the above statistics did not inspire you to recycle your e-waste, the below reasons will definitely do.

Here’s why you should make an honest effort to dispose your e-waste properly:

1. Electronic Waste Contains Hazardous Toxins

Imagine what could happen when batteries containing nickel, acid, mercury, lithium and lead get exposed in the nature. These are hazardous toxins that can wreak havoc on the environment. The harmful chemicals emitted from poorly disposed e-trash can contaminate the soil, air and water. Eventually, these pollutants may cause numerous health conditions such as reproductive and respiratory disorders, endocrine disruption and even cancer.

2. Prevent Landfills

Keeping electronic trash out of landfills is one of the major reasons why you should take e-waste recycling seriously. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, all electronic devices and household appliances are recyclable but they can also be most dangerous when dumped in landfills irresponsibly.

Plastic pollution along with glass and heavy metals in e-trash can seep into waterways or pollute the air, causing serious threat to the mankind and the environment at large. Effective e-waste recycling can lower harmful greenhouse gas emissions and prevent landfills.

3. E-Waste Contains Valuable Materials

Most consumers are not aware of the fact that electronic wastes comprise of precious materials, such as gold, silver, chromium, etc., used to manufacture the parts. Unfortunately, when e-waste is carelessly disposed of, much of these valuable metals are lost. Through proper e-waste recycling, these “waste” metals can be recovered, reused and resold.

This can reduce the demand for heavy-metal mining activities and help preserve our natural resources. Recycling can also help lower the greenhouse gas emissions caused due to manufacturing virgin materials.

4. Recycling Can Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Do you know that recycling your e-waste can significantly reduce greenhouse gas levels in the environment? That is because when you recycle properly, the metals and other parts can be efficiently recovered and reused. Thus, there is lesser need to manufacture the items again and as such, helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Even manufacturers are encouraged and rewarded for manufacturing long-lasting, recyclable products.

5. Prevent Global Exploitation and Contamination

“According to our research, #eWaste is becoming the world’s fastest-growing trash stream. A significant (but ultimately unquantified) portion of this e-waste is quietly exported, mostly to Asia.” Via @nytimes.

— UN University (@UNUniversity) July 9, 2018

This is the harsh reality when you do not take proper measures for e-waste recycling. The growing incidence of uncontrolled e-waste movement internationally is causing higher levels of contamination across the world. A major portion of this electronic trash is being moved to third-world countries where traditional disposal techniques are resulting in increased health risks.

When electronic trash is broken down to scrap, this can cause hazardous fumes and toxins that are released in the air and water.

6. Minimise Identity Theft and Data Security Breaches

Irresponsibly discarding electronic devices like computers, mobile devices, etc. can result in data security breaches and identity theft. This is caused because mostly, we dispose electronics that are old but still functioning. If proper e-waste recycling measures are not followed, our personal information can be threatened.

Conclusion

E-waste recycling is a responsibility of everyone. The ramifications of electronic waste can be detrimental to the world. Still there is lack of awareness and negligence among people and businesses. As such, e-waste problem is growing at a rapid pace today.

We hope humans will be more responsible about proper e-waste disposal and recycling, making the world a better place to live in.

The post Top Reasons Why We Should Properly Recycle E-Waste appeared first on Nature Talkies – We Talk about Nature.

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Benefits of Going ‘Solar’ at Home or Business

By |2025-01-09T12:32:56+00:00December 14th, 2020|

“Solar power is the last energy resource that isn’t owned yet – nobody taxes the sun yet” ~ Bonnie Rait.

And before energy resources like coal and oil get exhausted from our Mother Earth, let’s save the mankind with solar power. Keeping in view the fast-paced depletion and overutilisation of natural resources today, the benefits of solar power cannot be over-emphasised. Jim Inhofe rightly said that “solar energy is bound to be in our future. There’s a kind of inevitability about it.”

As environmental degradation emerges as a global tragedy, more and more people are becoming increasingly nature-conscious and adopting “go green” measures. Using solar energy at homes or businesses is one of the most effective ways to join the movement and help save the planet. At the same time, nothing can beat the advantage of solar power in significant cost savings in the long run.

7 Amazing Benefits of Solar Power for Homes and Businesses

Not sure how solar energy can help your home and business? Discussed here the benefits of solar power.

Reduce Energy Costs

This is perhaps one of the biggest inspirations for people to install solar panels at their homes or businesses.

Due to rapid exploitation and depletion of energy resources like oil, coal and water, the cost of generating electricity is increasing rapidly. No wonder, this ends up on your energy bills – making up a significant portion of your monthly expenses.

Thankfully, sunlight is available abundantly in nature, generating solar power that can light up your home and business at no cost. After an initial investment in installing the solar panels, just sit back and relax as you enjoy the benefits of solar power without spending huge bucks on energy consumption.

For homeowners and businesses, going solar is a smart decision that can help you save lakhs of rupees year-on-year.

No More Power Cuts Affecting Your Productivity

With rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and commercialisation, energy consumption has increased manifold. As a result, power outages have become common nowadays. However, for businesses and even homeowners, frequent power cuts can impede their operations and affect productivity.

With solar energy, you will face no more power cuts as there is no dearth of sunlight, especially in tropical countries like India. Most interestingly, you can utilise solar power event at night. Modern hybrid solar systems are connected to the grid and also come with battery banks. This allows you to store the power generated during the daytime so that you can use the same at night as well.

Minimal Maintenance Requirements

Wondering the amount of maintenance and care required for your solar energy system? Relax. Solar systems require minimal maintenance, making them an economically-viable solution for homeowners and businesses. When installed properly, solar panels will continue to generate energy year after year without you having to worry about its upkeep.

There are no moving parts; no specialised installation or operating skills required. Thus, ease of maintenance is one of the biggest benefits of solar power.

Increase Value of Your Property

According to studies, homes and businesses that are equipped with solar power systems enjoy a higher property value and also sell quickly. As the concept of “go green” is gaining increasing popularity, more people are showing awareness towards protecting the environment and making the world a better place to live in.

As a result, property buyers are constantly looking for options that are eco-friendly, energy-efficient, and helps save more money in the long run.

Avail Government Subsidies and Incentives

To spread awareness and encourage people for consumption of renewable energy such as solar power, the Government of India and State Nodal Agencies provide attractive subsidy schemes for installing rooftop solar systems. As per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, you can avail subsidy up to 30% of the estimated installation cost for solar systems, sponsored by the Central Government. This is applicable in states under the general category, while states in the special category can enjoy subsidies up to 70%.

The subsidy scheme is available only for residential, institutional and social sectors. This ensures further cost savings as one of the top benefits of solar power.

Protect the Environment

Using solar power at homes and businesses is an incredible way to minimise your carbon footprint. Several environmental factors and human-induced activities are resulting in ecological imbalance, posing a serious threat to mankind and the entire planet. Furthermore, buildings and construction are together contributing to 39% of all carbon emissions in the world today.

By installing solar panels, you can reduce this number significantly and safeguard the environment. A standard residential solar energy system can help eliminate 3 – 4 tonnes of carbon emissions every year. And this number is equivalent to planting more than 100 trees yearly.

Commitment towards Sustainability

Whether you are a homeowner or a business, your attitude towards sustainability is an important component that defines your values and culture. By installing solar panels, you are taking a step towards operating responsibly and ensuring sustainable development.

For businesses, the benefits of solar power are profound. Consumers, stakeholders and communities are increasingly recognising socially responsible businesses. Therefore, a “green” initiative like using solar energy can help create goodwill, influence decisions, and augment business results.

Solar is the Near Future!

Believe it or not, the future of mankind lies with solar energy. Deforestation, industrialisation, pollution, climate changes and overexploitation of natural resources are the major forces behind ecological disharmony today. This isn’t just a threat to humanity but endangered animals and marine life are also bearing the brunt. With natural resources getting depleted at a rapid pace, it is a big concern – what is the kind of world we are leaving for our future generations.

Understanding the benefits of solar power and using the same for your homes and businesses can be a great initiative towards protecting the environment, reducing carbon footprint, and ensuring significant cost savings.

The post Benefits of Going ‘Solar’ at Home or Business appeared first on Nature Talkies – We Talk about Nature.

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