All posts by naltneu

Animals, Climate Change, Oceans

Marine Life

According to new research, global warming is causing such a drastic change to the world’s oceans that it risks a mass extinction event of marine species that rivals anything that’s happened in the Earth’s history over tens of millions of years.

“The future of life in the oceans rests strongly on what we decide to do with greenhouse gases today. There are two vastly different oceans we could be seeing, one devoid of a lot of life we see today, depending on what we see with CO2 emissions moving forward,” said Justin Penn, a climate scientist at Princeton University who co-authored new research published in “Science”.

So what can you do?  Reduce your carbon footprint, eat less meat, avoid using or purchasing items that are wrapped in plastic, and plant native trees.  Trees are one of the best ways to take carbon out of the atmosphere.  Thank you!

Carbon Footprint Reduction, Forests, Nature

International Day of Forests

Many people, including me, did not know that Monday, March 21st was the International Day of Forests.  How precious forests are and yet, we don’t often realize their importance.  “When we drink a glass of water, write in a notebook, take medicine for a fever or build a house, we do not always make the connection with forests. And yet, these and many other aspects of our lives are linked to forests in one way or another”.  Sadly, we lose a football field size of forest every second, and yet planting trees and preserving biodiversity are one of the best ways to solve climate change.  Many non-profit organizations and companies such as Terraformation are working to reforest the planet, please join me and them, before time runs out.  Thank you.

Animals, Leadership

Some good news

Active panda climbing tree
  1. China’s giant pandas are no longer endangered.
  2. Renewable energy generation hit an all-time high in 2021.  The world added 290 gigawatts of renewable power production capacity, according to a recent report from the International Energy Agency.
  3. A marine-protected area around the Galapagos will be expanded by 60,000sq km (37,282 sq miles).
  4. A hole in the ozone layer is healing.  The ozone layer protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun.
  5. There is some recovery happening in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef which has been suffering from coral bleaching and storms.  Scientists are using in vitro fertilization (IVF) to regenerate the reefs.
Carbon Footprint Reduction, Leadership

Climate conference & Villains

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26 and as the Glasgow Conference, has begun.  It is being held in Glasgow, Scotland from October 31st through November 12th.  World leaders have their work cut out for them because individual countries and their citizens have not been cutting greenhouse emissions enough to avoid climate catastrophe.  Clearly said, the world needs a 55% reduction in emissions to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5°C, the limit defined by scientists as the less risky scenery for our planet and humanity’s future.

As world representatives meet at COP26 gather, it is important be aware of some of the dirty dozen climate villains as noted in a 10/27/2021 article in The Guardian newspaper.  They have worked to keep emissions high. The list includes Jamie Dimon, CEO of Chase Bank and Senator Mitch McConnell.  Check it out. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/27/climate-crisis-villains-americas-dirty-dozen

Animals, Birds

Shapeshifting

Nicole Altneu

A warming climate is causing animals to ‘shapeshift’.  Climate change is a human problem and an animal one.  Animals have to adapt to it too.  Some warm-blooded animals are changing in shape and getting larger ears, beaks, and legs to better regulate their body temperatures as the planet gets hotter.  Bird researcher Sara Ryding of Deakin University in Australia describes these changes in a review published on September 7th in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution.  Strong shapeshifting has particularly been reported in birds such as the North American dark-eyed junco and Australian parrot.  “Shapeshifting does not mean that animals are coping with climate change and that all is ‘fine,’ says Ryding. “It just means they are evolving to survive it — but we’re not sure what the other ecological consequences of these changes are, or indeed that all species are capable of changing and surviving.”  I wonder what will happen to this great blue heron.