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Showing posts with the label Ecosystem

Himalayan Glacier Calamity: Indian Government Blamed for not Heeding Experts advice

Analysts are running against time to unravel what really triggered India glacier tragedy. Questions are popping up on how to avert incidents of a similar nature. Preliminary reports indicate that the devastating glacial tragedy that occurred on Sunday was prompted by global warming . However, the exact cause of the initial glacial breakaway still remains unclear. According to Aljazeera, experts that were tasked by India’s Supreme Court to assess the impact of receding glaciers on dams had issued a warning to the government of India in 2014. Ravi Chopra, one of the contracted experts, saw a replication of what they had earlier warned the Indian government when the flood and wreckage banged downstream from the Himalayan glacier . The devastating glacial flood claimed at least 31 people while around 165 people are still unaccounted.  Chopra and his team warned that warming temperatures impacted from climate change was causing the melting of the Himalayan glaciers and advised

Global Warming Pushing White Sharks into New Habitat, Study Reveals

Climate change continues to wreak havoc in most parts of the world, as marine life struggle to survive the impact of global warming. White sharks are migrating into new waters thus endangering the existence of other water creatures, study has indicated. The global heat reached a record high in 2020 resulting to the migration of white sharks. According to the Guardian, white sharks moved a record distance of about 600 Km towards the North off the California Coast. Documented reports showed that the migration of white sharks led to the killing of sea otters. The sharks have been escaping the waters that became warmer as a result of global heating. The sharks then moved towards the Polar Regions, thus upsetting ecosystems inhabited by fish . Kyle Van Houtan of The Monterey Bay Aquarium in California stated that: “The shifting species is not the problem – climate change is the problem. The sharks are telling us that the ocean is changing and it’s now time for us to do somet

How Human Noise Kills Marine Species, as revealed by Scientists

Scientists have warned that the discord of noise made by humans is harming marine species .  A comprehensive assessment revealed that large noise from human activities was as harmful as pollution, overfishing and climate change .  The study that was conducted by the Journal Science exposed how marine animals can hear from far distances than they can see or smell. According to a report published in the Guardian, most of the marine life uses sound to catch prey as well as attracting a mating partner.  Prof Carlos Duarte of King Abdullah University in Saudi Arabia argued that: “Marine animal can only sea up to around 10 meters, smell up to around a hundred meters, but they can hear across the entire ocean basins.” The research concluded that sound “is very important in the marine ecosystems, and noise is pervasive, affecting animals at all levels .” The increasing cacophony in the marine habitat is interfering with how marine animals respond to various survival tactics which

The World Stares at ‘Extreme Risks’ as Destruction of Nature Persists

A landmark review has come to the conclusion that the world is staring at ‘extreme risks’ due to the failure of “economics to account for the drastic depletion of the natural world” and recommended for the identification of new measures to avert a disastrous collapse. As humans continue piling pressure on food, water and clean air, there emerges a disturbing price to the ecosystem . Prof Partha Dasgupta conducted the review and ascertained that there’s an imperative need for the rapid global shift to production, finance, consumption and education. The study dubbed as UK’s biodiversity review was commissioned by the United Kingdom treasury. It was the first time that the UK treasury ministry was authorizing a full valuation of the economic influence on nature. Dasguputa argued that nature was our home and good economics dictated that we had to manage it better.  “Truly sustainable economic growth and development means recognizing that our long-term prosperity relies on reba

Challenges Facing Biden in the Battle against Climate Change

When US President Joe Biden led Americans into rejoining the Paris Agreement, it wasn’t an easy task as his action was met with backlash from Republicans. Senator Ted Cruz reacted by stating that Biden was “more interested in the views of the citizens of Paris than in the jobs of the citizens of Pittsburgh. Cruz’s sentiments were echoed by Republican Congresswoman Laureen Boebart who stated that she doesn’t work for the people of Paris. There was social media uproar as most users corrected Cruz arguing that the Paris Accord wasn’t specifically targeted for the people of Paris, but had a multinational approach.  US rejoined the Paris Accord at a time when developed countries had failed to meet the financial target of helping poor countries adapt to climate impact . Crusaders of climate change promised to commit $100 billion every year in the battle of climate change . The amount that was proposed was meant to assist developing countries to fight climate change. According t

Amazon Road Project Raises Alarm as it Threatens Biodiversity

Photo Source: Reuters The home of three indigenous communities in Brazil is on the verge of destruction. Brazilian activists have raised alarm over the purported 94-mile road project that’s expected to pass through an angle of the dense Amazon rainforest that borders Peru. Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro defended the road plan, arguing that the transatlantic project would help in boosting the economy of the area by linking the region to China and the Pacific ports in Peru. His sentiments were echoed by Mara Rocha, a congresswoman, who stated that: “the project was critical to an area that was isolated and obscure to the rest of the country.” Amazon jungle is the largest tropical rainforest that is located in South America and covers much of the Northwestern Brazil. Close to 40 percent of South America is covered by Amazon rainforest. Eight South American countries such as Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecudaor, Bolivia, Guyana, Venezuela and Suriname are partially covered by the r

Inventions that can help in the Fight against Climate Change

Photo Source: twitter.com Greenhouse gas emissions can be tremendously reduced through the adoption of renewable sources of energy. Climate change can be curtailed when countries commit to rely on renewables and depend less on fossil fuels as their source of energy. If countries shift to overdependence on wind turbines and solar panels for their electricity needs, then climate change will be a thing of the past. Everyone who cares about generating clean source of energy should continue to de-carbonize their generation of electricity. Studies indicate that electricity contribute to 25 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions within a year. Therefore, committing to generate electricity without emitting any single particle of greenhouse gases will only cut total emissions by only a quarter. Agriculture contributes to around 24 percent of greenhouse gas emissions , with methane being the third largest emitter. The burning of trees contributes to increased carbon dioxide in t