ecology
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world
population explosion shows signs of slowing
“U.N. demographers on Wednesday scaled back their world population
forecast for 2050 to 8.9 billion people from a 9.3 billion estimate
of two years ago”
—
“In trimming 400 million people off its earlier projection for
2050, Chamie attributed half of the change to a greater than expected
number of AIDS deaths and the other half to a fall in the expected number
of births due to declining fertility levels.”
related
material
seeking
simultaneous solutions to both pollution and poverty
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology260203 |
27.02.2003
related material
seeking
simultaneous solutions to both pollution and poverty |
| dangerous
complacency
“"Shifting baselines", describes the phenomenon in which each
generation perceives ocean life as abundant, even though it has declined
slowly and steadily for several hundred years.
“Also called "old-timer syndrome", it represents the difference
between an experienced scuba diver recognizing a damaged spot and a
new one impressed by its underwater beauty. ”
The
referred site, with worthwhile illustrations.
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology260203 |
26.02.2003
|
| humans,
clean up your act
“Leatherbacks are the oldest, largest, and widest-ranging marine
animals ever to swim through our global ocean. Nine feet long, six feet
wide, and weighing almost a ton they dive as deep as half a mile. Leatherbacks
swam with pleiosaurs--outlasting them and the dinosaurs by 65 million
years. Now the question is, can they survive us?”
“More that 90% of longlining effort in international waters originates
from international fleets, primarily from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and
China. Finding a fix across a global ocean will require both international
governments' and fishermen's buy-in.”
(Between 20 and 40 million tonnes of sea creatures are discarded back
into the sea each year. This is called bycatch, that is creatures thrown
back as illegal, due to quotas, or as unwanted. Much of this bycatch will
die. I do not have full details at the moment. The total landed catch
in a year is over 80 million tonnes.)
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology180203 |
updated
22.02.2003 |
| the
chinese threaten rhinos for vanity, the americans threaten beluga
The Europeans threaten the cod and the Japanese hunt down whales.
These problems concern us all. The seas cannot stand a free for all.
Stop blustering and quarrelling—solve the problems.
“If approved, an endangered species listing would prohibit all
importation of beluga caviar into the United States, the world's largest
beluga caviar importer.”
—
“The global caviar market has placed a premium on sturgeon, prompting
overfishing and illegal trade. Experts say the worldwide caviar market
is estimated at $100 million, but the illegal traffic of caviar from
the Caspian Sea is about 10 times the legal trade. Other major threats
to the species include habitat loss and pollution.”
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology180203-3 |
18.02.2003 |
| coming
into the modern world
A foolish and patronising article, but with interesting background.
Pressure on the environment—
“The Congo basin holds about one-fourth of the world's tropical
forests and is the largest stretch of unbroken forest in the world aside
from the Amazon. Each year, logging eats up 3,125 square miles of lush
woods, an area twice the size of Rhode Island." "The logging has denuded
swaths of the forest, and conservation groups say it endangers rare
animals including gorillas, whose numbers have dwindled to only a few
thousand in Republic of Congo and Rwanda.”
—
“The logging has denuded swaths of the forest, and conservation
groups say it endangers rare animals including gorillas, whose numbers
have dwindled to only a few thousand in Republic of Congo and Rwanda.”
Of course, no right thinking ‘pygmy’ would ever wish to live
in a unit with hot and cold running water. They just love scrabbling for
berries and stalking antelopes for days, in the hope of filling the larder.
The web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology180203-2 |
18.02.2003 |
| slowly
learning to live with the planet, instead of fighting a losing battle
“In Essex one of the first projects to let the sea back on to
farmland, at Abbot's Hall at Salcott Creek, took three years to gain
acceptance. It needed 32 separate planning
permissions and licences, as well as the consent of the farmers and
the oyster fishermen who feared mud would interfere with their oyster
beds.”
related material
‘tragedy
of the commons’ (archived news
item)
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology100203 |
10.02.2003
related material
‘tragedy
of the commons’ (archived news item) |
| dust
storms in china
“Dust storms have been recorded in China for at least 2,700 years,
but they are now increasing alarmingly both in size and in number.”
—
“The clouds sweep up millions of tons of precious topsoil from
Chinese fields and pastures. Gone in a single day, the soil will take
centuries to replace. But this is just the most dramatic symptom of
the accelerating spread of deserts across the country, which is home
to nearly one in every four people on the planet. ”
—
“China is belatedly trying to get to grips with the crisis. It
is planting 26 million acres – a tenth of its grain-growing area – with
trees. But many die because the soil is already too thin; and, say critics,
too many are being planted around Beijing so as to try to "green" the
city – and clean the air – before the 2008 Olympics.”
(thanks to Lavigne for lead)
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology280103-2 |
28.01.2003 |
| pollution and deformities
in amphibians like frogs
I have been waiting for a short review article in this area.
this one suits for a start.
three main causes are stated as suspect:
- greater exposure to ultraviolet radiation
- chemical contamination of water
- parasite epidemic.
Before reading on, make a guess—which of these three do you imagine
is important?
Then check your guess/es after reading J
in four short parts:
explaining
frog deformities ... 1
explaining
frog deformities ... 2
explaining
frog deformities ... 3
explaining
frog deformities ... 4
from the first part:
“Chances are good that the factors affecting amphibians are also
taking a toll on other species.”
Did the article convince you of that claim?
related material
bringing
attention to increasing pressure on fresh water supplies
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology230103-2 |
23.01.2003
related material
bringing
attention to increasing pressure on fresh water supplies |
| tasmanian
rock ‘tells’ of changing sea levels
“A horizontal line and broad arrow were chipped into a rock face
at convict-era Port Arthur's Isle of the Dead in 1841, in one of the
first official attempts to measure the rise or fall of overall sea level.”
“It is thought to be the first benchmark in the [Southern] hemisphere,
and one of three globally. Others were cut in Sweden and the Caspian
Sea.”
“[The] sea level [is] rising today at the rate of about one millimetre
a year...”
related material
modelling climate change
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology230103 |
23.01.2003
related material
modelling climate change |
| we’re watching us from
space!
Fires in south-eastern Australia—
Two versions: false-colour
or au
naturel
related material
setback
for australian astro-scientists
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology220103-2 |
22.01.2003 |
| modelling
climate change
A climatologist argues that recent real-world data not being factored
into recent United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(UN IPCC) claims.
Are they really that sloppy? Sadly, that is not unbelievable!
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology220103 |
22.01.2003 |
| wasteful
singles
“Biodiversity is threatened severely not only by increased numbers
of households, but also by less efficient per capita consumption of
natural resources,[...] researchers say. They cite examples that larger
numbers of households require more use of natural resources for construction,
and that smaller numbers of people per household use on average more
energy and goods per person.”
“In China's Wolong, a reduced average household size was tied
directly to an increase in household numbers and a rise in the amount
of fuel wood consumed by the local populace for cooking and heating,
which has contributed to deforestation and loss and fragmentation of
habitat for giant pandas.”
“Household dynamics in 141 countries [have been evaluated]. Among
those are 76 biodiversity "hotspot" countries - including Australia,
Brazil, China, Italy, Kenya and the United States - that have high density
areas of animal and plant species, and [are] threatened by human activity.”
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology130103 |
13.01.2003 |
|
they’re coming to get us!
“Soaring seagull populations are proving a serious headache in
urban Britain. Noise, mess, and the threat of physical attack have prompted
a range of measures aimed at repelling the winged invaders.”
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology120103-2
|
12.01.2003 |
| time
for someone to start a malee plantation
“Many Aboriginals say the system, no matter how well intentioned,
misses the point. They say that didgeridoos should not be cut or made
by non-Aboriginal Australians at all, and are offended by the appropriation
of the instrument, which is considered sacred.”
Car workers at a major car plant are now wondering if this wheeze will
work for them!
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology120103
|
12.01.2003 |
| antarctic
melting clock
“the West Antarctic Ice Sheet began melting about 10,000 years
ago and is still shrinking.”
“the study establishes a baseline trend of natural melting against
whicSh any added melting caused by human influences on the climate can
be measured.”
So, null evidence of anthropogenic global warming.
a
fairly balanced article
“...the Met Office's Hadley Centre, which makes predictions of
future climate change, believes such 'human activity' is instrumental
in shaping Britain's long-term weather. Bolton, however, believes: 'There
is no way to prove or disprove that man is to blame for this latest
wet weather, all we can say is that it is warmer.' ”
Note this last statement with care, the Hadley Centre is among the most
advanced and reliable weather analysis units on the planet.
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology050103
|
05.01.2003 |
| more
evidence of global warming
“...They determined that there have been significant overall species
range shifts of 6.1 kilometers a decade, on average, toward the planet’s
poles. Meanwhile, spring events such as egg laying and migration are
occurring 2.3 days earlier each decade.....”
related material
there
is no global warming
global
warming
the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/ecology3.htm#ecology040103
|
04.01.2003
related material
there
is no global warming
global
warming |
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