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Tag Archives: biodiversity
Updated Extinction Assessment Drives Fresh Call to ‘Save Life on Earth’
An Africocypha varicolor blue, categorized as endangered on the ‘Red List.’ (Photo: André Günther) Updated Extinction Assessment Drives Fresh Call to ‘Save Life on Earth’ “Every new look at extinction shows that we’re running out of time to save wildlife and ultimately ourselves.” The Biden administration was told Thursday it must act urgently to address the […]
UK will ‘pause’ publication of data showing biodiversity in decline
UK will ‘pause’ publication of data showing biodiversity in decline Next year will see an important meeting to agree global biodiversity targets, but the UK says it won’t be publishing key data on wildlife and habitats A male Lulworth skipper (Thymelicus acteon) in Dorset, UK. Oliver Smart/Alamy Conservationists and politicians have criticised the UK government […]
Soils and Life Beneath the Ground
Soils and Life Beneath the Ground There is more life beneath the ground than you know. Healthy soils contain a vibrant range of life forms such as protozoa, nematodes, mites, springtails, spiders, insects, bacteria, fungi, earthworms and numerous burrowing animals. This rich biodiversity plays a vital role in mitigating climate change, neutralising pests, purifying and […]
Unrelenting economic growth on a finite planet is laying waste to entire living systems
Unrelenting economic growth on a finite planet is laying waste to entire living systems Meanwhile, governments everywhere are talking about “supercharging our economy.” — No 2784 by fw, October 5, 2021— George Monbiot “There is a box labelled ‘climate’, in which politicians discuss the climate crisis. There is a box named ‘biodiversity’, in which they discuss […]
Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future
Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future Preface. This is another “Scientists Warnings to Humanity” by many famous scientists, including Paul & Anne Erlich, John Harte, Peter Raven, and Mathis Wackernagel. Some of the challenges they point to are loss of biodiversity and consequent 6th mass extinction, human population growth which has led to […]
Population explosion to destroy 11% of remaining ecosystems and biodiversity
Population explosion to destroy 11% of remaining ecosystems and biodiversity Preface. According to a recent paper in Nature Sustainability (Williams et al 2020), we are on the verge of destroying 11% of earth’s remaining ecosystems by 2050 to grow more food. We already are using 75% of Earth’s land. What a species! Reminds me of the […]
Páramos at Risk: The Interconnected Threats to a Biodiversity Hotspot
Páramos at Risk: The Interconnected Threats to a Biodiversity Hotspot The pressures of climate change and human land use could lead to the disappearance of unique biodiversity and vital ecological services. On a recent, pre-pandemic journey to the High Andes of Colombia, I found myself surrounded by one of the region’s emblematic species, the flowering […]
How to Turn Your Backyard Into a Certified Wildlife Habitat
How to Turn Your Backyard Into a Certified Wildlife Habitat Climate change continues to alter the planet and make it less suitable for sustaining life. Animals have felt this effect more than anyone else. As people look for new locations to build safer, more weather-proof cities, wildlife species have retreated to the minimal spaces still […]
Ransomware attacks and biodiversity: A possible lesson from nature
Ransomware attacks and biodiversity: A possible lesson from nature As I read about recent ransomware attacks on hospitals, I was reminded of a seemingly unremarkable event years ago when I was still using a computer with the Windows operating system. I was working with a medical doctor turned medical IT specialist. His preferred operating system—though […]
Fifth Of Countries Worldwide At-Risk Of “Environmental Shocks” Collapsing Ecosystem
Fifth Of Countries Worldwide At-Risk Of “Environmental Shocks” Collapsing Ecosystem A new report via insurance firm Swiss Re warns that one-fifth of countries worldwide are at risk of their ecosystems collapsing because of a decline in biodiversity. The reinsurer said more than half of global GDP, equal to about $41.7 trillion, is highly dependent on “high-functioning […]
Do Weeds Matter for Biodiversity?
Do Weeds Matter for Biodiversity? Weeds. A very negative-sounding word for many. However, weeds might not exactly be what we used to think they are. Let me take you on a walk in the countryside, observing fields of barley as we pass them by. In the meanwhile, let’s explore who weeds really are. Let’s find […]
How our food choices cut into forests and put us closer to viruses
How our food choices cut into forests and put us closer to viruses As the global population has doubled to 7.8 billion in about 50 years, industrial agriculture has increased the output from fields and farms to feed humanity. One of the negative outcomes of this transformation has been the extreme simplification of ecological systems, with complex […]
Human over-consumption causes far more biodiversity loss than climate change
Human over-consumption causes far more biodiversity loss than climate change Preface. Human ancestors began reducing biodiversity 4 million years ago, when large carnivores in Africa began disappearing, probably due to our ancestors stealing food predators had caught, starving them to death and eventually driving some of them extinct (Faurby, S., et al. 2020. Brain expansion […]
