Climatic crisis threatens emperor penguins of Antarctica

The emperor penguins of Antarctica are set to receive new protections under the Endangered Species Act, or ESA. This is because the climate crisis is a threat to these flightless seabirds. Global warming results in melting of sea ice and the penguins depend on the sea ice for their survival. As a result, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has categorized the species as threatened. The federal agency lists “imperiled species as endangered or threatened regardless of their country of origin.” The latest announcement came more than a year after an initial proposal by the service to protect emperor penguins under the ESA. Emperor penguins depend on sea ice to form their breeding colonies, avoid predators in the ocean and forage for food. However, the temperature of the Earth is rising because of increase in emission of greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide. The sea ice is at risk of disappearing. When this happens, entire penguin colonies can decline or disappear. The presence of emperor penguins is important to maintain the ecological balance because they forage for krill, fish and squid in the sea and serve as prey for leopard seals and killer whales. Antarctica’s emperor penguins at risk of extinction due to the climate crisis. As an expert says - climate change is having a profound impact on species around the world and addressing it is a priority for the (Biden) Administration. The listing of the emperor penguin serves as an alarm bell but also a call to action.

Emperor penguins are the tallest and heaviest of the 18 penguin species. They can weigh up to 40 kilograms and stand 1.1 meters tall. A female emperor lays one egg per breeding season, then passes it over to her male partner to incubate while she forages for food for about a two-month period. Listing the species as threatened now could help save them from becoming endangered or extinct in the future. The polar bear was the first species listed as threatened due to climate change under the Endangered Species Act in 2008. Since then, many of the world’s polar bear populations have stabilized, but they remain vulnerable as the climate crisis continues.

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Loss of bees and butterflies is disturbing the ecological balance

Loss of bees, butterflies and other insects is disturbing the ecological balance and food supply of the world is under serious treat. The UN has warned that the plummeting numbers of bees, butterflies and other insect populations are not only playing havoc with the world food supplies but, livelihoods of millions are at risk all over the world.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 28 February 2016.

In a first-of-its-kind global assessment of creatures that pollinate crops it has been found that up to two in five of the species are moving towards extinction. The reasons are pesticides, urbanization, intensive farming, disease and climate changes. These have posed threats to apples, blueberries, coffee, chocolate and other crops worth up to £400billion a year.
The food sector provides millions of jobs, while the vitamins and minerals in key crops help to ward off malnutrition and keep it at bay. Hence, it is important that the health of pollinators is taken care of - they are important contributors to world food production and nutritional security and their health and well being is directly linked to our own well-being.
As per records, in Europe, 9 per cent of bee and butterfly species are under threat of extinction. Two of the UK's 25 bumblebee species have died out since the start of the century and the number of honeybees has halved since the 1980s. Britain's butterflies are also in decline, with numbers almost halving in the past 40 years.
It is possible to reverse the trend and, in order to do that, organic farming must be encouraged apart from planting patches of wild flowers to attract pollinators to crops, and also reducing use of pesticides.
Delegates from 124 nations approved the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report in Kuala Lumpur.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Coral gardening – new concept to restore ecological balance

#climatechange #pollution #coralgardening #corals #ecotourism Coral gardening is the latest idea to improve the environment and restore the ecological balance. Coral reefs are very fragile and in danger worldwide. Therefore, a new method is being introduced for coral growing. It is similar to growing plants – it involves breaking off pieces of coral in order to grow more.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 1 July 2015.

The process developed by scientists of Florida is simple - marine biologists cut off the tips of live branching corals, hang the pieces on man-made underwater trees where they grow, and later replant them on real reefs on the ocean floor.
Work on this unique method has been going on for years and the scientists are now bringing their methods to the public. They are making use of diving trips, eco-tourism outings and summer camps for teens.
Coral growing can counter the harmful effects of climate change, pollution and industrial development.
University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine Science is running a program called Rescue a Reef and interested citizen scientists can join the project. Coral reefs provide habitat and food for fish, turtles, seahorses, sea urchins and other creatures. Unfortunately, they are struggling for survival – their numbers are down 50-95 percent in some parts of the world.
Nations like Israel, Fiji, Indonesia and the Philippines have already developed their own coral gardening techniques (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Cold wave grips Britain – travel warnings issued, snowfall up to 10cm expected

#coldwave #arcticblast #snowinengland #globalwarming #climatechange The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for parts of Britain and have also cautioned against possible disruption in travels. The predictions of forecasters are heavy snow to fall across parts of Britain in the coming days. These would be accompanied by wintry showers in the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Expectations are of up to 5cm of snow in low-lying areas and, in higher grounds, it could be in excess of 10cm.. Obviously, such Arctic blasts will continue to pile up miseries on the people and are best examples of the effects of disturbing the ecological balance of our planet Earth by global warming.
The Met Office has also indicated strong gusty winds with poor visibility. The wintry showers would fall as hail, sleet and snow. Obviously, those who would venture out should be prepared for such eventualities.
A cold wave is sweeping through Britain and, only last week, some portions of northern England, the Midlands, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland had experienced snow and freezing conditions. As per records, the coldest temperature of the winter so far was -11.2C at Loch Glascarnoch on January 18. This was greater than the previous record low of -9C. This was on December 27 in Cromdale, Moray. Both are in Scotland.

Storm and tornado batter southern US just before Christmas – at least four dead

#tornado #mississippi #christmas Just two days before Christmas, the southern part of the United States Mississippi has been hit by a storm and it has left at least four persons dead apart from causing damages to homes and businesses and flipped cars apart from knocking out power to thousands of homes.
Obviously, Mother Nature has unleashed her anger at the way the world is turning a blind eye to the destruction of the environment and causing Planet Earth to lose its ecological balance.
Due to this storm in Mississippi, Gov. Phil Bryant has declared an emergency for two southeastern counties where officials say four people have reportedly died in the storms and several more were injured. The office of the Governor has revealed that thousands were without power in and around Columbia, which is about 80 miles southeast of Jackson.
As per the Jones County Emergency Management director, the deaths were of a man and woman who were killed inside a mobile home in the storm's path in Laurel. Moreover, about 50 miles southwest, Marion County coroner Norma Williamson has indicated that two people were killed in Columbia, one of them was in a trailer park, the other at a strip mall.
A large number of people were still trapped inside their homes and TV footage showed cars, including an ambulance, flipped over and a few businesses wrecked. Three highways leading into Columbia have been shut down due to downed trees, power lines and other debris. Travel plans will naturally go haywire.
The storms are moving toward Georgia, including Atlanta, and Florida and according to local media reports, a tornado touched down in Amite, Louisiana. It downed a number of power lines and trees and tore the roof off at least one home. Golf ball-sized hail fell in Enterprise, Mississippi, along with some pea-sized hail in the Bude area.

Fury of Nature seen in New York and Brisbane – snowfall and storms cripple lives

Lady Nature is unhappy at the way our environment is being destroyed and the ecological balance is getting disturbed and she is expressing it in her own unique way – by unleashing storms and snowfall in different parts of the world.
Over a four-day period, New York received nearly seven feet of snow – as per reports, the total snowfall in western New York was staggering. Wales Center and Hamburg witnessed an incredible 85 inches (seven feet) of snow. According to records maintained by the National Weather Service, the largest snow event on record in Buffalo, N.Y, was 81.6 inches in 2001 and that had accumulated over a period of five days.
After the large scale snowfall that crippled the life of New York, she has now moved on to Australia and crippled Brisbane, the third largest city. It was lashed by its worst storm in decades, with roofs flying off and wind, rain and hailstorm resulting in cutting power lines, flooding streets and injuring a dozen people.
As reported by the state-owned electricity supplier Energex, up to 90,000 homes had been without power, with trees and hundreds of power lines brought down by winds gusting at 87 mph and, as it gained in intensity, 68,000 homes remained blacked out.
The storm struck and caught commuters unawares – they remained stuck for hours in the stalled electric trains due to the power cuts. The electronic media went to town with the news and showed the devastation caused in the form of smashed high-rise windows and light planes flipped upside down on an airfield while cars were nearly submerged in flooded streets.
Queensland State Premier Campbell Newman has described the storm as the worst to hit the city of 2.2 million people since 1985.

save environment - ban pollution

Yes, pollution of the atmosphere is destroying the ecological balance that is so important for survival of all living beings. The picture is more or less the same in any large metropolis – the air is always heavy with the fumes of exhausts mixed with dust particles and other pollutants. Other pollutants could cover waste gases of nearby factories, and during festival times could be a result if burning firecrackers.

Indiscriminate use of petrol and other gaseous products result in the global warming phenomenon that is being discussed at practically every forum. Everyone is trying to find out solutions to contain the bad effects of gaseous pollutants. Keeping a check on the emission factors of vehicles is not given the seriousness that it deserves. On the one hand we suggest traveling to office in car pools – on the other we invite people to buy the latest model car because it has plenty of new gadgets that will set the owner apart from the commoners. Finance is easily available and, when the car is delivered, who would want to be a part of a car pool and not show off his latest acquisition? There is a new model released practically every month and, there are cases when families proudly declare that they own more than one car. Therefore, expecting car pools to operate to the satisfaction of environmentalists is asking for too much. We human beings want to make our presence felt on society and never bother about the serious repercussions of not heeding the warning signs.

Pure and healthy air is what the body requires and properly maintained parks are one means of inhaling fresh air – here again, open space comes at a premium. Specially constructed jogging tracks in natural surroundings are much sought after by the young and the old but, even now, we seldom walk short distances – instead, we rev up the car to go to the barber's or kick the scooter to go round the corner to pick up a friend. We should cultivate the habit of relying more on alternate means of movement rather depend always on a vehicle powered by petrol or diesel.