Climate Change Threatening Humans Through Toxic Algae Spread

Global warming is making the oceans more toxic due to spread of toxic algae. Climate change causes a series of problems for the oceans such as heating up, acidification, and the loss of oxygen.

A team of scientists investigated this by using ocean temperature data along with the growth response of two different algae, Alexandrium and Dinophysis.. These algae are the two most toxic algae in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. The study indicates that since 1982 the North Atlantic and North Pacific ocean basins have warmed and thus become hospitable to algae and algal blooms. These two algae can cause extreme health concerns that can cause paralytic and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning in humans. They could even kill people who consume contaminated shellfish. Also they can  damage several marine ecosystems by killing fish and other marine life

http://www.stonybrook.edu/happenings/research/global-warming-making-oceans-more-toxic-research-shows/?spotlight=2

 

Melting Snow Contains a Toxic Cocktail of Pollutants

With the temperature getting warmer due to spring, all the snow will slowly melt. However, water is not the only thing the melted snow will release. The snow contains a toxic cocktail from car emissions. These pollutants are then released int o the atmosphere after the snow melts.

Snow absorbs certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are organic pollutants known to be toxic and carcinogenic. These pollutants add to premature deaths caused by mild air pollution. Worldwide, air pollution kills as many as 8 million lives. The snow is on the ground for so long that the car emissions pollute it, and then it releases straight into the environment. Understanding how these pollutants interact with the environment, including snow, is import to reduce the hundreds of thousands of premature deaths in North America.

 

http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/melting-snow-contains-toxic-cocktail-pollutants-267489

Melting Sea Ice May Lead to More Life in the Sea

As global warming increases, more snow and sea ice is melting. This increasing amount of sea ice that is melting in the Arctic can lead to an increased production of algae, which means more food for the organisms in the ocean. This melting ice leads to larger melt ponds. In these melt ponds, algae and bacteria can form, leading to more food for sea creatures.

These melt ponds are basically their own ecosystem. The algae is released into all the surrounding seawater. Some food is immediately eaten by animals high up in the water column and the rest sinks down to the bottom where it gets eaten by seabed dwellers. So even though global warming is increasing and the ice caps are melting, it does have some positive affects on the organisms.

 

http://www.sdu.dk/en/om_sdu/fakulteterne/naturvidenskab/aktuelt/2017_03_23_meltponds

 

Could Rudolph and Friends Help to Slow Down our Warming Climate?

A new research found that reindeers may play a part in slowing down climate change. They do this by reducing the height and abundance of shrubs on the Arctic tundra through grazing, eating the shrubs. The reduction in shrub height, abundance and leaf area increases the level of surface albedo, which is the amount of solar energy reflected by the Earth back into space.

The researchers used an experimental set-up of four separated areas experiencing either light or heavy grazing by reindeer. They  combined land surface computer modelling with measurements of albedo and vegetation characteristics that were taken in the field. To measure the reindeer activity they used vegetation trampling indicators and by collecting dung. They measured the abundance of vegetation, its leaf area index, the soil moisture and temperature levels, and then the albedo levels. The results were that in the areas with high densities of reindeer activity, there was less shrub abundance, in fact changing the arctic tundra vegetation. So, these reindeers grazing can slow down warming climates.

This effect is large enough that it can be regionally important.Now, herbivore management may be a a possible tool to combat future warming because most of the arctic tundra is grazed by either domesticated or wild reindeer. The impact the reindeer have varies according to their densities and effects on the vegetation levels across the whole tundra, so not all of them could be as effective.

http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/50234

 

California’s Six Year Drought Causing Death in Trees

 

Due to California’s six year drought, there has been a total of 102 million dead trees across 7.7 million acres of forest, a very high number of deaths. This lack of rain has lead to a dramatic rise in bark beetle infestation and warmer temperatures. The U.S Forest Service announced that a total of 62 million trees died just in the year of 2016. This was an increase of more than 100% deaths from 2015. A member of the U.S Forest Service said that the trees are dying a rate much quicker than what they expected due to the drought.

Most of these dead trees are located  in the southern and central Sierra Nevada region in  10 counties. Driving in that area and looking into the hillside is a pretty scary and surprising sight to look at considering that they are mostly dead trees. The U.S Forest Service also predicts that even more trees will die in the coming months and years due to not only drought but along with it, root diseases, bark beetle activity, or other stress agents. The tree deaths are on a rise mostly in the northern regions.

There have even been concerns that now these dead trees can spark much more destructive wildfires in the state of California. Although these trees elevate the risk of wildfire, complicate efforts to respond safely and effectively to fires, and pose threats to life and property across California, they also have some pros such as providing great habitat for wildlife, such as birds and mammals that make their homes in openings carved within snags, and while wood-boring insects that feed on those snags. This basically makes the foundation of the food chain for a larger web of forest life.

http://www.care2.com/causes/102-million-trees-have-died-in-californias-drought.html

Airlines to Test Alternative Fuel

Air travel is one of the largest contributors to environmental pollution of greenhouse gases.The normal jet fuel used for airplanes contains nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide. These three are a combination of various pollutants which creates the greenhouse effect that harms our atmosphere.

The airline industry knows that it is a huge contributing factor to pollution, especially with climate change. It is working towards way to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. One way to do this is by using alternative fuels such as biofuels made from vegetable oil, corn, and even household garbages. They are investigating in which ways to do this and have already started working on it. However, manufacturers have not been able to produce the necessary quantities for widespread use.

Airlines like Virgin and JetBlue are one of the first airlines to already begin using eco-friendly fuels, but there is a limit to how much of this fuel they can get. For example JetBlue put in an order of 330 million gallons of renewable fuel, however only 100 million gallons are produced annually. So the need of fuel in the aviation industry numbers in billions of gallons, which the renewable fuel is not able to do.

http://www.enn.com/business/article/50052

 

New Delhi Air Pollution Reaches Highest Level In 20 Years

Last Week, New Delhi’s air pollution reached as high as 30 times above the World Health Organization Guidelines. This has been the highest level in 20 years. The Indian officials declared an emergency and The Chief minister told people to stay home and not go to work. A a result of this, the Indian business groups said 5 to 10 percent of the workforce in the city called in sick over the past week.

India has one of the highest populations in the World, and that contributes to the air population. The reason for such a high air population at this time was because there was field burning on nearby farmland and fireworks from a recent Diwali festival. This worsened the smog conditions. To reduce the air population, construction sites have been closed, operations at a coal-fired power station have been stopped, and diesel generators were stopped. The city officials are working towards creating traffic restrictions, in order to to reduce the amount of smog in the atmosphere for the future.

http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/50116

Food and Energy Demand Drives 58 Percent Decline in Global Wildlife Populations

A new report from World Wildlife Fund states that global populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish have declined by 58% between 1970 and 2012. Specifically the animals living in the Worlds lakes, rivers, and freshwater
r systems have experienced the most dramatic population declines, which is at 81%. This sudden decline is due to human activity and and if nothing changes, global wildlife populations could drop two-thirds by 2020.

The greatest threat to wildlife is the loss and degradation of the animals habitat. This is primarily due to the increasing demand for food and energy. Global food production is the leading cause for the destruction of habitats and of wildlife because agriculture currently occupies approximately one-third of Earth’s total land area and accounts for 70 percent of all freshwater use.

Humans have created this so we are also the ones who can fix it. We need to rethink how we produce, consume, approach to food, energy, transportation, and how we live our lives. There are already steps being taken to save these animals such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is an essential guide to decision-making that can ensure that the environment is valued alongside economic and social interests.

http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/50094

 

 

Urban Warming Slows Tree Growth

New research has found that urban warming reduces growth and photosynthesis in city trees. Insect pests also affect the growth, but the heat is the greater problem. As an experiment, researches went to 20 pairs of willow oak trees across North Carolina. At each site, one tree was treated with and oil that kills insect pests, and the other tree was not. The temperatures were also monitored at each site. They tracked the growth of all 40 trees for 2 years. They measured the growth by measuring the circumference of each tree’s trunk, by measuring how many specific branches grew on each tree, and by measuring each tree’s photosynthesis.

The results were that insect pests were more found at hotter sites. So the hotter it was the more insects there were on the tree. They also found that warming/heat negatively affected tree photosynthesis and growth. This was regardless of whether pests were present or not present. So, the warming temperature reduces tree growth greatly and insect pests affect them even more.

 

http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/50037

 

 

 

Fate of Turtles and Tortoises Affected More by Habitat than Temperature

 

According to a new research, the wearing down of habitats is a greater risk to turtles and tortoises than the global temperature rising.  More than 60% of these species are being described as vulnerable and critically endangered because they are being collected for food and medicine, and their habitats are being degraded.

A team of researches from the University of Bristo conducted an experiment to test if long-term climate change poses a threat to turtles and tortoises or if it poses an opportunity them, and how they might respond to increased global temperatures. However, since turtles live such long lives, it is impossible to test the impact of warming over several generations, so the researches used models and fossils of turtles during warmer times.The Late Cretaceous fossil was investigated and they found that during periods with much warmer climates, turtles and tortoises were able to stand the heat as long as there was enough water.

The results are that turtles and tortoises are able to adapt to the global temperature rising and can stand temperature changing. But habitat loss is a threat to turtles and tortoises and a great risk to the survival of theses species.

http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/50016