Earth, Environment & Endangered Species 02 (Apr 11 - Sep 15)

[winston]

continue ...

A majority of flowering plants, deprived of their pollinators, would cease to reproduce.

Birds, reptiles and mammals, denied the foliage, fruits and insect prey on which they feed, would follow the plants into oblivion.

The soil would remain largely unturned because insects, not earthworms as generally supposed, are the principal renewers of the soil.

A decline in soil quality would herald the end of wind-pollinated grasses and eventually the trees. Before long, human populations would experience widespread starvation and quickly vanish from the scene.

Their small stature may prevent insects from being recognized as masters of the planet. But their importance and durability are beyond dispute.

Insects witnessed the rise and fall of the dinosaurs. They have survived at least four major cataclysms that resulted in planet-wide extinctions. They continue to thrive despite mankind's best efforts at eradication. And they will very likely out-survive us.

Ours is a symbiotic relationship, but a skewed one. We need the insects. They don't need us. That leads to an odd and humbling thought:

Just who is bugging whom?


Source: Spiritual Wealth

[winston]

Clouds remind you of the recycling process of nature.

~ Dr. Pillai

[winston]

It's 2012 ...

Massive sinkholes wreak havoc

A look at catastrophic sinkholes from around the world.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/photos/massive ... 52884.html

[winston]

In climate landmark, Arctic ice melts to record low by Shaun Tandon

The sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has melted to its smallest point ever, in a milestone that may show that worst-case forecasts, on climate change are coming true, US scientists said.

The extent of ice observed on Sunday broke a record set in 2007 and will likely melt further with several weeks of summer still to come, according to data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the NASA space agency.

The government-backed ice center, based at the University of Colorado at Boulder, said in a statement that the decline in summer Arctic sea ice "is considered a strong signal of long-term climate warming."

The sea ice fell to 4.10 million square kilometers (1.58 million square miles), some 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 square miles) less than the earlier record charted on September 18, 2007, the center said.

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?a ... &buid=3281

[winston]

Fugitive whale campaigner vows to stop Japan hunt

Fugitive Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson vowed Friday to spearhead his group's next campaign against Japan's annual whale hunt, pledging to prevent a single animal being killed.

The Canadian has an Interpol arrest warrant out on him after skipping bail in Germany in July on charges stemming from a high-seas confrontation over shark finning in 2002 and he has not been seen since.

He says the charges are part of a "politically motivated" attempt led by Japan to put an end to his efforts against whaling.

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?a ... &buid=3281

[winston]

16 whales dead in Scotland beaching

Sixteen pilot whales have died after beaching themselves on the east coast of Scotland, officials said on Sunday.

Another 10 whales from the same pod also stranded themselves at Pittenweem, near St Andrews, but were refloated after being kept alive by vets from British Divers and Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) with help from the local fire and police services.

Another 24 whales from the same pod were swimming in the shallows three miles along the coast, and experts were fearful that they could also be beached by the rising tide.

The local coastguard was notified of the mass beaching at 07:00 am (0600 GMT) and there were soon 30 medics and 25 support crew from the emergency services on hand to try and save the six-metre (20 feet) long mammals.

In the United States, 17 pilot whales died after beaching themselves Saturday morning at Avalon Beach State Park, on the east coast of Florida, despite efforts by volunteers and experts to save them.

Two other groups of whales swam onto beaches in North America -- one in Cape Cod on Saturday and another in Canada on Sunday.

The causes of the events remained unclear.


Source: AFP European Edition

[winston]

Artic sea ice shrinks to lowest level on record: US

Arctic sea ice has shrunk to its smallest surface area since record-keeping began, taking the world into "uncharted territory" as climate change intensifies, US scientists warned Wednesday.

Satellite images show the ice cap had melted to 1.32 million square miles (3.4 million square kilometers) as of September 16, the predicted lowest point for the year.

That's the smallest Arctic ice cover since record-keeping began in 1979, the National Snow and Ice Data Center said.

"We are now in uncharted territory," the center's director, Mark Serreze, said, in a statement.

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?a ... &buid=3281

[winston]

In half century, Brazil lost 80% of coral reef: study

In just five decades, Brazil has lost 80 percent of the coral reef once found along 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) of its northeastern coast, according to a study cited by local media Sunday.

Brazil's reef ecosystems -- with 18 species of coral, algae and at least three types of fish -- lie not far out to sea, near major Brazilian cities like Fortaleza, Recife and Natal.

The study, cited by the G1 news portal, was conducted by the country's environment ministry and the Federal University of Pernambuco.

Lead researcher Beatrice Padovani was quoted as saying that domestic, industrial and farm pollution were factors in boosting sediment accumulation that has devastated the reef systems.


Source: AFP Global Edition

[winston]

Better eat those sushis now else they may go the way of Shark Fins ..


Sushi fans urged to eat with care as oceans empty

We should rein in our appetite for five types of sushi that have tipped the oceans' ecological balance into dangerous waters.

So says Greenpeace, which notes locals ate 500,000 kilograms of fish last year - about 70kg per capita - putting the SAR second in Asia in terms of consumption.

This exceeds Japan, the world's sushi capital, which ranks third, with each Japanese consuming about 54kg. The Maldives tops the list at 139kg per capita.

Greenpeace campaigner Yeung Man-yau said our appetite for fish is threatening the ecological balance of the oceans. "Salmon, for example, is being extensively bred in the Atlantic and could threaten the oceans' ecological order," Yeung said.

Some 16 million kg of salmon - mostly imported from Norway - were consumed in Hong Kong last year.

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_deta ... 21015&fc=1

[winston]

More Ice in the Antarctic than Ever Before by Stuart Wilde

I said in 1995 that Global Warming was a hoax. Later the people that wrote the early reports were exposed when their emails were hacked. It’s a con for governments to collect carbon taxes.

Ice at the Antarctic is more now than when records began in 1979. The Global Warming scammers are explaining the awkward “extra ice” by saying it’s a product of global warming’s “circulation”.

The only things that are circulating are the bats in the belfry of their brains. Global warming is just one more wind up to keep people on edge.

http://www.stuartwilde.com/2012/10/more ... rctic-than