Photograph by: Enric Sala, National Geographic
April 21, 2020
Scientists say that more conservation efforts are needed to ensure that ecosystems can continue absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide.
Earth Day is celebrated each year on April 22 and this year marks the 50th anniversary since the campaign first launched. The event encourages increased awareness of the environment as well as actions and commitments that will reduce the negative impacts humans have on the planet.
March 16, 2020
[…] At the same time, the race is now on to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, ahead of any second wave of infections later this year.
[…]
Last week among the COVID-19 headlines, David Attenborough made a plea calling for Deep Ocean Seabed Mining to be banned. One of the reasons he cited was the importance of deep water corals and microscopic microbes at the bottom of the ocean.
It turns out, these are extremely valuable for modern medicine, including addressing coronaviruses.
A protein from an ocean seabed algae found among coral reefs was revealed to show activity against another coronavirus known as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS.
March 13, 2020
The same forest destruction that accelerates climate change can also encourage the emergence of diseases such as the coronavirus, Indigenous Peoples’ leaders said March 13 in New York, as they criticized Cargill and other multinational companies for replacing forests with soy, palm and cattle plantations.
“The coronavirus is now telling the world what we have been saying for thousands of years—that if we do not help protect biodiversity and nature, then we will face this and worse future threats,” said Levi Sucre Romero, a BriBri indigenous person from Costa Rica who is the Coordinator of the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests.
March 11, 2020
One year ago, when Cyclone Idai slammed into Mozambique, pummeling Beira with a 20-foot storm surge, very few people were prepared for the force and fury of that superstorm.
Thousands dead or missing nationwide. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops were damaged or destroyed. Millions impacted by flooding and ruined infrastructure. Billions of dollars in economic losses.
Gorongosa National Park was an island amidst this storm.
March 10, 2020
According to a new study, without mangroves, flood damages would increase by more than $65 billion annually. The natural coastal defenses mangrove forests provide globally reduce annual flooding significantly in critical hotspots.
Mangrove forests occur in more than 100 countries around the world, but many have been lost due to an increase in aquaculture, as well as coastal industry and development. The rising sea levels and intensifying impacts of hurricanes caused by climate change is increasing the risk of coastal flooding, and conservation and restoration of natural defenses such as mangroves offers cost-effective ways to mitigate and adapt to these changes. According to the authors, mangrove forests can be easily restored to make people and property safer.
March 4, 2020
Tropical forests are taking up less carbon dioxide from the air, reducing their ability to act as “carbon sinks” and bringing closer the prospect of accelerating climate breakdown.
The Amazon could turn into a source of carbon in the atmosphere, instead of one of the biggest absorbers of the gas, as soon as the next decade, owing to the damage caused by loggers and farming interests and the impacts of the climate crisis, new research has found.
February 11, 2020
The world economy depends on nature, from coral reefs that protect coastal cities from flooding to insects that pollinate crops. But by the middle of the century, the loss of key “ecosystem services” could cost the world $479 billion each year. The U.S. will lose more than any other country, with an $83 billion loss to the GDP per year by 2050.
