GLACIERS melting. Forest fires. Species extinction. The climate change predicament just seems to get bigger and scarier the more we learn about it. Global warming is likely to be the greatest cause of species extinctions this century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming says a 1.5°C average rise may put 20 to 30 per cent of species at risk of extinction. If the planet warms by more than 2°C, most ecosystems will struggle.
As the world seeks to slow the pace of climate change, preserve wildlife, and support billions of people, trees inevitably hold a major part of the answer. Yet the mass destruction of trees—deforestation—continues, sacrificing the long-term benefits of standing trees for short-term gain.
But why should it matter to us if we have a few less species? Or trees? The simple answer is that we’re connected to, and are deeply dependent on other species. From pollination of our crops by bees, to carbon storage by our forests, and even the bacteria in our mouths, we rely upon biodiversity for our very existence. We neglect this at our own peril.
The Earth is responding as a single, integrated system to climate change driven by human activities. Global warming isn’t just a matter of warmer weather, more floods or stronger hurricanes, but is also a wake-up call to Terra Firma. The following news seems to point out that maybe Mother Nature is trying to tell us something. It really would be worth listening before it’s too late.
AMAZON ON FIRE
The Amazon rainforest is the world’s largest tropical forest. It’s home to 30 million people and hosts the largest concentration of biodiversity on the planet. It’s quenched by the largest river in the world. It makes 20 per cent of the oxygen on Earth. It holds upward of 140 billion metric tons of carbon. And right now, it’s burning.
Across its 550 million hectares (one hectare is about the size of two soccer fields), more than 74,000 fires have started in the Amazon this year to date, an 84 per cent surge from the year before, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
Fires are a natural part of many ecosystems, but not in the Amazon, where they are an almost entirely human-caused phenomenon. Farmers use slash-and-burn tactics to clear forest areas for crops. Illegal loggers and miners set fires to cover their tracks. In several instances, they’ve ignited blazes to drive indigenous people off their land.
How does it affect us?
Effects of damage to the Amazon go far beyond Brazil and its neighbours. The area's rainforest generates more than 20 per cent of the world's oxygen and is home to 10 per cent of the world's known biodiversity. The Amazon is referred to as the "lungs of the planet" and plays a major role in regulating the climate. The world would drastically change if the rainforest were to disappear, with impacts on everything from farms to drinking water.
GLACIER FUNERAL IN ICELAND
Iceland has marked its first-ever loss of a glacier to climate change as scientists warn that hundreds of other ice sheets on the subarctic island risk the same fate. As the world recently marked the warmest July ever on record, a bronze plaque was mounted on a bare rock in a ceremony on the barren terrain once covered by the Okjökull glacier in western Iceland.
Around 100 people walked up the mountain for the ceremony, including Iceland’s prime minister, the former UN human rights commissioner Mary Robinson, and local researchers and colleagues from the United States who pioneered the commemoration project. The inscription, titled "A letter to the future," on the monument paints a bleak picture.
"Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years, all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what’s happening and know what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it," the plaque reads in English and Icelandic.
How does it affect us?
What happens in places like Iceland has consequences across the entire globe. As sea ice and glaciers melt and oceans warm, ocean currents will continue to disrupt weather patterns worldwide. Industries that thrive on vibrant fisheries will be affected as warmer waters change where and when fish spawn.
Coastal communities will continue to face billion-dollar disaster recovery bills as flooding becomes more frequent and storms become more intense. People aren’t the only ones impacted. In the Arctic, as sea ice melts, wildlife like walrus are losing their home and polar bears are spending more time on land, causing higher rates of conflict between people and bears.
PLANT SPECIES DISAPPEARING
Human destruction of the living world is causing a “frightening” number of plant extinctions, according to scientists who have completed the first global analysis of the issue, published this year in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.
They found 571 species had definitely been wiped out since 1750 but with knowledge of many plant species still very limited, the true number is likely to be much higher. The researchers said the plant extinction rate was 500 times greater now than before the industrial revolution, and this was also likely to be an underestimate.
The plant analysis found Hawaii had the most recorded extinctions (79), followed by the Cape provinces of South Africa (37), with Australia, Brazil, India and Madagascar also among the top regions. However, there may well have been as many extinctions in places that have been less well studied.
How does it affect us?
“Plants underpin all life on Earth,” said Dr Eimear Nic Lughadha at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. “They provide the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat, as well as making up the backbone of the world’s ecosystems. So plant extinction is bad news for all species.”
NATURAL DISASTERS
According to National Geographic, the top four hottest years have been the last four, 2015-2018, driven by increased emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, which have also reached record levels, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Since the temperature rise has continued to rise this year, the world is likely to witness more tornadoes, tsunamis, wildfires, floods and droughts.
How does it affect us?
Natural disasters like floods, tsusamis and droughts have affected us everywhere. The year 2018 witnessed natural disasters that cost the lives of thousands of people while displacing millions and proved that if the necessary precautions aren’t taken as soon as possible, searching for a new home out in space will not just be an ambition but our only chance for survival.