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METHANE - the most potent Greenhouse Warming Gas

Methane accounts for more than one-quarter of the anthropogenic radiative imbalance since the pre-industrial age. Its largest sources include both natural and human-mediated pathways: wetlands, fossil fuels (oil/gas and coal), agriculture (livestock and rice cultivation), landfills, and fires. The dominant loss of methane is through oxidation in the atmosphere via the hydroxyl radical (OH). Apart from its radiative effects, methane impacts background tropospheric ozone levels, the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere, and stratospheric water vapor. As such, changes in the abundance of atmospheric methane can have profound impacts on the future state of our climate.

 

UN climate report: Scientists release 'survival guide' to avert climate disaster - 2023

UN climate report: Scientists release 'survival guide' to avert climate disaster

Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change met in Switzerland where glaciers are melting

Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change met in Switzerland where glaciers are melting


UN chief Antonio Guterres says a major new report on climate change is a "survival guide for humanity".

Clean energy and technology can be exploited to avoid the growing climate disaster, the report says.

NASA Space Mission Takes Stock of Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Countries

NASA Space Mission Takes Stock of Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Countries

 

Saving the Threatened Whitebark Pine Tree

Sun-bleached skeletons of long-dead whitebark pine trees stand at the top of a 7,200-foot-high ridge along the Reservation Divide on the Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana. With annual average temperatures in Montana rising, the whitebark pine that were not previously threatened are now facing an increase in blister rust infections, mountain pine beetle infestations and wildfire.

Stretching from British Columbia, Canada down to parts of California and east to Montana, live the whitebark pine. The tree grows in subalpine and timberline zones — elevations anywhere from 4,000 to almost 9,000 ft. It's an unforgiving space. The wind is harsh. Plants and animals confront sub-freezing temperatures, often until summertime.

The whitebark pine has historically thrived in these lands. But today, the tree species is in trouble. So much so that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the whitebark pine as a threatened species in December 2022. Increased fire intensity from climate change and colonial fire suppression practices, infestation by mountain pine beetles and a deadly fungus called blister rust — they're collectively killing this tree.

March 2023 - Ocean treaty: Historic agreement reached after decade of talks

 

Sea turtle shelters under coral

Nations have reached a historic agreement to protect the world's oceans following 10 years of negotiations.

The High Seas Treaty places 30% of the seas into protected areas by 2030, aiming to safeguard and recuperate marine nature.

The agreement was reached on Saturday evening, after 38 hours of talks, at UN headquarters in New York.

The negotiations had been held up for years over disagreements on funding and fishing rights.

The last international agreement on ocean protection was signed 40 years ago in 1982 - the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Namibia reports record level of rhino poaching in 2022

Namibia reports record level of rhino poaching

Close-up of a female white rhino in Namibia

A female white rhino in Namibia


The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia last year was the highest on record and almost twice as many as the year before, officials say.

A total of 87 rhinos were killed compared with 45 in 2021, official government data show.

Most were poached in Etosha, Namibia's biggest national park, officials say.

Rhino numbers in Africa have dropped significantly in recent decades to feed demand for rhino horn in China and Vietnam.

Biodiversity: What is a mass extinction and are we causing one?

 

Rhino and zebras standing in a field

 

Five times in our planet's history, adverse conditions have extinguished most of life.

Now, scientists say, life on Earth could be in trouble again, with some even saying we could be entering a sixth mass extinction.

No credible scientist disputes that we are in a crisis regarding the speed at which nature is being destroyed.

But could we really be on track to lose most life on Earth?

Human-caused climate change, changes in land use and pollution are rapidly transforming the planet, making it harder for species to adapt and survive.

Biodiversity: 'Magical marine species' pushed toward extinction

 

Dugong swimming
The dugong is said to have inspired ancient legends of mermaids

 

A "sea cow" that evoked tales of mermaids is being driven to the edge of extinction, conservation experts warn.

According to an update of the official extinction list, the dugong is almost wiped out in some parts of the world.

Scientists have also sounded alarm over the loss of other marine creatures, including exotic coral and shellfish.

There is No Future Unless We Stop Destroying the Natural World.

Reverse nature's decline or there is no future - UN

Tree felling in Brazil
Three-quarters of the Earth's surface has been altered by human activity

 

The United Nations' biodiversity chief says global talks under way in Montreal are the "last chance" to reverse the destruction of the natural world.

"Biodiversity is the foundation of life. Without it, there is no life," Elizabeth Maruma Mrema stated.

But she is worried about the amount of work still needed for the 196 countries to reach an agreement.

Unsustainable logging, fishing and hunting 'driving extinction' - 2022

One in five people around the world rely on wild animals, plants and fungi for food and livelihoods, according to a landmark assessment.

But many wild species are not being harvested sustainably, putting food security at risk, the report found.

In 2019, experts estimated that one million plants and animals could go extinct in coming decades.

And much of this is being driven by unsustainable fishing, hunting and logging.

Now a new report by the same influential body concludes that the sustainable use of wild species is critical for people and nature.

And climate change and increased demand is likely to push more species to the brink, putting food security at risk.

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is conservation scientists' equivalent of the IPCC group of climate scientists.

Their most recent assessment, approved by 139 countries in Bonn, Germany, focuses on how fishing, hunting and logging can be carried out more sustainably without damaging biodiversity and food security.

It found that billions of people across the world rely on 50,000 species of wild animals, plants and fungi for food, medicine, fuel, income and other purposes.

The assessment paints a picture of widespread exploitation of nature, with about a third of wild fish in the ocean overfished, more than 10% of wild trees threatened by unsustainable logging, and more than 1,300 mammals pushed to extinction by unsustainable hunting.

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