World's wildlife facing a crisis

If you watched David Attenborough's latest programme called 'Extinction: The Facts' on Sunday night, you will be fully aware of the problems facing the world's wildlife.  Most of these have been caused by our human actions and decisions we have made, often when we are far away from the consequences.  It is only when we see programmes like these that we become fully aware of the bigger picture and the harm that is happening to wildlife and also to people who live in the most poverty-stricken areas of the world. 

Deforestation is a huge issue, and is the most common cause of most loss of wildlife.  This is driven by the need to farm cattle, sheep and goats, or to grow animal feed crops such as soya which requires huge amounts of land, fertiliser and water.  It is usually cheaper to just clear new land than to help recover and reuse previously farmed land.  

Fishing is another problem.  Fish are caught inside huge industrial nets which catch many other fish and sea life, not just the desired species that they are after.  Quotas may be in place but are not monitored or enforced properly.  Many animals each year are entangled in fishing-related equipment or consume plastic items which remain inside their stomachs and cause death if they are unable to feed successfully. 

Animal poaching is a hidden problem that continues to happen without much detection.  Many animals such as rhinos, elephants and pangolins are trapped and killed for their horns, tusks or scales in the belief that they will cure diseases such as cancer, and they can sell for thousands of dollars on the black market.  Animals may also be kept alive in terrible conditions and have very poor quality of life. 

The UN announced in a report yesterday that the world has failed to meet any of its targets set out in Japan in 2010 to protect wildlife and reverse the damage that has already been done.  They have said 'humanity is at a crossroads' and that it is up to us to take the next steps.  Some progress has been taken in some areas, but large areas of vegetation and habitat are still being destroyed and many species are still at risk of extinction particularly in areas such as South America.  

Governments can make decisions that will help put laws in place, but it is also up to us as individuals to take actions that will reduce our impact on the planet.  To find out more visit the links below:

👉 Age of extinction - article

👉 BBC player - Extinction: The Facts

👉 The World Wildlife Fund

👉 Greenpeace

👉 The Wildlife Trusts 

Drilling for Arctic oil

Many parts of the Arctic have been drilled for oil over recent decades. The rock beneath the ice and snow holds a wealth of natural fossil fuels which various governments and corporations have sought to exploit in order to benefit from the profits and industrial development that such a resource brings.

This week, it has come to light that the US government is now going to allow a new plan to go ahead to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  This is an area in north-east Alaska which is home to many different animals including reindeer and polar bears and many other mammals and birds. It sits above millions of barrels of oil which can be extracted by drilling deep down into the ground.

The government say that drilling for oil will provide jobs for hundreds of Alaskan people and generate large amounts of income for the area.  However, we have already seen from other projects like this that the environment is usually destroyed to the point of no return and animals have to migrate elsewhere which disrupts the balance of the ecosystem.  

Many people also feel (now more strongly than ever) that there is no room for these kinds of projects with the current impacts of climate change hitting almost every corner of the globe.  They believe money should be being invested into green alternative energies, and not finite fossil fuels whose reserves will quickly be used up. There is no need that is great enough to risk having the oil spills, habitat destruction, noise pollution, and the increased greenhouse gas emissions that would result from another oil refinery.  

Arctic areas are seeing the impacts of global warming more than ever, with ice melting at an increasing rate and more and more risk to polar bears who rely on the ice for fishing and migrating.  It seems, illogical, therefore, to go ahead with such an outdated and dirty fossil fuel extraction project in an area that it trying to cling on to its status as a pristine wilderness. 

To find out more, click here:

BBC News

National Geographic 

Greenpeace

Fires in the Amazon

The Amazon Rainforest in Brazil is already seeing an alarming increase in the number of fires it usually experiences, and it is only the start of the new fire season. Around 10,000 fires have been spotted within the first 10 days of August which is a rise of 17% on last year.  To many people who know the value of the Amazon and want to protect it, this is not good news.

Rainforests such as the Amazon are huge stores of carbon, and as such are vitally important in the fight against climate change.  Organisations in Brazil are aware of this and are trying to protect the trees from fires that not only destroy the trees and habitat for wildlife, but also release tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at the same time.  

Unfortunately, it seems that although Brazil's government have made agreements to protect the Amazon, not enough has been done on the ground to prevent these fires from being started.  Many people, both local villages and large scale companies, are keen to burn vegetation to make way for farmland as this is much more profitable.  However, it will take far too long for the trees to grow back into the complex network they were once in, and for the wildlife and ecosystem processes to return.  Many believe that with a changing climate, the rainforest may end up lost forever with only dry or temperate grasslands in its place.

To find out more and how to help, click here:

🌳 BBC news report
🌳 WWF - Things you can do to help the Amazon

🌳 Greenpeace

News in brief: 10 February - 16 February 2020

Storm Dennis hits the UK
The UK has suffered further high wind speeds and extremely heavy rainfall especially in some areas asa result of Storm Dennis; people have had to evacuate their homes in parts of south Wales and Herefordshire due to rapidly rising floodwaters

Coronavirus continues to spread
China reported a rapid increase in the number of cases of coronavirus this week, although this seems to have plateaued over the last couple of days; current figures now state that 68,470 are infected with 1,663 dead and 9,326 recovered

Antarctica is warming
Antarctica's temperature has been recorded as above 20 degrees celsius for the first time; scientists have described this as being incredibly abnormal and that it is a worrying indicator of what is happening to climate around the world

Sydney bushfire concert
A large concert has been held in Sydney, Australia to raise money to help communities that have been devastated by the recent bushfires; the concert aimed to raise around A$10 million which will go towards supporting rural fire services and wildlife that have been affected

The UK leads the fight against illegal logging
As part of UN climate talks later this year, the UK will lead the way in addressing the issue of illegal logging and deforestation; cutting timber down is a significant source of carbon emissions and also destroys the habitats of the wildlife that live within it

In pictures - tiger abuse at a Thai temple

Nearly half the tigers rescued from a Thai temple have died from health complications  (Image credit: Getty Images)

>> Why are tigers abused like this in some parts of the world? What kind of environment do tigers normally live in?

In pictures - the threatened Tongass Forest region, Alaska

While the Amazon burns, Trump threatens to approve logging of one of the world's largest intact forests (Image credit: American Forests)

>> Why do you think people could be interested in development of this area? What harm might this cause?

In pictures - Haiti earthquake strikes again

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake has struck Haiti killing 12 people; many residents are still living in temporary shelters from when a devastating quake struck the region in 2010

>> Create a fact file that compares the earthquakes in 2010 and 2018

News in brief - 6th/7th October

Climate change warnings
A recent report by the IPCC states that we are no longer on track to stay within a warming limit of 1.5 degrees celsius, and that a warming of around 3 degrees celsius is more likely; this would mean the end of coral reefs, and would impact on all ocean wildlife as water temperatures rise and ice melts

Tsunamis - the long term response
As the search for survivors in Indonesia begins to wind down, the question is being asked as to whether we are prepared for future tsunamis; early warning systems need to be improved and emergency services better equipped to deal with the damage and chaos

Sinking cities
More and more of the world's cities will be at risk of floods and storm surges as climate change continues to melt ice caps and create bigger storms; city planners are failing to prepare for potential sea level rise, and this is compounded by the growth of cities whose weight literally pushes the land down and lowers it to nearer sea level 

In pictures - deforestation in the Amazon

Deforestation is at the heart of discussions around reducing greenhouse emissions and keeping to climate change targets (Image credit: Greenpeace)

>> List as many reasons as you can for why deforestation is happening around the world.

In pictures - the polluted Citarum River, Indonesia

Pollution on the Citarum River, Indonesia

>> How can we prevent plastic from reaching so many of the world's waterways?

A guide to: Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut

Available on TES

News in brief - Wednesday 26th September

Saving the world's coral reefs
Scientists in Florida area creating coral nurseries to help grow new coral in controlled conditions; this coral would then become replanted on old reefs that have died due to changes in temperature caused by climate change

Activity at China's coal-fired power stations
Green campaigners at Coalswarm have reported that building work has restarted at a number of coal-fired power stations in China; this move will make it even harder for China to keep to its carbon dioxide emissions targets and will make the global fight against climate change even more difficult

Solar power in India
The area of Pavagada in India has one of the biggest solar farms in the world (5,000 hectares in size); this will help it to reach its target of having 40% of its energy coming from clean sources, as stated in the Paris Climate Change Agreement

Editor's pick - where's safe to live in the US?

Oliver Milman (The Guardian) writes about the difficulties of living in some parts of the US due to extreme weather linked to climate change. What kinds of problems are people facing, and where should they move to in order to live safely?

In pictures - China's floating solar farm

A giant floating solar power plant sits on a man-made lake over a collapsed coal mine (Image credit: Sungrow power)

>> Discuss: do you think this kind of power can be used everywhere in the world?

Comment: can our world cope with increasing numbers of natural disasters?

Despite rapid economic growth, some of our most developed nations are struggling to cope with the realities of climate change and the impacts of increasing numbers of natural disasters. 

Chaos after Typhoon Jebi (Image credit: EPA)

Japan is a recent example that has dominated the headlines after experiencing a series of natural disasters.  Although it has become one of the top ten wealthiest nations, it remains a victim of the horrifying impacts of torrential rainstorms, a devastating typhoon, and yet another disastrous earthquake on account of the fact it sits precariously on the Pacific Ring of Fire (a plate boundary around the Pacific Plate).

On 4th September 2018, Typhoon Jebi hit the outer islands of Japan with wind speeds of around 175mph.  Air and land travel was severely disrupted with thousands of people stranded and tankers beached on harbor walls. This chaos and loss of life was further compounded by an 6.7 magnitude earthquake that followed just days later, causing landslides that buried houses and caused power cuts due to the weakened ground collapsing after the torrential rains and tropical storm winds.

These natural disasters are seemingly unavoidable, but the question remains as to whether a developed country like Japan should be better prepared to mitigate and respond to the impacts it faces.  After all, there are around 14 significant tropical storms in the Pacific Ocean every year, and Japan experiences around 1,500 tremors and earthquakes annually.  Is the developed world struggling to implement what is has learnt from previous lessons? Or perhaps the scale of natural disasters (especially when they follow one after another) is now too much to cope with? 

As the US enters its hurricane season, over 1 million people have been ordered to evacuate their homes on the east coast and head inland.  Is this yet another example of a developed nation unable to cope with the force of Mother Nature? 

Some might argue that we simply have to do what we can.  Others may consider the extent to which we are now simply dealing with the consequences of years of human abuse of resources such a fossil fuels, which has contributed to the global warming that is now fuelling our super storms.  

Can we rely on our wealth and experience to save us?  Or will we simply have to hold tight and weather the storm?

>> Discuss: To what extent can High Income Countries (HICs) cope with the increasing number of natural disasters?
>> Explain: Describe and explain different strategies that countries can use to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters
>> Explore: in groups, gather information for the following interest groups (The World Bank, governments, scientists, emergency services, local residents) and debate the role of each group in preparing for and reacting to natural disasters