Climate Change Progress

Climate Change Progress

It seems to me…. “The specter of climate change threatens worsening natural disasters, rapid urbanization, forced migration, and economic hardship for the most vulnerable.  Despite significant global advances, inability to effectively address epidemics and health emergencies still prevail and continuously threaten global health security and economic development.”  ~ Tedros Adhanom[1]. After…

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This ties into one of the big conundrums of restoration ecology. When trying to decide what plants to add to a restoration site, should we add those that are there now, even if some of those species are increasingly stressed by the effects of climate change? Or do we start importing native species in adjacent ecoregions that are more tolerant of heat?

Animals can migrate relatively quickly, but plants take longer to expand their range, and the animals that they have mutual relationships with may be moving to cooler areas faster than the plants can follow. Whether the animals will be able to survive in their new range without their plant partners is another question, and that is an argument in favor of trying to help the plants keep up with them. We're not just having to think about what effects climate change will have next summer, but also predict what it's going to look like here in fifty years, a hundred, or beyond. It's an especially important question in regards to slow-growing trees which may not reproduce until they are several years old, and which can take decades to really be a significant support of their local ecosystem.

For example, here in the Pacific Northwest west of the Cascades, western red cedar (Thuja plicata) is experiencing increased die-off due to longer, hotter summer droughts. Do we continue to plant western red cedar, in the hopes that some of them may display greater tolerance to drought and heat? Or do we instead plant Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana), which is found in red cedar's southern range, and which may be more drought-tolerant, even though it's not found this far north yet?

Planting something from an adjacent ecoregion isn't the same as grabbing a plant from halfway around the world and establishing it as an invasive species. But there is the question as to whether the established native would have been able to survive if we hadn't introduced a competing "neighbor" species. Would the Port Orford cedars and western red cedars be able to coexist as they do in northern California and southern Oregon, or would the introduced Port Orfords be enough to push the already stressed red cedars over the edge to extirpation?

There's no simple answer. But I am glad to see the government at least allowing some leeway for those ecologists who are desperately trying any tactic they can to save rare species from extinction.

Back by demand (and for a longer period of time, with more options)

The Beasts feel very Old Testament in the sense that they're both awesome and awful. The civilian collateral damage from their battles must be immense. Do villagers fear the dragons or their saviors more, despite the later being viewed as saints?

the extent of religiosity in the lives of the laity shouldn't be underestimated, and this is an era where god is to be feared. they feel protected by the ferocity of the beasts.. where crops are trampled or livestock killed in the crossfire, they might even feel blessed

a dragon descends on a town when those within the town have been acting in sin, attracted by the evil aura of the place. the battle is seen as a way of saving the laity not just from certain destruction, but also from themselves. they are purified in the process, and the property damage (if any) is a part of that process

but this is all pretty contingent on the church offering compensation for damages - if you lose a field or house, it will be rebuilt and reseeded by the village's own monastery. after all, the productive labour of every single man woman and child in the empire is required to feed and supply the stables

I know it's probably just the artstyle, but this collage made me think Remake!Barret looks Black-Japanese. Probably not intentional and thus no point in reading into it... But oh, that is very delightful, and makes for fun headcanon material.

I love a city that has nice green spaces but it’s still the city.

here's your friendly reminder to sign greenpeace's petition to ban private jets

i want to take touichirou apart like a computer

I wonder why flat earth conspiracy theories seem so much more widespread than geocentric universe conspiracy theories. If anything it feels like flat earth is easier to disprove just by, well. Looking. I guess for a person who knows absolutely nothing about anything, "the Earth is flat" is easier to explain than "the Sun and all the planets orbit around the Earth."

(In addition I sort of assume that most flat earth people don't actually believe the Earth is flat and just use that purported belief as a proxy for "I don't believe anything that I'm told, especially if it's governments or scientists who are telling it to me.")

Making anyone who has ever commented "it's just nature" or "circle of life" when discussing cats (invasive domesticated species originating from Africa) killing wildlife in completely separate continents walk into a swamp. A really gross one. The mud is super slimy and it smells bad. Also, the water is murky and they keep bumping into submerged sticks and getting scared in case it's a big fish or turtle.

Homo Sapiens Are Working Overtime to Join 'The Great Silence'

And if it does affect the economy, we’ll find a way to                      extract a profit from it…. Driven mostly by rising global temperatures from the continued burning of fossil fuels, extreme weather events such as typhoons, hurricanes, floods, heatwaves and drought are becoming more frequent, increasing 83% worldwide in the past 20 years (as of 2020), and the costs have increased by 800%…

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This is why I don't agree with blanket statements like "humanity is a cancer upon the Earth". The majority of environmental destruction has been perpetrated by western countries over the past few centuries of colonialism and industrialization, and we are the primary source of ongoing demand for resources like timber and fossil fuels. Blaming all of humanity as a whole is short-sighted, to say the very least.

While indigenous people are not a monolithic entity and each community has their own ethics regarding the land, we are seeing increasingly that when indigenous land managers are in charge, the result is a much more sustainable conservation of the land and its resources. The indigenous peoples of the Amazon have been caring for these places for thousands of years, and allowing them to continue those relationships is having a positive effect overall.

Silver Anthropoid P001 - Ismene Karli

Anthropos in the Greek language means human being.

Metallic Anthropogene is my first photography collection that was created during the time I visited my hometown. During that visit, I discovered a silver ID that belonged to my grandfather. That discovery evoked many fears. The main phobias were death and losing my loved ones. Thinking about my deceased grandfather and spending time with my 90 years old grandmother I realized that death is inevitable. A realization that so long eluded from my thoughts as my mind was in denial. The transient nature of human being is easily forgotten by the living. That metallic ID was a memento mori, a reminder that one day I'll die, a raw act that forced me to remember my mortality, therefore, and my imminent death. The central idea for the creation of this collection was my egoistic and absurd need to see myself along with my loved ones living through centuries like human beings possessing genes created by precious metals that endure through time.