- In the last 30 years, Lake Constance has reported the loss of over 120,000 breeding pairs of various bird species. These birds make up a central layer of the region’s food chain. They function as a check for insect populations controlling pests and pollinators thus preventing the spread of invasive plants. This loos in population is not universal among species. Some birds are becoming more populous as their competition dies out, further signaling towards an imbalance in the region. The species affected are disproportionately losing numbers in agricultural areas where they impede human development.
- The loss of bird populations threatens to destabilize the very agricultural processes that are motivating their eradication. Without these species to control the populations of insects which no doubt pose a threat to agrarian development, farmers will have to turn to pesticides. This shift will undoubtedly only proliferate habitat destruction. This example highlights the domino nature of biodiversity issues as the ecosystems services we lose as biodiversity wanes are only able to be replaced by even more detrimental human products. This process is cyclical and is why major natural losses tend to happen in short periods of time.
Month: September 2019
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190909095013.htm
- Conservation efforts in mainland Australia, a cradle of biodiversity, are calling out the federal government for not enforcing conservation laws, as evidenced by the clearing of over 7.7 million hectares of endangered species habitat. It is alarming for a species to lose upwards of 25% of its habitat over only a couple years, and Australia’s conservation issues must be remedied. The hectares measured in the headlining tally were destroyed between the years 2000 and 2017. Rates of environment destruction are escalating exponentially with every passing year.
- Invasive species and issues with biodiversity aren’t new to Australia’s people. However, thought the citizens have adapted, this has happened at the cost of innumerable extinct species. Every species lost is an ecosystem threatened. Once one dies more go with it, and with each species that dies out we lose opportunities for research and development. More importantly the more unstable our ecosystems become, the less of a safety
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190814090000.htm
- Contemporary research has been shown to heavily prioritize “charismatic” species, meaning species with widespread media appeal, above other primates. This bias results in disproportionate allocation of conservation resources to said popular species’ habitats. This dissonance between the allocation of funds and their necessity has led to disastrous consequences for certain species of primates.
- It is understandable that as a species geared towards anthropomorphism we prioritize, even if subconsciously, species that are easiest to anthropomorphize. However, there is no rational reasons to why chimpanzees account for 13% of research while the next most prevalent branch of primate species is allocated only 3%. The study’s lead author concedes that a myriad species are being ignored. Primates have the potential to be keystone species in a variety of ecosystems. In fact, even concerning chimps we have no real understanding of to what scale chimpanzees support local ecosystems. All historical evidence has set a precedent for biodiversity paving the way for bio inspiration and a lack of biodiversity leading to environmental crisis.
Fracking may be a bigger climate problem than we thought
Roberts, D. (2019, August 16). Fracking may be a bigger climate problem than we thought. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/8/15/20805136/climate-change-fracking-methane-emissions
A recent spike in global methane levels that’s putting climate targets at risk may be coming from US oil and gas fracking.Global methane emissions rose steeply in the last decades of the 20th century and then leveled off. But around 2006, they started increasing. A few studies largely traced the recent spike in methane to biogenic sources, mainly because recent atmospheric methane has been “lighter,” depleted of its heavier carbon stable isotope (13C). This is unexpected, given the recent boom in unconventional gas production. Robert Howarth of Cornell University has proposed that natural gas methane emissions are much higher than the government estimates or the industry admits, high enough to wipe out its supposed climate advantage over coal. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is readying a plan to end direct federal regulation of methane leaks from oil and gas facilities, even as some energy companies insist they don’t want the relief. It makes them look like climate villains; it increases their exposure to climate risk and future policy shifts; it makes investors uncertain and hesitant and it hurts the environment.
The findings possibly corroborate the findings of the previous article by Tara Lohan, but weirdly could also disprove them. On one hand, Robert Howarth’s claim that the government has skewed methane gas measurements and the spectacle of Trump’s policies show that the government and corporations are actively misleading the public because they are deeply dependent on Natural Gas Production to stimulate economic growth and as income respectively. On the other hand, if accurate, atmospheric methane measurements point to biogenic methane sources as the main culprit causing a spike in methane emissions; possibly negating the negative findings related to fracking. This just goes to show that climate change isn’t as cut and dry as we would like to believe. There is still a long way to go before we fully understand how we affect the environment and what would be most effective at reducing pollution.
Report: ‘No Evidence That Fracking Can Operate Without Threatening Public Health’
Lohan, T. (2019, August 2). Report: ‘No Evidence That Fracking Can Operate Without Threatening Public Health’ • The Revelatory. Retrieved from https://therevelator.org/fracking-health-studies/
Physicians for Social Responsibility and Concerned Health Professionals of New York together just released the sixth edition of a compendium that summarizes more than 1,700 scientific reports, peer-reviewed studies and investigative journalism reports about the threats to the climate and public health from fracking. The research has been piling up for years, and the verdict is clear, the authors conclude: Fracking isn’t safe, and heaps of regulations won’t help. Health professionals, mostly doctors and scientists, say there is no evidence that fracking can operate without threatening public health directly and without imperiling climate stability upon which public health depends.
This new compilation of research sets a concerning president— the dangers of fracking cannot be alleviated without completely eliminating the production of natural gas. Because of these results, the only viable solution to reduce pollution and health risk is to shut down all fracking infrastructure, but that is much harder than it sounds. Natural gas corporations, politicians and the US government all benefit from fracking, and because of their monstrous influence in policy regarding energy regulation, the idea of a complete shutdown of fracking seems almost impossible. There would have to be a major societal shift to make such a large change. In this regard, the future looks bleak for communities and ecosystems in the vicinity of a fracking site.
Fracking boom tied to methane spike in Earth’s atmosphere
Leahy, S. (2019, August 15). Fracking boom tied to methane spike in Earth’s atmosphere. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/08/fracking-boom-tied-to-methane-spike-in-earths-atmosphere/
Researchers measured big increases in the amount of methane, a powerful global warming gas, entering the atmosphere over the last decade. Cows or wetlands have been fingered as possible sources, but new research points to methane emissions from fossil fuel production—mainly from shale gas operations in the United States and Canada—as the culprit. The increase in methane emissions occurred at the same time as the use of fracking for shale gas took off in the U.S. Methane released from shale gas production has a slightly different chemical fingerprint compared to methane from cow burps and wetlands. This allowed scientist to isolate methane levels released through conventional fracking. Now, it’s estimated that over half of our methane emissions are from the natural gas industry. This big methane increase matters because methane heats up the climate over 80 times more than an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Although this article is not a definitive proof of the dangers of Fracking, it provides solid evidence to back up what has been thought for quite some time— Even though natural gas releases less CO2 than other fossil fuels, the process of extracting it defeats its purpose. If Fracking operations continue to expand, it will be much worse for the atmosphere than all other fossil fuels in their environmental impact, due to the production of methane gas. In the atmosphere, increased methane levels are far more dangerous than CO2 which means we have to take this very seriously. Unless its possible to reduce methane emissions due to fracking to essentially zero, the resource cannot be considered a clean form of energy, and must therefore be treated the same as other fossil fuels.
How Isotope Hydrology can Support Environmental Assessments to Help Protect Groundwater
Gaspar, M. (2019, August 7). Fracking: How Isotope Hydrology can Support Environmental Assessments to Help Protect Groundwater. Retrieved from https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/fracking-how-isotope-hydrology-can-support-environmental-assessments-to-help-protect-groundwater
Surface water may be contaminated through spillage during fracking, or accidental release from the waste pit in which the fracking fluid is recovered after extraction; groundwater can be contaminated if the fluid escapes through, for example, abandoned or leaking wells; and drinking water may also be contaminated if natural gas leaks into shallow aquifers. In many cases where contamination is suspected, identifying the source and extent of the contamination is difficult due to a lack of baseline data. Jennifer McIntosh and 14 other authors from leading universities around the world explained how various isotope hydrology techniques can be used to monitor the impact of fracking on ground and surface water.
Although the advent of a better means to track and evaluate Fracking contamination is very helpful, it does not do anything to stop the contamination at the source. Because fracking is a huge industry, especially in the United States, many people do not think that eliminating it as an energy source is possible. That means they will do anything to make the existing process safe. If anything has become apparent in the past two decades of fracking, it’s that it is extremely dangerous for local ecosystems and not much can be done to prevent methane leakage and the leakage of fracturing fluid. Thus, I believe that although natural gas and fracking are somewhat cleaner than other fossil fuels, it is still harmful to the environment and should be phased out by renewable forms of energy.
Shale Producers Seek a Green Label for Their Natural Gas
Elliot, R. (2019, August 22). ‘Sustainably Fracked’: Shale Producers Seek a Green Label for Their Natural Gas. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/sustainably-fracked-shale-producers-seek-a-green-label-for-their-natural-gas-11566475200
Shale drillers want to tell their customers that their natural gas was fracked sustainably . Many U.S. fracking companies are stepping up efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, toxic wastewater and other environmental impacts tied to fracking, because of investor pressure over climate change. Now, drillers are seeking to monetize those investments by marketing their natural gas as a cleaner fossil fuel. Some environmental groups say that regulation, not green marketing, is the way to ensure sustainable practices. Unlike fair-trade standards or federal rules that govern organic labeling, there is no widely accepted industry definition for responsibly fracked gas.
This article sheds light on the Natural Gas industries’ attempt to cover up or at least ease suspicions of the apparent negative environmental effects of fracking. I believe that misleading labels like “responsible fracking” only get in the way of Environmental Reform. If we want to actually do something to protect our atmosphere from pollution we have to pass laws and regulations, not rely on the invisible hand of capitalism to pressure companies into doing the right thing. It should not be the case that some companies are trying to decrease their impact while others do not. It should be required of all fracking companies to do this.
Integrated Farm Management for Sustainable Agriculture
David C. (2019, February 7). Integrated Farm Management for Sustainable Agriculture : Lessons for Knowledge Exchange and Policy. Retrieved August 20,2019 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837717304945
Sustainable agriculture is an aim to balance the economic, environmental, and social aspects of farming in order to create a higher sustainable farming system long term. With the concept of more restrictions on farming and farm advisors it can improve the land and industrial as a whole. The agriculture continues to decrease as activities such as farming continues to expand. Once it comes to a sustainable agreement then the lands can furthermore impact in the natural resources needs. Using mixed methods on the concept of farm management would need to be practiced in order to create the ideal that is needed within the topic of sustainability and public land use.
This article is known in relation with environment as well because it talks about the main topic of farming. That is a huge topic talked about by many people in the use of people either impacting or destroying the environment. I believe that if we have a sustainable agriculture it would further influence public land use and how people could take better care of it. Although we need farming for our own needs, I believe that too much farming would only ruin the ecosystems as they are now. The article mentions how more practices would need to be put into action in order for changes to actually come. While our natural resources are very important so are the nature’s and animals.
Millions of Acres of Public Land Could Lose Protections
Rait, K. (2019, July 23). Millions of Acres of Public Lands Could Lose Protections. Retrieved August 20, 2019 from https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2019/07/23/millions-of-acres-of-public-lands-could-lose-protections
The Bureau of Management (BLM) oversees a quarter of a billion acres of public lands across the nation, ultimately across the West. The BLM provides freshwater, fish, and wildlife habitat for millions of people throughout the year. This program helps factor the people’s needs when it comes to the public land use. Despite BLM protecting the land use it can overall degrade the protection that is well needed for the environment habitat and people habitat as well. In order for vast improvement in land then more acres would need to be continued to produce more of the energy that is needed. BLM’s preferred plans would safeguard just 0.03 percent of the lands that the agency identified as possessing wilderness characteristics. (Riat)
The environment is in coordination with the environment because it implies that people in society are trying ways to help impact the way public land use is in control as well. Even though we are the root to why the habitats get in the place of destruction we also try to fix it too. By providing more acres I do not think that it would be a good idea because we already ruined so much of the land that we have now it wouldn’t make sense to have more land. Public land use often goes unnoticed because we do the daily resources of hiking, logging, and etc. without realizing that we are destroying the natural resources needed. With the BLM they portray how there are people who try to protect the land from completely crumbling.