Climate Change
An Astonishing Number Of Lakes
Have you ever wondered how many lakes there are in the world? In an effort to answer this question, an international research team used satellite photos and computerized mapping technology to count up Earth’s inland waters. They found about 117 million lakes, covering almost four percent of the planet’s non-glaciated surface, according to their study, which was published in Geophysical Research Letters.
In A Warmer World, The Ticks That Spread Disease Are Arriving Earlier
In the northeastern US, warmer spring temperatures are leading to shifts in the emergence of the blacklegged ticks that carry Lyme disease and other tick-borne pathogens. So reports a new study published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
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Teaming Up To Protect And Manage Lakes
During a mild July in 1985, a cold front caused algae in Shelburne Pond, a small Vermont Lake, to quickly die back. Decomposing plants stripped the water of available oxygen, smothering aquatic life and causing a massive fish kill. Thousands of fish littered the lake’s surface – from perch and walleye to northern pike. Some 30 years later, a once prolific walleye fishery has not recovered.
Tuning Into Nature’s Rhythms
Most of us feel a connection to the seasons—the relief that comes with green leaves unfolding in early spring, the soothing sound of crickets in the summer, or the honking of migrating geese in the fall. Our food, water, and even moods are tied to seasonal cycles. But only a select few tune into nature’s rhythms and take careful notes.
The Rising Hudson
The Hudson River flows through much of the listening area of our flagship station. It is an extension of the Atlantic Ocean that flows from the Narrows in New York Harbor up through the Capital Region and beyond and it is linked to any changes in water levels in the Atlantic and around the globe.
New York’s Ban On Invasive Species Goes Into Effect
In a win for New York State’s natural areas, new regulations have gone into effect banning a long list of plants and animals that have plagued our fields, forests, and freshwaters. As of March 10, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has made it illegal to buy, sell, or transport 126 species identified as invasive.
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Lessons From Europe On Warming Lakes
Do you wonder how climate change is affecting lakes? We just need to look across the pond, where scientists and agencies involved in the European Union’s Water Framework Directive have amassed an impressive body of research on the topic.
Dog Days Of Winter
This winter filled with endless snows and bone-chilling temperatures makes it difficult to focus on a warming climate. But the truth of the matter is that the warming climate is playing a major role in our harsh winter weather.
Milkweed And Monarchs
We have talked before about the huge decline in the population of monarch butterflies. The causes are a combination of factors including illegal logging in Mexico, droughts, wildfires, parasites, and most importantly, the drastic loss of crucial milkweed habitat in the US. Milkweed is the only food plant that monarch caterpillars can eat and modern herbicides like those used on genetically modified crops are wiping it out over large areas.
Threats To Corals
Coral reefs are some of the most spectacular sights in the world. People call them the “rainforests of the sea.” These colorful otherworldly places are some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. Coral reefs provide a home for 25% of all marine species and they flourish even though ocean waters that provide few nutrients typically surround them.
Let’s End Factory Farming!
It’s quite clear that factory farms are only able to produce their cheap goods at the expense of the animals, the environment, and human health. And while it could be easy to feel powerless against the factory farming machine, there are several viable alternatives.
Factory Farming And The Environment
Factory farms put an incredible strain on earth’s natural resources. While originally built for maximum efficiency, factory farms actually yield relatively small amounts of meat, dairy and eggs given the staggering price the environment pays.
What Is Factory Farming?
We should start by clearing up a myth: A factory “farm” is no farm at all. It’s quite simply an animal factory built for efficiency. Approximately 70 billion farm animals worldwide call these places home – including chickens, turkeys, cows, pigs, goats, and sheep.
Chocolate That Is Less Bittersweet
February is a boon for the chocolate industry, with heart-shaped confections found everywhere from drugstores to gas stations. Of course, the same could be said of almost any holiday, as chocolate has become a quintessential part of Easter, Mother’s Day and more.
Sustainable Flowers
It’s that time of year when many of us will buy flowers for those we love. After all, what’s more quintessentially romantic than a bouquet of red roses? But what it takes for those roses to get to the refrigerated case of your local florist is decidedly less romantic.
Restoring Rainforests
Forests play a major role in the Earth’s carbon cycle. Trees pull carbon dioxide out of the air and lock the carbon away in their wood and in the soil beneath them. Over time, we have cut down or damaged at least three-quarters of the world’s forests and that destruction has been an important contributor to climate change.
Global Warming And Wine
It has often been argued that global climate change is affecting the less fortunate more than the wealthy. Having money can insulate people from such problems as rising food prices and flooding in coastal areas. Apart from that, much wealth is generated by industries that contribute to global warming as opposed to combating it.
Cleaning Up Carbon Pollution And Improving Air Quality
States have a chance to safeguard more than the climate when they adopt the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan. That’s because many of the strategies used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions have the added benefit of improving air quality.
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Ensuring The World’s Parks Protect Biodiversity
Every ten years, the International Union for Conservation of Nature hosts the World Parks Congress. In November, more than 6,000 people from 170 countries descended on Sydney, Australia to assess the state of the world’s protected areas at the sixth Congress.
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