Tag Archives: broken-records
Irma has broken a mind-boggling number of records.
One would think that the demise of ticks and tapeworms would be cause for celebration (especially if your introduction to parasites was, as in my case, an encounter with zombie snails at a mercilessly young age).
But hold the party, say researchers. After studying 457 species of parasites in the Smithsonian Museum’s collection, mapping their global distribution, and applying a range of climate models and future scenarios, scientists predict that at least 5 to 10 percent of those critters would be extinct by 2070 due to climate change–induced habitat loss.
This extinction won’t do any favors to wildlife or humans. If a mass die-off were to occur, surviving parasites would likely invade new areas unpredictably — and that could greatly damage ecosystems. One researcher says parasites facilitate up to 80 percent of the food-web links in ecosystems, thus helping to sustain life (even if they’re also sucking it away).
What could save the parasites and our ecosystems? Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “Reduce carbon emissions.”
If emissions go unchecked, parasites could lose 37 percent of their habitats. If we cut carbon quickly, they’d reduce by only 20 percent — meaning the terrifying (but helpful!) parasites creating zombie snails will stay where they are.
Read the article:
Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, LG, ONA, Prepara, Smith's, The Atlantic, Uncategorized
Tagged anchor, broken-records, introduction, museum, Prepara, Smith's, smithsonian, studying, that-at-least, that-the-demise
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Irma, Jose, Katia: We’ve never seen this kind of hurricane power in the Atlantic.
One would think that the demise of ticks and tapeworms would be cause for celebration (especially if your introduction to parasites was, as in my case, an encounter with zombie snails at a mercilessly young age).
But hold the party, say researchers. After studying 457 species of parasites in the Smithsonian Museum’s collection, mapping their global distribution, and applying a range of climate models and future scenarios, scientists predict that at least 5 to 10 percent of those critters would be extinct by 2070 due to climate change–induced habitat loss.
This extinction won’t do any favors to wildlife or humans. If a mass die-off were to occur, surviving parasites would likely invade new areas unpredictably — and that could greatly damage ecosystems. One researcher says parasites facilitate up to 80 percent of the food-web links in ecosystems, thus helping to sustain life (even if they’re also sucking it away).
What could save the parasites and our ecosystems? Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “Reduce carbon emissions.”
If emissions go unchecked, parasites could lose 37 percent of their habitats. If we cut carbon quickly, they’d reduce by only 20 percent — meaning the terrifying (but helpful!) parasites creating zombie snails will stay where they are.
Continue reading here:
Irma, Jose, Katia: We’ve never seen this kind of hurricane power in the Atlantic.
Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, ONA, Prepara, Smith's, The Atlantic, Uncategorized
Tagged broken-records, extinct-by-2070, extinction, hold-the-party, hurricanes, introduction, jose, katia, party, science, studying, sucking-it-away
Comments Off on Irma, Jose, Katia: We’ve never seen this kind of hurricane power in the Atlantic.
Oh god, they’ve discovered even more oil in Texas.
Into the ocean, it seems. New satellite data show the total area of global sea ice dipping wayyy below the National Snow and Ice Data Center’s record for this time of year.
In fact, Arctic sea ice has dropped well below the next-lowest seasonal extent ever observed (which was in 2012). That year’s all-time record low was narrowly avoided in September, the month when Arctic sea ice levels typically are at their lowest. But the fact that ice levels are lower now than they were this same time in 2012 is part of what makes this latest data so alarming.
Meanwhile, Antarctic sea ice is also much lower than usual at the end of the Southern Hemisphere’s winter.
We’ve gotten somewhat used to broken records here, but watching sea ice levels flatten out when they should be peaking is well beyond normal understanding of record lows and highs.
Meanwhile, the temperature at the North Pole right now is a not-cool 36 degrees F above average. Is this what the Upside Down feels like?
Excerpt from –
Watch people on the frontlines of the Dakota Access fight defend their water and their rights.
Into the ocean, it seems. New satellite data show the total area of global sea ice dipping wayyy below the National Snow and Ice Data Center’s record for this time of year.
In fact, Arctic sea ice has dropped well below the next-lowest seasonal extent ever observed (which was in 2012). That year’s all-time record low was narrowly avoided in September, the month when Arctic sea ice levels typically are at their lowest. But the fact that ice levels are lower now than they were this same time in 2012 is part of what makes this latest data so alarming.
Meanwhile, Antarctic sea ice is also much lower than usual at the end of the Southern Hemisphere’s winter.
We’ve gotten somewhat used to broken records here, but watching sea ice levels flatten out when they should be peaking is well beyond normal understanding of record lows and highs.
Meanwhile, the temperature at the North Pole right now is a not-cool 36 degrees F above average. Is this what the Upside Down feels like?
See original article:
Watch people on the frontlines of the Dakota Access fight defend their water and their rights.
Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, Jason, LG, ONA, Oster, Ringer, Ultima, Uncategorized
Tagged anchor, antarctic, broken-records, center, dakota-access, national, national-snow, Oster, standing-rock, year
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