biodiversity versus big bucks...

rabid-right rabble...

of spiders' webs...

ecosystems are fragile...

species are important...

extinction is forever...

it takes seven years...

even the bizarre

the fragility of species...

greedless care...

habitats in nature...

...

But are such observations really an indication that mass extinctions are pending? "The critical value has not been reached yet," says ecologist Niklaus Zimmermann of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. It will only become a problem when weather extremes occur more frequently. "Two hot summers in Europe in a row, such as the one in 2003, would probably have very serious effects," Zimmermann explains.

The warming could bring lasting changes to habitats, adds biologist Kinzelbach. Nevertheless, he warns of over-dramatizing the situation. "Changes in nature are something quite normal," he says. "The desire for stability originates in human fears."

Uncritically blaming climate change for species extinction is dangerous, Kinzelbach adds. Such an approach could transform climate change into a cheap excuse for failing to address pressing problems. "Monocultures, over-fertilization and soil destruction wipe out more species than a temperature rise of a few degrees Celsius," he says.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/new-un-climate-report-casts-doubt-on-earlier-extinction-predictions-a-960569.html

As my spell-check kindly reminds me of the spelling of scissorS, most extinction do happen because of several factors, one of which presently is and will be global warming. The extinction of the "mega-fauna" was mostly due from the "ascent of humans" and to a variety of other factors including "fast" warming. Some species may not be affected by global warming but some others are and will be such as corals. There, the destruction of the coral life is coming from several sources which are difficult to separate.

Forty years ago, the great barrier reef was more or less "integral". Since then, the barrier ref has seen a decline in its scope that some scientists have calculated at about 60 per cent loss and still going down hill fast. Most corals do not survive in waters above a certain temperature.

The double factors of global warming and acidification of the ocean is directly derived from human extra CO2 emissions. Added to such stress, there is ship water-ballast, effluents and herbicides/pesticides/fertilisers run-offs and dredging dumping clouds of dirt.

Dumping of mud is rarely clean. From my witnessing of dredging in Europe, a lot of the dumped "dirt" ends up as a cloud of muddied water — often destroying the "life' below such as shellfish and fish — not landing as a single plop at the bottom of the ocean. It is also very hard to know how much devastating infestation of crown of thorn starfish are due to some or all of these factors as mentioned above.

Global warming plays a part in extinction of species. It's just we're unable to quantify with exact figures the evidence because stress often needs scissors to be deadly. So as usual, since not a "single" source of destruction can be blamed for extinction, none or few are acted upon efficiently. We fiddle-faddle.

For example, our chemical warfare on the planet should cease immediately. But we're inventing more deadly chemicals.

Presently the up and coming extinction of the elephants in the wild is also staring us the face as poachers and land usage are both stressing the remaining herds. Our lack of understanding of the social interactivity in these animals also has led to a great part in their demise. We need to do more to protect them from ourselves... Eventually, elephants in zoos will also die out because of lack of social interaction.

With our silly deluded government, making fake noises about climate change action and now in a "renaissance mode" to mow down protected forests, what chance has the world got? Tony Abbott is an iddiott...

Read all articles please: 'Coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef is half of what it was 27 years ago.'

Gus Leonisky

your local amateur earth scientist

Former federal Greens leader Bob Brown has weighed into Victoria's election campaign to push for more action to save the state's endangered faunal emblem, the Leadbeater's possum.

He said a Galaxy poll showed most Victorians want a national park created in the Yarra Ranges, east of Melbourne, to protect the possum.

The survey of 503 people found 64 per cent were in favour of a national park, with support highest among young people.

The State Government unveiled a protection strategy for the possum in April, which included a 5 per cent reduction in the number of trees that can be cut down in the species' habitat.

But the changes fell well short of what conservationists said was needed.

Dr Brown said he felt compelled to campaign on the issue after Prahran Liberal MP Clem Newton-Brown sent out a flyer featuring an "angelic-faced possum" endorsing the "ineffective" plan.

"I'm here because I cannot tolerate this deception of Victorian voters in this garden state about the destruction of these critically endangered forests and this magnificent little creature," he said.

"To go to an election telling the people of Victoria that you're supporting the recovery of the Leadbeater's possum when in fact he's supporting the destruction of the habitat of the Leadbeater's possum, which means helping drive it to extinction, that's not on.

"It's a disgraceful ploy by the Liberals."

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-10/bob-brown-puts-endangered-possums-on-election-agenda/5805708

Read articles form top and visit the links...

Ten wombats, including four feeding mothers, deliberately run over at Kangaroo Valley camping ground, NSW Police say

Ten wombats, including four feeding mothers, have been deliberately run over and killed at a camping ground in the New South Wales southern highlands, police say.

Officers were called to the Bendeela camping ground near Kangaroo Valley on Saturday and found eight ofthe dead animals.

Another two dead wombats were found today.

Inspector Susan Charman-Horton said at least four were feeding mothers.

"Of the eight, it was identified that four of them were female, and with the assistance of wildlife rescue, attempts were made to seek to find if there are any young ones, young joeys, in the pouches of these wombats," she said.

"Unfortunately they were only able to identify that one of them had a joey."

It is not known whether the joey died with its mother.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-20/eight-wombats-deliberately-run-ove...

In a direct attack on Attenborough’s flagship series, which features a soundtrack by the Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer and became the most-watched nature programme in 15 years when it was broadcast last month, Hughes-Games said the makers had ignored evidence of mass extinction, most recently from the World Wide Fund for Natureand the Zoological Society of London, which reported last year that between 1970 and 2012 there had been a 58% decline in the abundance of vertebrates worldwide.

“These programmes are still made as if this worldwide mass extinction is simply not happening,” he said. “The producers continue to go to the rapidly shrinking parks and reserves to make their films – creating a beautiful, beguiling, fantasy world, a utopia where tigers still roam free and untroubled, where the natural world exists as if man had never been.”

The result is that Attenborough and others “are lulling the huge worldwide audience into a false sense of security,” he said. “No hint of the continuing disaster is allowed to shatter the illusion.”

Attenborough, however, did use the series to make an impassioned plea for greater conservation. At the end of the final episode he spoke of “our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth”.

read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jan/01/planet-earth-ii-dav...

see also:

the end is not nigh...

a gentle reminder...

save the taz .....

Midnight sludge...

biodiversity versus big bucks...

rabid-right rabble...

of spiders' webs...

ecosystems are fragile...

species are important...

extinction is forever...

it takes seven years...

even the bizarre

the fragility of species...

greedless care...

habitats in nature...

http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/10089

A global conservation body has warned climate change, deforestation and poaching are threatening the existence of thousands of species. The group called for a change in the way humans interact with the natural world.

Read more:

https://www.dw.com/en/european-hamster-north-atlantic-whale-many-lemurs-...

Read from top.

The Great Barrier Reef Foundation has raised only $21.7m out of a target of $357m in donations more than two years after it was awarded the largest single environmental grant in Australian history.

It has prompted Labor to call for greater transparency from the foundation about its fundraising, while the Greens have said the figure “makes a mockery of the government’s logic” for awarding the grant.

The charity controversially received $443m for reef projects in 2018, with the government defending its decision at the time by saying the private foundation would leverage the funds to attract further investment in reef restoration and science from the private sector.

The foundation released an investment strategy in October 2018 that set a target of $357m to be raised over five years, bringing the total reef investment to $800m.

The target is made up of $200m in contributed funds from research and project partners, and $157m in cash donations from a capital campaign ($100m), corporate giving ($50m) and individual donations ($7m).

In response to questions from Guardian Australia, the foundation said it had raised $21.7m in in-kind donations from research and project partners, about 6% of the total $357m target.

It has raised none of the $100m from the capital campaign and refused to provide any figures to show how it was tracking towards targets for corporate giving and individual donations.

A spokeswoman said the Covid-19 pandemic had now “made the fundraising environment more challenging and uncertain for many not-for-profits across Australia and around the world”.

In-kind contributions are non-cash donations, which a foundation spokeswoman said included things such as a farmer donating time to work on a water quality project, or a project partner supplying equipment such as a boat.

...

The foundation refused to answer questions about how much it had raised of the remaining $57m made up of corporate giving and individual donations.

The foundation’s spokeswoman told Guardian Australia there had been some donations in these categories but the organisation would not be supplying figures.

The environment department also failed to provide this data in response to written questions through senate estimates from Greens senators.

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/11/a-mockery-great-barrier-reef-foundation-raises-just-21m-of-357m-target

Read from top.