As if pollution, climate change and habitat loss were not damaging enough to wildlife, the U.S. Wildlife Services intentionally killed 404,538 wild animals in 2021:
The @USDA’s Wildlife Services reported killing 404,538 native animals in 2021, according to new data released by the program today. https://t.co/gpRYrRIEbe
— Endangered Species Coalition (@endangered) March 22, 2022
Governments and businesses must do everything they can to reduce carbon emissions now and adapt to the climate crisis. The pace of climate change, however, is racing ahead faster than current efforts to adapt and may soon spiral out of control.
That was the urgent message of a new report from the United Nations:
Instead of making progress, humanity is projected to increase carbon emissions by 14%. Already, it is too late for some species that are now extinct, and the effects of climate change for people are worsening.
Update: Temperature monitors found Antarctica 40 degrees Celsius above normal and the Arctic 30 degrees above normal. The temperature extremes are “unprecedented”:
A day to celebrate the connection between people and green space in their community, inspire environmental stewardship, and encourage the use of open space for education, recreation, and health benefits. https://t.co/4qXQxQUwYwpic.twitter.com/Y8RMnljLPT
The planet cannot provide enough resources for the current human population, and yet there are more people born every day. Eventually over the next several decades, human birth rates are expected to decrease but by that time thousands of species will be extinct.
Deforestation of Amazon rainforest in Brazil rose by 43% in April compared to same month last year, government data shows https://t.co/Wh2p4mOqCy
The current state of the planet is near-catastrophic with the climate crisis, megadrought, species extinction, habitat loss, ocean acidification, and water and air pollution so extreme as to threaten the continued existence of most of the world’s species. The planet cannot support the current human population and by the time declining birth rates slowly begin to reverse rapid population growth in a few decades it will be too late for nearly one million species that will disappear forever because of humankind’s reckless destruction of the environment in which all living organisms depend for their survival:
Greta Thunberg is scheduled to speak at a global youth climate summit April 20. The plan is to produce a list of demands to present to the climate summit of world leaders:
Teenage Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg will testify before Congress at an Earth Day hearing on Thursday, the same day that President Biden will convene world leaders for a virtual conference on climate change. https://t.co/fK8ju57OOo
Thunberg was scheduled to to speak before the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee on Thursday at 7 a.m. Pacific time on C-SPAN3, but instead some crabby Republican is droning on with lies. Apparently Thunberg will eventually speak:
Reducing carbon emissions in the U.S. by 52% by 2030 will be difficult, but it can be done. The nation will need to use more solar and wind power, purchase more electric cars, and expand forests, among other changes:
There is a special climate change program on PBS on April 22. The three-hour event, “A year to change the world,” is a must-see documentary featuring the inspiring climate activist Greta Thunberg:
Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World premieres in USA in a three-hour event on Earth Day, Thursday April 22nd at 8/7c on PBS. pic.twitter.com/0HhDNLPFKp
Update: Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican from South Carolina, is attempting to ask tough questions to Thunberg, but he is just coming off like an insensitive brute while Thunberg is appearing as a brilliant and caring human being.
Update: Humans are having such an extreme impact on the environment that some scientists are now studying whether all life may end worldwide:
World Press Photo has announced the winning photos in its annual contest. COVID-19, the murder by police of George Floyd and the destruction of the natural world are represented:
The plans submitted so far to reduce global greenhouse gasses are so weak that they need to be strengthened by a factor of 45 to avoid catastrophic climate change:
Carbon in the atmosphere is at the highest level in 3.6 million years. The U.S. is the world’s second biggest carbon polluter. With its vast wealth and advanced technology and science, the nation could make much faster progress to reduce its carbon footprint especially now that the idiot climate change denier Trump is no longer president.
The new U.S. president will not be able to solve the world’s climate crisis overnight. Carbon in the atmosphere is at the highest level in 3.6 million years. Even with significant work by the U.S. and the other nations in the Paris climate agreement, it will take decades for the excessive carbon in the atmosphere now to dissipate, and so glaciers and polar ice will continue to melt, the climate will continue to heat up, and species will continue to become extinct. But we must do everything we can as quickly as possible to reduce the disastrous effects of the climate crisis.
Update: Biden has made environmental justice a priority with his picks to head the EPA and Interior Department:
Biden’s pick to head the U.S. Department of the Interior, Rep. Deb Haaland, struggled with poverty as a young mother. She plans to use her life experience, including as a member of the Laguna Pueblo Tribe, to guide her important work:
With forest fires raging around Southern California, right now would be a good time to sign the petition in support of the men and women fighting these fires:
This year’s Earth Day, April 22, will be especially interesting because the skies are so much clearer as a result of the coronavirus lockdowns. We are seeing now what the world could look like if we would switch to electric cars and alternative energy such as solar, wind and geothermal. And this is the 50th anniversary for Earth Day:
Because of the coronavirus, crowds will not be able to gather to celebrate Earth Day this year. But they can vote in November to elect a president who will make the environment a priority:
Because of climate change and deforestation, tropical forests are losing their ability to absorb carbon. Tropical forests in South America are expected to release more carbon than they absorb by 2030, which would mean that these lungs of the planet will struggle to function:
The climate crisis, pollution and species extinction are all worsening because Republicans favor industry and big business over environmental protection:
Humans used a year’s worth of natural resources as of July 29, 2019. Everything used after that date is in excess of what the planet can provide in one year. The result of this overuse means that there will be less natural resources the next year, and the year after, until eventually there will be almost nothing left:
The planet as we have known it is rapidly dying. The climate crisis and species extinction cannot be stopped anytime soon, no matter what is done to address these problems. We must still take extreme, immediate and sustained action to reduce the worst effects.
“This day of ‘skipping class’ will probably be the most important day of education in their lives,” writes Shoomer in a comment after The Guardian story.
The climate crisis cannot be avoided no matter what changes are made in the next several decades. Changes can be made to reduce the most extreme effects of the crisis, but the oceans will still rise, coral reefs will still suffer mass die offs and extinctions will continue:
Half of the planet’s animals have disappeared since 1970, and another one million species are expected to become extinct in part because of the climate crisis, along with pollution and habitat loss:
Companies will now be allowed to spew toxic chemicals unabated into streams and wetlands, which will lead to unhealthy water for wildlife and polluted drinking water for people:
Trump plans to announce the decision to increase pollution in California while he is raising millions of dollars from rich people this week for his reelection campaign.
Trump combines extreme ignorance with a complete lack of compassion, resulting in a festering administration that will stop at nothing to carry out its destructive agenda.
Cities will try to use sea walls to protect against sea level rise, but the cost is very high and they eliminate beaches. Eventually, the cost of coping with the climate crisis will be too high and cities will be lost, along with their iconic beaches.
San Francisco, Miami and dozens of other coastal cities around the nation already regularly flood, and the crisis will worsen as the oceans continue to rise. Yet Trump denies that climate change is real and is rolling back environmental protections:
“Climate crisis” and “global heating” are the new, preferred terms to more accurately describe what is happening. These new terms reflect what many climate scientists are now writing in their studies.
Sea levels could rise 6.6 feet by 2100 because of the climate crisis. The majority of the world’s large coastal cities would be lost and 187 million people would be displaced in the worst case scenario:
Update: Carbon in the atmosphere is at the highest level in 3.6 million years. Right on cue, the Trump administration has decided to increase carbon emissions and cause more global heating:
With rapid loss of habitat, increasing pollution and widespread climate change — all human caused problems — time is running out for most species on the planet. In several decades, many of the species alive today will be gone forever. Eventually, at the present rate, almost all species alive today will be extinct. And the rate of extinctions will continue to increase:
A recent study described what is happening as “biological annihilation.” And because of the interdependence of life in ecosystems, when one species is driven to extinction a cascading effect occurs that threatens other species’ continued existence.
Instead of supporting alternative energy, the Trump administration has approved seismic tests for oil and gas off the Atlantic coast that would endanger millions of dolphins and whales. President Obama declared a ban on oil drilling off the Atlantic coast, but Trump is determined to do everything he can to harm the environment upon which all life relies:
Update: In what one scientist described as “idiotic” comments, Trump claimed that his “high level of intelligence” causes him to reject the science of climate change:
The news media are putting their spotlight on climate change more often, but more coverage is needed to help the public understand the magnitude of the threats to health, infrastructure, the economy, the environment and other species:
People have caused most of the wildlife declines and extinctions. At the present rate of declines and extinctions there will be little left within a few decades:
Leaders from around the world plan to attend and speak about the most significant and urgent crisis facing the world. No one from the Trump administration is likely to attend, as Trump denies climate change is real and claims it is a hoax invented by China.
Trump announced last year that the U.S. will withdraw from a global agreement to reduce carbon emissions:
Scientists recommended that carbon emissions be limited to no more than 350 parts per million to limit the most catastrophic effects, but the planet has crossed that threshold and now the number is above 400:
Once again, Trump puts America last by giving more consideration to short term profit over the long term viability of endangered species and the environment: