The End of Being: Abrupt Climate Change One of Many Ecological Crises Threatening to Collapse the Biosphere

by DR. GLEN BARRY

EcoInternet | June 18, 2017

At least 10 planetary boundaries exist that threaten to make the biosphere uninhabitable

Human industrial growth is systematically dismantling the natural ecosystems which constitute our life support system. Rightly so, there has been an enormous amount of attention given to climate change (though action to rapidly reduce emissions still lags far beyond what is required). Climate change  is becoming abrupt and runaway; and threatens just by itself to collapse societies, economies, and ultimately the biosphere.

Yet climate change is only one of at least ten global ecological catastrophes which threaten to destroy the global ecological system and portend an end to human beings, and perhaps all life. Ranging from nitrogen deposition to ocean acidification, and including such basics as soil, water, and air; virtually every ecological system upon which life depends is failing. Gaia is dying.

UN Ocean Conference: a roadmap for sustainable use of oceans

by Vibha Varshney

Down To Earth | 04 June, 2017

SDG 14 targets to end overfishing and conserve the marine ecosystem (Credit: Derek Keats/Flickr)

The United Nation’s Ocean Conference is set to commence at the body’s headquarters in New York on June 5, world environment day. The meeting is a step ahead in achieving the world’s 14th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 14)—conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. It will see participation from over 5,000 delegates and continue till June 9.

The UN plans to finalise the text for its zero draft “Call for Action” by the end of the conference, along with reports of seven partnership dialogues planned during the meeting. In addition, stakeholders have been invited to give voluntary commitments to ensure that the oceans remain clean and provide a robust blue economy.

Which Countries Live Within Their (Ecological) Means?

by MR Online Editors

MR Online | May 08, 2017

In 1970, people first used more environmental resources than the world could produce.

The gap between demand and nature’s ability to meet that demand has grown steadily since then. Each year we live in ecological deficit–taking more than can be replenished–we draw down the world’s reserves of natural resources. Ensuring we don’t use up the world’s resources is a global effort, though some countries use up more resources than others.

Coal in ‘Freefall’ Worldwide, Report Finds

by Nika Knight, staff writer

Common Dreams | 22 March, 2017

The coal industry is in “freefall” worldwide, the latest annual survey from environmental groups Sierra Club, Greenpeace, and CoalSwarm finds.

“The staggering uptick in clean energy and reduction in the new coal plant pipeline is even more proof that coal isn’t just bad for public health and the environment—it’s bad for the bottom line,” said Nicole Ghio, senior campaigner for the Sierra Club’s International Climate and Energy Campaign, in a statement. “Markets are demanding clean energy, and no amount of rhetoric from [President] Donald Trump will be able to stop the fall of coal in the U.S. and across the globe.”

Extremely high levels of toxic pollutants in the deepest parts of the world’s oceans

A Journal of People report

Source: Internet

Scientists have detected “extremely high levels” of organic chemicals in the fatty tissue of amphipods, a type of crustacean, living in Mariana trench ― the deepest part of the world’s oceans.
“We still think of the deep ocean as being this remote and pristine realm, safe from human impact, but our research shows that, sadly, this could not be further from the truth,” study author Alan Jamieson, a marine ecologist at Newcastle University in Britain, said in a statement.

Alliance of 600,000 British Doctors Calls for ‘Imperative’ Coal Phase-Out

by Nadia Prupis, staff writer

Common Dreams | 19 October, 2016

Although the U.K. government promised to phase out coal by 2025, the groups raised concerns over the seeming lack of preparation to do so. (Photo: Nikon Ranger/flickr/cc)

A coalition representing Britain’s 600,000 doctors and health workers on Wednesday called for a rapid phase-out of coal, saying it was an “imperative” measure and that climate change and air pollution were both “major health threats.”

Fall of the Wild: Study Documents ‘Catastrophic Decline’ in World’s Untouched Places

by Lauren McCauley, staff writer

Common Dreams | 08 September, 2016

Spider Meadows in the central Cascade mountains’ Glacier Peak Wilderness. (Photo: Andy Porter/cc/flickr)

Wilderness, though remote by nature, is not immune to the ravages of humanity. In fact, according to a new study in the journal Current Biology, the world’s wild places are undergoing “catastrophic decline” and could be facing elimination within decades if monumental policy shifts are not implemented.

Humanity Just Ate Through Planet’s Annual Resource Budget Faster Than Ever

…and it’s only August. That’s the fastest pace yet

by Nadia Prupis, staff writer

Common Dreams | 08 August, 2016

“Our economy is built very heavily on fossil fuels, and that’s the challenge we face.” (Photo: Bill Dickinson/flickr/cc)

Earth Overshoot Day—the day on which people worldwide have officially used up more natural resources like air, food, and water than the planet can regenerate in a year—has come early.The 2016 threshold was hit on Monday, making it the fastest pace yet, according to a new report by the Global Footprint Network, which measures the dubious milestone every year.

Stop “Massive Strip Mining” in Utah’s Public Lands: Green Groups to BLM

by Nika Knight, staff writer

Common Dreams | 16 June, 2016

Naturally burning oil shale. (Photo: Ian West via Oil Shale)

In the latest chapter of a decades-long battle over oil-rich shale in Utah, this week over a dozen conservation groups submitted public comments urging the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to reject an Estonian oil giant’s attempts to sidestep environmental review and start the first commercial oil shale project in the United States.

Utah residents have opposed oil shale mining since at least the 1960s, and now an Estonian oil shale giant called Enefit “seeks to strip-mine 9,000 acres for oil shale near the Green and White rivers, and ultimately expand its operations to process up to 1.2 billion barrels of kerogen oil,” as the Center for Biological Diversity wrote in a statement.

‘Overwhelming’ Evidence Shows Path is Clear: It’s Time to Ditch Industrial Agriculture for Good

by Andrea Germanos

Common Dreams | 02 June, 2016

 

If you can count as successes increased greenhouse gases, ecosystem degradation, rises in hunger and obesity, and unbalanced power in food systems, then industrial agriculture has done one heck of a job.

That’s according to a panel of experts, whose new report, From Uniformity to Diversity: A paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agroecological systems (pdf), calls for breaking the chains that lock monocultures and industrial-scale feedlots to the dominant farming systems in order to unleash truly sustainable approaches—ones that use holistic strategies, eschew chemical inputs, foster biodiversity, and ensure farmer livelihoods.