MicrobialLife - Network

Staggering...#Plastics don't break down in the #marine environment - they break up - and result in this calamitous estimate of 170...

Staggering...

#Plastics don't break down in the #marine environment - they break up

- and result in this calamitous estimate of 170 trillion plastic pieces afloat across earth's oceans.

Learn more in this research in PLOS ONE on:

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0281596

#PlasticPollution

Over the last decade I've watched the huge developments going up in the West of #Melbourne to house the increasing population.Sadly,...

Over the last decade I've watched the huge developments going up in the West of #Melbourne to house the increasing population.

Sadly, this development plays scant consideration to fragile native #grassland #ecosystems. Whilst not as totemic in #Australia as the threat urban development poses to koala habitats, such destruction and/or biogeographical isolation of these important grassland habitats will drive species loss and impact on Australia's natural botanical heritage.

Learn more on ABC News on:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-10/vic-truck-crushes-endangered-wildflowers-truganina-cemetery/101939222

#biodiversity #ecology

Hubris...Ruing the cost of coastal development - how the introduction of Spartina alterniflora (Smooth Cordgrass) into #wetlands in China to...

Hubris...

Ruing the cost of coastal development - how the introduction of Spartina alterniflora (Smooth Cordgrass) into #wetlands in China to release land for #agriculture and development is now requiring massive and possibly futile remediation to save #wetland habitats.
FInd out more in Science on:

https://www.science.org/content/article/china-battles-alien-marsh-grass-unprecedented-scale

#ecology

This is so important!Why #carbonoffsets are definitely not the answer and why the government in #Australia (and elsewhere) must not provide...

This is so important!

Why #carbonoffsets are definitely not the answer and why the government in #Australia (and elsewhere) must not provide the #fossilfuels industry and other industries with a licence to continue burning coal, gas and oil.

Conversely, if #offsets are the answer - then the question is probably and really: How does a government continue to enable #fossilfuel use?

Learn more in this article in the @theconversationau

https://theconversation.com/a-tonne-of-fossil-carbon-isnt-the-same-as-a-tonne-of-new-trees-why-offsets-cant-save-us-200901

#ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange

Yet another reason why we have to take genuine action now (throughout this decade and onwards) on the #ClimateCrisis to stop #fossilfuel use...

Yet another reason why we have to take genuine action now (throughout this decade and onwards) on the #ClimateCrisis to stop #fossilfuel use and switch urgently to #renewables:

New research (in Nature on: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05683-0 ) suggests the #BlackSummer fires in #Australia in 2019/20 depleted the #ozone layer by between 3 to 5%.

Given #bushfires and #forestsfires will increase with increasing temperature and #climatechange , this risk of ozone layer depletion and its implications for increased irradiation from the sun to earth and its health impacts (particularly skin cancer) will scale with number and size of global fire events.

Story in Guardian on:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/08/smoke-from-australian-bushfires-depleted-ozone-layer-by-up-to-5-in-2020-study-finds

Too slow.Global CO2 emissions are still rising (by 1% in 2022) when what is needed are 7% reductions year-on-year this decade to have a...

Too slow.

Global CO2 emissions are still rising (by 1% in 2022) when what is needed are 7% reductions year-on-year this decade to have a fighting chance of being on track to reach #netzero.

Learn more on the latest data from the IEA in the Guardian on:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/02/co2-emissions-may-be-starting-to-plateau-global-energy-watchdog-iea

#ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange

Beggars belief...This news in #Australia about the Labor government granting approval to Santos for 116 new coal seam gas wells in the Surat...

Beggars belief...

This news in #Australia about the Labor government granting approval to Santos for 116 new coal seam gas wells in the Surat Basin, Queensland suggests a complete failure from the government to understand how serious the #ClimateCrisis is.

This decade is realistically our last chance to make a difference to prevent catastrophic future effects from major temperature increases and wider climate impacts and governments around the world are failing their countries at every turn.

I am so disappointed and frustrated with this news. Offsets and a gas transition are not what is needed. Instead, we need a ban on all new #fossilfuel developments and a rapid transition to renewables.

Learn more in the Guardian on:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/21/making-climate-crisis-worse-greens-blast-labor-after-queensland-coal-seam-gas-expansion-approved

#ClimateChange

Really concerning new research highlighting that 59% of #LongCOVID sufferers (sample size 331 individuals) were still showing evidence of...

Really concerning new research highlighting that 59% of #LongCOVID sufferers (sample size 331 individuals) were still showing evidence of organ damage/impairment after a year after their #COVID19 infection.

Find out more in this article in the Conversation and access the primary research article therein on:

https://theconversation.com/three-in-five-long-covid-patients-have-organ-damage-a-year-after-infection-200013

El Nino and grassland fire risks in #AustraliaImportant new report from the #ClimateCouncil (authors include Greg Mullins and Joelle Gergis)...

El Nino and grassland fire risks in #Australia

Important new report from the #ClimateCouncil (authors include Greg Mullins and Joelle Gergis) on how the extended La Nina event over the last three years has enabled significant increases in grassland fire fuel loads which under drier El Nino conditions will then pose substantially higher risks of major grassland fires.

The challenge and opportunity for the Australian and State governments is to listen now to the scientists and firefighting leaders and to then plan how to reduce risk and also scale capacity to fight and contain these future fires before they can spread widely.

Read the report on:

https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/powder-keg-australia-primed-to-burn/

#ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange

Important and concerning new research suggesting that stronger El Nino events may accelerate melting of the ice sheet in #Antarctica. Learn...

Important and concerning new research suggesting that stronger El Nino events may accelerate melting of the ice sheet in #Antarctica. Learn more in this article in the Guardian based on new research in Nature Climate Change:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/21/stronger-el-nino-events-may-speed-up-irreversible-melting-of-antarctic-ice-research-finds

#ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange

The really confronting thing about this new article on feedback loops in #climatechange is the staggering number of loops and mechanisms in...

The really confronting thing about this new article on feedback loops in #climatechange is the staggering number of loops and mechanisms in play:

41 feedback loops (20 physical and 21 biological) are mentioned, showing the huge risk exposure that planet Earth is facing as a consequence of our continuing reliance upon and addiction to #fossilfuels

The abstract image displays some of these major feedback loops, but if you want a better understanding of both the risks posed and the interplay between them, check out this new article in One Earth on:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2023.01.004

#ClimateCrisis

This staggering image from #NewZealand really is a metaphor for the battle between #ClimateChange and #FossilFuel transport. Whilst the...

This staggering image from #NewZealand really is a metaphor for the battle between #ClimateChange and #FossilFuel transport.

Whilst the article from which this photo is taken (in the Guardian) talks about how and whether to rebuild after the impacts of #CycloneGabrielle, a much bigger question remains, namely:
What action are we going to take in terms of slashing #carbonemissions from #fossilfuels to try to prevent extreme weather events that lead to images such as this from becoming an everyday occurrence?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/20/after-cyclone-gabrielle-new-zealand-wonders-how-and-if-to-rebuild

#ClimateCrisis

Assessing the health of the National Marine Parks and Sanctuaries in #Victoria, #Australia (including of the amazing #PortPhillipBay, which...

Assessing the health of the National Marine Parks and Sanctuaries in #Victoria, #Australia (including of the amazing #PortPhillipBay, which I'm so lucky enough to live near).

Learn more about this ecological assessment (in this article in The Age) which presents some encouraging news on life in the sea and some fabulous images of the #marine #biodversity in Victorian coastal waters

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/floating-through-the-dreamscape-of-victoria-s-underwater-forests-20230214-p5ckcw.html

#ecology #MarineEcology

Western hemisphere's largest salt lake at risk of drying up in just five years.Catastrophic outlook for the Great Salt Lake, Utah with...

Western hemisphere's largest salt lake at risk of drying up in just five years.

Catastrophic outlook for the Great Salt Lake, Utah with it following the same potential demise as the Aral Sea, due in this case to a combination of water extraction/diversions and #climatechange driving its rapid shrinkage.

Find out more about this unfolding ecological disaster in this article in the Guardian and its wider environmental pollution threats to the region on:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/16/great-salt-lake-disappear-utah-poison-climate-crisis

#water #watermanagement #watersecurity #ecology #ecosystem

Interesting read on de-extinction (it isn't really) ambitions on the dodo.Can't help thinking the money would be better spent on...

Interesting read on de-extinction (it isn't really) ambitions on the dodo.

Can't help thinking the money would be better spent on #conservation to prevent #extinction of our currently threatened species.

Anyway, learn more on:

https://phys.org/news/2023-02-dodo-de-extinction-debate.html

#biodiversity

Sharing some positive news on #conservation efforts in #Australia to reduce #extinction risks. Find out more in this piece in the...

Sharing some positive news on #conservation efforts in #Australia to reduce #extinction risks. Find out more in this piece in the @theconversationau

Still so much to do, but we need to hear about the good news to encourage the view that all is not lost.

https://theconversation.com/we-found-29-threatened-species-are-back-from-the-brink-in-australia-heres-how-200057

#biodiversity #ecology

...and as a postscript on my last post on the obscene subsidies, income and profits for the #fossilfuels industry this new research in...

...and as a postscript on my last post on the obscene subsidies, income and profits for the #fossilfuels industry this new research in Nature Energy suggests the current soaring energy prices triggered by the war in Ukraine but compounded by our reliance on #fossilfuels could drive 141 million people into extreme poverty globally - see story in the Guardian and link to research therein on:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/feb/16/soaring-fuel-bills-may-push-141m-more-into-extreme-poverty-globally-study

#CimateCrisis #energy

UNBELIEVABLE (but true...)In 2022, fossil fuel subsidies from governments rose to a new high of over US$ 1 trillion to the #fossilfuel...

UNBELIEVABLE (but true...)

In 2022, fossil fuel subsidies from governments rose to a new high of over US$ 1 trillion to the #fossilfuel industry (1) as governments sought to mitigate the impacts of rising energy prices resulting from the conflict in Ukraine and what looks (perhaps?) just a little bit like profiteering from the oil and gas industry.

At the same time, income to the oil and gas industry alone increased to an all time high of just under US$4 trillion (2) with over US$ 2 hundred billion of profits reaped for major oil companies (3).

Sources for data:
1. Subsidies from IEA: https://www.iea.org/reports/fossil-fuels-consumption-subsidies-2022
2. Oil and Gas Industry income from Fatih Birol (Executive Director of IEA): see screenshot from Twitter and on IEA-branded slides
3. Oil company profits: from Reuters on: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/big-oil-doubles-profits-blockbuster-2022-2023-02-08/

So as global economies falter, (energy-price-driven) inflation figures soar, populations worldwide suffer AND, most importantly, CO2 levels from #carbonemissions go ever upwards, these polluting industries are making more money and receiving more money from governments (actually from us) than ever before.

This has to stop and our politicians must have the moral courage to stop this continuing and outrageous collaboration with and funding of these industries.

Planet and People FIRST
Profit for FossilFuels LAST

#ClimateCrisis

What were they thinking?The Science Museum in the UK takes sponsorship from the #fossilfuel company Equinor (formerly Norwegian Statoil)...

What were they thinking?

The Science Museum in the UK takes sponsorship from the #fossilfuel company Equinor (formerly Norwegian Statoil) and then compounds this by accepting a gagging clause not to impact the reputation of the company.

Advertising and sponsorship by the #fossilfuel industry needs to go the same way as we've taken with the cigarette industry. It has to stop.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/feb/16/science-museum-sponsorship-deal-with-oil-firm-included-gag-clause

#ClimateCrisis

Blooms of #Cyanobacteria pose a significant threat to #freshwater systems including rivers driving both #eutrophication and its dire...

Blooms of #Cyanobacteria pose a significant threat to #freshwater systems including rivers driving both #eutrophication and its dire implications for freshwater species as oxygen availability plummets and also the additional threat posed by #cyanotoxins produced by some Cyanobacteria.

This new research in Scientific Reports takes a #metagenomics and Q-PCR approach to explore the composition of the Cyanobacterial populations and their cyanotoxin production gene in major rivers across the United States (in 2019) and identifies Microcystis as the key toxin producing genus across this study.

Find out more on:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-29037-6

#microbiology #ecology #MicrobialEcology