A mass methane release could begin an irreversible path to full land-ice melt. NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty Images
By Peter Giger
The speed and scale of the response to COVID-19 by governments, businesses and individuals seems to provide hope that we can react to the climate change crisis in a similarly decisive manner - but history tells us that humans do not react to slow-moving and distant threats.
<p>Our evolution has selected the "fight or flight" instinct to deal with environmental change, so rather like the metaphor of the frog in boiling water, we tend to react too little and too late to gradual change.</p><p>Climate change is often described as global warming, with the implication of gradual changes caused by a steady increase in temperatures; from heatwaves to melting glaciers.</p><p>But we know from multidisciplinary scientific evidence - from geology, anthropology and archaeology - that climate change is not incremental. Even in pre-human times, it is episodic, when it isn't forced by a human-induced acceleration of greenhouse gas emissions and warming.</p><p>There are parts of our planet's carbon cycle, the ways that the earth and the biosphere store and release carbon, that could trigger suddenly in response to gradual warming. These are tipping points that once passed could fundamentally disrupt the planet and produce abrupt, non-linear change in the climate.</p>
A Game of Jenga
<p>Think of it as a game of Jenga and the planet's climate system as the tower. For generations, we have been slowly removing blocks. But at some point, we will remove a pivotal block, such as the collapse of one of the major global ocean circulation systems, for example the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), that will cause all or part of the global climate system to fall into a planetary emergency.</p><p>But worse still, it could cause runaway damage: Where the tipping points form a domino-like cascade, where breaching one triggers breaches of others, creating an unstoppable shift to a radically and swiftly changing climate.</p><p>One of the most concerning tipping points is mass methane release. Methane can be found in deep freeze storage within permafrost and at the bottom of the deepest oceans in the form of methane hydrates. But rising sea and air temperatures are beginning to thaw these stores of methane.</p><p>This would release a powerful greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, 30-times more potent than carbon dioxide as a global warming agent. This would drastically increase temperatures and rush us towards the breach of other tipping points.</p><p>This could include the acceleration of ice thaw on all three of the globe's large, land-based ice sheets – Greenland, West Antarctica and the Wilkes Basin in East Antarctica. The potential collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet is seen as a key tipping point, as its loss could eventually <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/324/5929/901" target="_blank">raise global sea levels by 3.3 meters</a> with important regional variations.</p><p>More than that, we would be on the irreversible path to full land-ice melt, causing sea levels to rise by up to 30 meters, roughly at the rate of two meters per century, or maybe faster. Just look at the raised beaches around the world, at the last high stand of global sea level, at the end of the Pleistocene period around 120,0000 years ago, to see the evidence of such a warm world, which was just 2°C warmer than the present day.</p>Cutting Off Circulation
<p>As well as devastating low-lying and coastal areas around the world, melting polar ice could set off another tipping point: a disablement to the AMOC.</p><p>This circulation system drives a northward flow of warm, salty water on the upper layers of the ocean from the tropics to the northeast Atlantic region, and a southward flow of cold water deep in the ocean.</p><p>The ocean conveyor belt has a major effect on the climate, seasonal cycles and temperature in western and northern Europe. It means the region is warmer than other areas of similar latitude.</p><p>But melting ice from the Greenland ice sheet could threaten the AMOC system. It would dilute the salty sea water in the north Atlantic, making the water lighter and less able or unable to sink. This would slow the engine that drives this ocean circulation.</p><p><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/atlantic-conveyor-belt-has-slowed-15-per-cent-since-mid-twentieth-century" target="_blank">Recent research</a> suggests the AMOC has already weakened by around 15% since the middle of the 20th century. If this continues, it could have a major impact on the climate of the northern hemisphere, but particularly Europe. It may even lead to the <a href="https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/handle/10871/39731?show=full" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cessation of arable farming</a> in the UK, for instance.</p><p>It may also reduce rainfall over the Amazon basin, impact the monsoon systems in Asia and, by bringing warm waters into the Southern Ocean, further destabilize ice in Antarctica and accelerate global sea level rise.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUwNjQ0MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NTgwMjY2MX0.IvCzVigFTmY5avYrfi_Muh47dXM1TvLwTPFv5Zs95Pk/img.png?width=980" id="b580e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="491f17ca2d159ebbc564d9c4a6771983" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1222" data-height="1324" />
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has a major effect on the climate. Praetorius (2018)
Is it Time to Declare a Climate Emergency?
<p>At what stage, and at what rise in global temperatures, will these tipping points be reached? No one is entirely sure. It may take centuries, millennia or it could be imminent.</p><p>But as COVID-19 taught us, we need to prepare for the expected. We were aware of the risk of a pandemic. We also knew that we were not sufficiently prepared. But we didn't act in a meaningful manner. Thankfully, we have been able to fast-track the production of vaccines to combat COVID-19. But there is no vaccine for climate change once we have passed these tipping points.</p><p><a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2021" target="_blank">We need to act now on our climate</a>. Act like these tipping points are imminent. And stop thinking of climate change as a slow-moving, long-term threat that enables us to kick the problem down the road and let future generations deal with it. We must take immediate action to reduce global warming and fulfill our commitments to the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Paris Agreement</a>, and build resilience with these tipping points in mind.</p><p>We need to plan now to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, but we also need to plan for the impacts, such as the ability to feed everyone on the planet, develop plans to manage flood risk, as well as manage the social and geopolitical impacts of human migrations that will be a consequence of fight or flight decisions.</p><p>Breaching these tipping points would be cataclysmic and potentially far more devastating than COVID-19. Some may not enjoy hearing these messages, or consider them to be in the realm of science fiction. But if it injects a sense of urgency to make us respond to climate change like we have done to the pandemic, then we must talk more about what has happened before and will happen again.</p><p>Otherwise we will continue playing Jenga with our planet. And ultimately, there will only be one loser – us.</p>
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Seabirds often follow fishing vessels to find easy meals. Alexander Petrov / TASS via Getty Images
By Jim Palardy
As 2021 dawns, people, ecosystems, and wildlife worldwide are facing a panoply of environmental issues. In an effort to help experts and policymakers determine where they might focus research, a panel of 25 scientists and practitioners — including me — from around the globe held discussions in the fall to identify emerging issues that deserve increased attention.
<p>The panel, coordinated by the UK-based Cambridge Conservation Initiative, conducted a horizon scan — an effort to spot early signs of significant phenomena — of global biological <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a> issues. For <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/fulltext/S0169-5347(20)30306-2?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0169534720303062%3Fshowall%3Dtrue" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the resulting study</a>, which was funded by the UK's Natural Environment Research Council and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the panel winnowed down an initial list of 97 topics, settling on the following 15 because of their novelty or their potential to move the conservation needle in either a positive or negative direction over the coming decade.</p>
<h2>1. Seabirds Could Help Spot Illegal Fishing</h2><p>Seabirds often follow fishing vessels to score easy meals. Now, scientists are hoping to exploit this behavior to help spot illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, which accounts for up to $23.5 billion worth of seafood every year, or 1 in 5 fish sold. Researchers have had some success attaching transmitters to seabirds to locate fishing vessels in the Indian Ocean, but more study is needed to validate the use of this tactic.</p>
<h2>2. Marine Vessels and GPS Spoofing</h2><p>Vessels plying the ocean navigate and transmit their locations and identities mainly through the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and automatic identification system (AIS). The panel points out that a recent rise in GNSS spoofing and AIS cloning incidents could facilitate the trade of illegal goods and hamper authorities' efforts to identify vessels engaged in illicit resource extraction activities such as fishing and dredging.</p>
<h2>3. More Corals May Suffer From Lack of Oxygen<br></h2><p>Several factors — including climate-driven marine heat waves and nutrient runoff from land — can lower oxygen levels in the ocean. Corals in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans have died from this hypoxia, and, although those events weren't widespread, some scientists fear that the threat may grow significantly as climate change further warms the ocean. Research is needed to better understand the extent and impact of low oxygen conditions on coral reefs.</p>
<h2>4. Understanding the Impacts of Increased Dissolved Iron on Coastal Polar Ecosystems</h2><p>Coastal zones in polar latitudes are among Earth's most productive — that is, they create and support large numbers of organisms ranging from tiny marine plants to animals such as polar bears and seals — a characteristic driven by the availability of dissolved iron from glaciers and ice. Increased melting in the polar regions will result in higher iron concentrations, which in turn will probably fuel more intense phytoplankton blooms and enable organisms on the seafloor to capture more carbon and other nutrients. Such changes could have wide-ranging effects — including impacts on the structure of the region's marine ecosystems and on carbon sequestration — and warrants investigation.</p>
<h2>5. What to Do With a Growing Number of Decommissioned Offshore Energy Platforms</h2><p>It is estimated that 3,000 offshore oil and gas platforms will be decommissioned in the coming decades and that the number of offshore wind farms will continue to grow. Currently, decommissioning practices vary by country and include full removal, conversion of platforms to artificial reefs, and abandonment. As new offshore energy infrastructure is built and old platforms are phased out, nations will need to evaluate the immediate and long-term impacts of their decommissioning strategies on the marine environment.</p>
<h2>6. A Drug Problem in the Water<br></h2><p>When some chemicals used in pharmaceuticals and in garden and farm products are introduced into waterways — usually through runoff or via sewage systems directly or in human waste — they can cause changes in fish and other organisms, including altering the number of female to males in a population, lower fertility, and deformities. There is emerging evidence that the effects of exposure can be multigenerational, affecting organisms that were never directly exposed.</p>
<h2>7. Changes in Low Cloud Cover</h2><p>Low clouds shade sizable portions of the planet in subtropical regions. It is predicted that these clouds will become increasingly unstable if atmospheric carbon dioxide continues to rise at current rates. The resulting changes could have negative effects on wildlife and human communities.</p>
<h2>8. Tree Planting as a Simple Carbon Sequestration Solution</h2><p>Pledges to plant large areas of trees to help tackle climate change are often perceived as a win for conservation. However, tree planting must be planned and implemented with a clear understanding of regional ecosystems to avoid negative effects on biological diversity.</p>
<h2>9. Logging to Reduce Fire Risk</h2><p>As nations around the world contend with more extreme wildfires, some policymakers suggest that tree removal may be part of the solution. However, the effectiveness of such policies is uncertain, and any short-term gains from removing trees are often offset by the growth of non-native grasses and flowering plants, which may themselves be highly flammable.</p>
<h2>10. Large-Scale Adoption of Sustainable Farming Techniques Across India</h2><p>Driven by government policies and local innovations, sustainable farming practices are becoming more prevalent in India. The state government of Sikkim has adopted organic farming as policy, and the state of Andhra Pradesh, with 6 million farmers, plans to adopt natural farming practices by 2025. Other states across the country plan to follow suit. Early evaluations indicate that these large-scale transitions boost crop yields and incomes, improve the health of farmers, and increase women's access to microfinance. With such results, there is the potential for similar large-scale shifts in other parts of the world.</p>
<h2>11. Low Earth-Orbiting Satellites May Mislead Animals Responding to Celestial Cues</h2><p>More than 2,600 artificial satellites currently orbit the earth, a number that is rapidly increasing. Many species of mammals, insects, and birds use celestial cues to migrate long distances and to orient themselves in local habitats and could be affected by the proliferation of satellites.</p>
<h2>12. Bitcoin Mining With Stranded Energy</h2><p>An emerging use for stranded energy sources, such as low-value methane byproducts vented from oil wells and excess energy produced by wind turbines and solar panels, is to power computers used for Bitcoin mining — the process of creating new Bitcoin by solving complex algorithms. Monetizing stranded energy in this way is a mixed bag that decision-makers will probably have to evaluate. The practice could increase carbon emissions from marginal fossil fuel sources but also could incentivize the deployment of renewable energy by guaranteeing a minimum selling price.</p>
<h2>13. Open-Source Investigations of Environmental Threats</h2><p>Scientists demonstrated some success with using online videos, social media posts, and other open-source data to document the effects of the locust swarms in East Africa in 2020. As faster internet connections and access to smartphones continue to grow globally, the use of open-source data may become an effective tool for researchers.</p>
<h2>14. Self-Healing Building Materials</h2><p>The potential to engineer building materials made of chemicals, polymers, and bacteria that can fix themselves when damaged could reduce the need for repairs and shrink the environmental footprints of construction projects. Recently, scientists at the University of Colorado at Boulder used a type of cyanobacteria found in the ocean, along with other materials, to <a href="https://www.cell.com/matter/pdfExtended/S2590-2385(19)30391-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">engineer a living building material</a> that can regenerate when fractured.</p>
<h2>15. A Waterway to Connect the Baltic and Black Seas</h2><p>A planned 1,200-mile inland navigable waterway connecting the Baltic and Black seas would alter the flow of cargo and trade in the region. However, the waterway, which would pass through Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine, could alter habitat in 70 wildlife areas and numerous international conservation areas, introduce non-native species, and change the region's rivers and wetlands. Additionally, dredging in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone could disrupt radioactive sediment.</p>
<p><em>Jim Palardy is a project director with The Pew Charitable Trusts' conservation science program. He served on this year's horizon scan panel and is a co-author on the resulting study.</em><br/></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2021/01/13/top-15-conservation-issues-of-2021-include-big-threats-and-potential-bright-spots" target="_blank">The Pew Charitable Trust</a>.</em></p>
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Like many other plant-based foods and products, CBD oil is one dietary supplement where "organic" labels are very important to consumers. However, there are little to no regulations within the hemp industry when it comes to deeming a product as organic, which makes it increasingly difficult for shoppers to find the best CBD oil products available on the market.
<p>Here you can learn about the importance of organic hemp oil, why it's better for the environment, and which CBD companies actually make trustworthy products with sustainable farming processes. origins which weigh heavily on many consumers who want to buy a product that's produced in the best way possible for not only themselves to ingest, but for the environment as well through sustainable farming methods. </p><h2>What Is CBD Oil?</h2><p>First things first, CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it's a cannabinoid found within cannabis sativa plants. This plant compound is believed to have many potential benefits, and it is primarily derived from hemp plants via a CO2 extraction process. </p><p>Since CBD is extracted from industrial hemp, which contains only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis plants), this means that CBD won't make you feel high like marijuana, which has much higher levels of THC that causes psychoactive effects. Instead, the effects of CBD are much more subtle and promote a general sense of calm and relaxation in most users.</p><h2>What Makes a CBD Oil Organic?</h2><p>In terms of organic labels, perhaps the most important (and prominent) certification comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This government organization has been labeling foods as "organic" for many years, but what exactly does this certification entail? Essentially, a label indicating that a product is "USDA Organic" or "Certified Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are obtained from organic sources.</p><p>For a crop to be considered organic by the USDA, it must be grown without the use of industrial solvents, irradiation, genetic engineering (GMOs), synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Instead, farmers rely on natural substances and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical, physical, or biologically based farming</a> techniques to cultivate healthy and organic crops.</p><p>Before the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, no hemp-derived products could be dubbed as "certified organic" since the hemp plant and its extracts were still categorized as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. However, it's still difficult for CBD companies to obtain a USDA certified organic label for their products due to the legal grey area that still surrounds CBD extracts. </p><p>Because of these challenges, and due to the fact that industrial hemp has only recently become an agricultural crop, very few CBD oils are USDA certified organic. Rather, many CBD products contain hemp extracts from plants that were grown in organic conditions but may not be federally certified.</p><h2>What are the Best Organic CBD Oil Brands?</h2><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p><em><br></em>
<h2>Why Organic Hemp Oil Matters</h2><p>Hemp is a unique plant, not only for its rich cannabinoid content, but also for its ability to absorb a wide variety of components in soil. But this trait poses great risks when it comes to the creation of CBD products derived from hemp.</p><p>Because hemp has a high capacity for compound uptake, this means that the plants can retain <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/industry/lab-test-results/" target="_blank">harmful chemicals like pesticides</a>, heavy metals, and other residual solvents. This is especially true when it comes to synthetic chemicals that are more toxic to humans, and difficult to remove once they have been absorbed by the hemp plant.</p><p>Organic farming practices help reduce the risk of hemp crops absorbing harsh chemicals that may later end up in CBD oil after extraction. When you're taking CBD as a wellness supplement to help alleviate your symptoms or improve your overall well-being, the last thing you want is to ingest compounds that might negatively outweigh the benefits of CBD. This is an important reason to look for third party lab test results when shopping for CBD products since these certificates of analysis can show the full cannabinoid and terpene profile of a hemp extract, as well as test results that search for the presence of any residual solvents.</p><p>In addition to creating a better end product, organic farming practices are also better for the environment. Sustainable and organic farming methods may <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy</a>. The use of natural pest deterrents as opposed to chemical pesticides is also better for nearby animal populations and ecosystems.</p><h3>Organic vs. Natural</h3><p>While there are only a select few companies offering certified organic ingredients in their products, almost every brand in the CBD market creates "natural" products. The term "all-natural" or "plant-based" does not mean that a product is organic, and since hemp oil is a natural derivative of hemp plants, these products are often referred to as all-natural. However, there are some synthetic CBD oils that should be avoided because they are chemically constructed and may produce unwanted side effects that are not caused by naturally derived CBD extracts.</p><h2>What are the Benefits of Organic CBD Oil?</h2><p>There's a long list of potential CBD oil health benefits, and some of the most common wellness advantages include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660/" target="_blank">Chronic pain relief</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/" target="_blank">Anti-anxiety effects</a></li><li>Better sleep</li><li><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201901/cbd-oil-mental-health-should-you-take-it-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Improvements in mood</a></li><li>Internal balance and regulation</li></ul><p>When dealing with pain, inflammation, sleep issues, and mental health struggles, it can be hard to find sufficient treatment options. The use of certain prescriptions can cause unwanted side effects, yet they are often the only solution for patients with these medical conditions. In search of other therapies, people have started to flock towards CBD oil as an alternative remedy for a variety of conditions. However, it should be noted that CBD products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and you should seek your doctor's advice before using CBD if you have a serious medical condition.</p><h2>Look at the Labels Before You Buy CBD Oil</h2><p>When you go online to buy CBD oil, you'll quickly realize there is an overwhelming number of brands that are saturating the market. It can be difficult to determine which products are truly as good as they make themselves out to be. Always look for up-to-date third-party lab tests so you know you are getting a great product, and don't hesitate to contact the brand if you have any additional questions. And if you're intent on purchasing 100% organic CBD oil, it's best to look for certified products or brands that are held to strict regulatory standards.</p><p><strong>Melena Gurganus </strong>is the Reviews Editor at EcoWatch. She is passionate health and wellness and her writing aims to help others find products they can trust. Her work has been featured in publications such as Health, Shape, Huffington Post, Cannabis Business Times, and Bustle.<br></p>
Spruce
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjI3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTM2NzgzOX0.axY0HjeqRctJsR_KmDLctzDpUBLBN-oNIdqaXDb4caQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="774be" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8379f35b1ca8a86d0e61b7d4bfc8b46e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="spruce organic cbd oil" data-width="710" data-height="959" /><p>As one of the best brands in the business, Spruce CBD is well-known for its potent CBD oils that feature many additional beneficial phytocannabinoids. This brand works with two family-owned, sustainably focused farms in the USA (one located in Kentucky and one in North Carolina) to create its organic, small product batches. The max potency Spruce CBD oil contains 2400mg of full-spectrum CBD extract, but the brand also offers a lower strength tincture with 750mg of CBD in total.</p>
$89
CBDistillery
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjkzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTU4OTM4Nn0.ypRdeDSBcE87slYrFfVrRwtJ2qGIK6FD5jBB4pndTMo/img.jpg?width=980" id="b473b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9930b53c9d58cb49774640a61c3e3e75" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="cbdistillery cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>All of the products from CBDistillery are <a href="https://ushempauthority.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Hemp Authority Certified</a>, and for good reason. The company only uses non-GMO and pesticide-free industrial hemp that's grown organically on Colorado farms. Its hemp oils are some of the most affordable CBD products on the market, yet they still maintain a high standard of quality. CBDistillery has a wide variety of CBD potencies across its product line (ranging from 500mg to 5000mg per bottle) and offers both full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD oils to give customers a completely thc-free option.</p>
$35
FAB CBD
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDIwOTEyMn0.MlTjz096FJ0ev_-soK7_Z-FeQeJczWoeh9Qi9SSkHsY/img.jpg?width=980" id="04b26" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76aa4862f44603242e318982acea6646" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="fab cbd oil" data-width="800" data-height="800" /><p>For an organic CBD oil that has it all, FAB CBD offers plenty of variety for any type of consumer. All of its products are made with zero pesticides and extracted from organically grown Colorado industrial hemp. FAB CBD oil comes in five all-natural flavors (mint, vanilla, berry, citrus, and natural) and is also available in four strengths (300, 600, 1200, and 2400mg per bottle).</p>
$39
NuLeaf Naturals
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzExNTgyMX0.D6qMGYllKTsVhEkQ-L_GzpDHVu60a-tJKcio7M1Ssmc/img.jpg?width=980" id="94e4a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3609a52479675730893a45a82a03c71d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="nuleaf naturals organic cbd oil" data-width="600" data-height="600" /><p>As an industry-leading brand, it comes as no surprise that NuLeaf Naturals sources its CBD extract from organic hemp plants grown on licensed farms in Colorado. The comany's CBD oils only contain two ingredients: USDA certified organic hemp seed oil and full spectrum hemp extract.</p><p>NuLeaf Naturals uses one proprietary CBD oil formula for all of its products, so you will get the same CBD potency in each tincture (60mg per mL), but can purchase different bottle sizes depending on how much you intend to use.</p>
$38.50
Charlotte's Web
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjk3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0NjM4N30.SaQ85SK10-MWjN3PwHo2RqpiUBdjhD0IRnHKTqKaU7Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="84700" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2174067dcc0c4094be25b3472ce08c8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="charlottes web cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>Perhaps one of the most well-known brands in the CBD landscape, Charlotte's Web has been growing sustainable hemp plants for several years. The company is currently in the process of achieving official USDA Organic Certification, but it already practices organic and sustainable cultivation techniques to enhance the overall health of the soil and the hemp plants themselves, which creates some of the highest quality CBD extracts. Charlotte's Web offers CBD oils in a range of different concentration options, and some even come in a few flavor options such as chocolate mint, orange blossom, and lemon twist.</p>
$60
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New Zealand sea lions are an endangered species and one of the rarest species of sea lions in the world. Art Wolfe / Photodisc / Getty Images
One city in New Zealand knows what its priorities are.
Dunedin, the second largest city on New Zealand's South Island, has closed a popular road to protect a mother sea lion and her pup, The Guardian reported.
<p>"We've closed John Wilson Ocean Drive to vehicles for the next month to allow some special residents to use the road safely - a New Zealand sea lion and her pup have taken up residence at the golf course next door and are regularly crossing the road to get to the beach," the Dunedin City Council wrote in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DunedinCityCouncil/posts/3687384977973820" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook Post Monday</a>.</p>
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<p>The council said that residents could still walk or ride bikes in the area, but should stay at least 20 meters (approximately 66 feet) away from the sea lions at all times and keep any dogs on a leash.</p><p>The mother sea lion, named Hiriwa, was first spotted on the Chisholm Links golf course about a week ago and is now nesting with her pup in a bush near the 13th hole, <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/434504/sea-lion-makes-itself-at-home-on-dunedin-golf-course" target="_blank">Radio New Zealand reported</a>.</p>
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<p>This is her fifth pup, Department of Conservation (DOC) coastal Otago <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self">biodiversity</a> ranger Jim Fyfe said.<br></p><p>"She has come up John Wilson Drive and into the golf course to have her pup in some bushes there," he told Radio New Zealand.</p><p>Fyfe also told the <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/dunedin-road-temporarily-closed-for-sea-lion-and-pup/XMOZAJTUISN7OCIRS6H7OSGPHY/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New Zealand Herald</a> that the pup was born Thursday, Jan. 7 and immediately made its presence known by making lots of noise.</p><p>The mother and pup will now spend about a month nesting before heading out to sea, Fyfe explained. During that time, the mother will need to walk 500 meters (approximately 1,640 feet) to the beach each day to feed. On these journeys, she will think to avoid male sea lions, but she won't be thinking about cars, people or dogs. That is why the road closure is so important, Fyfe explained.</p>
<p>Local residents have responded favorably to the council's decision, The Guardian reported.</p><p>"Awesome! Love our little country in this way," one commenter wrote on Facebook.</p><p>The golf course has also welcomed its new residents.</p><p>"We're lucky to have marine mammals on our coastline and we need to share the space with them, as this is what makes our coastal Links and Dunedin's coastline so unique!" it wrote in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChisholmLinks/posts/3417932631666520" target="_blank">Jan. 5 Facebook post</a>.</p>
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<p>New Zealand sea lions are an <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> and one of the rarest species of sea lions in the world, the city council noted. There are around 12,000 left in the world, according to DOC figures reported by <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/new-zealand-sea-lions-road-closure-scli-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>. Killing one can bring a penalty of up to two years in prison or a fine of up to $178,000.</p><p>Dunedin's 120,000 residents are used to road closures to protect <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a>, but usually these closures last for a day rather than a month, The Guardian explained. The city is also used to welcoming breeding sea lions since 1993, and their numbers in the city have increased since <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> efforts intensified.</p><p>Despite this, the overall breeding population of New Zealand sea lions is still falling. The main threats to the species are fishing, disease, human activity and lack of food.</p><p>Still, this is shaping up to be a good year for sea lions in Dunedin.</p><p>"This year we expect 20 sea lions around Dunedin to give birth. This is going to be a record number for us," Fyfe told Radio New Zealand. "New Zealand sea lions are a threatened species that is just recovering on the mainland coastline, so it's really good news."</p>
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NOAA Names 2020 Second-Hottest Year on Record; NASA Says It Tied for Hottest Ever
15 January
Climate
Wildfires within the Arctic Circle in Alaska on June 4, 2020. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data processed by Pierre Markuse. CC BY 2.0
By Jeff Masters, Ph.D.
Earth had its second-warmest year on record in 2020, just 0.02 degrees Celsius (0.04°F) behind the record set in 2016, and 0.98 degrees Celsius (1.76°F) above the 20th-century average, NOAA reported January 14.
<p><a href="https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata_v4/GLB.Ts+dSST.txt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NASA</a> and the <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-global-november-temperatures-reached-record-high-while-europe-experienced-its-warmest" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">European Copernicus Climate Change Service</a> rated 2020 as tied with 2016 as the warmest year on record (NASA rates the margin of error at .05 degrees C); the <a href="https://ds.data.jma.go.jp/tcc/tcc/products/gwp/temp/nov_wld.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Japan Meteorological Agency</a> rated 2020 as the warmest year on record. Minor differences in rankings often occur among various research groups, the result of different ways they handle data-sparse regions such as the Arctic.</p>
<p>Global ocean temperatures in 2020 were the third-warmest on record, global land temperatures the warmest on record. Global satellite-measured temperatures in 2020 for the lowest eight kilometers of the atmosphere were the second-warmest or warmest in the 42-year record, according to the University of Alabama, Huntsville and Remote Sensing Solutions, respectively.</p><p>The Northern Hemisphere had its warmest year on record in 2020 and the Southern Hemisphere its fifth-warmest. By continent, here are the 2020 temperature rankings:</p><p>Europe: first warmest<br>Asia: first warmest<br>South America: second warmest<br>Africa: fourth warmest<br>Australia (and Oceania): fourth warmest<br>North America: 10th warmest</p><p>As detailed in a January 12 post at <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/01/hurricanes-wildfires-and-heat-dominated-u-s-weather-in-2020/" target="_blank">this site</a> by Bob Henson, 2020 for the U.S. was the fifth-warmest year in history going back to 1895. Ten states had their second-warmest year on record and four had their third-warmest year. None of the contiguous 48 states was below-average in temperature in 2020.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTQ1OTQ5OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzIwNDk3M30.go-eShbJt_FePHwnZhlSFiknsgGrSy-EsznNYrynmio/img.png?width=980" id="b8e38" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a4933e877b2e372b62762614d4ee7d9b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="974" data-height="717" />
Figure 1. Departure of temperature from average for 2020, the second-warmest year the globe has seen since record-keeping began in 1880, according to NOAA. Record-high annual temperatures over land and ocean surfaces were measured across parts of Europe, Asia, southern North America, South America, and across parts of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. No land or ocean areas were record cold for the year. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
<p>The remarkable global warmth of 2020 means that the seven warmest years on record since 1880 were the most recent seven years — 2014 through 2020. The near-record global warmth in 2020 is all the more striking since it occurred during the minimum of the weakest solar cycle in more than 100 years and during a year without a strong El Niño. Record-warm global temperatures typically occur during strong El Niño events and when the solar cycle is near its maximum. The warmth of 2020 is a testament to how significantly human-caused global warming is heating the planet.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTQ1OTUwNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MDkwMTY0M30.G7_nUNl5YT4mDUvTPkRi1wiNcE7RYgJYwuK6dhYJles/img.jpg?width=980" id="6744d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f4a37c32117691ae2b858335bfc11d3a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="974" data-height="496" />
Figure 2. Total ocean heat content (OHC) in the top 2000 meters from 1958-2020. Cheng et al., Upper Ocean Temperatures Hit Record High in 2020, Advances in Atmospheric Sciences
<h4>Warmest Year on Record for Total Ocean Heat Content</h4><p>Despite the presence of a prominent La Niña event that began in August, the total heat content of the world's oceans in 2020 was the warmest in recorded human history, according to a January 13, 2021 paper by Cheng <em>et al.</em>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00376-021-0447-x" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Upper Ocean Temperatures Hit Record High in 2020</a>, published in <em>Advances in Atmospheric Sciences</em>. In the uppermost 2,000 meters of the oceans, there were 211 to 234 zettajoules more heat in 2020 than the 1981-2010 average, and 2020 had 1 to 20 zettajoules more ocean heat content than in 2019 (a zettajoule is one sextillion joules — ten to the 21st power). For comparison, in 2010, humans <a href="https://twitter.com/johncarlosbaez/status/1216783686957297672?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">used</a> a total of 0.5 zettajoules of energy.</p><p>More than 90% of the increasing heat from human-caused global warming accumulates in the ocean because of its large heat capacity. The remaining heating manifests as atmospheric warming, a drying and warming landmass, and melting land and sea ice. Increasing ocean heat content causes sea-level rise through thermal expansion of the water and melting of glaciers in contact with the ocean. It also produces stronger and more rapidly intensifying hurricanes; causes more intense precipitation events that can lead to destructive flooding; contributes to "marine heat waves" that damage or destroy coral reefs; and disrupts atmospheric circulation patterns.</p>
<h4>A Slew of Heat Records in 2020</h4><p>International records researcher <a href="https://twitter.com/extremetemps" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maximiliano Herrera</a> keeps the pulse of the planet in remarkable detail, and he logged 11 nations or territories that set or tied their all-time heat records in 2020. That total fell far short of the record of 24 such records in 2019. No nations or territories set or tied an all-time cold record in 2020. Here are the all-time heat records set in 2020:</p><p>Colombia: 42.6°C (108.7°F) at Jerusalem, February 19 (tie);<br>Ghana: 44.0°C (111.2°F) at Navrongo, April 6;<br>Cuba: 39.2°C (102.6°F) at Palo Seco, April 10; broken again April 11 with 39.3°C (102.7°F) at Veguitas, and again on April 12 with 39.7°C (103.5°F) at Veguitas;<br>Mayotte, France department: 36.4°C (97.5°F) at Trevani, April 14;<br>Taiwan: 40.5°C (104.9°F) at Taimali Research Center, July 16;<br>Lebanon: 45.4°C (113.7°F) at Houche Al Oumara, July 27;<br>United States: 54.4°C (129.9°F) at Death Valley, California, August 16;<br>Japan: 41.1°C (106.0°F) at Hamamatsu, August 17;<br>Dominica: 35.7°C (96.3°F) at Canefield Airport, September 15;<br>Puerto Rico (U.S. territory): 37.8°C (100.0°F ) at Aguirre, September 17; and<br>Paraguay: 45.5°C (113.9°F ) at Pozo Hondo, September 26.</p><p>Among global weather stations having at least 40 years of record-keeping, Herrera documented 348 that exceeded their all-time heat record in 2020; only eight stations with a long-term period of record set an all-time cold record in 2020. For comparison, 632 stations set their all-time heat record in 2019 and 11 their all-time cold record.</p>
<h4>Notable Global Heat and Cold Records for 2020</h4><p>Hottest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: 54.4°C (129.9°F) at Death Valley, U.S., August 16;<br>Coldest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: -66.0°C (-86.8°F) at Summit, Greenland, January 2;<br>Hottest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: 48.9°C (120.0°F) at Penrith Lakes, Australia, January 4;<br>Coldest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: -80.8°C (-113.4°F) at Dome Fuji, Antarctica, August 16;<br>Highest 2020 average temperature worldwide: 31.5°C (88.7°F) at Yelimane, Mali, and Matam, Senegal; and<br>Highest 2020 average temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: 29.8°C (85.6°F) at Surabaya Airport, Indonesia, and Wyndham, Australia.</p><p>Earth's record for hottest yearly average temperature was 32.9°C (91.2°F) at Makkah, Saudi Arabia, in 2010 and 2016.</p>
<h4>126 Additional Monthly National/Territorial Heat Records Beaten or Tied</h4><p>In addition to the 11 all-time national heat records, 126 other national monthly heat records were set in 2020, for a total of 137 national monthly heat records:</p><p>– January (13): Norway, South Korea, Angola, Congo Brazzaville, Dominica, Mexico, Indonesia, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Sao Tome and Principe, Cuba, British Indian Ocean Territory, Singapore;<br>– February (12): Spain, Antarctica, Azerbaijan, Costa Rica, The Bahamas, Switzerland, Maldives, Gambia, Russia, Seychelles, Dominican Republic, U.S. Virgin Islands;<br>– March (7): Paraguay, Cabo Verde, Mozambique, Seychelles, United States, Thailand, Northern Mariana Islands;<br>– April (14): Paraguay, Niger, St. Barthelemy, Honduras, Guernsey, Haiti, Congo Brazzaville, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, China, Saba, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic;<br>– May (10): Niger, Greece, Saba, Cyprus, Solomon Islands, Turkey, Haiti, Kazakhstan, Chile, Uzbekistan;<br>– June (6): Maldives, Thailand, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saba, Kenya, Ghana;<br>– July (7): Mozambique, U.S. Virgin Islands, Laos, Myanmar, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Northern Mariana Islands;<br>– August (6): Solomon Islands, Mexico, Australia, Cocos Islands, Paraguay, U.S. Virgin Islands;<br>– September (18): Laos, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Mexico, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Botswana, St. Barthelemy, Mayotte, Argentina, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory;<br>– October (11): Algeria, Brazil, Tunisia, Turkey, Cyprus, Jordan, Peru, Myanmar, Northern Marianas Islands, Botswana, Maldives;<br>– November (11): Luxembourg, Finland, Nepal, Mexico, Aland Islands, Sweden, Maldives, Northern Marianas, Taiwan, Swaziland, Sudan; and<br>– December (11): Mexico, Ghana, Pakistan, Algeria, Qatar, Maldives, Niger, Taiwan, Dominica, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands.</p>
<h4>One Monthly National/Territorial Cold Record Beaten or Tied in 2020</h4><p>– April: St. Eustatius.<br></p><p>An October monthly record reported in Aruba was judged to be unreliable.</p>
<h4>Hemispherical and Continental Temperature Records in 2020</h4><p>– Highest minimum temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere in January: 29.1°C (84.4°F) at Bonriki, Kiribati, January 17;<br>– Highest maximum temperature ever recorded in North America in January: 42.0°C (107.6°F) at Vicente Guerrero, Mexico, January 21;<br>– Highest temperature ever recorded in continental Antarctica and highest February temperature ever recorded in Antarctica plus the surrounding islands: 18.4°C (65.1°F) at Base Esperanza, February 6;<br>– Highest minimum temperature ever recorded in February in Antarctica: 7.6°C (45.7°F) at Base Marambio, February 9;<br>– Highest minimum temperature ever recorded in February in the Northern Hemisphere: 32.0°C (89.6°F) at Yelimane, Mali, February 23;<br>– Highest minimum temperature ever recorded in April in the Southern Hemisphere: 31.1°C (88.0°F) at Argyle, Australia, April 2;<br>– Highest minimum temperature ever recorded in May in Europe: 30.1°C (86.2°F) at Emponas, Greece, May 17;<br>– Highest minimum temperature ever recorded in May in North America: 35.0°C (95.0°F) at Death Valley, California (U.S.), May 28;<br>– Highest temperature ever recorded in the polar regions: 38.0°C (100.4°F) at Verkhoyansk, Russia, June 20;<br>– Highest reliable temperature ever recorded on Earth: 54.4°C (129.9°F) at Death Valley, California, August 16;<br>– Highest reliable minimum temperature ever recorded in August in North America: 40.0°C (104.0°F) at Death Valley, California (U.S.), August 17;<br>– Highest temperature ever recorded in Australia and Oceana in August: 40.7°C (105.3°F) at Yampi Sound, Australia, August 22; beaten again with 41.2°C (106.2°F) at West Roebuck, Australia, on August 23; and<br>– Highest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere in November: 44.8°C (112.6°F) at San Francisco and Tubares, Mexico, November 5.</p>
<h4>December 2020: Earth's Eighth-Warmest December on Record</h4><p>December 2020 was the eighth-warmest December since global record-keeping began in 1880, NOAA's <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/202007" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Centers for Environmental Information</a> reported January 14. NASA and the <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/monthly-climate-bulletins" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">European Copernicus Climate Change Service</a> rated the month as the sixth-warmest December on record, and the <a href="https://ds.data.jma.go.jp/tcc/tcc/products/gwp/temp/nov_wld.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Japan Meteorological Agency</a> rated it as the tenth-warmest. Again: Minor differences in rankings often occur among various research groups, the result of different ways they handle data-sparse regions such as the Arctic.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTQ1OTU2OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTk0NDM2Nn0.3r2cwf3HoC4VpfY55HWUNmWLkkQbi7P1FFJaKRd9sso/img.png?width=980" id="90900" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cb409e32a162eab1ecacd24986b35566" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="768" data-height="384" />
Figure 3. Departure of sea surface temperature from average in the benchmark Niño 3.4 region of the eastern tropical Pacific (5°N-5°S, 170°W-120°W). Sea surface temperature were approximately one degree Celsius below average over the past month, characteristic of moderate La Niña conditions. Tropical Tidbits
<h4>A Moderate La Niña Event Continues</h4><p>La Niña conditions remained in the moderate range during December and early January, prompting NOAA to continue its <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ninonina.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">La Niña</a> advisory in a January 14 <a href="https://iri.columbia.edu/our-expertise/climate/forecasts/enso/current/?enso_tab=enso-cpc_update" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">monthly discussion</a> of the state of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation, or ENSO.</p><p>Over the past month, sea surface temperatures in the benchmark Niño 3.4 region of the eastern tropical Pacific (5°N-5°S, 170°W-120°W) have been approximately 1 degree Celsius below average. The threshold for "strong" La Niña conditions is 1.5 degrees Celsius below average; "moderate" La Niña conditions are 1.0-1.5 degrees below average.</p><p>Forecasters at NOAA and at Columbia University's International Research Institute for Climate and Society <a href="https://iri.columbia.edu/our-expertise/climate/forecasts/enso/current/?enso_tab=enso-cpc_plume" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">expect La Niña conditions</a> will continue through the winter (95% chance during January-February-March), and potentially transition to "neutral" during the spring (55% chance during April-May-June). About half of all La Niña events continue into a second year, but fewer than 20% of the ENSO models predicted that La Niña conditions would last into the summer of 2021.</p>
<h4>Arctic Sea Ice: Third-Lowest December Extent on Record</h4><p>Arctic sea ice extent during December 2020 was the third-lowest in the 42-year satellite record, behind 2016 and 2017, according to the <a href="http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Snow and Ice Data Center</a>. <a href="https://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Antarctic sea ice extent</a> in December 2020 was near-average.</p>
<h4>Notable Global Heat and Cold Marks for December 2020</h4><p>– Hottest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: 41.5°C (106.7°F) at Matam, Senegal, December 2;<br>– Coldest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: -57.5°C (-71.5°F) at Oymykon, Russia, December 29;<br>– Hottest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: 48.7°C (119.7°F) at Birdsville, Australia, December 5; and<br>– Coldest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: -44.9°C (-48.8°F) at Dome A, Antarctica, December 3.</p>
<h4>Major Weather Stations' New All-Time Heat or Cold Records in December 2020</h4><p>Among global stations with a record of at least 40 years, two stations set all-time cold records in December, and no stations set an all-time heat record:</p><p>Hamamasu (Japan) min. -21.5°C (-6.7°F), December 31; and<br>Bibai (Japan) min. -26.5°C (-15.7°F), December 31.<br></p><p><em>Statistics courtesy of <a href="http://www.mherrera.org/temp.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maximiliano Herrera</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/01/noaa-names-2020-second-hottest-year-on-record-nasa-says-it-tied-for-hottest-ever/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- NASA and NOAA: Last Decade Was the Hottest on Record - EcoWatch ›
- Earth Just Had Its Hottest September Ever Recorded, NOAA Says ... ›
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An offshore oil platform in West Africa. Cavan Images / Getty Images
For the first time, researchers have identified 100 transnational corporations that take home the majority of profits from the ocean's economy.
<p>Referred to as the "Ocean 100," the corporations accounted for 60 percent of $1.9 trillion generated from core industries in the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans">ocean</a> economy in 2018 alone, according to an <a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/articles/ocean-100-small-group-companies-dominates-ocean-economy" target="_blank">article by the Duke Nicholas Institute</a>. The <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/3/eabc8041" target="_blank">research</a> was published Wednesday in the journal <em>Science Advances</em> by researchers at Duke University and the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.</p><p>If the group were a country, it would be the 16th-largest economy in the world, <a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/articles/ocean-100-small-group-companies-dominates-ocean-economy" target="_blank">researchers found</a>. Out of the eight industries examined, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/offshore-oil-drilling">offshore drilling</a> generated the most revenue.</p>
<p>"Now that we know who some of the biggest beneficiaries from the ocean economy are, this can help improve transparency relating to sustainability and ocean stewardship," the lead author John Virdin, director of the Ocean and Coastal Policy Program at Duke's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, said in an <a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/articles/ocean-100-small-group-companies-dominates-ocean-economy" target="_blank">article by the Duke Nicholas Institute</a>. Some of the identified corporations included Saudi Aramco and Brazil's Petrobras, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-environment-oceans/ocean-100-profits-from-worlds-seas-dominated-by-100-companies-idUSKBN29I2XF" target="_blank">Reuters reported.</a></p><p>More than three billion people depend on the ocean for their livelihoods, <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/development/sustainable-ocean-for-all_6bcb3e94-en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to a report by the OECD</a>. Yet across eight industries studied, including offshore drilling, seafood production and processing and cruise tourism, researchers found that just 10 companies in each of the industries generated 45 percent of the industry's revenue.</p>
<p>"The fact that these companies are headquartered in a small number of countries also illustrates that concerted actions by some governments,could rapidly change how the private sector interacts with the ocean," co-author Henrik Österblom, science director at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, <a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/articles/ocean-100-small-group-companies-dominates-ocean-economy" target="_blank">said</a> in the article by the Duke Nicholas Institute.</p><p>Due to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing">overfishing</a>, pollution and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>, the ocean is becoming increasingly threatened, <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/development/sustainable-ocean-for-all_6bcb3e94-en" target="_blank">the OECD reported</a>. This has degraded the ocean's fish stocks, habitats, ecosystems and biodiversity.</p><p>In response, the international community adopted the <a href="https://unctad.org/webflyer/advancing-sustainable-development-goal-14#:~:text=In%202015%2C%20the%20international%20community,marine%20resources%20for%20sustainable%20development." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015</a>, which for the first time sought to "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development."</p>
<p>But such agreements overlook the ocean's potential to mitigate climate change, Janis Searles Jones, the Ocean's Conservancy CEO wrote <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02832-w#:~:text=The%20ocean's%20potential%20to%20mitigate,higher%20than%20terrestrial%20forests%20can" target="_blank">in a Nature article</a>. "We need greater ambition to give the ocean a fighting chance," she added.</p><p>The researchers' identification could help environmental groups like the Ocean Conservancy pressure corporations into adopting sustainability goals that include climate mitigation strategies.</p><p>"Senior executives of these few, but large companies, are in a unique position to exercise global leadership in sustainability," <a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/articles/ocean-100-small-group-companies-dominates-ocean-economy" target="_blank">Virdin added</a>.</p>
<p>In 2015, Österblom and his colleagues <a href="https://stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2015-05-27-keystone-actors-shape-marine-ecosystems.html" target="_blank">published a paper</a> that analogized transnational corporations to keystone species, according to the article by the Duke Nicholas Institute. They noted both have a major impact on how ecosystems function and disproportionate power to determine how other species in the ecosystem operate.</p><p>"Just knowing who they are is the first step in getting them involved in what needs to be done," <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-environment-oceans/ocean-100-profits-from-worlds-seas-dominated-by-100-companies-idUSKBN29I2XF" target="_blank">Österblom noted</a> in Reuters.</p><p>But depending on corporations to adopt sustainable practices may not be enough to reach international sustainability goals.</p>
<p>"In 2018, Chevron announced it would invest $100 million that year in lowering emissions through its new Future Energy Fund," Michael O'Leary and Warren Valdmanis <a href="https://www.vox.com/21509913/climate-change-bp-microsoft-investors-shareholders-accountability" target="_blank">wrote on Vox</a> on holding companies accountable to their climate commitments. That same year, Chevron invested $20 billion in oil and gas.</p><p>"For those who put their faith in corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a panacea for our ailing society, we have the unfortunate reality: This kind of allocation of efforts is not uncommon. Superficial public commitments on issues like sustainability and diversity are much easier for companies than substantive action," they <a href="https://www.vox.com/21509913/climate-change-bp-microsoft-investors-shareholders-accountability" target="_blank">added</a>.</p><p>Oceans will play an increasingly critical role in the global economy, the researchers <a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/articles/ocean-100-small-group-companies-dominates-ocean-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">note</a>. Whether pressuring the ocean's major actors to adopt sustainable practices will translate into tangible corporate responsibility will reveal itself sooner or later.</p>
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An epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) on a reef in the South Pacific. Auscape / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The future may be too hot for baby sharks, a study published Tuesday found.
<p><a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans">Oceans</a> are warming as a result of global <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>, causing harm to aquatic ecosystems across the planet. In response, researchers from Australia's ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University and the University of Massachusetts asked: How will climate change affect species who rely on their environment to regulate their biological processes?</p><p>The researchers chose to study the epaulette shark to better understand how ectotherms, species that match their body temperatures to the environment's, will respond to climate change.</p>
<p>"The epaulette shark is known for its resilience to change, even to ocean acidification," Dr. Jodie Rummer, co-author of the study <a href="https://www.coralcoe.org.au/media-releases/future-too-warm-for-baby-sharks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told the ARC Centre in a statement</a>.</p><p>Epaulette sharks are only found in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia and are often the subject of climate change studies because they thrive in captivity and are considered of little concern in the wild, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-79953-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the study reported</a>. "So, if this species can't cope with warming waters then how will other, less tolerant species fare?" <a href="https://www.coralcoe.org.au/media-releases/future-too-warm-for-baby-sharks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rummer asked</a>.</p><p>The scientists examined how 27 epaulette shark embryos grew and developed in average summer temperatures, 27 degrees Celsius, and temperatures predicted for the middle and end of the century, 31 degrees Celsius.</p><p>"The hotter the conditions, the faster everything happened, which could be a problem for the sharks," Carolyn Wheeler, lead author of the study, <a href="https://www.coralcoe.org.au/media-releases/future-too-warm-for-baby-sharks" target="_blank">said</a>.</p>
<p>In hotter temperatures "the creatures hatched earlier, were born smaller, and needed to feed straight away, but lacked energy," <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/12/australia/baby-shark-climate-intl-scli-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>, and emerged from their egg cases after 100 days, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/12/baby-sharks-emerge-from-egg-cases-earlier-and-weaker-in-oceans-warmed-by-climate-crisis" target="_blank">The Guardian added</a>. But in the normal temperatures, the sharks emerged from the egg cases after 125 days.</p><p>Sharks could respond to warming temperatures in three likely ways, Rummer said, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/12/baby-sharks-emerge-from-egg-cases-earlier-and-weaker-in-oceans-warmed-by-climate-crisis" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. The first case is the sharks find colder temperatures, but only if they find the right habitat.</p><p>The second is the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sharks">sharks</a> could genetically adapt to warmer temperatures. But this is improbable because the sharks like the epaulette grow slowly and reproduce at low rates compared to other fishes, the ARC Centre wrote in a <a href="https://www.coralcoe.org.au/media-releases/future-too-warm-for-baby-sharks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">statement</a>.</p><p>And the last case would be for the sharks to "disappear off the planet," Rummer told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/12/baby-sharks-emerge-from-egg-cases-earlier-and-weaker-in-oceans-warmed-by-climate-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>Since 1910, the Great Barrier Reef has warmed by 0.8 degrees Celsius. This warming impacts more than a species' biological processes, according to <a href="https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/our-work/threats-to-the-reef/climate-change/sea-temperature#:~:text=Sea%20surface%20temperatures%20in%20the,Celsius%20in%20the%20same%20period." target="_blank">Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority</a>, impacting a fish's swimming abilities and behavior.</p><p>Why does this matter?</p><p>"When sharks change their behaviour it affects the whole ecosystem," <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-will-sharks-respond-to-climate-change-it-might-depend-on-where-they-grew-up-150460" target="_blank">The Conversation reported</a> in an article that analyzed how the Port Jackson shark, a bullhead shark living in Southern Australia, responds to climate change.</p><p>Generally the top of the food chain, sharks play a critical role in ecosystem management.</p><p>"Port Jackson sharks, for example, are predators of urchins, and urchins feed on kelp forests — a rich habitat for hundreds of marine species. If the number of sharks decline in a region and the number of urchins increase, then it could lead to the loss of kelp forests," <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-will-sharks-respond-to-climate-change-it-might-depend-on-where-they-grew-up-150460" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Conversation reported</a>.</p><p>Similarly, "Sharks are important as predators because they take out the weak and injured and keep the integrity of the population strong," Rummer told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/12/baby-sharks-emerge-from-egg-cases-earlier-and-weaker-in-oceans-warmed-by-climate-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>The future of healthy ecosystems for baby sharks and other marine species seems grim. So what can be done?</p><p>Research on how individual species are impacted by climate change is a step in the right direction, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-will-sharks-respond-to-climate-change-it-might-depend-on-where-they-grew-up-150460" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> wrote, which can determine unknown resilience within species and highlight new populations at great risk.</p><p>Emphasizing "the importance of curbing our reliance on fossil fuels because climate change is affecting even the toughest little sharks," should come next, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/12/baby-sharks-emerge-from-egg-cases-earlier-and-weaker-in-oceans-warmed-by-climate-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rummer remarked</a>. "Our future ecosystems depend us taking urgent action to limit climate change," <a href="https://www.coralcoe.org.au/media-releases/future-too-warm-for-baby-sharks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">she added</a>.</p>
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An illustration depicts a megalodon shark swimming after a pod of striped dolphins. Corey Ford / Stocktrek Images
The megalodon, or megatooth shark, was such a fearsome prehistoric predator that it continues to inspire horror films roughly 3.6 million years after its extinction.
<p>Adult megalodons (<em>Otodus megalodon) </em>could grow to be about 50 feet in length. Now, new research published in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2020.1861608" target="_blank">Historical Biology</a> on Monday shows that the sharks were fear-inducing from the moment they were born, as baby megalodons could be more than six-and-a-half-feet long.</p><p>"It is quite possible that they represent the largest babies in the shark world," Kenshu Shimada, a vertebrate paleontologist at DePaul University in Chicago and lead study author, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/10/science/megalodons-baby-shark.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>Megalodons dominated prehistoric seas, where they lived between 15 and 3.6 million years ago, according to <a href="https://newsroom.taylorandfrancisgroup.com/megalodon-shark-gave-live-birth-to-large-newborns-that-likely-grew-by-eating-unhatched-eggs-in-womb/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Taylor & Francis</a>. In addition to their length, they also weighed as much as 110,000 pounds, The New York Times reported.</p><p>"They could pretty much do whatever they wanted, swim wherever they wanted, eat whatever they wanted," Jack Cooper, a Swansea University shark researcher who was not involved with the study, told The New York Times.</p>
<p>Despite their dominance of the prehistoric <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ocean" target="_self">ocean</a> and contemporary imaginations, megalodons are less prominent in the fossil record. That's because megalodons, like all sharks, have skeletons made of cartilage, which is less likely to last than bone, <a href="https://www.livescience.com/megalodon-babies-human-size.html" target="_blank">Live Science explained</a>. So megalodons are mostly known to us from their teeth.</p><p>One exception to this is a collection of 150 megalodon vertebrae whose cartilage had mineralized. The specimen was discovered in Belgium in the 1860s, The New York Times reported, and is now housed at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels, according to the study. The authors wrote that it was the "only reasonably preserved vertebral column of the species in the entire world."</p><p>The researchers then took advantage of the fact that megalodon vertebrae have growth rings that function similarly to tree rings, Taylor & Francis explained. Researchers were able to use CT scans of the vertebrae to determine that the specimen was 46 years old and around 30 feet long when it died. By calculating what its body length would have been when each ring was formed, the researchers were able to pinpoint its birth size at around 6.6 feet.</p><p>"My students and I examine spiny dogfish shark anatomy in class and to think that a baby megalodon was nearly twice as long as the largest adult sharks we examine is mind-boggling," study co-author Matthew Bonnan of Stockton University told Taylor & Francis.</p>
<p>The baby megalodon's large size led the scientists to conclude that it had likely feasted on its siblings in the womb. That's because such a large baby would need to be born live, requiring a lot of energy from the mother.</p><p>"Oophagy — egg-eating — is a way for a mother to nourish its embryos for an extended period of time," Shimada told Live Science. "The consequence is that, while only a few embryos per mother will survive and develop, each embryo can become quite large at its birth."</p><p>The baby that survived would then be ready to ward off many ocean predators, The New York Times reported. A healthy appetite might have also contributed to the shark's growth.</p><p>The researchers also shed light on the megalodon's later growth, and calculated that it grew an average of 6.3 inches a year, according to the study. Researchers also compared the specimen's growth rate with the largest known megalodon sizes in order to calculate that megalodons had a potential life expectancy of 88 to 100 years, Live Science reported.</p><p>Shimada told Live Science that the life-expectancy calculations were still theoretical and required more research. Even so, the findings help scientists learn more about megalodons and the prehistoric ocean.</p><p>"As one of the largest carnivores that ever existed on Earth, deciphering such growth parameters of <em>O. megalodon</em> is critical to understand the role large carnivores play in the context of the evolution of marine ecosystems," Shimada told Taylor & Francis.</p>
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By Alex Truelove
We're all culprits in the plastic pollution crisis — and that's by design.
I was reminded of this recently when I ordered a set of carbon filters for my countertop compost bin. (Like most people, I don't care for smelly kitchens.) The package arrived in a layered-plastic bubble envelope. Inside I found another clear plastic bag encasing the filters. Finally, adding insult to injury, each filter was wrapped individually in plastic. That made at least three layers of plastic for each filter.
<p>Frustratingly, in an effort to reduce waste, I had created more. And I'm not alone. A recent <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/44/eabd0288" target="_blank">landmark study</a> confirmed that the United States is the most plastic-polluting country in the world. Every 16 hours Americans throw away enough plastic to fill a football stadium.</p>
<p>Adding to my frustration was a sense of helplessness. There was no way I could have known or changed the fact that these products were shrouded in layer upon layer of disposable plastic packaging.</p><p>I know millions of Americans feel the same way. We want to reduce our waste, particularly our use of disposable plastic, but we're rarely given the opportunity. Even when sustainable products are minimally packaged or designed for reuse, they often must be purchased online (delivered in more packaging, often disposable) or at specialty stores (rarities). Countless times I've wished that I could have avoided buying things that created so much trash.</p><p>But what if, in demanding better of ourselves, we're missing the point? The companies that design our products and packaging to be disposable not only created this system but are rewarded by it. Waste equals profit through cost avoidance.</p><p>Disposable products are cheap for industry, but costly to the rest of us. As taxpayers we have to pay for trash collection and recycling. As citizens we're exposed to pollutants from excessive manufacturing and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/humans-consume-equivalent-credit-card-worth-plastic-week/story?id=63687144" target="_blank">microplastics</a> shed from disposable products into our drinking water and food.</p><p>Meanwhile our oceans and waterways are being bombarded with millions of tons of plastic every year, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/world/asia/whale-plastics-philippines.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">killing wildlife</a> and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/01/plastic-junk-coral-disease/551495/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spreading disease</a>.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2OTIwNy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzc3MzYxNH0.kQGHaYiDU54NGFkKJbaUkkXzq5HxSm05sAx7Iib1cDQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="11268" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f81e20a7aa3d681e37cb4ce5eb0860d0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="800" data-height="538" />
Marine litter on a remote stretch of Norway coastline. Bo Eide / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
<p>The cost to the companies making these wasteful products? Zero. In a shareholder profit-maximizing world, making disposable junk wins every time.</p><p>But what if these companies were held responsible for their products? Would it prevent the onslaught of plastic junk filling up our landfills and too often ending up in the ocean? History suggests manufacturers would design products to be more reusable, repairable and resilient, because they'd want to limit the waste they would have to manage.</p><p>Which brings us to an idea known as producer responsibility.</p><p>Producer responsibility programs have existed around the world for decades and have successfully increased collection, recycling and reuse for the products they cover. For the most part these programs regulate hazardous, hard-to-dispose-of products such as batteries, paint, mercury thermostats, carpet, pesticides, tires and pharmaceuticals. Dozens of states already have programs in place for these items.</p><p>For example, thermostat makers are required to finance and sometimes run convenient recycling programs to keep mercury, a potent neurotoxin, from escaping and causing damage. Not all programs require producers to collect their own trash, but they all require adequate financing for safe collection. Producers that redesign their products to be less dangerous or more reusable can often avoid higher fees.</p><p>Unfortunately we don't have programs in place for single-use packaging and foodware, despite the fact that those products are <em>also </em>hazardous and hard to dispose of. That's why <a href="https://uspirg.org/reports/usp/break-waste-cycle" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">we need to create them</a>. British Columbia has already implemented producer responsibility legislation, and a handful of U.S. states — from Washington to Maine — are <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/epr-extended-producer-responsibility-maine-new-york-trends-plastic/587623/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">considering similar programs</a>. If implemented, these programs would create jobs, generate revenue streams for local municipalities to further reduce waste and, in the long run, improve human health and help fight climate change.</p><p>With support and pressure from residents, we could see laws pass as early as 2021, forcing our product-makers to either be better or pay out.</p><p>The idea is even gaining support <a href="https://www.tomudall.senate.gov/news/press-releases/udall-lowenthal-merkley-clark-unveil-landmark-legislation-to-break-free-from-plastic-pollution" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">at the federal level</a>, as members of Congress respond to growing calls from constituents to address the plastic pollution crisis. Even the remote possibility of a federal program may push states to establish their own programs first.</p><p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, industry groups that represent manufacturers of these products have <a href="https://time.com/5790656/fixing-recycling-in-america/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">already opposed</a> efforts to hold their clients responsible, which is why we must continue to push our legislators to support these programs now and into the future. In other words, the jig is up — but only if we say so.</p><p><em>The opinions expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of</em> The Revelator<em>, the Center for Biological Diversity or their employees.</em></p><p><em><a href="https://therevelator.org/author/alextruelove/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alex Truelove</a> is United States Public Interest Research Group's director of zero waste campaigns.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/plastic-producer-responsibility/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>. </em></p>
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Conservation charity British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) led the rescue of a stranded orca in Scotland. Emma Neave-Webb and Imogen Sawyer / British Divers Marine Life Rescue / Facebook
A rare orca stranding on Scotland's Orkney Islands had a happy ending when volunteers and local residents teamed up to send the animal back out to sea.
<p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">Conservation</a> charity <a href="https://bdmlr.org.uk/" target="_blank">British Divers Marine Life Rescue</a> (BDMLR) led the operation, in a first for the organization.</p><p>"Strandings of Orca do occur but are incredibly rare and it is thought that this is the first successful refloat of an Orca by BDMLR in the UK," the group wrote on their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BDMLR/posts/3569302183164994" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>.</p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4c79e52732cb2389729eea671dab4193"><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/BDMLR/posts/3569302183164994"></div></div>
<p>The orca, an 11 foot animal believed to be a male, was first seen on a beach at the Bay of Newark on the Orkney Island of Sanday, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-55559943" target="_blank">BBC News reported</a>.</p><p>Local residents Colin and Heather Headworth first thought it was a dolphin when they saw it in the surf near their home Monday morning, according to BDMLR. They alerted BDMLR Area Coordinator Emma Neave-Webb, who called a local team to the scene.</p><p>However, when they arrived, medics realized that the stranded animal was in fact an orca. The animal was lying on its side parallel to the sea, making it hard for it to swim to freedom.</p><p>"The first thought really is a little bit of panic on how on earth are we going to deal with it, and then all the training kicks in," Neave-Webb told <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2021-01-05/the-extraordinary-beach-rescue-of-an-orca-whale-in-orkney" target="_blank">ITV News</a>.</p>
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<p>The BDMLR team recruited local residents to help them turn the whale so that it was upright and its blowhole was out of the water, making it easier for it to breathe. They then turned it to face the sea as the tide came in and placed it on a dolphin stretcher.</p><p>"After about an hour and with help from local residents to stabilise the animal, it suddenly took matters into its own fins and made a move to swim off," BDMLR wrote. "Unable to hold the animal any longer, the stretcher was lowered and the orca swam forward straight out towards the open sea. It rolled a couple of times and then submerged and continued straight out away from the beach without looking back."</p><p>Neave-Webb told ITV News that the orca's escape was cause for celebration.</p><p>"There was a lot of cheering, awful lot of cheering," she said. "I'm still buzzing now."</p>
<p>Medics think the orca will survive, since it had fed recently and was in good condition. However, they are monitoring the shore to make sure it does not get stranded again. They believe it is a young male of about three to four years old.</p><p>Neave-Webb told ITV News that the orca had likely been feeding in shallow water when the tide went out, leaving it stranded on shore.</p><p>Orcas are common in the Orkney Islands, according to BDMLR. However, area experts think the stranded orca may not belong to any local pods.</p><p>The Orkney Marine Mammal Research Initiative is talking with colleagues in Norway to try to identify the animal, according to BBC News.</p>
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The red handfish, a relative of the extinct smooth handfish. Thor Carter / CSIRO Marine Research / CC BY 3.0
By John R. Platt
A few months ago a group of scientists warned about the rise of "extinction denial," an effort much like climate denial to mischaracterize the extinction crisis and suggest that human activity isn't really having a damaging effect on ecosystems and the whole planet.
<p>That damaging effect is, in reality, impossible to deny.</p><p>This past year scientists and conservation organizations declared that a long list of species may have gone extinct, including dozens of frogs, orchids and fish. Most of these species haven't been seen in decades, despite frequent and regular expeditions to find out if they still exist. The causes of these extinctions range from diseases to invasive species to habitat loss, but most boil down to human behavior.</p><p>Of course, proving a negative is always hard, and scientists are <a href="https://therevelator.org/extinction-time/" target="_blank">often cautious about declaring species truly lost</a>. Do it too soon, they warn, and the last conservation efforts necessary to save a species could evaporate, a problem known as the Romeo and Juliet Effect. Because of that, and because many of these species live in hard-to-survey regions, many of the announcements this past year declared species <em>possibly</em> or <em>probably</em> lost, a sign that hope springs eternal.</p>
<p>And there's reason for that hope: When we devote energy and resources to saving species, it often works. A study published in 2019 found that conservation efforts have <a href="https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/new-study-conservation-action-has-reduced-bird-extinction-rates-40" target="_blank">reduced bird extinction rates by 40%</a>. Another recent paper found that conservation actions have <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12762" target="_blank">prevented dozens of bird and mammal extinctions</a> over just the past few decades. The new paper warns that many of the species remain critically endangered, or could still go extinct, but we can at least stop the bleeding.</p><p>And sometimes we can do better than that. This year the IUCN — the organization that tracks the extinction risk of species around the world — <a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/species/202012/european-bison-recovering-31-species-declared-extinct-iucn-red-list" target="_blank">announced</a> several conservation victories, including the previously critically endangered Oaxaca treefrog (<em>Sarcohyla celata</em>), which is now considered "near threatened" due to protective actions taken by the people who live near it.</p><p>"We can turn things around. We don't just have to sit there and cry," says conservation scientist Stuart Pimm, founder of the organization Saving Nature.</p><p>But at the same time, we need to recognize what we've lost, or potentially lost. We can mourn them and vow to prevent as many others as possible from joining their ranks.</p><p>With that in mind, here are the species that scientists and the conservation community declared lost in 2020, culled from media reports, scientific papers, the IUCN Red List and my own reporting.</p>
<p><strong></strong><a href="https://therevelator.org/orchids-extinct-bangladesh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>32 orchid species in Bangladesh</strong></a> — One of the first papers of 2020 to report any extinctions announced the probable loss of 17% of Bangladesh's 187 known orchid species. Some of these still exist in other countries, but even regional extinctions (or extirpations, as they're called) tell us that we've taken a toll on our ecological habitats. A similar paper published just days later suggested that <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/inferring-the-extinction-of-species-known-only-from-a-single-specimen/446C333A40039167E16065F2A12E8B37" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">nine more orchid species from Madagascar</a> may have also gone extinct.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2MTAxMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2ODgxNzQyMn0.tJZLpHZcVYq6Z9KtR08RWSxtsr-gkFp-vnF4qg5k0z4/img.jpg?width=980" id="2862b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ef8218d21aad0543b43a1bea3a5d0536" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1024" data-height="576" />
19th-century drawings of orchid species recently declared extinct in Bangladesh.
<p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/123423283/123424374" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Smooth handfish (<em>Sympterichthys unipennis</em>)</a></strong><strong> </strong>— One of the few extinctions of 2020 that received much <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smooth-handfish-extinction-marks-a-sad-milestone/" target="_blank">media attention</a>, and it's easy to see why. Handfish are an unusual group of species whose front fins look somewhat like human appendages, which they use to walk around the ocean floor. The smooth species, which hasn't been seen since 1802, lived off the coast of Tasmania and was probably common when it was first collected by naturalists. Bottom fishing, pollution, habitat destruction, bycatch and other threats are all listed as among the probable reasons for its extinction. Even though the local fishery collapsed more than 50 years ago, the remaining handfish species are still critically endangered, so this extinction should serve as an important wake-up call to save them.</p><p><a href="https://therevelator.org/plant-species-extinct-america/" target="_blank"><strong>65 North American plants</strong></a> — This past year researchers set out to determine how many plants in the continental United States had been lost. They catalogued 65, including five small trees, eight shrubs, 37 perennial herbs and 15 annual herbs. Some of these had been reported before, but for most this is the first time they've been declared extinct. The list includes <a href="https://therevelator.org/extinction-hotspot-appalachia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Marshallia grandiflora</em></a>, a large flowing plant from the American Southeast that was declared its own species this past year. Too bad it was last seen in 1919 (and has been confused with other species for even longer).</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2MTAyMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MzMzNDgzMX0.pD6u8m-1Oix9-ZrfxzUXRz8xGCqFlk58X9BpY9fYfjM/img.jpg?width=980" id="89637" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4f72d3ab355d44905ae9a6384538bf47" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1024" data-height="576" />
The original Marshallia grandiflora holotype. Smithsonian NMNH / Creative Commons
<p><strong></strong><strong>22 frog species</strong> — The IUCN this year declared nearly two dozen long-unseen Central and South American frog species as "critically endangered (possibly extinct)" — victims of the amphibian-killing <a href="https://therevelator.org/extinct-frogs-golden-goose/" target="_blank">chytrid fungus</a>. They include the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/56423/109538689" target="_blank">Aragua robber frog (<em>Pristimantis anotis</em>)</a>, which hasn't been observed in 46 years, and the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/54542/109529302" target="_blank">Piñango stubfoot toad (<em>Atelopus pinangoi</em>)</a>, which mostly disappeared in the 1980s. A single juvenile toad observed in 2008 leads scientists to say this species "is either possibly extinct or if there is still an extant population, that it is very small (<50 mature individuals)."</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/54498/54340769" target="_blank">Chiriqui harlequin frog (<em>Atelopus chiriquiensis</em>)</a> and <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/55201/54344718" target="_blank">splendid poison frog (<em>Oophaga speciosa</em>)</a> </strong>— Last seen in 1996 and 1992, these frogs from Costa Rica and Panama fell victim to the chytrid fungus and were declared extinct in December.</p><p><strong><a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-09-mite-extinctions-natural.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">15% of mite species</a> </strong>— This requires a lot more research, but a paper published this past August announced "evidence of widespread mite extinctions" since the year 2000 following similar disappearances of plants and vertebrates. Mites may not look or sound important, but they play key roles in their native ecosystems. If 15% of the world's 1.25 million mite species have been lost, we're talking more than 8,300 extinctions — a number the researchers predict will continue to rise.</p><p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ibi.12839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Simeulue Hill mynas</strong></a> — An alarming paper called this an "extinction-in-process" of a previously undescribed bird that probably went extinct in the wild in the past two to three years due to overcollection for the songbird trade. A few may still exist in captivity — for now.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>17 freshwater fish from Lake Lanao, Mindanao, the Philippines </strong>— A combination of predatory invasive species, overharvesting and destructing fishing methods (such as dynamite fishing) wiped these lost species out. The IUCN this year listed 15 of the species as "extinct" following extensive searches and surveys; the remaining two as "critically endangered (possibly extinct)." The predators, by the way, are still doing just fine. Here are the 15 extinct species:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18888/90996412" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes disa</em></a> — last seen in 1964.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15634/90997535" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes truncatulus</em></a> – last seen in 1973.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/4135/90997158" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes pachycheilus</em></a> – last seen in 1964.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15633/90997194" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes palaemophagus</em></a> – last seen in 1975.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18882/90996027" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes amarus</em></a> – Last seen in 1982.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18904/90997073" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes manalak</em></a> – Once a commercially valuable fish, last seen in 1977.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18886/90996370#assessment-information" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes clemensi</em></a> – last seen in 1975.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18889/90996574" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes flavifuscus</em></a> – last seen in 1964.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18891/90996925" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes katolo</em></a> – last seen in 1977.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/20687/90997252" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes palata</em></a> – last seen in 1964.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18884/90996105" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes baoulan</em></a> — last seen in 1991.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18890/90996625" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes herrei</em></a> — last seen in 1974, when just 40 pounds' worth of fish were caught.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18892/90996974" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes lanaoensis</em></a> — last seen in 1964.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/12751/90997332" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes resimus</em></a> — last seen in 1964.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18901/90997500" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes tras</em></a> — last seen in 1976.</li></ul><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2MTA2Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMDg3Njg3M30.XLY38NFYhCjUPIJsZtRbrDzsKU8K__LTtlzc_9KvuXo/img.jpg?width=980" id="3c40e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="802d2acf447e6d0a50e10dfec771c393" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="989" data-height="882" />
Some of the extinct species from Lake Lanao. Photo © Armi G. Torres courtesy IUCN.
<p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/17365/22123157" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bonin pipistrelle (<em>Pipistrellus sturdeei</em>)</a></strong><strong> </strong>— Scientists only recorded this Japanese bat one time, back in the 19th century. The IUCN listed it as "data deficient" from 2006 to 2020, a period during which its taxonomy was under debate, but a paper published in March <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4755.1.8" target="_blank">settled that issue</a>, and the latest Red List update placed the species in the the extinct category. The Japanese government itself has listed the bat as extinct since 2014.<strong></strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/44792108/44798207" target="_blank"><em>Pseudoyersinia brevipennis</em></a> </strong>— This praying mantis from France hasn't been seen since 1860. Its declared extinction comes after some extended (and still unresolved) debate over its validity as a unique species.</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/123986030/123986038" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Agave lurida</strong></em></a> — Last seen in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2001, this succulent was finally declared extinct in the wild this year after numerous expeditions searching for remaining plants. As the IUCN Red List notes, "There are only a few specimens left in <em>ex-situ</em> collections, which is a concern for the extinction of the species in the near future."</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/136808736/137376234" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Falso Maguey Grande (<em>Furcraea macdougallii</em>)</a> </strong>— Another Oaxacan succulent that's extinct in the wild but still exists in cultivated form (you can buy these cacti online today for as little as $15). Last seen growing naturally in 1973, the plant's main habitat was degraded in 1953 to make way for agave plantations for mezcal production. Wildfires may have also played a role, but the species' limited distribution also made it easier to kill it off: "The restricted range of the species also made it very vulnerable to small local disturbances, and hence the last few individuals were easily destroyed," according to the IUCN.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/140416589/140416594" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Eriocaulon inundatum</em></a> </strong>— Last scientifically collected in Senegal in 1943, this pipewort's only know habitat has since been destroyed by salt mining.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/113204000/113309830" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Persoonia laxa</em></a> </strong>— This shrub from New South Wales, Australia, was collected just two times — in 1907 and 1908 — in habitats that have since become "highly urbanized." The NSW government still lists it as "<a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedSpeciesApp/profile.aspx?id=20230" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">presumed extinct</a>," but the IUCN placed it fully in the "extinct" category in 2020.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/147088627/149821996" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nazareno (<em>Monteverdia lineata</em>)</a> </strong>— Scientific papers declared this Cuban flowing plant species extinct in 2010 and 2015, although it wasn't catalogued in the IUCN Red List until this year. It grew in a habitat now severely degraded by agriculture and livestock farming.<strong></strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/113168368/185558142" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wynberg conebush<em> (Leucadendron grandiflorum)</em></a> </strong>— This South African plant hasn't been seen in more than 200 years and was long considered the <a href="https://wynbergresidents.wordpress.com/2016/12/01/remembering-a-lost-wynberg-flower/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">earliest documented extinction from that country</a>, although it only made it to the IUCN Red List recently. Its sole habitat "was the location of the earliest colonial farms," including vineyards.</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/113166006/185559739" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Wolseley conebush (<em>Leucadendron spirale</em>)</strong></a> — Another South African plant, this one last seen in 1933 and since extensively sought after, including high <a href="https://www.proteaatlas.org.za/ldspir.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rewards</a> for its rediscovery. The IUCN says the cause of its extinction is unknown "but is likely the result of habitat loss to crop cultivation, alien plant invasion and afforestation." Oh yeah, and it probably didn't help that in 1809 a scientist wrote that the species possessed "<a href="https://www.ispotnature.org/communities/southern-africa/view/observation/545420/the-ugly-duckling-conebush-wolseley-conebush" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">little beauty</a>" and discouraged it from further collection.</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/169838762/169838772" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Schizothorax saltans</strong></em></a> — This fish from Kazakhstan was last seen in 1953, around the time the rivers feeding its lake habitats were drained for irrigation. The IUCN did not assess the species before this past year.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/190888/1960457" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Alphonsea hortensis</em></a> </strong>— Declared "extinct in the wild" this year after no observations since 1969, the last specimens of this Sri Lankan tree species now grow at Peradeniya Royal Botanic Garden.</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15006/22009211" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Lord Howe long-eared bat (<em>Nyctophilus howensis</em>)</strong></a> — This island species is known from a single skull discovered in 1972. Conservationists held out hope that it still existed following several possible sightings, but those hopes have now been dashed.</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/126612397/126613386" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Deppea splendens</strong></em></a> — This IUCN declared this beautiful plant species "extinct in the wild" this year. All living specimens exist only because botanist Dennis Breedlove, who discovered the species in 1973, collected seeds before the plant's sole habitat in Mexico was <a href="https://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/view/?id=2209" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plowed over</a> to make way for farmland. Now known as a "holy grail" for some gardeners, cultivated plants descended from Breedlove's seeds can be purchased online for as little as $16.95.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/54549/54358350" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pass stubfoot toad (<em>Atelopus senex</em>)</a> </strong>— Another Costa Rican chytrid victim, last seen in 1986.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/56782/54369332#threats" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Craugastor myllomyllon</em></a> </strong>— A Guatemalan frog that never had a common name and hasn't been seen since 1978 (although it wasn't declared a species until 2000). Unlike the other frogs on this year's list, this one disappeared before the chytrid fungus arrived; it was likely wiped out when agriculture destroyed its only habitat.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/44791445/170111359" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Spined dwarf mantis (<em>Ameles fasciipennis</em>)</a> </strong>— This Italian praying mantis was only scientifically collected once, in or around 1871, and never seen again. The IUCN says the genus's taxonomy is "rather confusing and further analysis need to be done to confirm the validity of this species." Here's what we do know, though: There are none to be found today, despite extensive surveys.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/140414966/140414986" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Scleria chevalieri</em></a> </strong>— This Senagalese plant, last seen in 1929, once grew in swamps that have since been drained to irrigate local gardens.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/33562/83804687" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hawai'i yellowwood (<em>Ochrosia kilaueaensis</em>)</a> </strong>— This tree hasn't been seen since 1927. Its rainforest habitat has been severely degraded by invasive plants and goats, as well as fires. It's currently listed as <a href="https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/5248" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">endangered</a> under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, but the IUCN declared it extinct this past year.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/38690/87708976#threats" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Roystonea stellate</em></a> </strong>— Scientists only collected this Cuban palm tree a single time, back in 1939. Several searches have failed to uncover evidence of its continued existence, probably due to conversion of its only habitats to coffee plantations.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/59376/54381158" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jalpa false brook salamander (<em>Pseudoeurycea exspectata</em>)</a> </strong>— Small farms, cattle grazing and logging appear to have wiped out this once-common Guatemalan amphibian, last seen in 1976. At least 16 surveys since 1985 did not find any evidence of the species' continued existence.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/126612753/126613426#assessment-information" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Faramea chiapensis</em></a> </strong>— Only collected once in 1953, this Mexican plant lost its cloud-forest habitat to colonialism and deforestation.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/31679/149812995" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Euchorium cubense</em></a> </strong>— Last seen in 1924, this Cuban flowing plant — the only member of its genus — has long been assumed lost. The IUCN characterized it as extinct in 2020 along with <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/35254/149816104#assessment-information" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Banara wilsonii</em></a>, another Cuban plant last seen in 1938 before its habitat was cleared for a sugarcane plantation.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/110097724/110113066#text-fields" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Aloe silicicola</em></a> </strong>— Last seen in 1920, this plant from the mountains of Madagascar enters the IUCN Red List as "extinct in the wild" due to a vague reference that it still exists in a botanical garden. Its previous habitat has been the site of frequent fires.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/157719927/89815479" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Chitala lopis</em></a> </strong>— A large fish from the island of Java, this species hasn't been seen since 1851 (although many online sources use this taxonomic name for other "featherback" fish species that still exist). It was probably wiped out by a wide range of habitat-degrading factors, including pollution, unsustainable fishing and near-complete deforestation around nearby rivers.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/140416686/140416698" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Eriocaulon jordanii</em></a> </strong>— This grass species formerly occurred in two known sites in coastal Sierra Leone, where its previous habitats were converted to rice fields in the 1950s.</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/152357598/154696297" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Amomum sumatranum</strong></em></a> — A relative of cardamom, this plant from Sumatra was only scientifically collected once, back in 1921, and the forest where that sample originated has now been completely developed. The IUCN says one remaining cultivated population exists, so they've declared it "extinct in the wild."</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/115696622/115696628" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Lost shark (<em>Carcharhinus obsoletus</em>)</strong></a> — This species makes its second annual appearance on this list. Scientists <a href="https://therevelator.org/lost-shark/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">described this species in 2019</a> after examining decades-old specimens, noting that it hadn't been observed since the 1930s. This year the IUCN added the species to the Red List and declared it "critically endangered (possibly extinct)."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2MTEwMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MjE3MTkyMn0.Tm2BAY1LuWPDBgvHrdArhWA0Ah_XF7MMZfKUxEgvDxE/img.jpg?width=980" id="2d633" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="01f5eea468a9a3ea17dd3b3ef92aeb96" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1920" data-height="1080" />
"Lost shark." Photo: PLOS One
<p><strong><em><a href="https://bioone.org/journals/the-bryologist/volume-123/issue-4/0007-2745-123.4.657/----Custom-HTML----iCora/10.1639/0007-2745-123.4.657.short?tab=ArticleLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cora timucua</a></em></strong><strong> </strong>— This lichen from Florida was just identified from historical collections through DNA barcoding. Unfortunately no new samples have been collected since the turn of the 19th century. The scientists who named the species this past December call it "potentially extinct" but suggest it be listed as critically endangered in case it still hangs on in remote parts of the highly developed state. They caution, however, that it hasn't turned up in any recent surveys.</p><p><strong><a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202004190028.html?fbclid=IwAR33mKWioEaLjHXIBdJqOyB40tp90UA-DEi69IecBTMQ8SQUyt1fEOCGf4g" target="_blank">Dama gazelle (<em>Nanger dama</em>) in Tunisia</a> </strong>— This critically endangered species still hangs on in a few other countries, and in captivity, but the death of the last individual in Tunisia marked one more country in which the gazelle has now been extirpated and serves as a stark reminder to keep the rest from fading away.</p><p><em><a href="https://therevelator.org/author/john/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">John R. Platt</a> is the editor of The Revelator. An award-winning environmental journalist, his work has appeared in Scientific American, Audubon, Motherboard, and numerous other magazines and publications. His "Extinction Countdown" column has run continuously since 2004 and has covered news and science related to more than 1,000 endangered species. He is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and the National Association of Science Writers. John lives on the outskirts of Portland, Ore., where he finds himself surrounded by animals and cartoonists.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/species-extinct-2020" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A Northwest Indian Ocean blue whale fluke breaks the surface before a dive off the Arabian Sea coast of Oman. Robert Baldwin / Environment Society of Oman
A new population of endangered blue whales has been hiding in the western Indian Ocean. According to NOAA, these gentle giants weigh up to 330,000 pounds and grow up to 110 feet long. The largest creature to have ever lived on Earth would seem hard to miss, but this group has been unknown to researchers – until now.
<p>All blue whales sing in loud, low-pitched, recognizable songs, <a href="https://www.neaq.org/about-us/news-media/press-kit/press-releases/new-population-of-blue-whales-discovered-in-the-western-indian-ocean/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New England Aquarium (NEAQ)</a> reported. Distinct populations have distinct songs. According to the <a href="https://www.int-res.com/prepress/n01096.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">study</a>, which was published in the journal <em>Endangered Species Research</em>, there are currently two or three known subspecies of blue whales in the Indian Ocean, believed to constitute four populations, each with a specific, diagnostic song-type.</p>
<p>"It's like hearing different songs within a genre – Stevie Ray Vaughan versus B. B. King," Salvatore Cerchio, a marine mammal biologist at the African Aquatic Conservation Fund in Massachusetts and the study's lead author, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/23/science/blue-whales-indian-ocean.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "It's all blues, but you know the different styles."</p><p>Scientists discovered the new population on accident when they overheard their song, a slow, bellowing ballad that could serve as a mating call, the Times reported. Despite extensive study of blue whale songs, it was unlike any other whale song ever recorded. According to <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-population-blue-whales-emerges-singing-indian-ocean-180976650/" target="_blank">Smithsonian Magazine</a> and the study, while the team lacks genetic data to support its findings, because blue whale melodies are unique population to population, the new song suggests an undetected population or one that was previously conflated with another population.</p>
<p>Recordings of the new song from three sites around the Indian Ocean, each separated by hundreds or thousands of miles, matched, and scientists began to piece together the routes of the previously-unknown pod of whales "moseying about in the Indian Ocean's northwest and perhaps beyond," singing their unique song, the Times reported.</p><p>The new song is now one of only a dozen or so other blue whale songs ever documented, each the "calling card" of a unique population of whales, the report continued. The latest melody has been labeled the "Northwest Indian Ocean" song-type and is the only blue whale song identified in the western Arabian Sea, the study reported.</p>
<p>"It was quite remarkable to find a whale song in your data that was completely unique, never before reported, and recognize it as a blue whale," Cerchio told NEAQ.</p><p>Each discovery of a new blue whale population brings renewed hope for the species' continued recovery. According to Smithsonian Magazine, intense whaling in the 19th and 20th centuries culled hundreds of thousands from the world's population and left them on the brink of extinction. The 1967 International Whaling Commission ban on hunting helped stop the slaughter, the report added. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nishandegnarain/2021/12/29/singing-whale-unmasks-new-giant-blue-whale-species-hidden-in-indian-ocean/?sh=5cbeb48e10e5" target="_blank">Forbes</a> estimated that blue whale populations plummeted from 350,000 at the turn of the 20th century to between 10,000 to 25,000 today. The species remains critically <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered</a>.</p>
<p>The study authors suggested that the new population off the coast of Oman could be survivors recovering from historic whaling. In the 1960s, intense illegal Soviet Union whaling in the region took 1,294 blue whales in total, "suggesting" that the fleet likely targeted this population and that "if there is a northern Indian Ocean subspecies ... it is likely this population."</p><p>The authors concluded that because the population remained undetected for so long, the new group is likely small and "in critical need of status assessment and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a> action." The whale group's identification also highlights how much of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">ocean</a> remains unexplored and how many other potential discoveries remain.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTE2NTQxMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0MjA3N30.QrrXyerWNoUpT3aOA4XZjYFhp5vVJMydWlrlo5-lBsQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="8f947" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ee7c24544861e53a865a2b54940eb532" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="750" data-height="500" />
Blue whales are the largest animals ever to live on our planet. NOAA
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Lethal Levels of Radiation Found in Damaged Fukushima Reactor, Impacting its Shutdown
31 December 2020
Climate
The Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen from Futaba Town, Fukushima prefecture on March 11, 2020. STR / JIJI PRESS / AFP/ Getty Images
By Brett Wilkins
In what Japanese regulators on Wednesday called an "extremely serious" development, lethal levels of radiation have been recorded inside the damaged reactor building at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, threatening the shutdown and decommissioning of the site of the second-worst peacetime nuclear disaster in history.
<p><a href="http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14071742" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According to</a><em> The Asahi Shimbun,</em> Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) reported that massive amounts of radioactive materials have been found around shield plugs of the containment vessels in the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors.</p><p>NRA officials estimated radiation levels at 10 sieverts per hour—enough to kill a worker who spends just one hour there. </p><p>Decommission of the reactor requires workers to remove the shield plugs, which block radiation from the reactor core during normal plant operation. This discovery has forced officials to reconsider their shutdown plans.</p>
<p>NRA chair Toyoshi Fuketa said that removing the highly irradiated shield plugs made safe retrieval of nuclear fuel debris—an already dangerously daunting task—all the more difficult.</p><p>"It appears that nuclear debris lies at an elevated place," Fuketa said at a news conference earlier this month. "This will have a huge impact on the whole process of decommissioning work."</p><p>The latest alarming find is the result of an investigation that resumed in September after a five-year pause in which the NRA took new measurements of radiation levels around the shield plugs at the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors.</p>
<p>Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the plant, <a href="http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14059716" target="_blank">announced</a> December 24 that nuclear fuel debris removal would be postponed until 2022 or later due to the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>As <em>Common Dreams</em> <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/19/appalling-environmental-crime-japan-dump-radioactive-fukushima-water-pacific-ocean" target="_blank">reported</a> in October, Greenpeace and other environmental and anti-nuclear advocates <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/19/appalling-environmental-crime-japan-dump-radioactive-fukushima-water-pacific-ocean" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">expressed shock and outrage</a> after the Japanese government announced a plan to release stored water from the ill-fated plant into the Pacific Ocean. Greenpeace subsequently <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/23/greenpeace-warns-potential-damage-human-dna-risk-japans-plan-dump-fukushima-water" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">released a report</a> claiming that radioactive carbon-14 released into the ocean "has the potential to damage human DNA."</p><p>The Fukushima Daiichi disaster—the result of a 2011 earthquake and tsunami that <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/23/greenpeace-warns-potential-damage-human-dna-risk-japans-plan-dump-fukushima-water" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">killed</a> more than 15,000 people in northeastern Japan—was the worst nuclear incident since the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown in the former Soviet Union, and the worst in Japan since the United States waged a nuclear war against the country in 1945 that killed hundreds of thousands of people. </p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/30/lethal-levels-radiation-found-damaged-fukushima-reactor-will-have-huge-impact" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>
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