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November 29, 2021-It is no secret that the diversity of life around us is rapidly declining. In 2020 alone, scientists have declared more than 100 species extinct. This is not only bad news for the organisms themselves, but for those of us who depend on them for food, oxygen production, soil fixation, water purification, and beautification of our world and so much more. According to the World Economic Forum, nature plays a key role in creating more than half of the world's GDP.
So, what can we do to reduce future harm? A major event is to identify emerging threats and opportunities to protect biodiversity, and actively formulate policies and actions to prevent harm as soon as possible. To this end, a team of scientists and conservation practitioners led by William Sutherland, Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Cambridge, creates and publishes “panoramic scans” of global trends affecting biodiversity every year. Continue reading this year's top picks, and check out our coverage of horizon scans from previous years here or at the bottom of this page.
One of the major challenges facing solar energy is finding a place to place large photovoltaic panels. In recent years, the idea of placing them on water instead of on land has become popular, and now more than 300 devices have been installed around the world. This method brings many benefits to biodiversity. On the one hand, it saves land resources that might have been covered by solar panels. It can reduce algal blooms in waterways. It can reduce the need for hydropower and other energy that harms habitats, and evaporative cooling water makes the panels more efficient. Nevertheless, what remains to be determined is the potential impact on aquatic and marine ecosystems-positive and negative.
Power lines and the poles and towers that support them are the necessities of civilization. Imagine being able to replace them with devices that transmit electricity through the air instead of along wires? Due to the innovation of materials and technology, the creation and guidance of energy beams-think of wireless smart phone charging, this vision is closer to becoming a reality. Deploying remote wireless energy infrastructure can reduce the harm caused by traditional hardware to wildlife, such as the risk of collisions between birds and bats. On the downside, it may also stimulate energy use and make life in remote areas easier, thereby accelerating the destruction or destruction of the few remaining unrestricted areas on our planet.
Think that human's impact on biodiversity is limited to the biosphere? Think again. There are currently more than 2,000 communication satellites orbiting our planet. According to the current plan, the total number may reach 100,000 in the next 10 years. The deployment and decommissioning of these extra-planetary objects may destroy the stratospheric ozone layer; deposit aluminum in the upper atmosphere and change its chemical composition in other ways; and change the earth’s albedo—its ability to reflect sunlight. These changes, in turn, affect the amount and type of radiation hitting the Earth's surface. As the deployment of satellites proliferates, climate, UV exposure, and other conditions that affect the well-being of organisms may have a major impact.
The pursuit of alternative transportation fuels has experienced many twists and turns, all of which are accompanied by auxiliary costs and benefits. Recently, attention has turned to ammonia as a shipping fuel. It can provide power for fuel cells or engines. It almost doubles the energy density of hydrogen and reduces the problems associated with storing and transporting fuel to where it is needed. problem? The production of ammonia requires a lot of energy, and if it is not completely burned, it will cause environmental hazards. With the growing interest in ammonia fuel, the author warns against falsely claiming that it is a "zero carbon" fuel and the potential disadvantages that may arise from its use, such as increased air pollution.
Increasingly sophisticated tools used to detect and identify DNA can pinpoint the existence of various organisms-even past existence, from fragments of genetic material floating in the air. This capability opens the door to a wide range of conservation assistance efforts, from characterizing members of specific ecological communities to locating rare or endangered species, to tracking the expansion of invasive species, to identifying the perpetrators of illegal wildlife trade. The so-called "EDNA" biological monitoring has been used to detect the presence of microorganisms, plants and fungi, and it seems to be suitable for tracking some animals. With the expansion of technology, its applications in understanding and protecting biodiversity will also increase.
In recent decades, extensive efforts have been made to reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in air conditioners, refrigerators, and other cooling systems because they cause global warming. Unfortunately, hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) is one of the most important alternative chemicals, and it seems to have many environmental problems. When they decompose, HFO can form chemicals that pollute water and air. Some produce potent greenhouse gases. The environmental pollution of this long-lasting HFC alternative seems to be increasing. Unless regulations related to the deployment and decommissioning of refrigerants improve quickly and significantly, we may further exacerbate climate change through changes in practices designed to help reduce risks.
The production of clinker is a key component of cement, which is detrimental to climate and biodiversity. It needs to mine limestone and destroy the habitat of living things. The process of turning limestone into clinker releases a large amount of carbon dioxide that warms the earth-both from the energy required to heat it and from the carbon dioxide released by limestone in the process. Cement production accounts for 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, and the demand for cement is expected to increase. The use of volcanic materials instead of limestone can reduce the impact of greenhouse gases and may have the additional benefit of increasing the crack resistance of cement. However, the author writes, we need to weigh the environmental costs of mining and transporting volcanic materials against the benefits of reducing limestone use.
Neonicotine is a chemical substance that kills insects by destroying their nervous system. They are used to control agricultural pests and have come under fire in recent years for threatening the populations of bees and other ideal insects. As neonicotinoids are banned in the European Union and elsewhere, other insecticides with similar effects have also emerged. These alternatives, including sulfoxynamid and halopiramide, seem to also harm bees and other ideal insect species, and may pose new threats to insect biodiversity.
Some insects and other invertebrates have evolved a new solution to the problem of "unable to date": they can reproduce without sex. This process is called parthenogenesis, and when mates are scarce or absent, they allow them to reproduce more species. If a new field is accidentally introduced, it can also significantly improve their ability to gain a foothold in the new field. At least one invertebrate, the marbled crayfish, has evolved the ability to reproduce in captivity and is now spreading rapidly in Europe, Africa and Asia, carrying diseases that endanger native species. When we breed other invertebrates for food or hobbies, we increase the risk that similar things may happen to other species.
Animal husbandry is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions. "Plant-based" diets are getting more and more attention because it can not only make ourselves healthier, but also help our planet become healthier. On the one hand, China is going further: Rather than simply peddling a diet based on fruits and vegetables, it has pledged to halve the meat consumption of its citizens by 2030. Media campaigns and, in some cases, meat bans have contributed to a decline in meat consumption. The initiative has promoted innovations around synthetic meat, and the country’s plant-based meat industry is expected to grow every year for the foreseeable future. 20-25%.
Volunteer groups, non-profit organizations, town governments, and other local entities can be valuable sources of support for people in rural areas. It turns out that they can also be a valuable source of support for other organisms. Globally, the number of social institutions has increased from 500,000 in 2000 to 8.5 million in 2020, supporting the sustainable management of approximately 300 million hectares (700 million acres) of forests, farmlands, and waterways. If this trend continues, it bodes well for biodiversity conservation, because more land management methods allow them-and the plants and animals that inhabit them-to thrive.
The East Asia-Australia migration route extends along the east coast of Asia and Australia to New Zealand. It is one of the world’s top hot spots for the diversity and number of waterfowl and other water-loving birds (including critically endangered species). As China-one of the world's largest wetland countries-is undergoing large-scale development, it is also one of the most threatened countries: in the past decade, many wetland areas have been transformed into farmland and cities. However, some recent changes have begun to glow with optimism. By including important wetlands in South Korea and China on its World Heritage List, the United Nations has provided them with a new level of protection. China itself has also begun to invest in the protection of important wetlands. If this trend continues and other countries follow suit, waterbirds in most of East Asia and the Western Pacific may be welcomed.
The mangroves that cover tropical and subtropical coastlines are rich in plant and animal species that thrive at the intersection of land and sea. In the past few decades, development has destroyed many people, destroying the biodiversity cultivation and carbon storage services they provide. But in recent years, this trend has changed. The efforts of environmentalists to restore and protect these rich habitats can help reduce losses. In addition, these wetlands are also unexpected beneficiaries of changes in other ecosystems: as inland forests are cut down, erosion moves the soil to the coast, where new mangroves can be cultivated, and climate change is creating more warm habitats they need land. In short, these changes have reduced the loss of mangroves to close to zero, although local depletion continues.
The intertidal zone—the part of the coast where seawater advances and recedes with the tide—experiences daily fluctuations in temperature, water level, salinity, physical damage, and predation. Now they see another variable: heat waves. The record temperature in the Pacific Northwest in June 2021 killed mussels, clams, oysters, barnacles, starfish, and fucoid along thousands of miles of coastline. This is not all. As precipitation patterns change and polar ice layers melt, climate change may also change the salinity of these complex and fragile ecosystems. If this situation continues, we will be more than just a mess: the complex ecosystem and the services it provides — stabilizing coasts, providing food, providing habitat, and protecting water quality — will also be blown up.
Treasure-and trouble? - The underwater world
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