Hurricane Michael and Climate Change, United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change: "We have Twelve Years to Act", Top Brands Contributing to Plastic Pollution, Dwindling Seahorse Populations, Silky Sharks Poached in the Philippines And More...
1. Hurricanes and Climate-Change. Yes, They are Linked.
Scientists are increasingly confident of the link between climate change and hurricanes. In a warming world, they say, hurricanes will be stronger, for a simple reason: Warmer water provides more energy that feeds them. Hurricanes and other extreme storms will also be wetter, for a simple reason: Warmer air holds more moisture. And, storm surges from hurricanes will be worse, for a simple reason that has nothing to do with the storms themselves: Sea levels are rising. Andreas Kluth, from Handelsblatt Global, states "Hurricane Michael is also part of the biggest global story of our time: climate change. The local is global and the global is local. So says the new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, part of the United Nations. If you find yourself, say, in the northern German city of Cuxhaven, the report means that your town will in one lifetime be underwater. The 91 scientists of the IPCC once again reminded us that climate change is the biggest threat we face as a species."
Read more... and more
-----------------------------------------------
2. We Have Twelve Years to Limit Climate Change Catastrophe, Warns United Nations
The world’s leading climate scientists have warned that we only have a dozen years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5 C, beyond which even half a degree will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people. The authors of the landmark report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released on Monday say urgent and unprecedented changes are needed to reach the target, which they say is affordable and feasible although it lies at the most ambitious end of the Paris agreement pledge to keep temperatures between 1.5 C and 2 C.
-----------------------------------------------
3. One Day After Catastrophic United Nations Climate Report, Trump Removes Restrictions on Ethanol Gasoline
President Trump announced during a political rally in Iowa Tuesday that his administration will allow year-round sales of gasoline with higher blends of ethanol, a perk for farmers worried about Trump’s trade wars and a setback for those concerned about the effects of ethanol on the environment. The move would come one day after an alarming report from the United Nations that said a rise in global temperatures above 1.5 degrees Celsius—which could come as early as 2030—could cause catastrophic damage unless “rapid and unprecedented” changes in energy use is made before then.
-----------------------------------------------
4. United Nations Warns Paradigm Shift Needed to Avert Global Climate Chaos
5. Coca Cola, Pepsi, Nestle Top Ocean Polluters: Report On Plastic Pollution
Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Nestle are among the companies that contribute most to ocean pollution with single-use plastics, according to a study presented on Tuesday by the "Break Free from Plastic" initiative. The environmental movement, launched in 2016, has helped clear the coasts of 42 countries around the world of discarded plastics. "These brand audits offer undeniable proof of the role that corporations play in perpetuating the global plastic pollution crisis," said Von Hernandez, the Global Coordinator of Break Free From Plastic, at the presentation of the study in Manila.
Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Nestle are among the companies that contribute most to ocean pollution with single-use plastics, according to a study presented on Tuesday by the "Break Free from Plastic" initiative. The environmental movement, launched in 2016, has helped clear the coasts of 42 countries around the world of discarded plastics. "These brand audits offer undeniable proof of the role that corporations play in perpetuating the global plastic pollution crisis," said Von Hernandez, the Global Coordinator of Break Free From Plastic, at the presentation of the study in Manila.
-----------------------------------------------
6. British Seahorses Dying Out at Due to Boats Damaging Breeding Habitat
Native seahorses have all but disappeared from a popular British seaside spot because pleasure boats' anchors keep churning up their breeding grounds.
The bay in Dorset is the only place where both species of the sea creatures - the spiny and short-snouted varieties - found in our waters have been recorded together.
A conservation charity has found just one dead spiny seahorse in the bay this year however, an alarming drop from 10 years ago when 40 were recorded.
-----------------------------------------------
7. Australia’s Other Great (and Threatened) Coral Reefs
The United Nations issued a dire alert on Monday, warning that many of the world’s coral reefs could die as soon as 2040 as a result of climate change. Already, warming waters have bleached more than two-thirds of the coral in the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, which covers more than 130,000 square miles and is visible from space. But the Great Barrier Reef, despite its status, is not the only unique or threatened marine ecosystem in Australia.
-----------------------------------------------
8. Animals trapped in Nets in Australia May Soon be Off Limits to Photographers
Extraordinary photographs that revealed a baby humpback whale caught in a shark net on the Gold Coast could not have been taken under new laws proposed by the Queensland government, two environmental groups have said. State Labor government proposal to create new exclusion zones of 20 metres around shark control equipment effectively created a “shark gag law”, because it would make photography of drumlines and shark nets almost impossible.
-----------------------------------------------
9. Police Arrest Three Shark Poachers in Palawan, Philippines
-----------------------------------------------
10. Global Sea Level could rise 15 Meters by 2300
Global average sea-level could rise by nearly 8 feet (2.5 meters) by 2100 and 50 feet (15 meters) by 2300 if greenhouse gas emissions remain high and humanity proves unlucky, according to a review of sea-level change and projections by Rutgers and other scientists. Since the start of the century, global average sea-level has risen by about 0.2 feet (0.06 m). Under moderate emissions, central estimates of global average sea-level from different analyses range from 1.4 to 2.8 more feet (0.43 - 0.85 m) by 2100, 2.8 to 5.4 more feet (0.85 - 1.65 m) by 2150 and 6 to 14 feet (1.8 - 4.3 m) by 2300, according to the study, published in Annual Review of Environment and Resources.
11. Reaching International Climate Change Goals can Halve Rising Sea Levels by the End of the Century
-----------------------------------------------
12. Plastic Waste Increases Tenfold within a Decade on Remote, Southern Atlantic Islands
Humanity's penchant for single-use plastics is beginning to manifest in some truly ugly ways. As we start to really get a grasp on the magnitude of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, elsewhere in the ocean plastic waste is mounting on the shores of some of the most remote islands, with a new study revealing the true extent of the mess and the threat it poses to local species.
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
13. Incredible 'Lost World' of Underwater Volcanoes Discovered Deep in The Ocean
Hidden below the waves off the east coast of Australia, scientists have discovered a 'lost world' of epic volcanic peaks buried under the Tasman Sea, never before seen with human eyes. This range of volcanic seamounts - underwater mountains formed by ancient, extinct volcanoes - towers some 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) above the ocean floor. Despite the immense height, it has never been previously detected, since even the highest peaks are concealed 2 km (1.2 miles) below the surface of the South Pacific.
13. Incredible 'Lost World' of Underwater Volcanoes Discovered Deep in The Ocean
Hidden below the waves off the east coast of Australia, scientists have discovered a 'lost world' of epic volcanic peaks buried under the Tasman Sea, never before seen with human eyes. This range of volcanic seamounts - underwater mountains formed by ancient, extinct volcanoes - towers some 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) above the ocean floor. Despite the immense height, it has never been previously detected, since even the highest peaks are concealed 2 km (1.2 miles) below the surface of the South Pacific.
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
Be sure to "LIKE" http://facebook.com/SeaSave to ensure our "Week in Review" is delivered to your newsfeed every Friday.
Sea Save Foundation is committed to raising awareness of marine conservation. The Week in Review is a team effort produced by the Sea Save staff to provide a weekly summary of the latest in marine research, policy, and news
