Biggest trees dying quickly

A study shows that the worlds biggest trees are dying quickly in forests at all latitudes ... from California to Sweden to Australia. Yosemite National Park, African savannahs, Amazon rainforests, and northern arboreal forests are all affected.

"A report by three of the world’s leading ecologists in today’s issue of the journal Science warns of an alarming increase in deathrates among trees 100-300 years old" (SciNews)

"Large old trees play critical ecological roles. They provide nesting or sheltering cavities for up to 30% of all birds and animals in some ecosystems. They store huge amounts of carbon. They recycle soil nutrients, create rich patches for other life to thrive in, and influence the flow of water within landscapes and the local climate."
(Professor Bill Lawrence, James Cook University) 

• World's biggest trees are dying quickly (Newsy video)
• Large old tress dying off worldwide (Yale Environment 360)
• The world's biggest trees are dying (SciNews)

Ghostly remains of Artic sea ice

NASA satellite images show the chilling results of an increasing meting of Arctic sea ice.

Climate change creates havoc worldwide, but the net effect is a warmer climate, less ice, and a future with raised sea levels.

• NASA image of sea ice "ghosts" (at Universe Today)

Related story: Antarctica's ice eaten away from below (article includes a video)

Evangelical Leader: Connection Between Climate Change, Poverty

The Christian Post reports that Evangelical Environmental Network President Mitch Hescox believes that global poverty is strongly connected to climate change caused by humans.

Before being called to be a pastor, Hescox worked in the energy business.

"How we care about creation care determines how we care about human life," he said. "Because the impacts of poverty, of disease, water shortages, is all related to how we steward the creation."

• Read the full Christian Post article

Animals of Autumn

I came across this site recently when viewing environment on a tablet app.  The web page contains 40 nice photos, so loading may be slow. Be patient. It's worth it.

• Animals of Autumn

Don't be an idler

Idling gasoline engines pumps CO2 into the atmosphere. By now everyone should know that tons of CO2 is not a good thing for God's earth.

If you could idle your vehicle just five minutes less each day, you will burn 10 fewer gallons of gasoline a year. That means you are pumping 220 fewer pounds of CO2 into the air.

As colder weather approaches, also keep in mind that modern cars do not need to idle for a long time to "warm up". Do let the engine rpms come down to normal before shifting into gear, but don't idle the car thinking that it needs it. Also remember that other car parts such as bearings warm up only when the car gets moving.

So stop idling; get moving.

• Driving more efficiency (fuelecomony.gov)
• 10 ECO driving tips (Ford Motor Comp.)
• Fuel Efficiency Tips to Help Save You Gas and Money (Chevrolet)

White House designates National Blueways

In May 2012 the Obama administration designated the Connecticut River and its 7.2 million-acre watershed as the first segment of a new National Blueways System. This new system was created to improve several things in river systems across the country:

• help conserve natural amenities
• help conserve wildlife habitat
• preserve or enhance healthy recreational opportunities

The administration created America’s Great Outdoors Initiative to establish a community-driven conservation and recreation agenda for the 21st century. The National Blueways program is part of that larger initiative. Large blueways such as the Connecticut River watershed are very important in several ways, inmcluding:

• nurseries for biodiversity
• filtration systems for fresh water supplies
• outdoor recreational outlets for millions of Americans.

Some 2.4 million people across almost 400 communities live within the Connecticut River’s watershed. The non-profit Trust for Public Land estimates that 1.4 million of those residents enjoy the watershed’s natural beauty and wildlife and add about $1 billion dollars to local economies each year.

“The Connecticut River Watershed is a model for how communities can integrate their land and water stewardship efforts with an emphasis on ‘source-to-sea’ watershed conservation,” said Secretary of the Interior Kenneth Salazar upon announcing the new designation.

According to the U.S. Department of Interior, the National Blueway designation “differs from existing federal designations for rivers (e.g., Wild and Scenic), which generally cover only a segment of a river and a narrow band of the riparian corridor.” In contrast, a National Blueway includes the entire river from “source to sea” as well as the river’s watershed.

A National Blueway designation doesn’t establish any new protections for the watersheds in question, but it does open the door to some federal support for existing and/or new local and regional conservation, recreation and restoration projects. In the case of the Connecticut River, the new designation will help by improving coordination between local/regional planning entities and federal agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The designation should also mean more funding for trail building and forest restoration projects.

• America's Great Outdoors Initiative

Source: Based on an article in "EarthTalk"®, a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (http://www.emagazine.com/). You may be interested in the online archive of past EarthTalk articles or in the EarthTalk article news feed.

American ozone hurts European wheat

We live in a connected world. God's world. Our actions (or inaction?) affect others. Here's one example.

The journal "Biogeosciences" reports that air pollution from North America is causing Europe to lose 1.2 million tons of wheat a year. Our pollution is affecting other nations ... other businesses ... other people ... other lives.

Biogeosciences is "An Interactive Open Access Journal of the European Geosciences Union."

Good stewardship of God's earth takes others into account.  What are you personally doing to reduce air pollution?

• The full article at Futurity.org
• The original study (Biogeosciences). Caution -- this is written for a professional journal, not a general audience.

Denialists retreat from reality

The Wall Street Journal went over the reality cliff when it stated that there has been a "lack of global warming for well over 10 years now." Wow. Really! What planet does that writer live on? Surely not this one.

The fact is that nine of the ten hottest years on record all occurred since the year 2000. But, hey!  What are facts in the face of opinion? A fact is something we want to be true, not reality, isn't it? ... ROFL

• While temperatures rise, denialists reach lower (Discover Magazine)
• Global surface temperature: Going down the up escalator (Skeptical Science)
• Ten hottest years on record (Discover Magazine)