Green Group discussion
Biodiversity
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Biodiversity Loss
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"that it needs to adequately fund"That pretty much says it all. There can be plenty of laws to address an issue but if it isn't funded it isn't enforced. It's how governments say no when the law says yes.
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Searching for how much in fines EU countries are currently paying for environmental issues only yielded what was being done to try to get things done. The information is probably in there somewhere, but its probably not going to be a lot.This situation happens in every country in the world. Every country has loopholes to minimize the economical damage to the state.
Any country where environmental laws are being somewhat followed, there are plenty of situations receiving little or no attention. Countries that seem clean are simply using the resources of other countries where the environmental concerns are non existent. In the world of words, that is okay and perfectly respectable.
At the end of the day everything is balanced against what potential harm could come to the business community, not to the harm of the victims, whether it be people, animals, plants, or land.
The penalties are severe in many cases but the price usually paid seems to be a lot less than the maximum amount.
In December 2022, the EU proposed using common definitions by member countries.
Each country is allowed to oversee the monitoring and implementation of measures needed to insure compliance with EU rules. All 27 of which have different systems of criminal law and, accordingly, different definitions of EU sanctions-related offences and crimes, as well as different levels of penalties.
If they don't comply it goes to the court system. The cases can take years to be settled. Deals are made to reduce the penalties if the country appears to be doing something.
https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/perspec...
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A Golden Spike Would Mark the Earth’s Next Epoch: But Where? 9 sites have been picked.The future of biodiversity
"40 scientists of the AWG have determined that the Anthropocene is sufficiently distinct from the Holocene, which began 11,700 years ago.
Human-made climate change is one of many reasons given by the working group to support its case for the Anthropocene.
Humanity has also flooded the planet with synthetic chemicals and new radioactive isotopes that will be measurable far into the future, the group argues, and has derailed the natural course of evolution by moving species between continents."
As usual the scientists seem to be missing a crucial clue. The human body is the ideal place to look for signs of the Anthropocene because that is where it all started, in our heads. But that would be too close to home. The pollutants in the world around us are also in our bodies. Even the plastic is inside of us, and that includes everyone. The flora and fauna inside us and on our skin has also changed. There are many chemicals we have unleashed that are in our bones.
https://e360.yale.edu/features/anthro...
In the same publication there is an interview with "Christian Menefee, the first Black person to serve as Harris County Attorney, talks about his efforts to address pollution — and its racially disparate impact — in the Houston area, hub of the U.S. oil and gas industry. Constrained by Texas’ Republican-controlled legislature and frustrated with a state environment agency that is “asleep at the wheel,” he says his office has to be creative to check pollution. Yet Menefee, who represented oil and gas companies at the start of his career, says he appreciates the industry’s key economic role. “I am very careful to never come in and suggest that I’m trying to close the plants,” he says. “I’m about fairness.”
“I’m about fairness.” Translated that means compromise with the people who supply the money to fund the state environment agency.
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Are we becoming vegan ? The number 1 cause of deforestation is animal agriculture (especially in the amazon rainforest) and with te forests go the biodiversity. So Are we becoming vegan ?
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Of course, I respect anyone who does choose a vegan lifestyle, which includes clothing, goods and transport.
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"A National Centre for Species Survival, where conservationists will work to safeguard species in danger, is being launched at Dublin Zoo.
The centre's focus is the conservation of native Irish wildlife, which will complement the zoo's work with conservation partners, such as Bat Rehabilitation Ireland and the Irish Peatland Conservation Council.
Dublin Zoo Director Dr Christoph Schwitzer said it is a strategic partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission to enable conservation and action to take place under one roof."
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https://phys.org/news/2024-02-chemica...
"A team of researchers from The University of New Mexico's Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB) have reported unexpectedly high levels of chemical contamination in wild birds and mammals at Holloman Air Force Base, near Alamogordo, N.M. in new research published in Environmental Research.
The research found that animals were heavily contaminated with several harmful compounds known as "forever chemicals," or per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Even low concentrations of PFAS are known to cause cancer and developmental, reproductive, immune system, and endocrine problems in animals and people.
Although PFAS have been found in various wildlife worldwide, the new findings are unprecedented for exceptionally high concentrations across numerous species. Across 23 species of birds and mammals, PFAS concentrations averaged in the tens of thousands of parts per billion. To put this in perspective, the research team pointed out that thousands of dairy cattle in Clovis, N.M., recently had to be destroyed because their milk was contaminated at less than six parts per billion.
The study focused on the area around Holloman Lake, situated between Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands National Park, in the middle of the vast, dry Tularosa basin. The lake is part of a system of waste-water catchment ponds that the Air Force created.
"Because these large wetlands are the only ones in the region, they are immensely attractive to wildlife," said MSB Director and Professor of Biology Christopher Witt, and the lead author of the study.
"Holloman is one of the three most important wetlands in New Mexico for migratory waterbirds —over 100 species and tens of thousands of individuals use these habitats annually," Witt explained. "The wetlands are also heavily used by people for recreation and hunting.""
More information: Christopher C. Witt et al, Extraordinary levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in vertebrate animals at a New Mexico desert oasis: Multiple pathways for wildlife and human exposure, Environmental Research (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118229
Provided by University of New Mexico
That's the way the plastic started. It was first seen in birds, sizable pieces. People looked at the pictures of the birds never dreaming that a few years later people would have plastic inside of their bodies. Nearly all people in the United States have measurable amounts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in their blood. You can look at the animal pictures but you should remember the same chemicals are inside of our bodies. We are literally looking at ourselves when we look at animals.
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health....
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c...
"The UK's largest cider maker has chopped down a huge orchard, sparking fears for wildlife as it is a natural bird habitat. Heineken, which owns Bulmers cider, has levelled the orchard - the size of 140 football pitches - on the Offa's Dyke path in Monmouthshire. It wants to sell the land and blamed a surplus of apples and a slowdown in demand for cider for the uprooting of thousands of trees at Penrhos Orchard, which were planted in 1997".
A previous instance by the same landowner.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/...
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"Frans and her advisor Jianguo "Jack" Liu, Rachel Carson chair in sustainability and director of MSU's Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, reviewed and synthesized 12,854 published studies covering over 58,000 species around the world, modeled across local to global spatial scales. They found that only 11% of those studies included human activities—which Frans said doesn't reflect reality.
"Nearly half the articles projecting future climates held human predictors constant over time," Frans said. "That's risking false optimism about the effects of human activities compared to climate change."
They also found how scientists have been considering the future: Nearly half of the SDM studies predicting species distributions have used different future climate scenarios but left data related to human activities constant over time. This means that modelers trying to understand where species will be distributed in the next 50 to 100 years have been assuming that human activities, development, infrastructure, and other human pressures will not change in the future."
More information: Gaps and opportunities in modeling human influence on species distributions in the Anthropocene, Nature Ecology & Evolution (2024).
www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02...
Journal information: Nature Ecology & Evolution
Provided by Michigan State University
Leaving out human activity allows people to blame other causes on situations, leaving human activities as legitimate, necessary and above criticism.Case in point, birds and cats.
There is no question that cats kill birds. But the human destruction of habitats and migratory routes is far worse in the long run.
A lot of birds collide with human built structures, which include tall buildings, windows, vehicles, power lines, even wind turbines, but the turbines are way down on the list. Birds also are poisoned by air, water, and land pollution and from eating food sources poisoned by pesticides and herbicides.
Birding sources tend to lay most of the bird deaths, and some lump all the deaths at the feet of cats. Other sources not related to birding estimate the number caused by humans is 50 to 75 percent of the number birds killed.
What none of them do is include the deaths and future deaths caused by destruction of the birds habitats because the loss of the land as habitats is used for human land development. This activity is off limits for laying blame for bird deaths.
They also don't include destruction of migratory routes due to human development of the land and the pollution of the migratory routes and the natural resources that the birds need to fly the routes.
There are other human activities also not included. When people say cats are killing birds and forget to include human activities they are simply parroting bad data, fake news, and conveniently forgetting about our own activities which cause the demise of birds.
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"The Key Largo tree cactus grew on a low limestone outcrop surrounded by mangroves near the shore. The site originally had a distinct layer of soil and organic matter that allowed the cactus and other plants to grow, but storm surge from hurricanes and exceptionally high tides eroded away this material until there wasn't much left.
Salt-tolerant plants that had been previously restricted to brackish soils beneath the mangroves slowly began creeping up the outcrop, an indication that salt levels were increasing.
Given enough time, these changing conditions would likely have killed the cactus. But other incidents occurred that hastened the pace.
"We noticed the first big problem in 2015," said study co-author James Lange, a research botanist at Fairchild. When he and his colleagues arrived to evaluate the plants that year, half of the cacti had died, apparently as a result of an alarming amount of herbivory.
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"In 2017, category 5 Hurricane Irma swept across South Florida, creating a 5-foot storm surge. The highest point on Key Largo is only 15 feet above sea level, and large portions of the island remained flooded for days afterward.
Once the storm had passed, the Fairchild team conducted triage with several cactus populations throughout the Keys, removing branches that had fallen on cacti and salvaging other ill-fated material. Conditions were so extreme that biologists had to put out kiddie pools of freshwater to keep local wildlife alive.
Exacerbating the already degrading Key Largo tree cactus habitat, king tides in 2019 left large portions of the island, including the extremely low-lying outcrop, flooded for over three months.
By 2021, there were only six Key Largo tree cactus stems left. As it was clear the population wasn't going to survive, the team allowed the plants to flower and fruit for the remainder of the year, then salvaged all remaining green material and replanted it in greenhouses or controlled settings outdoors. At present, researchers know of no naturally growing Key Largo cacti in the United States."
More information: First U.S. vascular plant extirpation linked to sea level rise? Pilosocereus millspaughii (Cactaceae) in the Florida Keys, U.S.A., Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (2024).
https://journals.brit.org/jbrit/artic...
Provided by Florida Museum of Natural History
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https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/en...
"One of the newest black stork micro-reserves is located in the forest of Kastuļina parish in the Krāslava municipality. This spring, a nest with four chicks was found in a 70-year-old stand of aspen near an abandoned farmstead.
Gaidis Grandāns, an environmental expert at Latvian State Forests, said: "Currently, the breeding population of black storks in Latvia is estimated at around 100 pairs, but it should be taken into account that of these 100 pairs, far from all are successful, so those nests with young birds should be protected as a priority."
The black stork is a specially protected species in Latvia, most common in South Latgale and South Kurzeme, but populations elsewhere have been declining in recent years.
"Globally, the species is not endangered and the population of black storks in Western Europe is even increasing, but in the Baltic States and Poland we are now seeing a long-term decline," Grandāns said.
Ornithologist Māris Strazds is blunt: it is almost impossible to maintain the population of black storks in Latvia. When asked how the black stork is doing in Latvia, he said: "Terrible, and there is no chance that something will seriously change for the better."
Latvia currently has about 330 micro-reserves for the black stork, covering more than 6,000 hectares.
"There are more micro-reserves than actual nests, but you also have to understand that any place where there has not been long-term forestry activity, there will inevitably be other natural values," Grandāns explained."
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https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/en...
"At the end of August, storks leave Latvia on their way to Africa or other warm countries. If one is still found here in September, it is suspicious and most likely something is wrong with the bird. However, feeding it or trying to help it hibernate in any other way is definitely not necessary, ornithologist Arnis Zacmanis and representative of the Riga Zoo Māris Lielkalns pointed out in the Latvian Radio program "Ķepa uz sirds".
"Storks are such lazy fliers, they wait until the thermal currents form at the end of August. We see them as beautiful cumulus clouds. Then they use these currents to take off and circle in the sky – not actively flapping their wings, but gliding to the next place where they find such a rising current again," explained Zacmanis.
There is a certain time when the conditions for the long flight to the warm lands are most suitable, and those storks that fly all the way to southern Africa fly out at quite precise times – just like according to a calendar.
"Birds that winter closer, in Western Europe, they are watching. There are species [of birds] that may not move until the snow starts to fall on their heads. However, if the stork is still here after the first of September, then it is already suspicious. It is likely that he has a problem," said Zacmanis.
The lingering stork will, of course, try to survive the winter as best it can, and nowadays this is no longer impossible, as there are many different feeding places available even in winter, such as garbage dumps."
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Here, the invasive rhododendron is being cleared, but that's been going on for generations now. New machinery and pesticide techniques are starting to make a difference for the workers, who are often volunteers.
https://www.rte.ie/news/munster/2025/...
"Mr Meskell is confident the methods developed in Killarney can be applied in other areas with rhododendron infestations.
"The research we've done, the trials we've done on the most effective way of treating rhododendron, to kill it, and now the new machinery in the heavily infested areas of the first initial clearance will all be used in other areas of the country where there is rhododendron. And it's going to be the template.""
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https://earth.org/governments-recogni...
"Governments last week passed a motion that recognizes ecocide as a serious crime, strengthening international momentum to criminalize large-scale environmental destruction.
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Last week, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a union with over 1,400 member organizations including states, government agencies, civil society and Indigenous Peoples’ groups, hosted the World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, setting the vision for nature conservation for the next 20 years.
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"Among them, Motion 061: Recognising the crime of ecocide to protect nature was adopted, marking a huge milestone in the legal journey to protect nature. The motion passed with a clear majority of votes cast by states and government agencies, and an overwhelming majority among NGOs and Indigenous Peoples organisations.
Ecocide is the act of deliberately harming the environment. The adopted motion called on states to recognize ecocide as a serious crime in national and international law. It also recommended that states parties to the Rome Statute evaluate an amendment to make ecocide an explicit crime in peacetime and during armed conflict under the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Statute sets out the ICC’s jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and – as of an amendment in 2010 – the crime of aggression. It also tasks the IUCN’s World Commission on Environmental Law to produce practical guidance on the scope and application of prosecuting ecocide, including how prosecutions can support ecosystem restoration and safeguard geodiversity.
The motion also commended states that have taken a leadership role on ecocide law and invited others to consider adopting domestic legislation."
https://iucncongress2025.org/newsroom...
https://www.stopecocide.earth/
Green Group
Books mentioned in this topic
Taming Fruit : How Orchards Have Transformed the Land, Offered Sanctuary, and Inspired Creativity (other topics)The Orchid Outlaw: On a Mission to Save Britain's Rarest Flowers (other topics)
https://www.rte.ie/news/environment/2...
"The final report of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss has highlighted the failure of the State to adequately fund, implement and enforce existing laws and directives to protect biodiversity and nature.
It has also recommend a referendum to insert biodiversity and nature protection in the Constitution and confer environmental rights for both people and nature.
The assembly's 99 members and chair were asked last year to assess how the State could improve its response to biodiversity loss.
After listening to presentations from 80 leading experts, and debating and deliberating the matter for months, they point the finger of blame at the Government.
The report says the State needs to properly enforce all existing biodiversity-related legislation and directives; that it needs to adequately fund, resource and hold to account the agencies and State bodies responsible for biodiversity protection; and make those responsibilities crystal clear."