Climate Letter #1437

Current developments with respect to deforestation of the Brazilian rainforest (Bloomberg).  Due to persistent heavy rainfall the rate has actually declined in the few months since Bolsonaro’s election, but the full story, as revealed in some detail in this report, is much more sobering.  The conclusion:  “…May data is flashing a yellow sign…..The months of June, July and August, when weather is usually drier and deforestation rates peak, “will be crucial.”

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Soil conservation and the preservation of trees go hand in hand (The Conversation).  The authors of this piece are mainly interested in methods that effectively control the problems of soil erosion due to extreme climate events.  Having well-placed trees in the landscape clearly has an important role.  They offer historical evidence from thousands of years ago.
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Mass mortality events affecting bird populations in the Bering Sea are directly linked to climate change (Inside Climate News).  A new study has been published by a research team that has witnessed six such events since 2014.  Much warmer waters are causing significant decimation of the entire food chain.  “As more warm water flushes north, the pool of intensely cold water that sits on the Bering shelf is shrinking and moving north…..That change in the amount of the cold pool is resetting a lot of the Bering Sea ecosystem on the bottom…..The temperature shifts are causing changes from tiny species like zooplankton, the bugs of the ocean, on up to the forage fish that would provide food for puffins.”
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It is not just climate change—plastic pollution in the world’s oceans is having a similar effect on the base of the marine food web (Phys.org).  In laboratory experiments, researchers have studied the effects of chemicals leached from common plastics into seawater.  “They then measured how living in such water affected the most abundant photosynthesising organism on Earth – Prochlorococcus. As well as being a critical foundation of the oceanic food chain, they produce 10% of the world’s oxygen…..the chemical-contaminated seawater severely reduced the bacteria’s rate of growth and oxygen production. In most cases, bacteria populations actually declined.”  Future tests will be made in the open seas.
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David Roberts makes a case for not accepting natural gas as a suitable energy alternative (VOX).  It may be cleaner than coal (or may not) but that is not the reason.  He lists five other reasons that are based on hard facts and prompts political candidates to better communicate this information to the public.  “…supporting continued buildout of natural gas assets in the US is not “moderate” climate policy, nor a “middle ground”…..It is an admission of failure, an acknowledgment that the US will not do its part to avert 2 degrees of warming.”
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There may be a way for plants to leave more carbon in the soil when they decompose (Dezeen).  The Salk Institute has made progress in developing one such plant, and hopes to be able to expand the technique to others.  “According to Salk, this plant-based approach to climate change has the potential to achieve a 20 to 46 per cent reduction in the excess carbon dioxide emissions produced each year by human activity.”  This long-shot ‘geoengineering’ project is one that I can gladly recommend pursuing.
Carl

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