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DocWatch migration changes Twitterit? News stories about "migration changes," with punchlines: http://apocadocs.com/d.pl?migration+changes Related Scary Tags: climate impacts  ~ global warming  ~ anthropogenic change  ~ ecosystem interrelationships  ~ poverty  ~ weather extremes  ~ rising sea level  ~ drought  ~ food crisis  ~ koyaanisqatsi  ~ sixth extinction   Tue, Jul 7, 2015 from Denver Post: Thousands of birds abandon eggs and nests on Florida island The din created by thousands of nesting birds is usually the first thing you notice about Seahorse Key, a 150-acre mangrove-covered dune off Florida's Gulf Coast. But in May, the key fell eerily quiet all at once. Thousands of little blue herons, roseate spoonbills, snowy egrets, pelicans and other chattering birds were gone. Nests sat empty in trees; eggs broken and scattered on the muddy ground. "It's a dead zone now," said Vic Doig, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist. "This is where the largest bird colony on the Gulf Coast of Florida used to be."... First, they tested left-behind bird carcasses for disease or contaminants. Those tests came back negative. Next, they researched possible new predators. Did raccoons swim over from another island? Perhaps some great horned owls flew out at night and started feasting? Traps caught a few raccoons, which is common, but not enough to have created a wholesale abandonment. There were no telltale signs of owls.... ... It must be the canaries, abandoning ship. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jan 14, 2015 from Reuters: Experts warn governments to plan for climate change migrants Governments need to plan better for rising migration driven by climate change, experts said on Thursday, citing evidence that extreme weather and natural disasters force far more people from their homes than wars. Projections by leading climate scientists of rising sea levels, heatwaves, floods and droughts linked to global warming are likely to oblige millions of people to move out of harm's way, with some never able to return. ... Guess who's coming to dinner. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Dec 31, 2014 from Associated Press: More Monarchs return to Mexico, but now face cold More Monarch butterflies appear to have made the long flight from the U.S. and Canada to their winter nesting ground in western Mexico, raising hopes after their number dropped to a record low last year. But experts still fear that unusual cold temperatures will threaten the orange and black insects. While an official census won't be ready until mid-January, observers are seeing healthy populations of butterflies bunched together on fir and pine trees in protected sanctuaries... Mexico's National Meteorological Service predicts 55 cold fronts for the country through May, a 15 percent increase from the average, and with the possibility for repeated cold systems to extend into March and April. ... We're going to have to knit them little hats, coats and mittens. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Oct 2, 2014 from AP, via Globe and Mail: Sea-ice shortage sends tens of thousands of walruses swarming Alaska beach Pacific walruses that can't find sea ice for resting in Arctic waters are coming ashore in record numbers on a beach in northwest Alaska. An estimated 35,000 walruses were photographed Saturday about eight kilometres north of Point Lay, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.... Pacific walruses spend winters in the Bering Sea. Females give birth on sea ice and use ice as a diving platform to reach snails, clams and worms on the shallow continental shelf.... In recent years, sea ice has receded north beyond shallow continental shelf waters and into Arctic Ocean water, where depths exceed three kilometres and walrus cannot dive to the bottom. ... I think it's just a big ol' Walrus party! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Sep 17, 2014 from CBC: Miramichi River salmon numbers hit record low in 2014 The world-famous Miramichi River is experiencing a salmon decline that "is among the worst in recorded history." New numbers released by the Miramichi Salmon Association and the Atlantic Salmon Federation put the number of salmon returning to the river this year at about 12,000, despite near perfect angling conditions. That number is about half of the 23,000 that returned to the river to spawn from 2011 through 2013. "These are frightening numbers," said David Wilson, chairman of the Miramichi Salmon Association.... In the first decade of this century, about 53,000 salmon returned to the river annually. The average number of salmon returns in the 1990s was about 82,000. ... Can't we genetically modify them to evolve better? ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Oct 16, 2013 from Accuweather: How is Climate Change Jeopardizing the Sounds of Nature? Climate change has brought once lively and loud habitats to utter silence as their inhabitants of birds, frogs and insects have either vanished or drastically changed their migration patterns. A relatively new study known as biophony, or the signature of collective sounds that occur in any given habitat at any given time, has provided scientific evidence to show that the sounds of nature have been altered by both global warming and human endeavors. ... Poo-tee-weet? ApocaDoc permalink Wed, May 22, 2013 from London Guardian: Climate disasters displace millions of people worldwide More than 32 million people fled their homes last year because of disasters such as floods, storms and earthquakes -- 98 percent of displacement related to climate change. Asia and west and central Africa bore the brunt. Some 1.3 million people were displaced in rich countries, with the US particularly affected. Floods in India and Nigeria accounted for 41 percent of displacement, according to the International Displacement Monitoring Centre and Norwegian Refugee Council... ... Welcome to the new normalypse. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Aug 19, 2012 from Harvard, via EurekAlert: Massachusetts butterflies move north as climate warms ... "Over the past 19 years, a warming climate has been reshaping Massachusetts butterfly communities." Subtropical and warm-climate species such as the giant swallowtail and zabulon skipper--many of which were rare or absent in Massachusetts as recently as the late 1980s--show the sharpest increases in abundance. At the same time, more than three quarters of northerly species--species with a range centered north of Boston--are now declining in Massachusetts, many of them rapidly. Most impacted are the species that overwinter as eggs or small larvae: these overwintering stages may be much more sensitive to drought or lack of snow cover. The study creates new questions for managing threatened species. "For most butterfly species, climate change seems to be a stronger change-agent than habitat loss. Protecting habitat remains a key management strategy, and that may help some butterfly species. However, for many others, habitat protection will not mitigate the impacts of warming," says Breed. ... Those butterflies are flapping their wings farther north, so they'll blow cold air to where it's needed! ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Mar 16, 2012 from HuffingtonPost: Monarch Butterflies Mexico Migration Dropped This Year The number of Monarch butterflies wintering in Mexico dropped 28 percent this year, according to a report released Thursday, a decline some experts attribute to droughts in parts of the United States and Canada where the butterflies breed and begin their long migration south. Others say damage to wintering grounds in central Mexico's mountains remains a factor in the decline, citing deforestation of the fir and pine forests they favor. The numbers of butterflies spending the winter in Mexico have varied wildly in recent years. Concern rose two years ago, when their numbers dropped by 75 percent in the wintering grounds, the lowest level since comparable record-keeping began in 1993. They partially recovered last year, when the number of butterflies nearly doubled from that record low point. ... Democracy butterflies are doing fine. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Mar 8, 2012 from London Daily Telegraph: Entire nation of Kiribati to be relocated over rising sea level threat In what could be the world's first climate-induced migration of modern times, Anote Tong, the Kiribati president, said he was in talks with Fiji's military government to buy up to 5,000 acres of freehold land on which his countrymen could be housed. Some of Kiribati's 32 pancake-flat coral atolls, which straddle the equator over 1,350,000 square miles of ocean, are already disappearing beneath the waves. Most of its 113,000 people are crammed on to Tarawa, the administrative centre, a chain of islets which curve in a horseshoe shape around a lagoon. "This is the last resort, there's no way out of this one," Mr Tong said. ... I propose these Kiribatians be replaced in their homeland by climate skeptics. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Jan 6, 2012 from Christian Science Monitor: Climate change models flawed, extinction rate likely higher than predicted As climate change progresses, the planet may lose more plant and animal species than predicted, a new modeling study suggests. This is because current predictions overlook two important factors: the differences in how quickly species relocate and competition among species, according to the researchers, led by Mark Urban, an ecologist at the University of Connecticut. Already evidence suggests that species have begun to migrate out of ranges made inhospitable by climate change and into newly hospitable territory. "We have really sophisticated meteorological models for predicting climate change," Urban said in a statement. "But in real life, animals move around, they compete, they parasitize each other and they eat each other. The majority of our predictions don't include these important interactions." ... "Real life"? Didn't we already innovate ourselves out of that mess? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Nov 11, 2011 from Mongabay: Monarch butterflies decline at wintering grounds in Mexico, Texas drought adds to stress to migration A study published online last spring in Insect Conservation and Diversity shows a decrease in Mexico's overwintering monarch butterflies between 1994 and 2011. The butterflies face loss of wintering habitat in Mexico and breeding habitat in the United States. Extreme weather, like winter storms in Mexico and the ongoing drought in Texas, adds yet another challenge.... This fall, monarchs are navigating a drought-stricken landscape as the migration funnels through Texas. According to Brower, it will be "stress, stress, stress" as the butterflies search for nectar sources in the parched region.... Toone warns that monarch aficionados should not rest easy: "I know from my 23 years of experience going to Mexico, you don't have to be a scientist to be able to tell that the number of butterflies has just been in a horrific decline in those overwintering areas." ... So there'll be fewer hurricanes, right? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Oct 21, 2011 from BusinessGreen: Climate change could trap hundreds of millions in disaster areas, report claims Hundreds of millions of people may be trapped in inhospitable environments as they attempt to flee from the effects of global warming, worsening the likely death toll from severe changes to the climate, a UK government committee has found. Refugees forced to leave their homes because of floods, droughts, storms, heatwaves and other effects of climate change are likely to be one of the biggest visible effects of the warming that scientists warn will result from the untrammelled use of fossil fuels, according to the UK government's Foresight group, part of the Office for Science. But many of those people are likely to move from areas affected by global warming into areas even worse afflicted - for instance, by moving into coastal cities in the developing world that are at risk of flood from storms and rising sea levels. ... Seems to me the disaster area would affect seven billion. ApocaDoc permalink Want more context? Try reading our book FREE online: Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies! More fun than a barrel of jellyfish! Fri, Oct 21, 2011 from Wall Street Journal: Floodwaters Reach Bangkok, Region Floodwaters started seeping into Bangkok Friday, as Thailand's deepening flood crisis cast fresh light on the way rapid urbanization has increased risks for some of the developing world's biggest cities, making them more vulnerable to natural disasters.... The worries in Bangkok are the culmination of months of rising concern across Southeast Asia, after a series of typhoons and unusually-strong seasonal rains pushed reservoirs beyond their limits and sent waters cascading across the region's low-lying flood plains. In Thailand, more than 200 major highways and roads are now impassable, while several key industrial estates have been inundated. Damages are expected to tally at least $6 billion and shave up to two percentage points off gross domestic product, according to economists' estimates. Humanitarian groups said parts of the affected provinces--covering about a third of Thailand --are inaccessible, with some towns under water more than six feet high.... In Cambodia, 18 out of 24 provinces remain inundated, with more than 200,000 people displaced, many of them seeking refuge along national highways. In Vietnam, search-and-rescue teams are still struggling to reach some of the hardest-hit areas. A total of 776 people across the region have died. ... Apres homo, le deluge. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Sep 25, 2011 from Treehugger, via DesdemonaDespair: Bill Clinton: World must prepare for climate refugees "I think that you have to assume that because of climate change, there are going be a lot more refugees," Clinton said. "And that the laws which exist, and the systems of support that exist, not just the US but elsewhere, were basically built for a different time when you might have a surge of refugees from this country or a surge from that country, because of a particular political upheaval or a particular natural disaster. And that's almost certainly going to not work now." [...] "I think that in general we should become more open to immigration again," Clinton said. "Keeping people in limbo is a waste of human potential." ... Why can't these refugees work on making limbo a better place to waste away? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Aug 19, 2011 from Washington Post: Plants and animals fleeing climate changes Across the globe, plants and animals are creeping, crawling, slithering and winging to higher altitudes and latitudes as temperatures climb. Moreover, the greater the warming in any given region, the farther its plants and animals have migrated, according to the largest analysis to date of the rapidly shifting ranges of species in Europe, North America, Chile and Malaysia.... "This more or less puts to bed the issue of whether these shifts are related to climate change. There isn't any obvious alternative explanation for why species should be moving poleward in studies around the world."... On average, species migrated uphill 36 feet per decade and moved away from the equator -- to cooler, higher latitudes -- at 10 miles per decade. The rates are two to three times those estimated by the last major migration analysis, published in 2003.... As species shift ranges, they're coming into contact with other species in new patterns, Chen said, a phenomenon called reshuffling. But ecologists are just beginning to study how species reshuffling may affect ecosystems. ... Wait a minute -- there's a card game? And we're "all in" already? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Aug 12, 2011 from Guardian: Somali refugee camps in Kenya swell past 400,000 - in pictures Images of desperation in Somalia. If this were happening to nearly half a million white people, would we respond differently? I suspect so. And if so, what does that say about our moral compass? That it was hitting "true north"? Go see the pictures, to remember what the relativistic context really is. ... "Summertime... and the livin' is eeeasyyy." ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Jul 17, 2011 from ABC News: Somalia Drought 'One of the Largest Humanitarian Crises in Decades' The crisis has been brought on by a deadly combination of severe drought, with no rain in the region for two years, a huge spike in food prices and a brutal civil war in Somalia, where it is too dangerous for aid workers to operate. Somalians are walking as far as 50 miles to reach the Dadaab complex in eastern Kenya, the largest refugee camp in the world. The trek can take weeks through punishing terrain, which is desolate except for the carcasses that litter the land.... Even after enduring these difficult circumstances, leaving behind everything they own and arriving with only the clothes on their backs, many refugees say they are happier in the camps because at least they can find some food and rations to get by.... Almost 400,000 Somalis now call the Dadaab complex home, and more than 1,300 arrive every day. ... Only fifty miles? I can drive that in an hour! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jul 7, 2011 from Telegraph.co.uk: UN refugee agency warns of crisis 'of unimaginable proportions' in Somalia drought Scores of Somali children are dying on the journey or within a day of arrival at refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, as they flee the region's worst drought in decades, according to the UN's refugee agency. High levels of malnutrition, combined with ongoing violence in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation, are threatening "a human tragedy of unimaginable proportions", the UNHCR warned. Following several seasons of failed rains and spiralling global food prices, drought has hit more than 12 million people across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. Thousands of Somali refugees are making perilous journeys of hundreds of miles to seek assistance: 54,000 people crossed into Ethiopia and Kenya in June alone. Levels of serious malnutrition amongst newly arrived children in Ethiopia are exceeding 50 per cent, while in Kenya levels are reaching 30 to 40 per cent. ... If it can't be imagined, does it exist? ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Jul 3, 2011 from BBC: Tanzania 'will mine uranium on Selous Game Reserve' -- World Heritage Site Tanzania will go ahead with plans to mine uranium in the UN World Heritage site Selous Game Reserve, the natural resources minister has told the BBC. Ezekiel Maige said he told the recent UN World Heritage Centre meeting it would mean the park's size would need to be reduced by less than 1 percent. The UN body said it would approve the plans, as long as environmental assessments were carried out. Money made from the mining would help in the park's upkeep, Mr Maige said. According to the UN cultural organisation Unesco, the 5m hectare-Selous Game Reserve in the south of Tanzania has large numbers of elephants, black rhinos, cheetahs, giraffes, hippos and crocodiles - and is relatively undisturbed by humans.... Firms could expect to earn $200m each year from mining uranium from the site, of which $5m would be paid to the government, he said. Some of this would be able to help with the costly business of managing the park, and it would provide employment for about 1,600 Tanzanians.... He said it currently costs the government about $490,000 a year to manage it and the income from mining would help pay for guards to stop poaching.... ... Two and a half percent seems a fair royalty, at least when amortized over the next seven generations. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jun 30, 2011 from National Geographic: Hold the Champagne: Highway to Split Serengeti After All? But after a closer look at the official Tanzanian statement behind the reports, it's questions, not toasts, that are being raised, and conservationists are divided as to whether it means the highway is truly canceled.... Officially, the road was supposed to boost Tanzania's economy by linking isolated, impoverished Serengeti villages outside the park with the Tanzanian city of Arusha, to the east, and the shores of Lake Victoria and other central African nations, to the west. Some conservationists, though, have speculated that the real motive for the road is to accommodate mining interests or to lay the groundwork for a railway.... Duke's Pimm agreed. "Many in the conservation community are not popping the champagne cork just yet," he said. "This is not enough." Gravel or paved, an expanded road that bisects the park will be devastating to Serengeti wildlife, he added. "A road by any other name is still going to be a disaster," Pimm said. "I think this is sophistry. ... They're still going to build a road." ... We just want to migrate the minerals to where they belong -- what's wrong with that? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, May 26, 2011 from Bloomberg: Global Food Production to see 'Massive Disruption' as Climate Shifts, UN Forecaster Says Global food output may be hurt as climate change brings more extreme weather over the next decade, with China likely set for harsher droughts and North America getting heavier rain, said the World Meteorological Organization. "Extreme events will become more intense in the future, especially the heat waves and extreme precipitations," Omar Baddour, a division chief at the United Nations' agency, said in a phone interview from Geneva. "That, combined with less rainfall in some regions like the Mediterranean region and China, will affect crop production and agriculture." The more extreme weather -- including in the U.S., the world's largest agricultural exporter -- may disrupt harvests, possibly cutting production of grains, livestock and cooking oils and boosting prices. Global food costs reached a record in February, stoking inflation and pushing millions into poverty. "We foresee with high confidence in climate projections that intense precipitation in some parts of the world will be more intense, and drought will be more intense," said Baddour, who's tracked the subject for more than two decades. Extreme heat waves "will also be more intense and more frequent."... Baddour's comments add to projections that more extreme weather may affect farm production. Sunny Verghese, chief executive officer at Olam International Ltd. (OLAM), among the world's three biggest suppliers of rice, forecast in February that food- supply chains face "massive disruptions" from climate change. ... Well, only if you believe in the "future." ApocaDoc permalink Tue, May 17, 2011 from London Guardian: Vast Mongolian shantytown now home to quarter of country's population It is a supreme irony in a country once known as the land without fences. Stretching north from the capital, Ulan Bator, an endless succession of dilapidated boundary markers criss-cross away into the distance. They demarcate a vast shantytown that sprawls for miles and is now estimated to be home to a quarter of the entire population of Mongolia. More than 700,000 people have crowded into the area in the past two decades. Many are ex-herders and their families whose livelihoods have been destroyed by bitter winters that can last more than half the year; many more are victims of desertification caused by global warming and overgrazing; the United Nations Development Programme estimates that up to 90 percent of the country is now fragile dryland. ... My shantytown is shabby chic. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Apr 3, 2011 from Yale360: Birds Delay Spring Migration As Tropical Rainfall Declines, Study Says Declining rainfall in tropical regions can cause migratory birds to delay their departure from wintering grounds back to their northern breeding areas, according to a new study. In a five-year study of American redstarts, a species of warbler, scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute found that individual birds delayed their spring migration from Jamaica to North America when low rainfall produced a scarcity of insects, the birds' primary food supply; the redstarts apparently delayed migration because of insufficient nutritional reserves. Over the last 16 years, increasingly severe and unpredictable dry seasons in Jamaica have resulted in an 11-percent decrease in rainfall. "Our results support the idea that environmental conditions on tropical non-breeding areas can influence the departure time for spring migration," said Colin Studds.... While it is unclear whether the delayed migration will have an adverse impact on the birds, the study said a delayed departure could ultimately affect the arrival time to breeding territory, and thus yield less time to reproduce. ... I can think of a few other reasons to hang out in Jamaica. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Apr 2, 2011 from DesdemonaDespair: Climate change causing millions of migrating salmon to die from heart failure Climate change is causing migrating salmon to die from heart failure in their millions as they stretch every sinew to reach their spawning grounds. Overheating is such a problem for the sockeye salmon that as they head for their traditional spawning grounds in the Fraser River network in Canada their hearts stop.... "Their hearts just can't cope with the temperatures," said Erika Eliason, of the University of British Columbia in Canada.... It is the combination of exertion and warmer conditions that is proving fatal to the fish, scientists found. Since the 1950s the water temperature has risen by almost 2C and the sockeyes have been in steep decline for the last 20 years, which include several of the hottest years on record. ... But hey, the ol' swimming hole's just great! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Feb 16, 2011 from Huffington Post: UN's Figueres Warns Of 'Climate Chaos,' Urges Militaries To Invest In Prevention Global warming is a looming threat to stability and national security around the world, and militaries should spend some of their ever-expanding budgets on reducing carbon emissions to avoid "climate chaos," the U.N.'s top climate official said Tuesday. Christiana Figueres, head of the U.N. climate secretariat, warned of the destabilizing effects created by growing water stress, declining crop yields and damage from extreme storms in some of the world's poorest countries, which could set off mass international migration and regional conflicts. Figueres said the world's military budgets grew by 50 percent in the first nine years of this century. Rather than continue that growth in weaponry, she said, the generals should invest in preventative budgets to "avoid the climate chaos that would demand a defense response that makes even today's spending burden look light." ... It's as if she thinks a collapsing economy in a hypermilitarized security state is a bad thing. ApocaDoc permalink You're still reading! Good for you! You really should read our short, funny, frightening book FREE online (or buy a print copy): Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies! We've been quipping this stuff for more than 30 months! Every day! Which might explain why we don't get invited to parties anymore. Sun, Feb 6, 2011 from PhysOrg: Asia faces climate-induced migration 'crisis' Asia must prepare for millions of people to flee their homes to safer havens within countries and across borders as weather patterns become more extreme, the Asian Development Bank warns. A draft of an ADB report obtained by AFP over the weekend and confirmed by bank officials cautioned that failure to make preparations now for vast movements of people could lead to "humanitarian crises" in the coming decades. Governments are currently focused on mitigating climate change blamed for the weather changes, but the report said they should start laying down policies and mechanisms to deal with the projected population shifts. Research carried out for the United Nations showed that 2010 was one of the worst years on record worldwide for natural disasters. Asians accounted for 89 percent of the 207 million people affected by disasters globally last year, according to the Belgium-based Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). ... Every crisis is an opportunity! Right? Right? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jan 3, 2011 from IRIN: Prepare now for future migration surge, says International Organization for Migration Decisions taken by local authorities on land use, building regulations and access to health services probably affect migrants more than decisions taken nationally, "yet in most countries, migration policy is set at the national level with little attention to capacity-building at the local level, where policy is usually implemented," says the new World Migration Report 2010.... The current number of 214 million migrants globally, according to IOM, could rise to 405 million by 2050. It says new trends in migration could be affected by varying rates of population growth (slowing in the developed world and prompting an even greater demand for labour); environmental change; and shifts in the global economy. ... I could do with a handful of indentured servants. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Dec 19, 2010 from Toronto Globe and Mail: On the move in a warming world: The rise of climate refugees ... Across the Sahel, a band of semi-arid land south of the Sahara stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, an estimated 10 million people suffered food shortages this year, including 850,000 children who are acutely malnourished and could die without urgent care. In the Sahel region of Chad, more than 20 per cent of children are acutely malnourished, on top of a chronic malnutrition rate of about 50 per cent. In some regions, mothers are desperately digging into anthills in search of tiny grains and seeds for their children. And this is just one of many places around the world where the changing climate has left the people dependent on foreign aid. When the 190-nation climate conference in Cancun, Mexico, staggered to an end last weekend, there was no binding agreement on curbing carbon emissions and no sign of a treaty to replace the soon-expiring Kyoto Protocol. The negotiators will try again next December. But regardless of those negotiations, the facts on the ground will not change: The climate is growing more precarious, and millions of people are on the move. The question now is whether to encourage them to migrate - or to salvage their ravaged land with long-term investment, instead of simply handing out emergency aid. ... Is there no other option, such as colonizing Mars? C'mon, people, where's the can-do vision? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Sep 2, 2010 from Der Spiegel: German Military Study Warns of a Potentially Drastic Oil Crisis A study by a German military think tank has analyzed how "peak oil" might change the global economy. The internal draft document -- leaked on the Internet -- shows for the first time how carefully the German government has considered a potential energy crisis. The term "peak oil" is used by energy experts to refer to a point in time when global oil reserves pass their zenith and production gradually begins to decline. This would result in a permanent supply crisis -- and fear of it can trigger turbulence in commodity markets and on stock exchanges. The issue is so politically explosive that it's remarkable when an institution like the Bundeswehr, the German military, uses the term "peak oil" at all. But a military study currently circulating on the German blogosphere goes even further.... It warns of shifts in the global balance of power, of the formation of new relationships based on interdependency, of a decline in importance of the western industrial nations, of the "total collapse of the markets" and of serious political and economic crises.... According to the German report, there is "some probability that peak oil will occur around the year 2010 and that the impact on security is expected to be felt 15 to 30 years later." The Bundeswehr prediction is consistent with those of well-known scientists who assume global oil production has either already passed its peak or will do so this year. ... But I thought the world was infinite. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Jul 9, 2010 from Mongabay, via DesdemonaDespair: Road through the Serengeti will eventually 'kill the migration' Tourists, conservationists, individuals, and tour companies have launched an international outcry against the Tanzanian authorities in response to the announcement of the planned construction of the trans-Serengeti Highway highway. There is even a Facebook group and an online petition with 5,038 signatures. But the government has responded by saying that the plans are still on course. In a recent interview, the Tanzanian Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Shamsa Mwangunga, made it clear that the decision is simply to fulfill a campaign promise made by President Jakaya Kikwete in 2005, that the fourth phase administration would complete construction of the $480 million Arusha-Musoma road. Conservationists argue that this northern part of the Serengeti is untouched and should remain so. A massive road through the area will physically block the migration, introduce invasive species, and lead to greater poaching - ultimately killing the migration altogether. ... But think of the tolls you could charge those wildebeest! ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Apr 24, 2010 from Max-Planck-Gesellschaft via ScienceDaily: Long-Distance Journeys out of Fashion? Global Warming May Be Causing Evolutionary Changes in Bird Migration The results of genetic studies on migratory birds substantiate the theory that in the case of a continued global warming, and within only a few generations, migratory birds will -- subject to strong selection and microevolution -- at first begin to fly shorter distances and at a later stage, stop migrating, and will thus become so-called "residents." ... Then they better start paying property taxes. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Mar 20, 2010 from New Scientist: Global warming changes natural event: first causal link For the first time, a causal link has been established between climate change and the timing of a natural event - the emergence of the common brown butterfly. Although there have been strong correlations between global warming and changes in the timing of events such as animal migration and flowering, it has been hard to show a cause-and-effect link.... The researchers compared temperature changes in Melbourne - where the butterfly is common - with recorded observations of the first brown butterfly to be seen in the spring since the 1940s. With each decade, the butterflies emerged 1.6 days earlier and Melbourne heated by 0.14 °C. Overall, the butterfly now emerges on average 10.4 days before it did in the 1940s, says Kearney. "And we know the rise in air temperature links to butterfly emergence in a cause-and-effect pattern." ... I'm not prepared for a butterfly in a coal mine. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Feb 6, 2010 from New Scientist: Chikungunya foiled by copycat 'virus' A VACCINE that masquerades as chikungunya virus might finally defeat the mosquito-borne disease. In 2006 a single mutation in the virus allowed it to burst out of Africa via a new species of mosquito. Chikungunya now infects about 1 million people a year around the Indian Ocean and causes intense joint pain which can persist for years. It could invade temperate regions as the mosquitoes' range expands. Gary Nabel of the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues put genes that code for the virus's protein coat into cultured human cells. The proteins assembled themselves into virus-like particles (VLPs), which mimic the virus but aren't infectious. "We got structures that beautifully replicated the natural virus," Nabel says. ... Scientists rock. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Feb 2, 2010 from WWF: New Pentagon report declares climate change and energy as key issues "shaping the future security environment" The Pentagon released (1 February 2010), its Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) for 2010, stating that crafting a strategic approach to climate and energy are a priority. The QDR states, "Climate change and energy are two key issues that will play a significant role in shaping the future security environment. Although they produce distinct types of challenges, climate change, energy security, and economic stability are inextricably linked." The close relationship between conflict and environmental security has been acknowledged by scholars for decades but has attracted little attention from the security community. This QDR along with recent reports, Congressional testimony by admirals and generals alike, and the Central Intelligence Agency's launching of The Center on Climate Change and National Security signals recognition and a changing approach. ... Let's just declare a "war on climaticide" and get cracking. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jan 4, 2010 from New York Times: Environmental Refugees Unable to Return Home Natural calamities have plagued humanity for generations. But with the prospect of worsening climate conditions over the next few decades, experts on migration say tens of millions more people in the developing world could be on the move because of disasters. Rather than seeking a new life elsewhere in a mass international "climate migration," as some analysts had once predicted, many of these migrants are now expected to move to nearby megacities in their own countries. "Environmental refugees have lost everything," said Rabab Fatima, the South Asia representative of the International Organization for Migration. "They don't have the money to make a big move. They move to the next village, the next town and eventually to a city." ... Surely, they will find shelter there. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Dec 3, 2009 from New Scientist: Antarctica was climate refuge during Permian extinction The cool climate of Antarctica was a refuge for animals fleeing climate change during the biggest mass extinction in Earth's history, suggests a new fossil study. The discovery may have implications for how modern animals will adapt to global warming. Around 250 million years ago, at the end of the Permian period, about 90 per cent of land species were wiped out as global temperatures soared. A cat-sized distant relative of mammals, Kombuisia antarctica, seems to have survived the extinction by fleeing south to Antarctica.... It is still not certain what caused the end-Permian global warming and subsequent mass extinctions, but a leading theory is that massive volcanic eruptions in Siberia poured carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, driving temperatures up dramatically worldwide and forcing many species into extinction. ... Antarctica: the last refuge. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Nov 26, 2009 from Horsetalk: Zebra, asiatic ass migrations left in tatters Southern Africa's plains zebras and the asiatic wild ass have been identified among animals whose migratory habits have been left in tatters. A quarter of the world's migrating species are suspected to no longer migrate at all because of human changes to the landscape, and all of the world's large-scale terrestrial migrations have been severely reduced. A recent research paper has presented the first analysis of dwindling mass migrations, and noted the plight of the plains zebra (Equus quagga) and the asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus), which live in central Asia.... All 24 species in the current study lost migration routes and were reduced in number of individuals. The analysis found drastic curbing for six species in particular -- the plains zebra, asiatic wild ass, the springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis), black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou), the blesbok (Damaliscus dorcas) and the scimitar horned oryx (Oryx dammah) of northern Africa. These species either no longer migrate or are impossible to evaluate as migratory animals. ... This is how the zebra lost its spots. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Nov 8, 2009 from BBC (UK): Studies 'overstate species risks' They said models that analyse vast areas often failed to take into account local variations, such as topography and microclimates. Local-scale simulations, which did include these factors, often delivered a more optimistic outlook, they added. The findings have been published in the journal, Science.... However, they added that the overall picture for biodiversity loss was still bleak, especially once the rate of habitat loss and fragmentation was taken into account. "Predicting the fate of biodiversity in response to climate change combined with habitat fragmentation is a serious undertaking fraught with caveats and complexities," they observed. ... Soon to come: "biodiversity loss deniers." ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Nov 3, 2009 from London Guardian: Global warming could create 150 million 'climate refugees' by 2050 Global warming will force up to 150 million "climate refugees" to move to other countries in the next 40 years, a new report from the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) warns. In 2008 alone, more than 20 million people were displaced by climate-related natural disasters, including 800,000 people by cyclone Nargis in Asia, and almost 80,000 by heavy floods and rains in Brazil, the NGO said. President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, who presented testimony to the EJF, said people in his country did not want to "trade a paradise for a climate refugee camp". He warned rich countries taking part in UN climate talks this week in Barcelona "not to be stupid" in negotiating a climate treaty in Copenhagen this December.... Last month, the president held a cabinet meeting underwater to draw attention to the plight of his country. ... We're gonna need a lot more portajohns. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Nov 3, 2009 from National Geographic News: Nat'l Geo: Six Degrees Would Change the World "Like something out of a disaster movie, a six degree global average temperature rise in the next one hundred years could render the world something completely different." Their interactive map lets the reader explore one, two, three, up to six degrees, with map hotspots. At six degrees, among others, "emergency alert system disbanded," because -- it's all one giant emergency. ... Yet another "disaster movie" simile? This is becoming a trope! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Sep 21, 2009 from Agence France-Presse: That sinking feeling: world's deltas subsiding, says study Two-thirds of the world's major deltas, home to nearly half a billion people, are caught in the scissors of sinking land and rising seas, according to a study published Sunday. The new findings, based on satellite images, show that 85 percent of the 33 largest delta regions experienced severe flooding over the past decade, affecting 260,000 square kilometres (100,000 square miles). Delta land vulnerable to serious flooding could expand by 50 percent this century if ocean levels increase as expected under moderate climate change scenarios, the study projects. Worst hit will be Asia, but heavily populated and farmed deltas on every continent except Australia and Antarctica are in peril, it says. On a five-tier scale, three of the eleven deltas in the highest-risk category are in China: the Yellow River delta in the north, the Yangtze River delta near Shanghai, and the Pearl River Delta next to Guangzhou. ... The delta, it melt-a away-a. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Sep 17, 2009 from BBC: Warming Arctic 'halts migration' of sea goose Milder winters in the Arctic region have led to fewer Pacific brants, a species of sea goose, migrating southwards, say researchers. A study by the US Geological Survey (USGS) found that as many as 30 percent of the birds were overwintering in Alaska rather than migrating to Mexico. Until recently, more than 90 percent of the species were estimated to head south. Writing in the journal Arctic, the team said the shift coincides with warming in the North Pacific and Bering Sea. "This suggests that environmental conditions have changed for one of the northernmost wintering populations of geese," said lead author David Ward, a USGS researcher at the Alaska Science Center. ... More food for those grolar bears! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Sep 14, 2009 from Guardian (UK): The last nomads: drought drives Kenya's herders to the brink The men, says 55-year-old Hawa, are a day behind the women with what remains of their livestock -- some camels and 18 goats out of the 40 they once owned. The rest perished through lack of water -- or were slaughtered for meat so her family could survive a few more days on their journey.... "We have no water," she explains, "and no food. We have left the pastures because we have lost so many goats. We had to come here to seek assistance. For the past two months we have talked and talked about making this decision. We waited because we thought there might be some rain."... "The way the climate is changing -- if it continues -- it will be very difficult to sustain the nomadic way of living. It is a very hard task. We fear that soon people will begin dying not just from the lack of food but from a lack of water." He believes that despite the terrible conditions visible already, the nomads are currently only at the beginning of what has become a disaster. ... Vegetarianism might be an option -- if there were only vegetables. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Aug 21, 2009 from Guardian (UK): Nile Delta: 'We are going underwater. The sea will conquer our lands' Two years ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared Egypt's Nile Delta to be among the top three areas on the planet most vulnerable to a rise in sea levels, and even the most optimistic predictions of global temperature increase will still displace millions of Egyptians from one of the most densely populated regions on earth. The Delta spills out from the northern stretches of the capital into 10,000 square miles of farmland fed by the Nile's branches. It is home to two-thirds of the country's rapidly growing population, and responsible for more than 60 percent of its food supply: Egypt relies unconditionally on it for survival. But with its 270km of coastline lying at a dangerously low elevation (large parts are between zero and 1m above sea level, with some areas lying below it), any melting of the polar ice caps could see its farmland and cities -- including the historical port of Alexandria -- transformed into an ocean floor. A 1m rise in the sea level, which many experts think likely within the next 100 years, will cause 20 percent of the Delta to go underwater. ... Denial is a river delta in Egypt, baby! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Aug 17, 2009 from IRIN News (UN): Somalia: Drought fuelling rural exodus in Somaliland "We know that hundreds of thousands have [been] displaced to urban centres," said Abdihakim Garaad Mohamoud, Deputy Minister at the Somaliland Ministry of Resettlement, Reintegration and Rehabilitation. "Every city in Somaliland has a huge number of displaced people because of the recent drought," he added. "It has affected 60 percent of the rural population, whether they are pastoralists or agro-pastoralists. From east to west, south to north, every place in Somaliland has been affected." "Sixty percent of animals have been lost. One [man] who had 200 sheep has lost 110-120, and one who had 20 camels lost half." ... I'll think about that while I drive to the grocery store to pick up some AquaFina! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Aug 12, 2009 from AFP, via Mongabay: After a hundred years, salmon swim by the Eiffel tower again Atlantic salmon have returned to the Seine river reports the AFP. Absent for nearly a century, the salmon have returned entirely of their own volition: no reintroduction efforts were undertaken. "There are more and more fish swimming up the Seine," said Bernard Breton, a top official at France's National Federation for Fishing, told AFP. "This year the numbers have exceeded anything we could have imagined: I would not be surprised if we had passed the 1,000 mark." Atlantic salmon used to be plentiful in the Seine, but disappeared in the early 20th Century due to dams and chemical pollution. The reason for the salmon's return is that Seine is cleaner. In the late 1990s France began a large-scale effort to clean-up the Seine, including a new water purification plant. ... "Saumons dans le Seine" bruits tellement tres poetiques. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jun 10, 2009 from Toronto Globe and Mail: World faces daunting refugee crisis because of climate change The world should brace itself for millions of climate refugees in coming decades, a mass migration that will be larger than any in human history, says a new report. Although it's too early to estimate exactly how many people might be on the move, the report, compiled by researchers at Columbia University, developmental aid agency Care International and the United Nations University, cites other studies that suggest the number could be as high as 700 million by 2050. “In coming decades, climate change will motivate or force millions of people to leave their homes… Although the precise number of migrants and displaced people may elude science for some time, the mass of people on the move will likely be staggering and surpass any historical antecedent,” says the report, which is being released Wednesday. ... This is the Century of the Eco-Hobo. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, May 7, 2009 from Mongabay: Chimpanzee population plummets 90 percent in supposedly strong region A new survey of our closest relatives in the Cote D'Ivoire found that the population fell from an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 individuals to a paltry 800 to 1,200, a decline that took place in less than twenty years. Perhaps most troubling about this new survey is Cote d'Ivoire was supposed to be a stronghold for chimpanzees in West Africa. The report warns it is likely that similar declines have occurred in other West African nations. Researchers point to an increase of humans in Cote d'Ivoire as the primary reason. Since 1990 the nation has seen its human population grow by 50 percent. This has lead to increases in poaching and deforestation, activities which target both chimps and their habitat. "The habitat is gone, and all the protected areas have been invaded by people. It's not just the chimps -- [there's] no animals at all," lead author Genevieve Campbell told National Geographic. ... We're running the risk of genus-cide. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Apr 21, 2009 from Press Association: Climate victims will double - Oxfam The number of people hit by climate-related disasters around the world will increase by more than half in the next six years, aid agency Oxfam has warned. The charity predicted the number affected by events such as flooding, storms and drought would rise from 242 million people to hit 375 million a year by 2015. And with the humanitarian aid system already a "postcode lottery on a global scale", it is already barely able to cope with current levels of disasters and could be overwhelmed by increases in the next few years, Oxfam warned. The aid agency said the expected rise of 133 million at risk stemmed from a combination of existing poverty and people migrating to densely populated slum areas which would be prone to increasingly frequent climate-related crises.... A new campaign by Oxfam, Here and Now, aims to tackle climate change and ensure the world's poorest and most vulnerable people get a fair deal as the world tackles global warming. ... Or: The more you contributed to global warming the LESS aid you get! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Apr 21, 2009 from Yale Environment 360: As Climate Warms, Species May Need to Migrate or Perish ...A number of studies indicate that global warming will rob many species of their current habitat, pushing them towards extinction. Some conservation biologists argue that the only way to save some species may be to move them to new ranges that they can’t get to themselves. This strategy — which goes by various names including assisted migration, assisted colonization, and, most recently, managed relocation — only emerged in the scientific literature in 2007. Over the past two years it has attracted widespread interest. A number of scientists are now investigating how they can pick new homes for endangered species and move them safely. ... Got ark? ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Mar 29, 2009 from Times Online (UK): British eco-migrants flee to New Zealand New Zealand is seeing its first influx of British eco-migrants, environmental refugees who have quit the UK because they fear the long-term impacts of climate change. The country's islands, renowned for their temperate climate, clean environment and low population, have often been put forward by greens as potential "lifeboats" for a world suffering serious warming.... Scientists agree that New Zealand is likely to be more resilient to any global warming than many other countries -- but that could lead to problems with immigration. Dr Vicky Pope, head of climate change advice at Britain’s Met Office, said: "A lot of countries in temperate zones could come under pressure to take eco-migrants." ... I wonder what would happen if we thought of the earth as a lifeboat? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Mar 13, 2009 from London Guardian: Severe global warming will render half of world's inhabited areas unliveable, expert warns Severe global warming could make half the world's inhabited areas literally too hot to live in, a US scientist warned today. Parts of China, India and the eastern US could all become too warm in summer for people to lose heat by sweating - rendering such areas effectively uninhabitable. Steven Sherwood, a climate expert at Yale University, told a global warming conference in Copenhagen that people will not be able to adapt to a much warmer climate as well as previously thought. The physiological limits of the human body will begin to render places impossible to support human life if the average global temperature rises by 7C on pre-industrial levels, he said. "There will be some places on Earth where it would simply be impossible to lose heat," Sherwood said. ... Clearly this guy hasn't seen me sweat! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Mar 9, 2009 from Register-Herald (WV): Global warming forcing shift in migratory pattern Scientists for the National Audubon Society say "new and powerful" evidence compiled over the last 40 years suggests that nearly 60 percent of the 305 species of birds that winter in North America are shifting their ranges northward due to the impact global warming has on their ecosystems. According to a news release by Audubon officials, their scientists analyzed citizen-gathered data from the past 40 years and concluded the birds have shifted their ranges to the north by an average of 35 miles since 1968. "Movement was detected among species of every type, including more than 70 percent of highly adaptable forest and feeder birds," the release said. ... Go North, young bird. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Feb 23, 2009 from Washington Post: Climate Fears Are Driving 'Ecomigration' Across Globe Adam Fier recently sold his home, got rid of his car and pulled his twin 6-year-old girls out of elementary school in Montgomery County. He and his wife packed the family's belongings and moved to New Zealand -- a place they had never visited or seen before, and where they have no family or professional connections. Among the top reasons: global warming. Halfway around the world, the president of Kiribati, a Pacific nation of low-lying islands, said last week that his country is exploring ways to move all its 100,000 citizens to a new homeland because of fears that a steadily rising ocean will make the islands uninhabitable. ... Another buzzword: Ecomigration! Here's one we Docs like: RUN LIKE HELL! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Feb 22, 2009 from Associated Press: Mass migrations and war: Dire climate scenario If we don't deal with climate change decisively, "what we're talking about then is extended world war," the eminent economist said. His audience Saturday, small and elite, had been stranded here by bad weather and were talking climate. They couldn't do much about the one, but the other was squarely in their hands. And so, Lord Nicholas Stern was telling them, was the potential for mass migrations setting off mass conflict.... Stern said: "People would move on a massive scale. Hundreds of millions, probably billions of people would have to move if you talk about 4-, 5-, 6-degree increases" - 7 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. And that would mean extended global conflict, "because there's no way the world can handle that kind of population move in the time period in which it would take place." ... Refugeewillickers, can you imagine the lines we'll have to wait in? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Feb 13, 2009 from London Times: Penguins in peril as food search turns into marathon Penguins from the largest colony on mainland South America are being forced to swim the equivalent of two marathons farther to find food because of the effects of climate change. The survival of the Magellanic penguin colony at Punta Tombo, on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, is being threatened by the increasing distances the birds must travel to feed themselves and their chicks, research has shown. Dee Boersma, of the University of Washington in Seattle, said that Punta Tombo penguins were now routinely swimming 25 miles farther on their foraging expeditions than they did a decade ago... The longer foraging trips have contributed to the colony's decline: penguin numbers have fallen by more than 20 per cent in the past 22 years, leaving only 200,000 breeding pairs today. ... Desperate feet ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Feb 13, 2009 from Seattle Post-Intelligencer: State not ready for 'climate refugees' "Climate refugees." It's a term we should get used to, researchers warned on Thursday, predicting a flood of new residents driven north by heat waves, fires and other calamitous effects of global warming. With one speaker raising the specter of a new migration on the scale of the Great Depression, state and county officials admitted they have barely started getting ready. The warnings came at a conference of planners, scientists and government officials drilling into the results of a study released this week examining what Washington faces -- for our food supply, our forests, our drinking-water supplies and public health, among other fronts -- as the globe warms in coming decades. "We're going to have an influx of climate refugees," said Richard Hoskins, an epidemiologist with the Washington Health Department. "This is going to have a tremendous impact on our public health (system). Local public health has a very full plate as it is." ... Smart states... will start marketing themselves now as environmental refugee destinations. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Dec 15, 2008 from Innovations Report (Germany): Climate change: a dark future for migratory fish In Europe, most migratory fish species completing their cycle between the sea and the river are currently in danger.... This study has shown that for most species the situation will deteriorate. For example, the smelt and the Arctic char will lose approximately 90 percent of the watersheds that are favourable for reduced or null gains. Only two species, the thinlipped mullet and the twaite shad, will be able to expand their territory towards the north, beyond their initial distribution area. Finally, in accordance with the predictions, the southern watersheds risk losing most of their species. ... Maybe if you'd just stop moving around so much you'd have a chance to build a family. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Dec 8, 2008 from AP News: Native Hunters -- Climate is thinning caribou herds Chief Bill Erasmus of the Dene nation in northern Canada brought a stark warning about the climate crisis: The once abundant herds of caribou are dwindling, rivers are running lower and the ice is too thin to hunt on. Erasmus raised his concerns in recent days on the sidelines of a U.N. climate conference, seeking to ensure that North America's indigenous peoples are not left out in the cold when it comes to any global warming negotiations. Erasmus, the 54-year-old elected leader of 30,000 native Americans in Canada, and representatives of other indigenous peoples met with the U.N.'s top climate official, Yvo de Boer, and have lobbied national delegations to recognize them as an "expert group" that can participate in the talks like other nongovernment organizations. "We bring our traditional knowledge to the table that other people don't have," he said. ... What, listen to those who have experience and ground-level knowledge? What planet is he from? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Dec 8, 2008 from New Scientist: Canadian tar plan threatens millions of birds A new report saying that millions of migratory birds are at risk adds to a mass of criticism of the damage caused by exploiting the oil sands. The thick tarry deposit in northern Alberta is the world's second-largest oil reserve after Saudi Arabia, but separating the useable oil from the gunk takes three times as much energy as pumping conventional oil. This alone makes it some of the "dirtiest" oil on the planet. This week, a report by the US Natural Resources Defense Council says that continued development of the area could kill 100 million migratory birds over the next 50 years, mainly by destroying their habitat. ... Those birds ought to be able to vote. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Nov 20, 2008 from Reuters: Malaria and dengue the sting in climate change Southeast Asia and South Pacific island nations face a growing threat from malaria and dengue fever as climate change spreads mosquitoes that carry the diseases and climate-change refugees start to migrate. A new report titled "The Sting of Climate Change," said recent data suggested that since the 1970s climate change had contributed to 150,000 more deaths every year from disease, with over half of the deaths in Asia.... According to the World Health Organization, rising temperatures and higher rainfall caused by climate change will see the number of mosquitoes increasing in cooler areas where there is little resistance or knowledge of the diseases they carry. ... That's a lot more than an itch you can't scratch! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Oct 28, 2008 from Telegraph.co.uk: Climate change keeps swans in Siberia Hundreds of swans due to spend winter in the UK are staying put in Siberia because climate change has made the region warm enough to remain, bird experts have said. Bewick's swans are usually expected in wetlands around England in late October but flocks have been arriving later every year. This year it is feared the endangered birds, which are the smallest species of swan to be found in the UK, will fail to turn up at all since it is now warm enough to stay in Siberia. At Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre, where 300 swans should be arriving any minute now, bird lovers are still waiting. ... Beware the spurned lover: they may start chanting "drill, baby, drill." ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Oct 19, 2008 from Los Angeles Times: Migrating Alaskan pollock are creating the potential for a new dispute with Russia America's biggest catch lands here and at nearby ports every year: more than 2 billion pounds of Alaskan pollock to feed a global appetite for fish sticks, fast-food sandwiches and imitation crabmeat.... Yet the careful management that helped make Alaskan pollock a billion-dollar industry could unravel as the planet warms. Pollock and other fish in the Bering Sea are moving to higher latitudes as winter ice retreats and water temperatures rise. Alaskan pollock are becoming Russian pollock, swimming across an international boundary in search of food and setting off what could become a geopolitical dispute. ... Traitors. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Oct 9, 2008 from Reuters: Climate change could force millions from homes Environmental damage such as desertification or flooding caused by climate change could force millions of peoples from their homes in the next few decades, experts said on Wednesday. "All indicators show we are dealing with a major emerging global problem," said Janos Bogardi, director of the U.N. University`s Institute on the Environment and Human Security in Bonn, Germany. "Experts estimate that by 2050 some 200 million people will be displaced by environmental problems, a number of people roughly equal to two-thirds of the United States today," the University said in a statement. ... I'm fixing up my garage right now so it's refugee-friendly! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Oct 6, 2008 from Portland Oregonian: Look out, Oregon, for a global warming land rush What if the American Southwest dries up, browns out, and those people now misting their patios in Arizona head to the still-green Pacific Northwest? What if Californians hit the road north in numbers far surpassing the 20,000 who now move to Oregon each year? What if the polar ice melts, oceans rise and millions living along coastal areas -- or ravaged by Katrina-like storms -- have to move?...By 2060, a Metro economist said, the seven-county Portland area could grow to 3.85 million people -- nearly double the number here now. ... To quote Vonnegut: I suppose they will all want dignity. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Oct 3, 2008 from Washington Post (US): On the Sunny Beaches of Brazil, A Perplexing Inrush of Penguins ...Like some maritime dust-bowl migration, more than 1,000 ... penguins have floated ashore in Brazil, nearly as far north as the equator. By the time their webbed feet touch sand, many are gaunt and exhausted, often having lost three-quarters of their body weight. Even more have died....By Sept. 21, the Niteroi Zoo had received 556 penguins, compared with just seven penguins in all of 2007. Hundreds more dead and feeble penguins, some covered in oil, hit land in the resort town of Florianopolis, and as far north as Salvador and Recife. ... Penguins migrating en masse to the beaches of Brazil? Surely one of the Seven Signs of the Apocalypse! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Sep 25, 2008 from AFP: Greenland economy shudders as shrimp stocks shrink Dwindling shrimp stocks off Greenland's coast have local fishermen and authorities fretting that one of the island's main sources of income, known here as "pink gold", could soon vanish.... "We really don't know why the shrimps are becoming rarer," Siegstad said, venturing however to speculate that "it could be due to a combination of global warming and the fact that predators like ... cod are moving back into Greenland waters.... There is not enough cod to [explain] the possible losses from shrimp, and there will not be for five to 10 years," she said. "And if we aren't careful, if we do not give it time to build up its stocks, we will make the cod disappear," she said, blasting a government decision to set an annual catch quota of 15,000 tonnes of cod instead of banning all fishing of the species. ... Dumbheads -- you want the cod to return and prosper, to a sustainable level. You won't be able to make up the economic loss through seaside Sandals franchises for at least a decade. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Aug 21, 2008 from Penn State via ScienceDaily: Future Impact Of Global Warming Is Worse When Grazing Animals Are Considered, Scientists Suggest "The impact of global warming in the Arctic may differ from the predictions of computer models of the region, according to a pair of Penn State biologists. The team -- which includes Eric Post, a Penn State associate professor of biology, and Christian Pederson, a Penn State graduate student -- has shown that grazing animals will play a key role in reducing the anticipated expansion of shrub growth in the region, thus limiting their predicted and beneficial carbon-absorbing effect." ... If the animals order take out, they won't have to eat so many shrubs! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Jul 29, 2008 from PLOS, via ScienceDaily: Is It Too Late To Save The Great Migrations? Martin Wikelski describe the threats facing "one of nature's most visible and widespread phenomena," a behavior found in animals as diverse as whales and warblers, dragonflies and salamanders. Many of the most spectacular migrations have disappeared or experienced steep declines due to human behavior, the authors lament. ... We do have a way of affecting "widespread phenomena," don't we? ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Jul 27, 2008 from Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Change in the land of frozen ground, fish and hardy trees "Alaska is changing, and not just in the booming suburbs or shrinking villages, but in the trees on the hillsides, the fish in the oceans, and the climate itself -- the very things that make Alaska what it is. The spruce and birch of the boreal forest are struggling with warm summers, and shrubs are moving into the tundra. Grizzly bear, moose, and king salmon are showing up in places they haven't been seen before, and subtropical fish are taking fishermen's bait in the Gulf of Alaska." ... Seward's Icebox has come unplugged. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Jul 18, 2008 from Associated Press: Should we move species to save them? "With climate change increasingly threatening the survival of plants and animals, scientists say it may become necessary to move some species to save them. Dubbed assisted colonization or assisted migration, the idea is to decide how severe the threat is to various species, and if they need help to deal with it." ... This story is brought to you by Arks R Us. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jun 23, 2008 from Queen: Life on the edge: To disperse, or become extinct? "Predicting the speed at which plants are likely to migrate during climate warming could be key to ensuring their survival," says Queen's Biology professor Christopher Eckert. Populations of plants growing at the outer edges of their natural "geographic range" exist in a precarious balance between extinction of existing populations and founding of new populations, via seed dispersal into vacant but suitable habitat. "Policy makers concerned with preserving plant species should focus not only on conserving land where species are now, but also where they may be found in the future," says Dr. Eckert. ... Policymakers tend to make it a practice to not think about the future. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jun 18, 2008 from Contra Costa Times: Last of salmon trucked to San Pablo Bay "The routes to the ocean followed by California salmon for millennia have turned into such a dangerous gauntlet that today millions of fish no longer come down the Feather, the American or the Mokelumne rivers. They migrate instead in trucks down U.S. Highways 70 and 50, Interstate 80 and State Route 12." ... 10-4 good buddy! ApocaDoc permalink Sat, May 17, 2008 from The Earth Institute at Columbia University via ScienceDaily: Warming Climate Is Changing Life On Global Scale, Says New Study "A vast array of physical and biological systems across the earth are being affected by warming temperatures caused by humans, says a new analysis of information not previously assembled all in one spot. The effects on living things include earlier leafing of trees and plants over many regions; movements of species to higher latitudes and altitudes in the northern hemisphere; changes in bird migrations in Europe, North America and Australia; and shifting of the oceans' plankton and fish from cold- to warm-adapted communities." ... Putting the whole "duh" factor aside, this study is the Mother of All Proof that humans are causing global warming. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Apr 29, 2008 from The Independent: Climate change could force 1 billion from their homes by 2050 "As many as one billion people could lose their homes by 2050 because of the devastating impact of global warming ... the steady rise in temperatures across the planet could trigger mass migration on unprecedented levels. Hundreds of millions could be forced to go on the move because of water shortages and crop failures in most of Africa, as well as in central and southern Asia and South America, the conference in London will be told. There could also be an effect on levels of starvation and on food prices as agriculture struggles to cope with growing demand in increasingly arid conditions. Rising sea levels could also cause havoc, with coastal communities in southern Asia, the Far East, the south Pacific islands and the Caribbean seeing their homes submerged. North and west Africans could head towards Europe, while the southern border of the United States could come under renewed pressure from Central America." ... Golly refugee willikers -- what are we going to do with all these people? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Apr 4, 2008 from Science Daily (US): Habitat Destruction May Wipe Out Monarch Butterfly Migration Intense deforestation in Mexico could ruin one of North America’s most celebrated natural wonders — the mysterious 3,000-mile migration of the monarch butterfly. According to a University of Kansas researcher, the astonishing migration may collapse rapidly without urgent action to end devastation of the butterfly’s vital sources of food and shelter.... In spite of its protected status, the isolated reserve is suffering from illegal logging driven by soaring prices for lumber in Mexico. This logging, once sporadic, has increased in recent years and now is threatening the very survival of the butterflies. ... Flutter by, my butterfly.... while you can. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Mar 10, 2008 from The Atlantic: Waterworld "Excerpt: The Earth has always been unstable. Flooding and erosion, cyclones and tsunamis are the norm rather than the exception. But never have the planet’s most environmentally frail areas been so crowded. The slowdown in the growth rate of the world’s population has not changed the fact that the number of people living in the countries most vulnerable to natural disasters continues to increase. The Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 was merely a curtain-raiser. Over the coming decades, Mother Nature is likely to kill or make homeless a staggering number of people. American journalists sometimes joke that, in terms of news, thousands of people displaced by floods in Bangladesh equals a handful of people killed or displaced closer to home. But that formula is now as unimaginative and out-of-date as it is cruel." ... While we normally try and titillate you to read these news stories with our snarky remarks, all we can do with this fine piece of narrative journalism is simply to beseech you: Click on the link and read... ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Feb 9, 2008 from National Geographic: Warming Creating Extinction Risks for Hibernators "When researchers at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab in Crested Butte, Colorado, started documenting marmot hibernation patterns in the 1970s, the animals rarely awoke before the third week of May...These abbreviated hibernations are part of a growing body of evidence suggesting that hibernating animals are waking up earlier -- or not going to sleep at all -- due to rising temperatures from global warming. From chipmunks and squirrels in the Rocky Mountains to brown bears in Spain, these altered slumber patterns are putting animals at risk both of starvation and increased predation, researchers say -- which could bring many species to the brink of extinction." ... For poor Yogi it may be over when it's over sooner rather than later. ApocaDoc permalink Copyright 2009 The Apocadocs.com