What We Know about Climate Change

Is Earth Past the Tipping Point?

For 10,000 years, our world seemed endless. The sky was the limit. But today’s world looks much smaller. We’ve cleared, consumed and polluted our way across the globe. The planet is shrinking. Have we pushed Earth past the tipping point? That’s a critical issue we explore in our second Big Question video, which draws on research from “Planetary Boundaries: A Safe Operating Space for Humanity,” published this past fall in the journal Nature.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=boundaries-for-a-healthy-planet

Earth Hour 2010

Is Chinese Economic Demand Killing Africa's Gorillas?

By Nick Wadhams / Nairobi

Perhaps the worst misfortune to befall the world's gorillas is that they live in some of the most resource-rich and lawless parts of the planet. Their forest homes in Africa are rich in timber, gold, diamonds and coltan, the mineral used in electronics like cell phones, and the scramble to get at those minerals has been joined by ragtag militias, national armies, multinationals and governments alike.
That means it is an unusually bad time to be a gorilla. A new U.N. report warns that most of the remaining gorillas in Africa could go extinct within 10 to 15 years in the Greater Congo Basin, the swath of forest and savanna that stretches from Africa's Atlantic coast across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Rwanda and Uganda in the east. (See pictures of species near extinction.)
The races for timber, gold and coltan are largely to blame for habitat loss, said the report. Militias sell their goods to middlemen and corporations that ignore the destruction caused by the resource trade, and they must be held accountable for the loss of biodiversity in the region. "Companies involved, also multinationals, have shown little or no concern regarding the origins of the resources obtained," says the report, co-authored by the U.N. Environment Program and Interpol. Militia groups that control mining in parts of Congo keep afloat with "an influx of arms in exchange for minerals and timber through neighboring countries, including the continued involvement of corrupt officials and subsidiaries of many multinational companies."
Along with habitat loss, the apes face threats from human population growth and a surge in the bush-meat trade — locals and organized traders killing wildlife to eat and sell — along with the spread of the Ebola virus, estimated to have killed about a third of the world's gorillas in the past 15 years.

Climate change is taking a toll on U.S. bird populations

North American bird species are "facing a new threat—climate change—that could dramatically alter their habitat and food supply, and push many species towards extinction," said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on Thursday when he announced the new report, "The State of the Birds: 2010 Report on Climate Change."

According to the report, climate changes will have "an increasingly disruptive effect on bird species in all habitats." Oceanic migratory species and birds living in Hawaii will face the greatest threats, according to the report.Among the report's key findings:

• All 67 species of oceanic birds commonly found in the U.S. (including albatrosses, petrels, tropical terns, tropic birds, frigate birds and puffins) are vulnerable to disruptions in their habitats due to climate change. The birds all have low reproductive rates and rely on locations which are likely to face heavy changes, along with the climate. Overfishing and invasive species also threaten these oceanic birds.
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• Coastal birds (such as the saltmarsh sparrow) will be threatened by rising sea levels and increased storm activity, which will damage or destroy the fragile ecosystems on which they rely.
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• Island birds will also be threatened by rising sea levels and shrinking habitats. Hawaii's puaiohi and 'akiapola'au, along with the Puerto Rican parrot are among the species that will feel the pinch in these circumstances.
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• Arctic and alpine species like the white-tailed ptarmigan and gray crowned rosy-finch will lose critical breeding and feeding habitat as increased temperatures alter the patterns of surface water and vegetation.
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• Birds in wetlands will suffer from increased droughts, those in grasslands will experience drier habitats, and forest dwellers will find their habitats shifting northward and to higher elevations, which could separate them from their current food resources.