Tag: Environmental impact

Antarctica Warming Faster Than Expected, Threatening Global Sea Level Rise

A new scientific study reveals that Antarctica is warming at nearly twice the rate of the rest of the world, surpassing the predictions of climate change models. Researchers analyzed 78 Antarctic ice cores to reconstruct temperature data spanning 1,000 years. They found that the warming observed across the continent cannot be attributed to natural climate variability alone. The phenomenon, known as polar amplification, was previously observed in the Arctic, and this study provides “direct evidence” that it is also occurring in Antarctica.

What is polar amplification?

Polar amplification is a phenomenon where polar regions experience faster warming than the rest of the planet. The study provides evidence that this phenomenon is occurring in both the Arctic and Antarctica.

Why is West Antarctica considered particularly vulnerable to warming?

In West Antarctica, considered especially vulnerable to warming, the study identified a warming rate twice as high as climate models had projected. Its ice sheet, if collapsed, could contribute significantly to global sea level rise, potentially raising sea levels by several meters.

How does the study’s findings about Antarctica’s warming rate affect future sea level rise projections and the understanding of the continent’s climate?

The findings suggest that current climate models may underestimate the loss of ice in Antarctica, which could have implications for future sea level rise, ocean warming, and marine ecosystems.

What potential consequences are associated with a warming Antarctic?

A warming Antarctic could lead to further losses of sea ice, impacting ocean warming, global ocean circulation, and marine ecosystems. It could also result in the melting of coastal ice shelves that protect glaciers, potentially accelerating glacial retreat and contributing to sea level rise.

Source: https://www.gktoday.in/antarctica-warming-faster-than-expected-threatening-global-sea-level-rise/

UK bees in danger as Asian hornet sightings rise

Record sightings of Asian hornets are raising fears of catastrophic consequences for the UK’s bee populations for years to come.

The invasive hornets are wreaking havoc in mainland Europe and threaten to get a foothold in the UK, with nests found in East Sussex, Kent, Devon and Dorset.

The insects feed on native bees and wasps, damaging biodiversity.

The warning comes as leading scientists release a global report into the threats caused by invasive species.

They say the alien invaders play a role in 60% of animal and plant extinctions.

And the economic costs have risen to more than £300bn ($380bn) a year across the world.

Forest fire in Chile: invasive scrubs make fires more intense

Alien species are living things transported around the world by humans into places they wouldn’t naturally be, from Japanese knotweed to the fungus that kills ash trees.

They are one of the five major drivers of biodiversity loss – and the problem is expected to get worse.

The report found:

  • Invasive species are a major threat to nature, food security and human health
  • Invasive alien species contribute to 60% of global extinctions
  • Economic costs are quadrupling every decade, reaching $423 billion (£336 billion) in 2019
  • There are solutions, such as border and import controls.

The Asian hornet is an example of an alien species at risk of gaining a permanent foothold in the UK.

In Folkestone, Kent, one of the hotspots for Asian hornets, bee keeper Simon Spratley is counting the costs to his bees.

He says the bee-munching predators are causing devastation, with 10 of 17 hives lost in quick succession.

“These insects are going to settle here and they’re going to predate on all insects especially the honey bee – that’s their natural food source,” he warns.

“They’ll end up destroying or over complicating bee keeping for everybody and reducing the [bio] diversity in the Kent area and the whole wider England.”

When we visited his apiary we saw several Asian hornets that had been captured that day.

And 20 miles north, near Ashford, we met a team of experts from the National Bee Unit, a branch of the Animal and Plant Health Agency tasked with dealing with the problem.

They were trying to locate and destroy a hornet’s nest after a positive identification nearby.

This is the time of the year when you are most likely to spot an Asian hornet, perhaps in your garden feeding on fruit, says bee inspector, Peter Davies.

“Please take a picture, go on the Asian hornet app, have a look – compare it and please report it,” he says.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66697968

Scores of sea lions die from bird flu in Argentina

Hundreds of sea lions were reported dead in Peru earlier in 2023, as the virus ravaged bird populations across South America. PHOTO: REUTERS

Scores of sea lions have died from bird flu in Argentina, officials said on Tuesday, as an unprecedented global outbreak continues to infect mammals, raising fears it could spread more easily among humans.

Animal health authorities have recently reported dead sea lions in several locations along Argentina’s extensive Atlantic coast, from just south of the capital Buenos Aires to Santa Cruz near the southern tip of the continent.

Another “50 dead specimens have been counted… with symptoms compatible with avian influenza”, read a statement from a Patagonian environmental authority.

“The number of dead is rising. There is no veterinary treatment for these cases,” a local official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The authorities have asked Argentinians to avoid beaches along the country’s roughly 5,000km coastline where cases have been reported.

Sea lions are marine mammals, like seals and walruses. Adult males can weigh about 300kg.

The H5N1 bird flu has typically been confined to seasonal outbreaks, but since 2021 cases have emerged year-round and across the globe and led to what experts say is the largest outbreak ever seen.

Hundreds of sea lions were reported dead in Peru earlier in 2023, as the virus ravaged bird populations across South America.

There is no treatment for bird flu, which spreads naturally between wild birds and can also infect domestic poultry.

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/world/scores-of-sea-lions-die-from-bird-flu-in-argentina

‘Don’t chop me down.’ 100-year-old gingko trees may get axe for Tokyo redevelopment project

Miho Nakashima stood in a bathing suit in Tokyo on Sunday next to a 100-year-old gingko tree, her body painted head-to-toe in green leaves and brown branches.

Her message was clear, and she repeated it standing at the heart of the Jingu Gaien park area, its sanctity threatened by a disputed real-estate development plan.

“I’m a tree,” she said. “Don’t chop me down.”

A plan approved earlier this year by Gov. Yuriko Koike would let developers, led by Mitsui Fudosan, build a pair of 200-meter (650-feet) skyscrapers in Jingu Gaien, mow down trees in one of Tokyo’s few green areas and raze and rebuild a historic rugby venue and an adjoining baseball stadium.

Takayuki Nakamura, among a few hundred people who gathered on Sunday to protest, pressed his face into the bark of one tree and prayed. The area was set aside 100 years ago to honor Japan’s Meiji Emperor.

“I want to appreciate the existence of these trees. Sometime I can feel some sounds inside,” he said.

The planned redevelopment would take more than a decade to finish, and has attracted lawsuits with mounting opposition from conservationists, civic groups, local residents and sports fans.

Eighteen ginkgo trees behind the rugby stadium are likely to be cut down.

The flashpoint has been trees, green space, and who controls a public area that has been encroached on over the years. Also at issue is the fate of more than 100 gingko trees that line an avenue in the area and provide a colorful cascade of falling leaves each autumn. Botanists say any construction is sure to cause damage.

Critics say the plan has been rammed through despite a botched environmental assessment as real-estate developers take what was intended as public land and turn it into a private commercial venture.

Famous Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami has opposed the plan. And composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto sent an open letter to Koike deriding the plan just days before his death on March 28.

The rugby stadium was used during the 1964 Olympics, and Babe Ruth played in 1934 in the baseball stadium along with other American stars facing Japan’s best players.

The project highlights the ties among the main actors: the governor, Mitsui Fudosan, and Meiji Jingu, a religious organization that owns much of the land to be redeveloped.

 

Source: https://apnews.com/article/jingu-gaien-ginkgo-trees-tokyo-park-rugby-153082cd070f80d32405a322b949ae2b

Fukushima wastewater released into the ocean, China bans all Japanese seafood

Japan started releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, a polarising move that prompted China to announce an immediate blanket ban on all aquatic products from Japan.

China is “highly concerned about the risk of radioactive contamination brought by… Japan’s food and agricultural products,” the customs bureau said in a statement.

The Japanese government signed off on the plan two years ago and it was given a green light by the U.N. nuclear watchdog last month. The discharge is a key step in decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi plant after it was destroyed by a tsunami in 2011.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) (9501.T) said the release began at 1:03 p.m. local time (0403 GMT) and it had not identified any abnormalities.

However, China reiterated its firm opposition to the plan and said the Japanese government had not proved that the water discharged would be safe.

“The Japanese side should not cause secondary harm to the local people and even the people of the world out of its own selfish interests,” its foreign ministry said in a statement.

Tokyo has in turn criticised China for spreading “scientifically unfounded claims.”

It maintains the water release is safe, noting that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also concluded that the impact it would have on people and the environment was “negligible.”

Japan has requested that China immediately lift its import ban on aquatic products and seeks a discussion on the impact of the water release based on science, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.

Japan exported about $600 million worth of aquatic products to China in 2022, making it the biggest market for Japanese exports, with Hong Kong second. Sales to China and Hong Kong accounted for 42% of all Japanese aquatic exports in 2022, according to government data.

China customs did not give details on the specific aquatic products impacted by the ban and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DECADES LONG PROCESS
The Fukushima Daiichi plant was destroyed in March 2011 after a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake generated powerful tsunami waves causing meltdowns in three reactors.

The first discharge totalling 7,800 cubic metres – the equivalent of about three Olympic swimming pools of water – will take place over about 17 days.

According to Tepco test results released on Thursday, that water contained about up to 63 becquerels of tritium per litre, below the World Health Organization drinking water limit of 10,000 becquerels per litre. A becquerel is a unit of radioactivity.

A demonstrator holds an image of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a protest in Hong Kong after Japan’s announcement that it would start releasing treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, August 24, 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

The IAEA also released a statement saying its independent on-site analysis had confirmed the tritium concentration was far below the limit.

“There are not going to be any health effects… There is no scientific reason to ban imports of Japanese food whatsoever,” said Geraldine Thomas, former professor of molecular pathology at London’s Imperial College.

But Japanese fishing groups, hit with years of reputational damage from radiation fears, still oppose the plan.

“All we want is to be able to continue fishing,” the head of the Japan Fisheries Co-operative said in a statement that touched on the “mounting anxiety” of the community.

Separately from China, Hong Kong and Macau have announced their own ban starting Thursday, which covers Japanese seafood imports from 10 regions.

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said import bans on Fukushima fisheries and food products will stay in place until public concerns were eased.

Japan will conduct monitoring around the water release area and publish results weekly starting on Sunday, Japan’s environment minister said. The release is estimated to take about 30 years.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-set-release-fukushima-water-amid-criticism-seafood-import-bans-2023-08-23/

The Fukushima nuclear plant’s wastewater will be discharged to the sea. Here’s what you need to know

Japanese officials plan to start discharging treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, a contentious step more than 12 years after a massive earthquake and tsunami set off a battle against ever-increasing amounts of radioactive water at the plant.

The government and plant operator say the release is an unavoidable part of its decommissioning and will be safely carried out, but the plan faces opposition in and outside Japan. Here is a look at the controversy.

Pic: https://abcnews.go.com

WHY IS THERE SO MUCH WASTEWATER?

The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami destroyed the plant’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt. Highly contaminated cooling water applied to the damaged reactors has leaked continuously to building basements and mixed with groundwater.

The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), has taken steps to limit the amount of groundwater and rainwater entering the reactor area, and has reduced the increase in contaminated water to about 100 tons a day, 1/5 of the initial amount. The water is collected and partly recycled as cooling water after treatment, with the rest stored in around 1,000 tanks, which are already filled to 98% of their 1.37 million-ton capacity.

WHY IS TEPCO RELEASING THE WATER NOW?

The government and TEPCO say they need to make room for the plant’s decommissioning and prevent accidental leaks from the tanks.

Japan has obtained support from the International Atomic Energy Agency to improve the transparency and credibility of the release and ensure it meets international safety standards. The government has also stepped up a campaign promoting the plan’s safety at home and through diplomatic channels.

Japan to start releasing Fukushima plant’s treated radioactive water to sea as early as Thursday

Japan will start releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean as early as Thursday — a controversial but essential early step in the decades of work to shut down the facility 12 years after its meltdown disaster.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave the final go-ahead Tuesday at a meeting of Cabinet ministers involved in the plan and instructed the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, to be ready to start the coastal release Thursday if weather and sea conditions permit.

Kishida said at the meeting that the release of the water is essential for the progress of the plant decommissioning and Fukushima prefecture’s recovery from the March 11, 2011, disaster.

He said the government has done everything for now to ensure the safety, combat the reputational damage for the fisheries and to provide transparent and scientific explanation to gain understanding in and outside the country. He pledged that the government will continue the effort until the end of the release and decommissioning, which will take decades.

A massive earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plant’s cooling systems, causing three of its reactors to melt and contaminating their cooling water. The water is collected, filtered and stored in about 1,000 tanks, which fill much of the plant’s grounds and will reach their capacity in early 2024.

The release of the treated wastewater has faced strong opposition from Japanese fishing organizations, which worry about further damage to the reputation of their seafood as they struggle to recover from the nuclear disaster. Groups in South Korea and China have also raised concerns, turning it into a political and diplomatic issue.

The government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, say the water must be removed to make room for the plant’s decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks from the tanks.

Junichi Matsumoto, TEPCO executive in charge of the water release, said in an interview with the Associated Press last month that the water release marks “a milestone,” but is still only an initial step in a daunting decommissioning process that is expected to take decades.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/japan-nuclear-fukushima-radioactive-water-release-9ba86b5761170efc762d45e901903ded

British Columbia wildfires intensify, doubling evacuations to over 35,000

Forest fires in Canada’s western province of British Columbia intensified on Saturday, with the number of people under evacuation orders doubling from a day earlier, as authorities warned of difficult days ahead.

The province declared a state of emergency on Friday to access temporary authoritative powers to tackle fire-related risks, as out-of-control fires ripped through interior British Columbia, partially shutting some sections of a key highway between the Pacific coast and the rest of western Canada, and destroying many properties.

“The current situation is grim,” Premier Daniel Eby told reporters on Saturday, saying some 35,000 people were under an evacuation order, and a further 30,000 were under an evacuation alert.

Eby said the province is in dire need of shelter for evacuees and firefighters and ordered a ban on non-essential travel to make more temporary accommodation available. Officials also urged residents to avoid operating drones in the fire zone, saying it could impede firefighting efforts.

The fire is centered around Kelowna, a city some 300 kilometres (180 miles) east of Vancouver, with a population of about 150,000.

Forest fires are not uncommon in Canada, but the spread of blazes and disruption underscore the severity of its worst wildfire season yet.

About 140,000 square km (54,054 square miles) of land, roughly the size of New York state, have already burned, and government officials project the fire season could stretch into autumn due to widespread drought-like conditions in Canada.

B.C. had experienced strong winds and dry lightning in the past few days due to a cold mass of air interacting with hot air built-up in the sultry summer. That intensified existing forest fires and ignited new ones.

“We are still in some critically dry conditions, and are still expecting difficult days ahead,” said Jerrad Schroeder, deputy fire centre manager at the Kamloops Fire Centre.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened a meeting of key ministers and senior officials on Saturday to discuss wildfires. The Incident Response Group, which met for the second time this week, agreed to make “additional resources available” to both British Columbia and the Northwest Territories (NWT).

MAIN EAST-WEST ROAD UNDER THREAT

The McDougall Creek wildfire burns next to houses in the Okanagan community of West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

A wildfire burning out of control in Yellowknife, the capital city of NWT, had triggered evacuations of almost all of its 20,000 residents this week. One patient died when he was being transferred out of Yellowknife, an NWT minister said on Saturday.

Currently, the fire is not expected to reach city limits by the end of the weekend, officials said, with some rain and cooler temperatures helping to slow its progress.

The TransCanada highway was closed near Chase, around 400 km northeast of Vancouver, and between Hope, 150 km east of Vancouver, and the village of Lytton.

The highway is the main east-west artery used by thousands of motorists and truckers heading to Vancouver, the country’s busiest port.

Kip Lumquist, who works at a gift shop in Craigellachie, British Columbia, a tourist spot on the highway, said she saw a lot of devastation over the past week.

“It was crazy, we couldn’t see the hills, the mountains, the trees, anything, probably (for) two and a half days,” said Lumquist. “I drive a white vehicle, and when I walked out to get in my car… it’s just black… It’s devastating to the community.”

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/british-columbia-residents-high-alert-wildfires-force-state-emergency-2023-08-19/

Canadian province of Alberta declares wildfire emergency

A fire burning near Lodgepole, Alberta

Alberta has declared a state of emergency after wildfires spread across the western Canadian province, driving nearly 25,000 people from their homes.

Faced with more than 100 wildfires, Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith called the situation “unprecedented”.

Residents of Edson, a town of more than 8,000, were told to leave immediately.

Ms Smith said a hot, dry spring had created “so much kindling” and some 122,000 hectares (301,000 acres) had burned so far.

Many of the fires are burning out of control, fanned by strong winds.

The worst-hit areas include Drayton Valley, about 140km (87 miles) west of the provincial capital Edmonton, and Fox Lake, some 550km north of the city, where 20 homes were consumed by fire.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65515446

Tesla to build Shanghai factory to make Megapack batteries

Tesla Inc is opening a factory in Shanghai, capable of producing ten thousand Megapack energy product per year, to supplement output of Megapack factory in California, the company said in a tweet on Sunday.

The news was first reported by Chinese state media outlet Xinhua.

Elon Musk’s automaker will break ground on the plant in the third quarter and start production in the second quarter of 2024, Xinhua reported from a signing ceremony in Shanghai.

Complementing a huge existing Shanghai plant making electric vehicles, the new factory will initially produce 10,000 Megapack units a year, equal to around 40 gigawatt hours of energy storage, to be sold globally, Xinhua said.

With the new Shanghai plant, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) will take advantage of China’s world leading battery supply chain to ramp up output and lower costs of its Megapack lithium-ion battery units to meet rising demand of energy storage globally as the world shifts to use more renewable energy.

Tesla generates most of its money from its electric car business, but Musk has committed to grow its solar energy and battery business to roughly the same size.

Chinese battery giant CATL has also been deepening its collaborations with clients including Tesla in energy storage battery supplies, which its Chairman Robin Zeng expected to have a larger market than batteries powering electric vehicles (EV).

Tesla currently has a Megafactory in Lathrop, California, capable of manufacturing 10,000 Megapacks per year.

The company began producing Model 3 cars in Shanghai in 2019 and now is capable of producing 22,000 units of cars per week.

Tesla planned to expand the Gigafactory Shanghai, its most productive automaking plant, to add an annual capacity of 450,000 units, Reuters reported last May.

The U.S. company, however, had grappled with rising inventory in Shanghai as demand started weakening in the third quarter, leading to aggressive price cuts in its major markets globally in January.

Source: https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/tesla-to-build-shanghai-gigafactory-to-make-energy-storage-product–xinhua-3051153

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