Despite the ominous forecasts for NEXT winter, we’re having a mild winter in the US this year. We assume that a COLD winter is what kills plants and animals, but it turns out that a warmer-than-usual winter season can harm them just as much.
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Over the past 15 years, a mass of fresh water from ice melt has been building under the Arctic ice cap. The water is trapped under the Beaufort Gyre in the western Arctic, and presently represents about 10% of all the fresh water in the Arctic. It appears in the form of a bulge under the ice, and is kept in place by the permanent anti-cyclonic winds that blow around the gyre. The water is coming from melt-swollen Siberian rivers, and the bulge is growing by about six inches a year, meaning that billions of gallons of water are continuing to accumulate in it.
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The recession has been painful for most of us, but it’s been GOOD in one way: It’s cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, which means it’s reduced the threat of global warming.
Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels have surged to record levels following the 2008-09 global financial crisis, when a stagnant economy resulted in a temporary decline in emissions (NOTE: Subscribers can still listen to this show).
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Animals are going extinct for all sorts of reasons, and what’s being done to some of them should be a CRIME. Many of the animal species at risk of extinction right here in the US have not made it onto our official Endangered Species Act (ESA) list.
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