You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘web of life’ tag.
Humans must change behaviour to save bees, vital for food production
– UN report March 2011 – The potentially disastrous decline in bees, a vital pollinating element in food production for the growing global population, is likely to continue unless humans profoundly change their ways, from the use of insecticides to air pollution, according to a United Nations report released today.
“The way humanity manages or mismanages its nature-based assets, including pollinators, will in part define our collective future in the 21st century,” UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner said. “The fact is that of the 100 crop species that provide 90 per cent of the world’s food, over 70 are pollinated by bees.”…ARTICLE CONTINUES….Humans must change behaviour to save bees, vital for food production – UN
-▶ BATTLE FOR THE BEES: TENS OF MILLIONS OF DYING BEES RAISE ALARM FOR HUMANS
▶ MONARCH BUTTERFLY MIGRATION PLUNGES 59%. NOW AT LOWEST LEVEL EVER
▶ GARDENERS BEWARE: DEADLY PESTICIDE ‘BEE FRIENDLY’ PRETREATED PLANTS AND SEEDS SOLD TO CONSUMERS
SEE: List of crop plants pollinated by bees – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://ow.ly/cbq2F
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I BELIEVE
That everything we humans create has its origins in the Natural World and;
That to the degree Nature is “sick” and out of balance so are we–spiritually, psychologically and physiologically; and
That Nature is the common denominator among all living things and that All species are equal in their own right; and
That until we humans reintegrate into the great web of life as a species within it, and not separate from it, we can never bring true healing and balance back to ourselves or our magnificent planet.
FOR WITHOUT NATURE – WE DO NOT EXIST. PERIOD
@pdjmoo The Natural Eye Project
“A human being is a part of the whole called by us “the universe,” a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few people nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of understanding and compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” -Albert Einstein
SEE ALSO MY: URGENT MEMO TO THE WORLD
How might our dreams of a synthetic utopia end?
By DAN CLOER via Science and Environment: It’s a Small World
Celebrating the establishment of the International Association of Chemical Societies as well as Marie Curie’s 1911 Nobel Prize, the United Nations has declared 2011 the International Year of Chemistry. The theme, “Chemistry: Our Life, Our Future,” may be significant in more ways than sloganeers intended: after a century of chemical tinkering, we wield the two-edged sword of our increasing knowledge ever more boldly. How might our dreams of a synthetic utopia end? The chemical signature of our activities, and in fact life on earth in general, has the capacity to be planet-changing. Our impact has simply been greatly accelerated over the past century. Does this matter? The real question is whether the gains are worth the costs. But we are only now beginning to understand the costs. “Everything must go somewhere,” Commoner noted, reminding us that the materials we create using our chemical know-how never disappear. By DAN CLOER (See Full Article ) Science and Environment: It’s a Small World.
NOTE: THIS IS AN ARTICLE FROM 2002.
WE DIDN’T LISTEN THEN…ARE WE LISTENING NOW?
WAITING FOR MUM by NikolaiZinoviev
It’s a small world: take anybody else on earth, and you are probably linked through six acquaintances. What’s scary is that a similar rule applies to natural life
Stocks of Atlantic cod have reached historic lows, while haddock and other species have been declared commercially extinct. Thriving food webs that were stable for millions of years have in the past 20 been radically altered, and almost three-quarters of the world’s commercially important marine fish stocks are now fully fished, overexploited or depleted. (MORE….
via New Statesman – The extinction of species and why it matters more than you think.
Listen Carefully to this extraordinary story – which is yours
This Is the Most Beautiful and Terrifying Portrait of Earth I’ve Seen.
Produced by Luc Besson, the movie’s one hour and 33 minutes will give you goose bumps, taking you to 120 locations over 54 countries, showing the majestic nature of our planet in stark contrast with the effect of human industries and technology.
This movie has already been seen by 400 million people—200 million in China
— you can watch it right here. Enjoy!
Jesus Diaz– GIZMODO — Over the course of 15 years, award-winning photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand crafted the most beautiful view of the Earth I’ve ever seen on the silver screen: Home is an exquisite vision of our world, full of pure bliss—and terrifying scenes.
TRAILER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDlbBy9vfgI&feature=player_embedded
FULL VERSION (RUNNING TIME: 1 hr 33min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU&list=PL88D39BC7B9E86DD1
The Hopi Elders come forward with a message to the world in response to
the tsunami and earthquake in Japan. This is a historic moment for our
planet to hear them speak. They give humanity a simple message for our
future and how to overcome these difficult times. Sending Prayer to the
people of Japan and around the world.
Mangrove Restoration
Ecosystem services provide the link between nature and economic development. How can this approach guide more sustainable decisions?
Investing in Nature, for People’s Sake | World Resources Institute.
ROME, May 21, 2010 (IPS) – Biodiversity in agriculture is about culture. Traditional knowledge and culture are as important as research and investments aver farmers, researchers and academicians who are gathered in Rome to celebrate International Day for Biodiversity. (read rest of article…)
BIODIVERSITY: Culture Integral to Agriculture – IPS ipsnews.net.
How ocean acidification could disrupt the entire food web, with dire consequences
What they (scientists) say is this: the oceans are 30 percent more acidic today than they were during pre-industrial times and, if we continue burning fossil fuels as we are now, we will double the ocean’s acidity by the end of the century. Scientists fear many organisms may not survive so radical a shift in chemistry. And some of those organisms form the foundation of ocean food webs. If they perish, what happens to the tens of thousands of species further up the chain? What happens to our shellfish — our oysters, clams, mussels — that appear particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification? VIDEOS, READ MORE….Sigourney Weaver: Protecting Our Oceans for Earth Day.
The Earth has Entered a New Geological Period. Human Influence Now Dominates the State of the Planet Compounding Uncertainty for the Future
llustration: Mike Pick
In 2000, Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen and his colleague Eugene Stoermer appeared in the news bulletin of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. In it, Crutzen and Stoermer made the case that the Holocene, the geological epoch that had held sway on Earth for the past 12,000 years, was at an end. In its place, with a start date pegged to the late 18th century commercialization of James Watt’s steam engine, was the Anthropocene, an epoch defined by the influence of humanity’s collective actions. Crutzen was an apt messenger—his Nobel came from work clarifying how the activities of a small number of people had inadvertently initiated a chain reaction that grievously damaged the globe’s protective layer of atmospheric ozone. (Read the rest of this article… –Embracing the Anthropocene § SEEDMAGAZINE.COM.
“Dreaming the future can create the future. We stand at the threshold of a singular opportunity in the human experiment: To re-imagine how to live on Earth in ways that honor the web of life, each other and future generations. It’s a revolution from the heart of nature — and the human heart.
“We also stand at the brink of worldwide ecological and civilizational collapse. We face a reckoning from the treacherous breach in our relationship with nature. We’ve been acting like a rock star trashing a hotel room, and it’s the morning after. But this hotel is planet Earth. The guest rules are non-negotiable. If we don’t change our ways fast, management may vote us off the island. (More.,..)
“These increases in jellyfish should be a warning sign that our oceans are stressed and unhealthy,” said Lucas Brotz, a University of British Columbia researcher.
via Lowellsun.com8.
The great bee die-off is not such a mystery after all:
Industrial agriculture has stressed our pollinators to the breaking point.
iStockphoto
“The nation’s great bee die-off has provoked a furious debate: What has caused a third of all commercial honeybee colonies to perish each year since 2006? Although widespread bee deaths have occurred before, the current sharp decline is different. This time some bees have simply vanished, abandoning their hives. The phenomenon, known as colony collapse disorder (CCD), has been attributed in part to the same viral and bacterial infections, pesticide poisonings, and mite infestations that devastated bees in the past.” pdjmoo Who Killed All Those Honeybees? We Did | Agriculture | DISCOVER Magazine http://ow.ly/vjli
And …
Are Cell Phone Towers Honey Bees’ Next Big Threat?
New Study says “Yes”
CAN WE SURVIVE WITHOUT OUR POLLINATING HONEY BEES? As if honey bees don’t have enough to worry about right now, it seems that cell phone towers may be problematic for the insects. According to a new study, a rapid drop in the bee population in Kerala, India is the result of recently installed cell phone towers, and could cause a complete collapse of bee populations within 10 years.
Are Cell Phone Towers Honey Bees’ Next Big Threat? New Study Says Yes. : TreeHugger.
Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org
“If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.” E. O. Wilson, Pulitzer Prize Winner, Socio-Biologist.
by Pam Jacob @pdjmoo
Have we asked too much of Nature and her inhabitants and the myriad of symbiotic relationships all species needed to maintain balance and generate our healthy food supply? We have pushed our cows, beef cattle, chickens, turkeys, pigs and fish over the edge, far beyond their natural capacity to breed and produce within their given maturation processes. We have created a poisoned, industrialized food system that no longer is healthy or nutritious and, in the process, we have objectified the very life forms essential to our food supply. They have become a dollar figure, a number on a balance sheet, to do with what we will. A great tragedy is unfolding before our eyes. We have lost respect for Nature as our partners in life and, as such, lost respect for each other, and ourselves waiving our responsibility for our essential role in our own life support systems.
Witness the beautiful, tiny bees. A little bee is just as important in its own right as you and I in the greater scheme of things…perhaps even more important. Maybe their little immune systems could no longer assimilate all the pesticides, insecticides and GMO pollen we impose on their digestion systems, and their stressful, forced artificial way of life. http://tinyurl.com/ng2opr Read the rest of this entry »
People should use the climate change crisis as an opportunity to become human again, setting aside the addictive and self-destructive behaviour that has damaged their souls, the Archbishop of Canterbury said today.
Dr Rowan Williams, head of the Church of England and leader of the worldwide Anglican communion, told an audience at Southwark Cathedral that people had allowed themselves to become “addicted to fantasies about prosperity and growth, dreams of wealth without risk and profit without cost”.
The consequences of such a lifestyle meant the human soul was “one of the foremost casualties of environmental degradation”.
Dr Rowan Williams says climate crisis a chance to become human again | UK news | The Guardian.
The climate crisis is not a negotiable issue and politicians must start paying attention to science.
CAN we expect decent climate policy when most of the decision-making elite are ignorant of the real scientific imperatives, or believe they can negotiate with the laws of physics and chemistry? The answer is bleak, judging by the lead-up talks to the climate summit in Copenhagen in December.
A DIFFERENT QUESTION
If I had one thing to impart to our leaders and opinion-makers, it would be this: Start worrying instead about the fate of human civilization. The Earth will survive the assault of the modern era. The urgent question is whether the Earth will remain a place that can support a complex, interconnected global civilization like our own. We could lose far more than coastal cities and cultural treasures to extreme weather and rising seas; the ultimate stakes in this planetary gamble is the stable climate that has made civilization possible.Rising emissions could destabilize the climate to a degree that would prove devastating to agriculture.
Op-ed: The fate of our fragile civilization — The Daily Climate.
AND IT MATTERS
“They consume huge quantities of invertebrates, including humanity’s most vilified pests and their crucial role in global ecosystems helps maintain healthy functioning environments”
A third of amphibians are threatened with extinction. If allowed to continue, the projected losses would constitute the largest mass extinction since the disappearance of the dinosaurs. Read the rest of this entry »
WE SIMPLY CANNOT TURN A BLIND EYE TO THE HUGE NUMBER OF BIRD AND BAT KILLS GOING ON WITH WIND TURBINES. THE BATS ARE NATURAL POLLINATORS AND THE BIRDS PLAY AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN OUR BIODIVERSITY AND ECO SYSTEMS. WITH MEGA WIND FARMS ON THE RISE, WE MUST FIND A WAY TO AVOID THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR BIRDS AND BATS. WE CANNOT TURN A BLIND EYE, EVEN IF IT IS IN THE NAME OF “CLEAN ENERGY”.
Billions of birds migrate annually, taking advantage of the same wind currents that are most beneficial for producing wind energy,
via Protecting Birds And Bats From Wind Turbines.
pdjmoo DO WIND TURBINES KILL WILDLIFE? | As many as 440,000 birds are killed by existing wind turbines just in the US every year…Meanwhile we need to know more about migration patterns and exactly why bats and birds are attracted to spinning blades. Nor should any wind turbine be given the go ahead without a conservation plan http://ow.ly/t5oa
pdjmoo Save Birds by Promoting Wind Energy – Scitizen http://ow.ly/t5sb In terms of birds killed per electricity produced, nuclear power is slightly worse but comparable to wind energy, but fossil-fueled facilities are about 17 times more dangerous to birds on a per kWh basis. In absolute terms, since wind turbines produced a relatively small amount of national electricity in the United States in 2006, they may have killed about 7,000 but fossil fueled stations killed 14.5 million and nuclear power plants 327,000.
Deep Waters in Deep Trouble | Mother Jones.
America’s waters are in deep trouble. The destructive practice of bottom trawling, which involves dragging nets attached to rubber wheels mow down all plant and animal life in the way, is growing in popularity, and over-fishing is endangering marine predators. The giant garbage patch of the Pacific is growing, and the oceans continue to absorb acidifying carbon dioxide that stunts the growth of coral and shells.
The Beauty of a Most Misunderstood Species
NATURE AND HER RESOURCES ARE FINITE – TAKE CARE!
We humans are at the top of the food chain. That means that everything that goes on down the line ultimately impacts us- our health and wellbeing. Finning 73 million sharks while alive, and throwing them back into ocean fin-less so they literally drown is disgusting, horrific and says little for respect for the magnificent web of life. Not only that, but it is a total waste of Food. With so many starving, shark is quite edible…in Australia it is called “flake”.
We need our major predators…take them out and chaos reigns within the eco-systems of this planet. Our species, the human species, are stewards of the planet, not marauders taking what we want, when we want it. Neither are we barbarians, objectifying everything in our path, killing, raping and taking just because we can. We have to become more mindful of our interdependence on all of life.
When we interfere with the natural balance of the web of life, lacking little or no understanding of the value of each species to a healthy eco-system — we lose!! We cannot expect to have a healthy balanced life, without a healthy balanced natural world. We humans are the only species that takes out the biggest and best – destroying the gene pools of our wildlife and food supply. Nature takes out the smallest and the weakest. We are bringing about a huge eco-collapse that no-one and no thing will escape. We have a major addiction to consumerism with little or no regard as to what we are taking from the planet to satisfy our insatiable desires. We must wake-up!
All species are equal in their own right and each has a purpose. Sadly, we humans have stepped outside of the natural web of life and lost our connection to the reverence, respect and nurturing of all life.
Without Nature we do not Exist – Period…. and we had better get back on the biodiversity train before it is too late., returning to the wonder and awe of our natural partners in life – the Natural World that supports us every moment of every day.
pdjmoo EDUCATE YOURSELF: THE IMPORTANCE OF SHARKS TO A STABLE OCEAN ECOSYSTEM. Shark Savers – Home http://ow.ly/t1Kk
pdjmoo SHARKS SHOULD FEAR PEOPLE: 73 mil finned alive per year, mostly for soup. NYT. http://bit.ly/2cfdC ! http://ow.ly/t1PM
The Rising Tide Against Sharkfinning http://tinyurl.com/ycfhzf2
DISAPPEARING FISH: http://tinyurl.com/ye6oura
pdjmoo U./K. SHARK FIN BAN ends cruel slaughter | Environment | The Observer http://ow.ly/tPGc
With the world’s oceans absorbing six million tonnes of carbon a day, a leading oceanographer warns of eco disaster
via Arctic seas turn to acid, putting vital food chain at risk | World news | The Observer.
WASHINGTON, DC, September 25, 2009 (ENS) – The speed and scope of global warming is now overtaking even the most sobering predictions of the last report of the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, finds a new report issued by the United Nations Environment Programme, entitled “Climate Change Science Compendium 2009.”
Science Report: Climate Change Speeding Toward Irreversible Tipping Points.
The safe climatic limits in which humanity has blossomed are more vulnerable than ever and that unless we recognize our planetary boundaries and stay within them, we risk total catastrophe. http://tinyurl.com/n5m5qe
Scientists can now pinpoint, at the millisecond level, what happens as harmful environmental contaminants such as arsenic begin to react with soil and water under various conditions.
Freshwater Fish Much Larger and Plentiful Before Overfishing Took Its Toll
Much focus on overfishing today is perhaps understandably focused on saltwater fish species, but new research fleshes out the idea that humanity has been over-exploiting fish species for a long time and that freshwater fish were never spared. Read the rest of this entry »
“If crops don’t adapt to climate change, neither will we,” says Cary Fowler, an expert in biodiversity. Key to ensuring that crops will be able to adapt is maintaining crop diversity. We’re at risk of losing the very diversity of plant variety that will keep us alive in a warming environment. Fowler gives an outstanding TED talk about the issue. Click through to watch.
via TED Talk: Save Our Future by Saving the Seeds (Video) : TreeHugger.
Our Beloved Home - Planet Earth
We live on such a beautiful planet that is Forever Rejuvenating, Regenerating and Changing
Every day, every moment, my eyes fall upon some part of Nature’s beauty. The miracle of the sun rising and setting every day, without me having to do a thing. The miracle of our seasons, so gracefully surrendering into life’s process. The beauty of green trees gently swaying in the wind; the birds gracefully flying overhead or landing on some delicate branch with their tiny feet; the wispy ever-changing clouds moving through a beautiful blue sky; the incredible palette of colors that Nature paints on Her new canvas every day just for me to feel wonder-filled with awe.
A Tree on Hill
Then why is it that we, the human species, treat Her with such disrespect? After all, we return to Her every minute, of every day, for our sustenance and source of wellbeing. Whether it is our food, water, clothing, shelter, in fact for everything. For everything we produce and create has its origins in the natural world. We draw from Her everything we need; for construction; our buildings, products, furnishings; clothing; packaging, automobiles and transportation, gadgets and it goes on and on.
It is almost like we have been in a deep slumber, totally preoccupied with our busy daily lives, caught up in our plastic, air-conditioned lives, entombed in artificial environments, shut off from the daily wonders and beauty of our natural world–and our hearts have closed down.
Orphaned Baby Orangutan
I am sure everyone is aware of a massive shift taking place on Planet Earth. It has been growing since 2002 and we are now fully into it. Some call it a paradigm shift. Many of the old ways of doing things are no longer working, our business, financial and political structures are no longer supporting the old “you vs. me”, the “war-ing” mentality and profits above all else. The worn-out gamesmanship of ” I win, you lose” is losing its power. Accepted forms and structures of relating are dissolving; relationship with myself; with others; with our daily lives, with Nature. Read the rest of this entry »
