Fighting climate change isn’t all about wind turbines and electric cars; protecting and restoring nature is a key component of reducing greenhouse gas emssions. Ecosystems like forests take in and store huge amounts of carbon. The question is whether countries can come up with a way to encourage people to keep nature as it is.
Fire in the Forest
Brazil has experienced a major surge in deforestation and fires this year in the Amazon rainforest. The forest almost never burns on its own so the vast majority of fires are caused by humans. I wrote about some of the economic and political forces that have led to this upswing in burning this summer.
Plastic Isn't Fantastic
If we keep throwing out plastic at our current rates, there will be more plastic in the ocean by mass than fish in the coming decades. The convenience and cost of plastic has made the material ubiquitous, but the fact that it’s synthetic means that nature struggles to dispose of it. But scientists discovered a new bacterium that could live off plastic and break it down. The race is now on to find a way to consume plastic before it consumes the world.
An Infectious climate
New diseases are likely to emerge as the climate warms. As organisms move in response to rising temperatures, it increases the likelihood that a previously unknown pathogen jumps from one species to another.
PESTS OF PESTS
Trees act as organic air conditioners, especially in cities. However, a warming climate threatens their cooling capabilities as deadly pests, like scale insects, spread. This warming also alters growth patterns in wasps, which lay eggs inside scale insects, acting as a natural pesticide. The mismatch between host and parasite means more trees will suffer.