Category Archives: Climate Change
Climate: The Future Of Our Frozen Planet – Sir David Attenborough (BBC)
“We can do it. We must do it.”
Sir David Attenborough. This is life on thin ice.
Frozen Planet II (2022): This six-part series – narrated by Sir David Attenborough – explores the wildlife found in the world’s coldest regions: the Arctic and Antarctic, high mountains, frozen deserts, snowbound forests, and ice-cold oceans. From polar bears to penguins, and from snow monkeys to Siberian tigers, each species must overcome a unique set of challenges to endure its extreme environment.
Droughts: Competing With Nature For Water
Climate change is causing rising temperatures, extreme weather events and more and more drought. And, in this changing reality, everyone needs more water. Humans are competing with the natural world for water. What does this mean for biodiversity? Fewer and fewer countries still have an abundance of water. The climate crisis, overpopulation and overexploitation are the root of this global problem. And, in a warming world, everyone is using more water: people, agriculture and industry. In Germany, streams and ponds are disappearing, forests and soils are drying out. What does this mean for biodiversity? And how do people cope with drought in countries that have even less water — for example, in the USA or Mexico? What happens when our water dries up?
Droughts: The ‘Shrinking’ Of The Colorado River
- “Tier Drops,” by Lisa Owens Viani.
Regulations and apportioning that were set up 100 years ago are under pressure as the Colorado River shrinks. As climate change accelerates and record-breaking drought worsens, cities, tribes, and industries must prepare for a future with less water. (Online August 10)
The Coming Crisis Along the Colorado River
It’s past time to get real about the Southwest’s hardest-working river.
About 40 million people rely on the Colorado River as it flows from Wyoming to Mexico. But overuse and climate change have contributed to its reservoirs drying up at such a rapid rate that the probability of disastrous disruptions to the deliveries of water and hydroelectric power across the Southwest have become increasingly likely. Now the seven states that depend on the river must negotiate major cuts in water use by mid-August or have them imposed by the federal government.
Those cuts are merely the beginning as the region struggles to adapt to an increasingly arid West. The rules for operating the river’s shrinking reservoirs expire in 2026, and those seven states must forge a new agreement on water use for farmers, businesses and cities.
Climate Change: A World Of Future Food Shocks?
Recent crises such as the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have thrown the vulnerability of supply chains, and with them, food supplies, into sharp focus. But as the FT’s Camilla Hodgson reports, a landmark UN report says climate-related shocks such as extreme weather events will become more common and severe and could further upend food supply chains. But what can we do about it?
Tourism & Climate Change: The Future Of Air Travel
Exotic destinations, or staycations? As we make choices like these, we ask ourselves: Will we ever be able to fly without feeling guilty again? This film examines the tourism business today, and asks how the industry envisages the future.
The pandemic brought the tourist industry to a standstill. But it also highlighted something we have long suspected: Namely, too much travel is bad for the environment.
Not only that, but tourism transforms entire regions – not always for the better. It profoundly impacts communities and often brings benefits for only a very few. But our wanderlust remains. So, do travelers have to decide between the two extremes: exotic destinations (and high carbon footprints) or holidays at home? Given the climate emergency, can we fly without feeling guilty? How environmentally damaging are cruises? And what does it mean to have a sustainable holiday?
This documentary examines an industry that had gotten ahead of itself, even before it was hit by the pandemic. We hear from mayors, tourism managers, a climate expert, an internet activist and a sociologist. The film travels to the European tourist hotspots of Barcelona, Venice and Dubrovnik. The tiny island of Palau in the Pacific Ocean demonstrates how sustainable travel can be sensibly organized, and a Parisian start-up develops a concept for virtual travel experiences.
Cover Previews: Time Magazine – May 23, 2022
Views: American Arctic’s Disappearing Traditions
To Laureli Ivanoff, climate change is far from an abstract idea. As an Iñupiat writer living in the remote Alaskan town of Unalakleet, she’s seen firsthand the warming planet’s tangible impact on her culture’s food traditions, some of the only practices to survive colonization. “Ice fishing or hunting or just going out and enjoying ourselves, there’s no way to really do that if there isn’t any snow,” she says.
Animals that rely on snow and sea ice, such as the ugruk—or bearded seal—are harder to find as sea ice melts, leaving subsistence hunters concerned for their livelihoods. Although local native communities have weathered many historic hardships before, Ivanoff believes the challenges ahead are unprecedented. “Already every year, we’re wondering, ‘Is the ocean ice going to form?
Read more about climate change’s impact on the American Arctic : https://ti.me/3MqmwOe
Views: The Seychelles – Paradise Under Threat
Dream vacation or destination wedding – where better than Seychelles? The archipelago is especially popular with German tourists. But despite the island nation’s unique approach to nature conservation, this paradise is in danger.
This documentary showcases the archipelago in all its beauty, with rare animal species, white sand beaches… and the conservationists who are working hard to protect it all. Although Seychelles has just 0.13 percent of the land area of Germany, its new protected marine area is larger than the whole country. But climate change has severely impacted the archipelago, as it is often the smallest islands that are first to feel the consequences. Storms and waves damage turtle nests and corals, while further eroding the islands’ coastlines.
The country’s president Wavel Ramkalawan is also concerned. An ordained minister in the Anglican Church, Ramkalawan still preaches to this day. He tells us of the message he draws from the Bible in his fight to save the islands. We also learn about the various initiatives to rescue this tropical paradise. Coral nurseries help to revive damaged reefs. And seagrass plays a major role in combatting rising CO2 levels, as it stores more carbon than a forest of the same area.
Seychelles and Mauritius share an expanse of seagrass larger than Switzerland. The president is calling on the international community to help cover the costs of all this, because revenue from tourism isn’t enough. And many tourists care too little about it. At their wedding photoshoot, a couple from Austria explains how beautiful and easy it is to get married in paradise. But for how much longer will this paradise exist?
Brazil Views: Atafona – The Vanishing Resort
Vultures roam the sand in the Brazilian resort town of Atafona amid the ruins of the latest houses destroyed by the sea, whose relentless rise has turned the local coastline into an apocalyptic landscape.
Boomers Daily 