Four companies have been identified as the top plastics polluters, according to a new study.
Tag: global warming
Ancient Beetle Fossils Helping Scientists Understand Global Warming
Beetle fossils found in an ancient lake bed in British Columbia are helping scientists to understand global warming in the past and the present.
Fossilized palm bruchine beetles were discovered at the McAbee fossil site near Cache Creek, B.C., by scientists from Simon Fraser University.
Pollution Shuts Down Chinese City
The air pollution was so bad in Harbin, in China, on October 21 that the city was forced to close roads and schools, and to cancel hundreds of flights from its airport.
News reports said the smog (a mixture of smoke and fog) was so thick that people couldn’t see more than 10 or 20 metres in front of them.
According to unofficial reports, people could not even see the person standing next to them.
The city’s website said: “You can’t see your own fingers in front of you.”
Residents said there was a “burning” smell in the air.
Many people covered their noses and mouths with scarves or masks.
The pollution was blamed on several factors.
Human Activity Responsible For Global Warming: UN Report
A group of scientists associated with the United Nations has just issued a report on “climate change.”
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has confirmed that human habits and activity is responsible for global warming and for higher sea levels.
If this continues, according to the report, there will be more dramatic changes in plant and animal life.
Some critics believe that the current situation is more likely due to short-term factors or weather cycles. They believe that the climate situation will change on its own eventually.
But the UN report says the reality is clear and the facts are there.
Luckily, because humans cause the problem, humans can help solve the problem.
Scientists Criticize Iron-Dumping Experiment
Scientists around the world have criticized a group of Canadians for dumping more than 100 tonnes of iron dust into the Pacific Ocean last summer.
The group, called the Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation, is supported by the village of Old Massett, British Columbia.
About 700 people live in the village, which is located on the Haida Gwaii islands.
They used to make their living by fishing for salmon, but now there are not enough salmon and 70 per cent of the villagers don’t have jobs.
Last July, the Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation paid $2.5 million to an American businessman named Russ George to dump a mixture of iron sulphate and iron oxide dust into the ocean about 370 kilometres west of the islands.
They hoped the iron would cause more plankton to grow in that part of the Pacific.
They believed that more plankton would help increase the number of salmon in the area.
Millions Of Butterflies In Ontario And Eastern Canada
If you were sitting outside on April 16 in Eastern North America, you may have seen a wondrous site. That day, millions of Red Admiral butterflies flew in – or perhaps “blew in” – from the southern United States.
Drew Monkman is a local natualist (“nature watcher”) and writer, living in Peterborough, Ont. He tracks the habits of animals including butterflies.
He told TKN that the April 16 migration was “completely unprecedented. (The Red Admiral has) never been seen in these kinds of numbers.”
He said on that day there were probably several million butterflies, most of them Red Admiral, but there were other species as well.
Drew Monkman is a naturalist and butterfly expert living in Peterborough, Ont.
Why did this happen? This year in the southern United States like Texas, where the butterflies began their journey, the winter was “amazingly mild,” said Monkman. This allowed more butterflies to survive the winter and reproduce.
