Climate
When in Drought
Tropical Forest, Queensland, Australia The wind rustles through our needles, barely holding onto our fragile limbs. Some fall, down, down to the earth. Light and drying into yellow, a breeze lifts them from our limbs and together they dance. Layers of dehydrated leaves and needles blanket our floor, too thick, too dry, too much. Dust billows, like sediment rising in the ocean, up through the brush and settles in the cracks of our bark. We haven't been this parched in centuries. Vines, twisting their lengths along the full height of our trunks, loosen their grips and dust settles in their drying bark, filtering through the cracks. Void of leaves, too barren for the season, they creak and settle around us. It already feels like summer, even though spring is just beginning. Swallows flit between our branches, wingtips just a breath away. Their song carries on the breeze and echoes between our trunks. We would smile if we could. An echidna, stout nose prodding gently at half-decomposed detritus and termite mounds, shuffles between us, feet tripping slightly on our surface roots. It can't even find insects to eat. Our brittle needles snap and give away under its gentle weight. The sun warms our canopy, breaking through to our floor between our shy crowns, and speckles the too-dry shrub with shifting, dappled, winking flecks of gold. We drink in its rays while wishing instead for rain, waiting for today's solstice night to fall.
Tessa MarkhamPublished 2 years ago in EarthNot Enough
Polar Bear Den, Ellesmere Island, Canada I blink furiously, eyes shimmering in the sunlight as I squint through its new brightness for the first time. The snow is soft beneath my paws and its countless flakes cling to the fur between my toepads. I turn my head, ears flicking, and look all around. It’s the solstice, the first day of spring, and the sky is so big. I thump into a sitting position, still looking at the cloud-dotted blue, and feel the breeze through my fur. Our mother said the days will only get longer from now until winter, but I can’t wait to see the stars. My brother starts to run off, kicking snow into my nose as he goes past, his head wagging excitedly from side-to-side. I respond in kind, shaking my head, and hop up to go after him. I can still barely see past the glare of sunlight on the snow. From behind, a low cuff, like an almost-growl. My brother and I skid to a stop, paws digging into the snowpack, and turn to our mother. She growls again and we return.
Tessa MarkhamPublished 2 years ago in EarthFloods
Puffin Colony, Maine, USA The wind rushes past, ruffling along the back edges of my feathers and stinging my eyes. My partner flies beside me, her wingstrokes almost in tandem with my own. We dip and glide between the ocean’s updrafts, flying in earnest towards the coastline far ahead, just below the horizon. The breeze shifts into warmer currents as we approach the shore, the one we see every year. Just a slope of green before the larger rocky coastline behind it, this island is where we come to breed; this is the island where I was born. We come back every year on the solstice, nesting before summer starts to come. Other pairs land first and latch their feet onto the land, one in front of the other, as they put their beaks to the ground, wings still outstretched. Some of them bump against one another and they part their beaks in momentary annoyance. Then their wings fold and they duck their heads into their burrows. My partner lands just before me and I follow. As she goes to inspect the outer edges of our burrow, the one we’ve used each year, I dip my head inside it.
Tessa MarkhamPublished 2 years ago in EarthRising Seas
Iron Age Village, Orkney, Scotland Ocean waves crash to my left against ragged cliffs of stacked sedimentary rock only a few feet tall. Speckles of salty foam breach the too-tall berms and shower the yellowing marram grasses. Short blades fade into moss and then lichen along the rocky shore, stone and sand mixing in a gradient along the inshore berm. The lapping of waves on the beach melds with the whistling of wind across the island. Green hills tinged with fragmented yellow stretch out before me. They look flatter than I thought they were. A low wall stands to my right, sweeping through the grass in a rounded square, almost a circle. It’s rough and worn and doesn’t come up past my knees. I pivot and lean down over it, looking into the central indentation and the stone structures within. Small rectangles of packed earth bordered with thin stones line two walls and a doorway stands in the third, topped with the earth and grass that surrounds me. Dew gathers at the upper edges of the walls, teasing its droplets between the stiff grass and cold stone. There’s a half-open structure built into the wall farthest from me, and a hearth, empty and void of ashes, sits squarely in the middle of the room.
Tessa MarkhamPublished 2 years ago in EarthSnow and the Seattleite
Yes, I have written about extremes of weather before, both hot and cold, both in my personal blog and here on Vocal. Click the links; they're interesting.
Jenn KirklandPublished 2 years ago in EarthArctic - the Winners and Losers of Climate Change
No other region of the world has transformed as rapidly as the Arctic in the recent past. Global warming has led to a loss of ice cover in the north, which exposes the dark-colored ground. This ground absorbs more heat from sunlight and further leads to heating up of the region, leading to further depletion of ice cover. Arctic amplification, as this process is commonly known, has been the leading cause of what has been the steepest temperature rise in the world. Images of malnourished polar bears, to which most of us are desensitized by now, are literally just the tip of the iceberg. The temperature rise, loss of ice sheets, growth of vegetation, and opening of trade activities along the North Sea route, Northwest and Northeast passages are all creating a positive feedback loop of unprecedented changes in one of the last and the most pristine safeguarded ecosystems of our planet.
Rishi RathiPublished 2 years ago in EarthThe Sad Truth Is That We Can Adapt to Climate Change
Climate change is a devastating problem; it threatens to kill millions of humans and ravage the rest of the living world, catapulting the biosphere into a mass extinction. It will impoverish every society on earth and change countless systems in nature.
George DillardPublished 2 years ago in EarthEnvironmental, Social and Governance (ESG) will be the new “bottom line”
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts are now an integral element for organizational success. As such, disregarding them is a disastrous step for corporations and countries. For me, ESG investing goes beyond the three letters acronym to address how a company serves workers, communities, customers, shareholders and the global environment.
Andrea ZanonPublished 2 years ago in Earth- Top Story - December 2021
Reflection on 2021 G20’s Impacts and Outcomes
This year G20 took place in Rome, Italy under the Italian Prime Minister Leadership. This summit had a bigger task than usual, given that the global economy lost more than $ 8 trillion in GDP since Covid began in 2020. This summit became the facto the opening ceremony for the COP26 Climate Summit which started on November 1st in the UK. The G20 was established in 1999 as a consultation forum for the world largest economies, while giving a stronger representation to those economies not included in the G7. This consultative group (led by Minister of Finance and Central Bank Governors) aims to ensure that the international community is equipped and coordinated in its efforts to build a stronger financial system, while also focusing on sustainability and international development. The G20 include 19 countries plus the European Union. These countries combined represent approximately 90% of global GDP, 80% of global trade, and 74% of global carbon emission. Several key G20 countries, namely Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa did not attend in person. China is the largest carbon emitters, Saudi Arabia, and Russia, respectively are the second and third largest oil producers in the world. Their absence in Rome, sent a negative message in terms of their commitment to help manage the climate crisis.
Andrea ZanonPublished 2 years ago in Earth Hydrogen will help transition to a cleaner energy future
As I predicted in my article of Nov 11, 2021, The UN COP26 Climate Summit in the UK Will help build momentum but it will disappoint many, the UN Conference was overshadowed by the realization that governments would not agree to act quickly enough to stop global warming. As I explained, the COP26 would build good momentum towards a greener future but would not gain the Government commitments needed to reach zero net emission by 2050. Progress however should be applauded, among the most concrete achievements, the following are the most notable: a) The G20 committed to stop financing of international coal powerplants; b) The Global Methane Pledge Initiative was supported by over 100 countries to reduce by 30% methane emission by 2030 (Methane as 80 times more global warming power than CO2); and c) The top forest countries in the world agreed to stop deforestation by 2025. As I take stock of what happened at the Cop26, and analyze the plans for the COP28 (In Cairo, Egypt) and Cop29 (In Abhu-Dabi, UAE), I share my thoughts about Green Hydrogen, as I believe it is the most viable alternative source for a cleaner energy future.
Andrea ZanonPublished 2 years ago in EarthClimate action on the big screen
Sabrina Caires 5th November 2021 From net zero and climate pledges to a tiff between Scott Morisson and Emmanuel Macron, news sites have been plastered with headlines about the G20 and Cop26 summits over the past few weeks. The Environmental Film Festival Australia (EFFA) gives audiences a perspective on climate action that is more personal than political – one of shared climate anxiety and community empowerment.
Sabrina CairesPublished 2 years ago in EarthImagine We were not so Stupid
I’ve heard it said that Stupid is as stupid does, and I believe we've all done something that fits that statement. I have done or said some pretty stupid things in my life, mostly when I was young, that I wish I could change. I have grown and learned from those things and believe I am a better person because of that growth. Learning from your mistakes and not repeating them is a natural part of growth that, as individuals, we do well.
Gerald HolmesPublished 2 years ago in Earth