The reason given is climate change; I suspect atmospheric pollution is the primary cause. 99.82% of the global land area is exposed to toxic levels of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5)—tiny particles in the air that are linked to lung cancer and heart disease.
Atmospheric particle pollution and the toxic chemicals carried by the particles are also likely to be toxic to the trees. It is absolutely right to be hugging these 3,000-year-old trees because they are unlikely to survive the next 30 years.
Climate change is a self-fulfilling prophecy that encompasses the annihilation of nature. We will be able to survive climate change, but we will not be able to survive the loss of nature over the next 20 years. It is now time to implement real solutions and take action.
We know that if we had not destroyed more than 50% of the marine ecosystem, we would not have elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.
However, we continue to destroy the marine ecosystem, even in precious locations such as the Galapagos. 30 years ago, the marine ecosystem was in good condition, the shark fin industry moved in, and a high percentage of the apex-level predators were killed. We know that when you remove sharks, all animals and plants suffer. The same situation happened in Bocas del Toro in Panama, and now most of the fish have also gone. There are other reasons, such as pollution, but at least we should be able to stop destructive fishing.
The pelagic fishing industry and the quest for shark fin soup continue around the Galapagos, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Panama. Hundreds of foreign commercial fishing vessels are sucking the life out of the oceans; they are sucking the life out of the planet and any chance of a sustainable future.
In 1835, at the age of twenty-six, Charles Darwin arrived in the Galapagos Islands, where he spent a mere five weeks and only seventeen days on land, gathering specimens and sketching them. Even though he published his findings 20 years after visiting the islands, he wasn’t the first to comprehend the principles of natural selection, but he was the first to publish in 1859.
The Origon of Species by means of Natural Selection or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life
With the exception of marine mammals, very few mammals can survive on the dry, nearly arid Galapagos Islands. Most of the terrestrial animals are birds and reptiles, including endemic marine iguanas and giant tortoises. The animals had to adapt to the slightly different conditions on each island due to the extreme difficulty of surviving. Darwin used finches, which are small birds that eat seeds, as an example. The birds’ beaks adapted to the seeds that the various plant species produced on different islands. There are numerous instances of adaptation, and as a species becomes more specialised, it eventually splits into subspecies and then distinct species.
Natural selection is currently taking place in the world, but unlike in the past, most of nature is unable to adapt to the current circumstances. This is because nature lacks the mechanisms necessary to deal with harmful substances and chemicals created by humans, like plastic and endocrine disruptors. Humanity is failing to preserve life, and nature is dying. Even if we stopped polluting right away, the majority of nature might not survive the next 20 years because of the current level of toxicity in the world.
There is no biological need for us to change our wicked ways because those who possess the wealth, power, and authority to bring about change are not suffering; this includes most people in high-income countries. The issue is that it will be too late to save the environment on land and the marine life in the oceans when those individuals or organisations with the power to effect change begin to suffer severely.
In essence, human survival and self-preservation are being harmed by natural selection because most do not think there is actually a problem. We have already lost 70% of nature since 1970 and 90% since 1900; over the next 20 years, it will be 90% and 99%, respectively. Humanity is part of nature; we cannot survive if it is destroyed.
There is still time to halt the process, restore biodiversity, and stop climate change, but first we must stop the devastation of ecosystems, overexploitation of the natural world, and pollution from toxic chemicals, plastic, and partially combusted carbon.
What will it take to change the world after almost 200 years since Darwin was in Galapagos?
The air we breathe 99.82% of the global land area is exposed to toxic levels of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5)—tiny particles in the air that are linked to lung cancer and heart disease https://lnkd.in/ezB5f4qP
Wastewater and toxic chemicals 80% of all our wastewater from 8 billion people is discharged into rivers and the oceans without treatment. Almost 100% of all toxic chemicals are discharged into the environment without treatment. https://lnkd.in/ec4_eDnp
Drinking water and rainwater All drinking water is contaminated with plastic and toxic chemicals, and some water companies even add ammonium to drinking water to form chloramines, which makes the water even more toxic. https://lnkd.in/e7YiKSpT
Your food Most of your food will not contain toxic chemicals such as herbicides, but toxic chemicals are also added on purpose. https://lnkd.in/e3ycZqP7
Human fertility and the ability of nature to reproduce At the current rate of decline, male sperm count will be reduced to less than 90%+ due to endocrine disrupting toxic chemicals over the next 20 years. The same applies to most animals in nature because toxic chemicals are now everywhere. https://lnkd.in/e6pCzShx
Nature 69% of all terrestrial animals have been lost; over 50% of all marine life has been lost compared to 1970; and probable close to 90% since 1900. At the current rate of decline, it will be 90% to 99% respectively over the next 20 years. Humans are part of nature, and without nature, we cannot survive. https://lnkd.in/epTujT3s https://lnkd.in/ebieY5vj
Ocean acidification, aerosols, and climate change Carbon mitigation will not stop ocean acidification; it could accelerate the process. https://lnkd.in/e6m3xQ3d When the ocean pH hits 7.95 in less than 20 years, most marine life will either dissolve or succumb to disease or starvation. The process has started, and the Mediterranean has lost most of its marine life. https://lnkd.in/e_HuQ9Vn
The belief that carbon mitigation is the solution to climate change and our survival is ridiculous. We need to stop all forms of toxic chemical pollution, plastic, and particle pollution and regenerate nature; otherwise, there is little hope for the survival of humanity over the next few decades! www.goesfoundation.com
A recent study suggests that the majority of children born from now on may not be able to have children of their own due to exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in plastic, water, and food.
Over the next 20 to 40 years, most couples will likely be sterile. These chemicals are now everywhere and have concentrated on microplastic. Every litre of rainwater falling on the planet contains microplastics and toxic chemicals.
Sterility not only applies to humans but also to most animals and many plants. Climate change is important, but pollution from toxic chemicals, microplastics, and partially combusted carbon will make it seem like a walk in the park. Check out the sources to learn more.
The focus of climate change has and will likely continue to be carbon mitigation; however, we know that this will not work. The climate will continue to become progressively more extreme, and at best, carbon mitigation will delay the inevitable (point of no return) a few years to 2050. https://lnkd.in/eiC9kgDu
While carbon dioxide is part of the problem, it will not stop the process, which is increasing exponentially. Be under no illusion; this is an extinction-level event that is being ignored because human nature fails to engage with the fact that we are part of nature and cannot survive on this world without nature on land, and marine life in the world’s oceans. This is partially due to Shifting BaseLine Syndrome, SBS https://lnkd.in/eiC9kgDu .
We look at a world that appears full of life, but according to WWF and others, we have lost 50% to 80% of all nature on land and marine life since 1970, and about 90% since 1900. In another 20 years, the figure will be 90% to 99%, respectively. It will not be possible for most of us to survive, and bioclimatic aspects will cause catastrophic climate change. SBS syndrome and generational amnesia will drive us into extinction and planetary meltdown.
Sure, we must continue with carbon mitigation, but carbon tunnel vision is even more dangerous. We need to be nature-centric, to stop destroying ecosystems, and to start doing some good, because we are way past the point of just doing less harm as a solution. So, what can be done….? There is too much to explain in this post, but 80% of the world has no wastewater or atmospheric pollution control, we need to eliminate / prevent toxic forever chemicals, plastic, and partially combusted carbon from entering the wider ecosystem, and we need to be nature-positive and start to repair the catastrophic damage humanity has inflicted on nature.
We are part of nature and will suffer the same consequences when it is destroyed. https://lnkd.in/ev6_2cXN
The Oceans are not blue anymore……this is scary !!!!
The world’s oceans are changing colour from blue to green. It is reported that this is due to climate change, but the green chlorophyll phytoplankton are not tracking the warmer water. It is suggested that it may be due to nutrients and stratification in a recent report by Nature. https://lnkd.in/eGxzHe5C
Very little information is given in the Nature report. At Goes, we think the change in colour is due to a regime shift of phytoplankton from Coccolithophore species to cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates. This is well documented in other reports.
Coccolithophores are composed of calcium, and they help to make the water appear blue. The change has affected 56% of the world’s Oceans. A number of years ago, we predicted this would happen; see the graph below. The issue now is that it is occurring many years earlier than predicted.
Dinoflagellates will produce harmful algal blooms, which can impact human health and the marine food web. The algae produce toxic chemicals such as domoic acid, which causes brain damage in marine mammals. Orca have now been attacking boats in Portugal and Spain https://lnkd.in/ey5tgN_D and seals are now attacking people in South Africa. This is not normal behaviour !!!!
Additionally, the shift in phytoplankton composition will affect the carbon cycle, as dinoflagellates do not calcify like coccolithophores, and oceanic pH (acidity) is going to crash at a faster rate.
What are the scientists doing about this…..We need to collect more data
A major regime shift in the world’s Oceans from Coccolithophores to cellulose dinoflagellates is catastrophically bad and will impact everyone.
We all have some of OCEAN DUST inside our bodiDiatoms are one of the most important marine plants that give us around 20% of all our oxygen and remove the same amount of carbon dioxide. Because they are made of silica, their skeletons survive inside us all. We are all made of ocean dust….
This demonstrates that we are all connected to the oceans, when we breathe in air, we are breathing in marine plants in every breath.
Due to ocean acidification, diatoms and carbonate based marine plants are going to change to plants call dinoflagellates, and many of them are toxic. This will happen over the next 25 years.
Will the air we breath become toxic ? check-out red-tides
We need to protect ocean ecosystems, because they represent our greatest carbon sink, and all life on earth depends upon the oceans.
We need to stop the pollution from toxic chemicals and plastic, regenerate nature, and nature will help remove the carbon.
Nature doesn’t need humans, but we have inflicted so much damage on the environment that if humans were removed from the planet tomorrow, the oceans will still experience a regime shift, and we will still have catastrophic climate change.
We have focused on carbon as the solution for climate change, but it is only part of the problem, and maybe even just a small part. Water vapour pressure and biogenic aerosol formation from the ocean SML layer could be responsible for as much as 80% of climate disruption.
Countries most at risk are those that are impacted by atmospheric pollution and loss of the SML, so all countries around the Mediterranean, the Arctic and Antarctic, high latitude countries, South America New Zealand, Australia. The climate disruption will be droughts, no clouds, high humidity, high pressure, followed by torrential downpours and strong winds of up to 200km/hr that just last for maybe 20 minutes.
Countries subject to aerosol pollution from the burning of coal or trees, for example the horrific torrential floods in Pakistan were blamed on climate change, they were more likely to have been caused by atmospheric pollution from China.
Unless we stop the cycle, the extremes will become more and more violent.
