Among the many ways nature shows us this – including species’ die-offs left, right and centre – is climate change, with reports this week that some climatologists believe its catastrophic consequences aren’t as far in the future as we once thought.

While many thought major environmental problems would become tangible realities in centuries, some now think we may see these realities in decades instead.

Fossil fuel addiction

Led by former NASA climatologist James E Hansen, a new paper says that our burning of fossil fuels so far and in the coming years will contribute to a radical climate shift due to the introduction of fresh water from melting land ice.

Elsewhere, Earth Overshoot Day – the day when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for the year – comes earlier and earlier each year. In 2015, it landed on 14 August, meaning we’re running at about 150pc of the planet’s capacity.

Worse still, if this isn’t addressed satisfactorily, we’ll actually need two Earths to create the resources we consume as early as 2030.

The effects can be seen everywhere: deforestation, drought, soil erosion, biodiversity loss and the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is affecting all states, to varying degrees.

The carbon dioxide build-up will exacerbate all other issues, according to current climate models, with the world’s carbon footprint doubling in the last 45 years.

How many people could live on Earth?

How do we change this? Well, according to BBC Earth Unplugged, there are three ways. Using a pie to explain the planet’s resources, Maddie Moate explains that we can either reduce the number of people eating it, make it bigger (meaning using our resources more efficiently), or get everybody to share.

There are 7bn people on the planet but, if we all lived the average American lifestyle, Moate explains that Earth could support just one-third of that.

It’s clear we’re walking headfirst into some pretty nasty scenarios in the near future. This video should explain it all.

Main image of dying Earth via Shutterstock

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According to the final draft agreed upon by those there, nations would try to hold the increase in global average temperature to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels, which was mooted as limiting the most damaging effects of climate change.

Now, however, according to The New York Times, some of the world’s best-known climatologists have published a research paper warning that some of the worst effects of global warming are likely to be seen within a few decades, rather than centuries, as once predicted.

Led by former NASA climatologist James E Hansen, the paper says that our burning of fossil fuels so far and in the coming years will contribute to a radical climate shift due to the introduction of fresh water from melting land ice.

Conflicting view with wider climatologist community

Once this enters the Earth’s oceans in large quantities, it will create a damaging feedback loop that will rapidly melt the polar ice caps much faster than once predicted and that this effect has already led to the extreme weather we’ve seen in the previous few years.

In the worst-case scenario, the paper argues, we could see sea levels rise by as much as several feet within 50 years, with an increase of violent storms predicted based on their own findings from the last warm period on Earth 120,000 years ago.

However, it appears that the paper released by Hansen and his 18 colleagues has not been met with universal approval from their peers, most notably Maynooth University’s highly-regarded climatologist Peter Thorne, who commented on a preview draft of the paper back in July of last year.

Yet, despite misgivings about Hansen et al’s findings, many climatologists concur with Hansen – who also acts as a campaigner for climate change awareness, much to the chagrin of his more formal climatologists – in his belief that our efforts to reduce emissions have been far too slow.

Melting glacier image via Shutterstock

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The organisation, which has planted 11.5m trees so far in countries around the equator in the last eight years, is combating climate change and at the same time creating social and economic opportunities for women and families in regions ravaged by deforestation.

Education programmes teach locals about economic opportunities through restoring biodiversity to their area

The crowdfunding campaign aims to help the village of Dympep, a village in north-eastern India, restore the original subtropical forest and its unique biodiversity.

“This will enable local villages to yield income and help change the climate cycle by taking degraded land and turning it into productive forestry.”

‘If we took the world’s top 50 companies and got them to pledge their profit from one day of a year for five years, we could solve climate change with enough tree planting’
^{– BILL LIAO}

Liao said that centuries of degradation of the world’s rainforests have been accelerated in recent decades. “Poverty is a major deforestor but demand for biofuels in Brazil are also a killer where virgin trees are being harvested for palm oil.”

He explained that most of WeForest.org’s donations come from corporations, including Google, Deloitte and FedEx, but said he felt that crowdfunding would help to create an intimate connection between people and specific projects.

“If we took the world’s top 50 companies and got them to pledge their profit from one day of a year for five years, we could solve climate change with enough tree planting.

“Or if we planted one tree for every serving of Coca-Cola we would have solved climate change in 154 days.

“It costs 50 cents to plant a tree as well as educate the local populations in villages around the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn in permaculture,” Liao said.

“When we started on this journey we thought we would need two trillion trees to end climate change but, actually, we could plant 262bn trees around the world at $131bn at today’s prices and effectively end climate change.”

Emboldened by the success of the crowdfunding plan, Liao sees it as a way of raising funding for specific projects and raising awareness.

A woman and child in the village of Dympep in north-eastern India where Weforest.org aims to create 180 new jobs by empowering local people through the reforestation of the area

“The key here is knowing you are doing good and knowing what you are doing does no harm at all. This isn’t about reaching down to give someone a hand up, it is about reaching across the table and getting someone to work with you.

“If the climate gets wrecked, we are all stuffed.”

Liao cited the example of the Sahara Desert, which was once a rainforest. “The Romans and the Phoenicians cut down those trees to build fleets and the trees didn’t grow back – no one knew back then that they should – but we have a chance to turn devastated areas into lush rainforests, save the planet and create trillions in sustainable income every year. It is a peaceful solution to a devastating problem for our world,” Liao concluded.

Disclaimer: Bill Liao is a partner with SOSV, which is an investor in Silicon Republic

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While you’d wonder how such a species hasn’t just died off quite quickly, the species’ ability to survive despite such low birth rates is largely down to the fact it can live for a century, quite easily, in deep caves away from other animal contact or in aquariums.

According to The Guardian, the olm is perhaps one of the strangest-looking lizards out there, largely due to the fact it has no eyes and a skin that eerily resembles our own.

This particular female olm had been living in an aquarium for some time, but following the accidental discovery of a white dot on the side of her tank in January, biologists swooped in to protect the olm and her eggs by removing other creatures from the tank.

In total, the olm laid 57 eggs, of which three have gone on to develop into likely hatchlings that will be due sometime this June.

This is an amazing achievement considering that olm eggs have rather poor rates of survivability, with them needing to survive for 120 days in order to mature properly.

The team of Slovenian biologists are so protective of the olm and her eggs, in fact, that no visitors are allowed anywhere near the aquarium tank.

Speaking of the rarity and importance of the likely birth, biologist Saso Weldt said: “This is something truly extraordinary.

“Nobody has ever witnessed (their) reproduction in nature. We even haven’t seen an animal younger than two years.”

Sadly for Game of Thrones fans, these humble, blind lizards will not be breathing fire, but they’re impressive all the same.

(Not) dragon eggs image via Shutterstock

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The most notable levels of platinum are found mainly in the area to the southeast of the towns of Aughrim and Tinahely on the Wicklow-Wexford border.

Platinum, which is rarer than gold, has never before been discovered in stream sediment from the south Leinster region.

It is a particularly valuable metal, not only for jewellery but also for industrial use in electronics, medical applications and catalytic converters in cars.

As well as reconfirming high levels of gold in streams near the Goldmines River and Avoca regions of Wicklow, the new data identifies high gold values in streams that flow across and along the edges of the Leinster granite, a complex area long thought to be a source for the gold mineralisation in the region.

The new geochemical data for south-east Ireland and all previous phases of the Tellus Survey are available, free of charge, to view and download. The new data released today (2 March) will be showcased next week at a major international convention, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) in Toronto on 7 March.

Ireland has a Gold Coast – who knew?

High gold values in streams have also been identified in Co Waterford, in the Dungarvan to Stradbally area, locally known as the “Gold Coast” and is thought to be sourced from 450m-year-old volcanic rocks in the area.

The recently reanalysed data from the Tellus Survey team also highlights a broad zone of gold in Co Wicklow, north of the Sugar Loaf region, where only small traces of the precious metal have been found previously.

The big question is just how much gold and platinum can be salvaged from the streams and if this will present a major industrial and economic opportunity for Ireland.

It is hoped that this new data, along with additional data from samples due to be released later this year, will offer a fresh perspective on Ireland’s natural resources, with the scope for further exploration attracting  additional inward investment.

“The mining and mineral exploration industry’s contribution to the Irish economy has been considerable over the past five decades,” said Koen Verbruggen, director of the Geological Survey of Ireland.

“The industry is currently suffering from a major global downturn due to low commodity prices, which coupled with a scarcity of recent economically significant discoveries has seen Ireland’s indigenous production of metals retreat with the closure of a number of mines.

“A core strategy of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and that of the Geological Survey of Ireland is to support investment and development of this important industry by producing high-quality openly available geological information to identify new areas for exploration. I am pleased to see the latest Tellus data highlighting new insights, and opens new possible opportunities for investment into our underexplored country.”

Tellus aims to have surveyed 50pc of the country by the end of 2017 and has plans to complete national surveying in the coming years. A geochemical sampling survey will be undertaken with a team of agricultural scientists gathering stream samples across the west, midlands and east of the country over the next two years.

The Tellus Programme also includes an airborne survey, which will be active in the Waterford region later this spring and Galway later in the year.

Gold image via Shutterstock

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At a summit in Kuala Lumpur, delegates from almost 100 countries met to discuss the issues surrounding animal pollinators, thrashing out ways to solve an ecological crisis.

The report produced is two years in the making, with 77 scientists highlighting the implications of these species’ declines for the world’s food supply and economy.

It also suggests ways to harness the potential of pollinators, which can help more than just localised ecosystems, but entire food supply chains, too.

The volume of food that is reliant on pollinators doing their job has risen 300pc in the past 50 years, with fruit, coffee and nuts particularly dependent.

Bat to the future

“Without pollinators, many of us would not be able to enjoy chocolate, coffee and vanilla ice cream, or healthy foods like blueberries and brazil nuts,” said Dr Lynn Dicks, who worked on the report.

“The value of pollinators goes way beyond this. People’s livelihoods and culture are intimately linked with pollinators around the world. All the major world religions have sacred passages that mention bees.”

Two out of five species of invertebrate pollinators (bees, wasps, butterflies etc) are headed for extinction. A little better off are larger pollinators like birds and bats, yet, still, one-in-six species face extinction. But something has to change to ensure a better future.

Areas of real concern are Africa, Asia and Latin America, where the data doesn’t yet exist to make decent estimates.

Why are bees important? This video should explain all.

Ireland doing its part

Last September, dozens of organisations in Ireland united to save bees, in particular, signing off on a five-year plan to halt the decline of pollinators across the country.

It means the whole island will have a targeted approach, creating pollinator highways along transport routes, making public parks pollinator friendly and encouraging the public to accept bees into their gardens.

It’s both a tangible and intangible project, with the raising of awareness seemingly key, aiming to ensure everyone knows what bees need, and why they need it, to do their work.

Internationally speaking, other strategies include novel man-made aids for bees, like Norway’s ingenious bee “highway”, dedicated solely to the striped little guys.

It’s basically a network of nectar-hosting flowers planted by enthusiasts along cemeteries, rooftop gardens and balconies throughout Oslo.

There’s actually a similar “butterfly highway” project in the US, with plans to establish a 1,500-mile corridor of vegetation between Mexico and Minnesota for the creatures.

A solution

This current report, despite its worrying tone, offers some relatively easy fixes. Basically, change how we farm land.

“There are relatively simple, relatively inexpensive mechanisms for turning the trend around for native pollinators,” said David Inouye, who worked on the report.

Encouraging more diverse crops – most US farms yield one crop, while 97pc of European grasslands have disappeared since WWII – and addressing key pesticide issues is key.

Bees, butterflies and bats images via Shutterstock

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The problem is, what if too many bees die out? What trees and plants are they facilitating, and what would their extinction mean in the grand scheme of things?

Looking at ants as an example, Albert László Barabási and his colleagues claim to have developed the first-ever tool to identify whether systems are in danger of failing.

The difficulty in working out a blanket rule for when an ecosystem fails is that there are so many ingredients involved in keeping an environment habitable for its housed species. What’s true for ants and plants, might not be true for cats and rats, you see.

Using swathes of statistical data, Barabási & Co crunch down all the parameters and components of any complex system into a single crucial number. From their they establish a value, or tipping point.

It sounds rather far-fetched, but if you want to check the paper then it’s here. For me, though, it’s this wonderful video that makes the grade.

Main image via Shutterstock

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That’s why this enchanting video Mojave Blues, shot and edited by astro-photographer Harun Mehmedinovic as part of Project SKYGLOW showing meteorite explosions, zodiac lights and swirling star patterns is a visual delight.

Project SKYGLOW is an ongoing collaboration between Mehmedinovic and Gavin Heffernan who are travelling the US to capture serene views of the night sky from isolated places.

The plan is to produce a book and DVD of the material they’ve captured and a crowdfunding goal of $70,000 has been surpassed and has now been stretched to $100,000.

The purpose of SKYGLOW is to raise awareness of urban light pollution.

This amazing time-lapse video captures an exploding meteorite, a flash of zodiac light and the effect of our world spinning in this vast starry ocean we call the universe.

This video was shot in the Mojave desert along the famous Route 66, but I would like to think Mehmedinovic and Heffernan would capture similar beauty if they ever came to Donegal on Ireland’s west coast.

Enjoy!

Gigglebit is Siliconrepublic’s daily dose of the funny and fantastic in science and tech, to help start your day on a lighter note – because sometimes the lighter side of STEM should be taken seriously, too.

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In the last few years, however, a number of engineers and researchers have toyed with the idea of creating driveable roads that also act as enormous solar panels stretching for kilometres on end, offsetting the carbon generated by the vehicles.

And now, according to the French government, the European country will be one of the first to actually go ahead with the idea on a grand scale.

8pc of France’s energy needs

According to Global Construction Review, the decision is being instigated by France’s minister of ecology and energy, Ségolène Royal, who wants to lay 1,000km of roads embedded with photovoltaic strips.

It’s envisioned that the 7mm long strips – called Wattway cells – will be glued to the existing roadways based on technology that is already available, with each strip generating enough energy to power one household.

Despite being made from thin polycrystalline silicon, the strips would be able to withstand all road vehicles without causing them to slip.

The total estimated cost of the project is believed to be between €200m and €300m and, if successful, will be able to provide power to 5m homes, or the equivalent of 8pc of France’s entire population.

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Combining data from satellites owned by the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the Japan Meteorological Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the video talks us through most of the major events, why they happen and why they end.

Commentary comes from Mark Higgins, a training manager at EUMETSAT, with his organisation behind the visualisation.

The actual graphics you see are composed of a satellite infrared data layer superimposed over NASA’s ‘Blue Marble Next Generation’ ground maps, which change with the seasons.

A crazy weather year

As we reported in early January, the number of natural disasters in 2015 spiked above the global average, with storms, flooding, earthquakes and forest fires making for a grim year.

Global events like winter storms, windstorms and flooding culminated for a 2015 chock-full of weather records around the world.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Nepal, which killed thousands, was one of the biggest news events of the year but, elsewhere, 21 tropical cyclones hit land, 40pc above the average. 14 landfalls hit the northern hemisphere alone, with 2015 also the warmest year since records began.

2016 is expected to be similarly warm.

Storm image via Shutterstock

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