Terra et Natura

     So for my first climate change-related post, I didn't want to rehash the arguments for human-caused climate change. My guess is that if you are reading this, you are already well informed on that subject. The evidence that our huge and continued release of CO2 and other "greenhouse gases" are warming the planet has been confirmed by multiple disciplines based upon principles of chemistry and physics that we have understood for well over 100 years. The much more important subject is: what the hell are we going to do about it? As we've seen the climate warm and weather extremes get even more batshit crazy, it's becoming clear that we'd better hurry up. I'm pretty sure Canada isn't looking to get its own tornado alley or the Midwest its very own desert.   That said, what are our biggest  problems? According to the EPA, the big 3 in the U.S. are transportation, electrical generation, and industry, in that order. Since transportation is the largest se...

       One of the most pressing issues facing Earth's biodiversity is the devastating losses seen among the world's amphibians. While there are many threats, including pollution, the pet trade, and habitat loss. The most devastating has been the spread of disease.  "The most deadly of these has been an introduced fungal pathogen, a type of chytrid fungus, called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd for short. After years of unexplained amphibian die-offs, Bd was eventually discovered by researchers in 1998. It has been responsible for many of the devastating declines in amphibian populations around the world, especially in South America, Central America, and Australia. This highly contagious fungus infects the keratinized portions of amphibian skin. The resulting disease, called chytridiomycosis, thickens and hardens the epidermis of the infected animal, eventually shutting down the transport of oxygen and water through the skin and killing its victims. Bd is t...

  It's no secret that humans have doomed many species to extinction and the threat to many more still exists. The wolves of the Falkland Islands are just one of dozens of species I highlight in Extinction in a Human World. Here is an excerpt from my book on these unique canines that unfortunately are now lost forever.  Image:    George R. Waterhouse/Biodiversity Heritage Library Falkland Islands Wolf (Dusicyon australis) The story of the wolves of the Falkland Islands is one of mystery, a mystery that perplexed not only Charles Darwin when he visited the islands in 1833 and again in 1834, but also generations of naturalists since. Confused by what process would allow the Falkland Island wolves to colonize these islands but not a single other terrestrial mammal. Just how did a mammal of this size, probably as large as 20 kg (44 lbs), make it to islands isolated some 480 km (300 miles) east of the mainland of Patagonia? Numerous theories were proposed over the years. S...