Daily Quick Read - August 5, 2019

Brown Hyenas 

Hyenas are not charismatic predators like lions or cheetahs.  They are scavengers who often compete with other scavengers over the remains of prey animals other predators have killed.  Still, they are also effective pack hunters, who have a highly stable social structure.  And, like all predators in Africa, they are facing a difficult road.

Brown hyenas are endemic to southern Africa, and occur in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Angola. Their presence in both Mozambique and Eswatini is currently unconfirmed. It is believed that the largest population exists in Botswana at an estimation of around 4,600 individuals. 

The most recent figures from the IUCN Red List estimate a population size of less than 10,000 individuals worldwide, making it the rarest member of the hyena family. The species is currently classed as ‘Near Threatened’ (a status which means the species may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future), with the population of mature animals experiencing a continuing decline.

The Rich Are Different

The rich and powerful are not afraid of climate change.  To some the climate crisis is a career opportunity.  To others it is a business opportunity.  They all know that they and their children will not suffer any inconvenience due to global warming.  They can always fly to vacation on an island that hasn’t been inundated by the ocean.  Google is spending $20 million so the rich can fly in to an invitation only discussion of climate change. 

The transportation of the various guests, including Barack Obama, Leonardo DiCaprio, Harry Styles, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Mark Zuckerberg, and Diane Von Furstenberg amongst many others have drawn condemnation on social media and in the press.

After all, a flight from New York to Palermo, Sicily, generates around 4.24 metric tons of CO2, or the equivalent of 540,652 smart phones being charged at one time, according to EuroNews. That's a lot of carbon for just a few people. And, that doesn't include the greenhouse gasses emitted by the 2,300 horsepower diesel-engine private yachts. 

One Twitter user commented, "Several #celebrities, wealthy and famous people have arrived in Sicily for #Google summit to discuss climate change. Are these folks going to push for a bill to be passed to ban use of private jets and mega yachts?" as Fox News reported.

To Busy With the Next Climate Disaster

                                                                                                                                           Rory Doyle/The Guardian

Climate disaster are happening so often that is impossible to keep track of the last disaster because the next one is already upon us. These folks are under water and they don’t even get a mention in the media because their flood is old news.

Compounding the problem was a high Mississippi River, which remained near or above flood stage for the longest span since 1927. The perfect storm of historic rainfall and a high river resulted in a backwater flood that has lingered beyond anything the region has ever seen.

Only within with the past couple weeks has the water receded, and for the first time in nearly half a year, farmers are finally beginning to see their land re-emerge. Dating back to late February, about 550,000 acres of land have been underwater in the rural Yazoo backwater area of the lower Mississippi delta. About half of the acreage is farmland, creating devastating effects in a region where agriculture is the lifeblood of the economy. While flooding in the region is common, this year’s floodwater has hung around longer than ever.

"Because no one’s died from this, and we live in such a remote place, it doesn’t seem to be important to national news,” said Paul Hollis, a farmer from Rolling Fork and a local commission for the Mississippi levee board. “We want people to know how many acres of farm land are flooded, how many houses are destroyed and how much wildlife has been impacted by this.”

SFO Bans Single Use Plastic Water Bottles

San Francisco International Airport will implement a ban on the sale of single use plastic water bottles on August 20.  The airport is working towards a goal of becoming a zero “waste-to-landfill” facility.  The plastic bottle ban follows similar bans on plastic straws and limits on single use waste.

The airport, which restricted the distribution of single-use plastic straws when the city law went into effect in July, is now banning convenience shops, restaurants and vending machines from selling plastic water bottles. Starting 20 August, only water in glass, recycled aluminum, or certified compostable materials can be sold.  

The change is a part of SFO’s five-year strategic plan. Launched in 2016, the plan includes SFO becoming a zero “waste-to-landfill” facility by 2021, asstated on its website. According to SFO, each airport guest creates a half pound of trash.

In an effort to reduce the waste, the airport is limiting single-use food accessories such as napkins, coffee cups and chopsticks. In addition to plastic, SFO is banning items with “unsubstantiated claims” about their sustainability. Now, water bottles with messages like “environmentally friendly” or “bio-based” will have to be approved by the Biodegradable Plastics Institute (BPI) before they’re sold.

Maybe We Should Figure This Out

Lobster fishermen in Maine have had a run of extremely good years thanks to global warming.  As the ocean along the northeast coast of the US have warmed, lobsters have moved north seeking the cooler waters.  Other north eastern states such as Rhode Island and Massachusetts have seen decreases in their lobster catches due to the lobster’s relocation.  The bad news for Maine is that the lobsters will continue to move north into Canadian waters as the ocean’s water continue to warm.

Maine’s congressional delegation has been pushing to get more federal funding for research into the warming of the Gulf of Maine, but they’ve been frustrated by the lack of interest by the Trump administration. “I’d like to see a recognition that this is a problem and we have to get after trying to find solutions,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said of the administration and climate change.

“The people closest to the earth see it — the lobsterman, the forester, the people that are out there in the natural environment. They don’t get involved in the debates of who causes it and what it is. They just know.” Collins agreed, saying there are big and small steps the administration could take.

"I think that the administration needs to do more to first of all recognize the impact of climate change on coastal states," she said. "I'd like to see the administration be more open to having NOAA play a key role in conducting assessments and assessing the risks that the lobster industry and coastal communities face because of warming water.