An Urgent Call for Action
The United Nations’ Environment Programme states that unsolved environmental problems constitute a danger to the Earth’s population. The main problems are climate change, the speed at which species are being wiped out and population growth.
The warning comes in UNEP’s most recent report, from October 2007, ‘Global Environmental Outlook: Environment for Development 4’ (GEO4). The report was written by 390 experts and includes input by more than 1,000 others from all over the world.
GEO4 concludes that these conditions will threaten the survival of mankind unless they are dealt with in the immediate future.
“The objective is not to present a dark and gloomy scenario, but an urgent call for action. There have been enough wake-up calls,” said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director.
The report warns that “we are living beyond our means”. We are currently living in a way that corresponds to borrowing money from the bank. Humans today consume more than the Earth is able to produce. The resources that we take from the Earth have been saved up over thousands of years.
Immediate action is needed to guarantee that sustainable development becomes a reality.
Musk oxen in the Arctic threatened by climatic change
Musk oxen are not as resilient as they look. Climate change in the most northern part of the Arctic Region may result wipe them out in North and North-East Greenland, according to a report by researchers from the National Environmental Research Institute, Denmark.
Musk oxen live under extreme conditions – temperatures in the Arctic can fall as low as -35 ºC. It is normally a relatively stable climate, but global warming threatens to change that.
Climate change will increase volumes of snow and cause greater and more regular swings in the temperature. One consequence of this is that musk oxen may starve to death.
A climate where melting snow is followed by a fall in the temperature produces a landscape covered by a hard layer of ice. As more snow falls, thaws and freezes again, the vegetation becomes covered by several layers of ice.
This has catastrophic effects for musk oxen. Many will die, as they will have difficulty digging down through the layers of ice to procure food.
Snowy winters also have a delayed, indirect and negative impact on the musk oxen. They delay the plants’ growth season, which is then shortened. This leaves the oxen that survive snow-filled winters with a shorter and later summer during which to feed on the vegetation.
As the picture shows, the musk oxen’s fur protects them against wind and the cold. The outermost layer consists of long overhairs, beneath which is some of the best wool to be found on the planet. The Apollo astronauts’ underwear, for example, was made of musk oxen undercoat.
Source: Berg, T.B., Forchhammer, M.C. Theme Report from DMU 41/2002.
Are you are interested in the importance of climate change in the Arctic Region, we would recommend the following reading:
http://www2.dmu.dk/1_viden/2_Publikationer/3_temarapporter/rapporter/Tema41.pdf
The report is available online at: WWW.UNEP.ORG