197_Biodiversity: Our Best Defense Against Climate Change

Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast

E197

Biodiversity-Our Strongest Defense Against Climate Change

Most of us are no stranger to talks about climate change. It is in the news almost daily. We sit and watch in awe as we see one devastating event after another.  Most of us likely are asking “Why doesn’t someone do something?”

But you must understand the choices we make does have an impact on the environment around us. Take those choices times 7 billion people and it affects the entire planet.

Of course everyone is quick to look to money and technology to save us. By doing so we easily overlook the one important factor that could save all of humanity, and that is biodiversity.

So join me for episode 197 Biodiversity-Our Strongest Defense Against Climate Change.

Welcome back everyone to the Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast. This is your host Patrick and this is E197 Biodiversity-Our Strongest Defense Against Climate Change.

But before we get started on this weeks episode, lets get two things out of the way.

The Sustainability Question of the Week

Is the climate change we are seeing just a natural part of our planet’s warming and cooling cycles?

Good News Story of the Week

This weeks good news story is short and simple. These are words of wisdom from a 117 year old woman. Until her passing on August 19th, she was the world’s oldest living person.

And what contributed to her long life?

In her own words, “Order, tranquility, contact with nature, emotionally stability, no worries, no regrets, good connection with family and friends, lots of positivity and staying away from toxic people.”

Morera survived the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish Flu, both World Wars, and even COVID 19 when she contracted it a 113 years old.

She even embraced modern technology as a way to keep in touch with friends and family that were far away. On New Years Day 2023, she tweeted,

“Life is not eternal for anyone… At my age, a new year is a gift, a humble celebration, a new adventure, a beautiful journey, a moment of happiness. Let’s enjoy life together.”

I think we would all be wise to take her words of advice to heart. A life of simplicity and tranquility goes a long way.

With that said, lets proceed to this weeks episode.

In case you have not noticed, discussions about climate change have become increasingly urgent. In many respects humans are best at responding to emergencies and disasters and we are not-so-slowly reaching that point with climate change.

Interestingly enough, this concept of climate change is nothing new. The first seminal paper regarding climate change was published in 1896. Somewhere around the 1930s or 1940s a direct connection was made between increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and global warming. About the 1970s scientists with ExxonMobile predicted with astonishing accuracy the affects on the planet of continued use of fossil fuels. Yet here we are 128 years later looking like a deer in the headlights not knowing which way to run.

It’s obvious that our response to this impending disaster has been dismally slow. Consequently we are reaching for the two things that have always saved us in the past, money and technology. But once again it will likely be too little too late. Mostly likely we have irreversibly altered what took 4.5 billion years of evolution to build. We are now increasingly desperate as we step on the brakes in an attempt to slow down the vehicle of change that may well take a century to stop.

Humanity, that being scientist, researchers and government officials are attempting to come up with some ingenious means of mitigating climate change. For example:

-Renewable energy: transitional away from fossil fuels.

-Carbon capture and storage: Methods to extract carbon from the atmosphere and store it underground.

-Electrification of transportation

-Increasing energy efficiency in our homes, businesses and industry.

-Carbon offset programs which is where companies invest in projects that reduce greenhouse gases to compensate for the emissions they produce.

-Sustainable and regenerative agriculture

-Sustainable use of land such as reforestation.

All of these man-made solutions are of course guided by science and economics and will no doubt result in significant gains in mitigating the worst of climate change.

But here in lies the rub. The most dramatic changes that we have made in our planetary ecosystem have occurred since the industrial revolution. And at least according to NASA scientists, climate change as a result of human activity is already here, the affects of which will continue to happen and resolution of these changes will not occur in the lifespan of anyone alive today.

In so many ways, we continue to look toward money and technology to solve our problems. By doing so, we completely overlook what could be our strongest defense against climate change, and  that is biodiversity.

What is biodiversity and why is it important?

Biodiversity is the interaction between all the species on the planet that forms our ecosystems. It is literally the enormous variety of life we see on Earth, from basic genes and bacteria to entire ecosystems such as the Amazon or all the coral reefs. The amazing biodiversity that we see today is truly the result of 4.5 billion years of evolution.

But our planetary ecosystem is truly in a crisis. As humans we depend on the biodiversity of the planet for food, water, medicine, a stable climate, and even our very economic growth. More than 1 billion people on this planet depend on the forests to make a living. Over half of the global gross domestic products is dependent solely on the natural world. And it is these vast ecosystems, including the oceans, that absorb more than half of carbon emissions.

Over the course of millennia the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been relatively stable. There have been several shifts in the Earths climate over the past 800,000 years but that has been attributed mostly to slight changes in the Earth’s orbit. Yet since the beginning of the 20th century we have seen rapidly progressive climate change. Consequently, a significant portion the forest on our planet have been destroyed and 85% of our wetlands, such as salt marshes an mangrove swamps, have disappeared.

How is climate change affecting biodiversity?

There are multiple things that affect the biodiversity of our planet. However, by far the largest driver of biodiversity loss is how we use our natural resources. This includes how we change natural land covers such as forests, wetlands, and other natural habits for agriculture and urban development.

How we produce our food on a global basis continues to be the main driver of deforestation. Agricultural activity alone is the principle threat of more than 85% of the 28,000 species presently at risk of extinction.

When land is converted for agricultural use, this results in habitat loss and consequently extinction for some species. It is estimated that 33% of the worlds forests have been cut down or degraded over the past 10,000 years. One source that I reviewed stated “We’ve lost 35% of our forests in the last 300 years. Regardless of the source, we have obviously lost a significant portion of our forests. This means lost habit and lost ecosystems which further exacerbates climate change.

There is no doubt that climate change has altered ecosystems around the world. Marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems have all been altered which results in loss of local species, increased disease prevalence  and mass mortality of both plants and animals. In other words, climate-driven extinctions.

Rising global temperatures are causing changes in plant and animal behavior. Increased CO2 can drive greater plant growth. But as the availability of water fluctuates, temperatures change in addition to more extreme weather events, global plant life is vulnerable. Some species are moving to higher elevations. Some are moving toward the poles. Others that are more heat tolerant are moving down slope. Such changes in plant life also has far reaching affects on local ecosystems and biodiversity.

Researchers have also found that birds are nesting sooner, calves are born earlier in the Spring, leatherback turtles are migrating twice as long as normal to find cooler water in which to feed.

The rising temperatures of the oceans are likely to have irreversible loss of marine life and local ecosystems. Coral reefs, which are a well known keystone species, have nearly halved in the last 150 years.

Rising temperatures and ocean acidification have also increased the frequency of coral bleaching events. It is estimated that by 2050, 90% of the worlds coral reefs will undergo annual bleaching events. Such changes will undoubtedly affect the 25% of marine species that depend on the reef ecosystem.

One source I reviewed stated that 50% of the world’s coral reefs are already degraded due to ocean acidification, rising temperatures, over fishing and pollution. But the good news is that recent research suggests that coral reefs can rebound from moderate warming.

Presently our planet is right about 1.1 ℃ above preindustrial temperatures. It is estimated that at 1.5℃ of warming, 4% of mammals will lose half their habitat and 70% to 90% of the worlds coral reef will vanish. At 2℃ of warming, 8% of mammals will lose half their habitat and 99% of global coral reefs will vanish. At 3℃ roughly 40% of mammals will lose half their habitat.

Small islands around the world are hosts to some of the most unique species on the planet. However, it is these species that are most susceptible to extinction due to climate change. They are unique because these island-dwellers have exploited specific niches and have the capacity to live within restricted ranges. But this also makes them more vulnerable to climate change, habitat loss,  rising sea levels and more frequent extreme weather events.

But the thing that most people do not realize is that biodiversity underpins the health of the planet. Such a great loss of biodiversity means that millions of people face a future where food supplies are more vulnerable and fresh water is short supply.

Consider the following:

Health

Biodiversity loss can lead to increased risk of infectious diseases, food insecurity, and poor nutrition. As the animal population movers closer to humans and livestock, there is a greater risk of disease being transmitted between species. Biodiversity loss can also limit the discovery of potential treatments for diseases in the future.

Livelihoods

Biodiversity loss can indirectly affects the livelihoods, income, and local migration. For example, if biodiversity loss affects soil and water, which are essential for food production, it can lead to food insecurity. BD loss can also make it more difficult to pollinate flowers by hand, which can be expensive and led to declining fruit yields.

Extreme weather

BD loss can make it harder for natural habitats to protect coastlines from flooding and storm surges during hurricanes This can lead to health impacts such are respiratory illnesses, infectious outbreaks and PTSD

What we can do?

Humanity always looks to money and technology to solve our problems as opposed to changing the behavior that got us here in the first place. This time around, the answer to mitigating climate change is right in front of us, which is the natural world.

For example, protecting, managing, and restoring global forests would provide roughly 30% of the total mitigation potential in all nature based solutions.

Seagrass and mangroves can sequester CO2 at rates of four times higher than forests can. This makes these habitats highly valuable when controlling climate change. These vital ecosystems can also reduce and protect us from coastal flooding.  But due to human activity, over 20% of mangroves are estimated to have been lost globally over the past 40 years. Since the mid-1700s global coverage of sea grasses has decreased nearly 30%.

Peatlands are a type of wetland, including marshes and swamps, that are the largest natural land based carbon store. Peatlands store more carbon than all other vegetation types in the world. But peatlands also preserve biodiversity, minimize flood risks, and provide a natural filtration system to provide safe drinking water. However, when damage they also release a significant amount of that carbon. Consequently, peatland conservation and restoration should be a significant part of reducing and mitigating carbon emissions. 

But as we continue to destroy more of our natural world we are promoting the release of more CO2 into the atmosphere. Consequently, conserving and restoring these natural spaces, both on land and in water, is essential for mitigating some of the worse affects of climate change.

Summary

In summary, climate change has already had a global impact on the health of ecosystems. It has caused shifts in the distribution of plants, animals, diseases, and even human populations. Such changes have directly and severely impacted biodiversity. This has great potential to affect our health, our livelihoods and the stability of our climate. The consequences of climate change have become painfully obvious.

But in our efforts to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we cannot overlook the power of nature. In fact, the Nature Conservancy conducted a landmark study that demonstrated a combination of reducing the use of fossil fuels, accelerating the use of renewable energy and natural climate solutions offer immediate and cost effective ways to tackle the climate crisis.

This ground breaking study revealed a three tiered approach to natural climate solutions:

-Protecting intact land such as forests, grasslands, and wetlands

-Improving out management of working lands such as timberlands, croplands, and grazing lands,

-Restoring native cover such as forests and wetlands

Now to start wrapping things up lets address the sustainability question of the week?

Is the climate change we are seeing just a natural part of our planet’s warming and cooling cycles?

Scientist have consistently looked at all the natural causes of climate change. It is generally agreed that these natural causes of climate change have remained essentially stable in the last few centuries and could have had some modest effects on climate variation particularly before 1950. But these factors cannot account for the rapid rise in global temperature in the second half of the 20th century. The best explanation is the rapid increase in greenhouse gases as a result of human activity.

But, as talks of climate change and how to mitigate the worst impact become increasingly serious, we truly cannot forget the power of nature. Our advances in technology certainly have improved our lifestyles but it has also significantly impacted our planet. Now I think it’s time for us to use our wisdom to reverse those changes while we still can. Climate change is a primary driver to biodiversity loss and yet restoring biodiversity is one of the keys to mitigation climate change.

According to NASA scientists, “The effects of human-caused global warming are happening now, are irreversible on the timescale of people alive

today, and will worsen in the decades to

come.”

Well folks, that is about it for this week. I hope you have enjoyed this episode and I also hope you will join me next week because I am going to talk about what we can do as individuals to protect the biodiversity that is so important for our well being.

Until next week, don’t forget to visit the podcast home page which can be found at adventuresinsustainableliving.com

But for now this is your host Patrick signing off. Until next week remind yourself everyday that living sustainably is what will help us to build a better future.