23 February 2016, The Conversation, Aboriginal fire management – part of the solution to destructive bushfires. As destructive bushfires become more common there is increasing political discussion how we manage them sustainably. Inevitably these debates raise questions of the past ecological effects of Aboriginal fire usage. There are two well-known narratives about Aboriginal fire use. One, popularised by Tim Flannery, stresses the ecologically disruptive impact of Aboriginal fire use. This storyline argues that the megafauna extinctions that immediately followed human colonisation in the ice age resulted in a ramping up of fire activity. This then led to the spread of flammable vegetation which now fuels bushfires. Another, promoted by Bill Gammage, suggests that the biodiverse landscapes that were colonised by the British were the direct product of skilful and sustained fire usage. Such broad-brush accounts give the impression that the specific details of Aboriginal fire usage are well-known and can be generalised across the entire continent. Sadly this is not the case. So rapid was the socio-ecological disruption of southern Australia that researchers have had to rely on historical sources, such as colonial texts and images, and tree rings, pollen and charcoal in lake sediments, to piece together how Aboriginal people burned the land. Such records are open to interpretation and there remains vigorous debate about the degree to which Aboriginal people shaped landscapes. Piecing together the past There are only a handful of detailed observational studies of the ecology of Aboriginal fire usage, and all from northern Australia, so there is dispute whether their findings can be extrapolated in the south. These studies demonstrate skilful use of fire that created fine-grained burn patterns, designed to promote food resources. For instance, a prime motive for burning savannas is attracting kangaroos to nutrient-rich grass that sprouts after the fire. In the desert, Aboriginal patch burning increases the habitat for sand goannas. In sum, there is mounting evidence that sustained Aboriginal fire use shaped many Australian landscapes by sharpening vegetation boundaries, maintaining open vegetation, and creating habitat for game species. Read More here
Category Archives: Impacts Observed & Projected
18 February 2016, The Conversation, Revealed: why some animals and plants will thrive under climate change. It’s mid-February and along Britain’s south coast gilt-head bream are drifting from the open sea into the estuaries. Meanwhile, thousands of little egrets are preparing to fly to continental Europe for breeding season, though a few hundred will remain in the UK. Across northern Europe, young wasp spiders will soon scamper out of their silky egg sacs. And this summer, countryside visitors throughout the south of England will catch sight of iridescent blue flashes as small red-eyed damselflies flit across ponds. These events all have one thing in common: they’re happening much further north than they would have as recently as 20 years ago. It’s not just a European thing. Polar bears are on the move, umbrella trees are creeping northwards through the US, and tropical birds in New Guinean mountains are retreating uphill. Southern Africa’s iconic quiver tree, which provides refridgeration in its hollowed out trunks, is itself escaping the heat and heading away from the equator. Across the world species are moving from their natural habitats. Fingers point at climate change. As areas become too hot or dry, many wildlife populations are declining. But on the flip side, some species are showing up in places that were historically too cold or wet. The story we usually hear is of terrible declines in plants and animals. The Pyrenean Frog is languishing on mountaintops on the Spanish-French border, for instance, unable to move to cooler climes. Magellanic penguin chicks are dying in storms brought on by climate change. Costa Rica’s golden toads, which are actually a rather amazing bright orange, are thought to have been driven to extinction by warmer, drier weather, among other factors. Read More here
22 February 2016, Renew Economy, Failure to include health risks grossly distorts true costs of climate change. Climate change is above all a question of public health. Although spared from famine and civil disruption that will afflict other countries, Australians increasingly will be exposed to the effects of extreme weather patterns consequent to our heating climate, and they will as a result suffer more ill health requiring attention from GPs and hospitals. Heat waves lead to heat stroke, increase heart attacks, cause dehydration and threaten those with renal impairment; fires threaten life in so many ways; floods and wild storms can cause drownings and other injuries; and all these events lead to distress and affect long-term mental well-being. Children especially, but also adults, can suffer from sleep disturbances, aggressive behaviour, sadness, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder. Children are also vulnerable to extreme weather events because such events interrupt their safety, their sense of security and their access to the outside world. Hotter days will bring more asthma, and, in some localities, more exposure to local mosquito-born infectious diseases. This cannot be what we want for our children. Disturbingly, our health system infrastructure and resources can also be affected by more severe and frequent extreme weather events, thus potentially limiting their ability to provide care when it is needed most. For example, in the heat wave before the Black Saturday bushfires, 25 per cent of all hospitals had problems with their air-conditioning or cooling systems. Political leaders, by ignoring the impacts of global warming on health, have hindered public discourse and concerted action on climate change despite the urgency to act. The failure to include health costs distorts the costs to families and communities, as well as the bottom line on already-stretched health budgets. What is already well known by economists, for example, is that the health costs of coal and fossil fuel burning increase societal costs of electricity (double or more by some estimates) – surely an incentive to escape from the fossil fuel addiction. The Morwell coalmine fire in Victoria would be another route by which society is damaged by use of fossil fuels. As a medical organisation, Doctors for the Environment Australia is frustrated by the dismal failure of governments and our senior leaders to include the health risks and costs in the numerous discussions on climate change. Read More here
21 February 2016, Climate News Network, Fall in rain hits Southeast Asia food yields. Changing climate and weather are creating severe problems for some of the world’s largest producers of rice and other major agricultural crops.The boat moves sluggishly up the Ayeyarwaddy, the river formerly known as the Irrawaddy. Every so often it comes to a halt as the ferryman dips a bamboo pole in the shallow waters, checking for sandbanks. Even though it is the dry season, water levels in the Ayeyarwaddy – Myanmar’s main river, and one of Southeast Asia’s principal waterways – are unusually low. The ferry is carrying passengers and goods from the ancient temple site of Baganto the city of Mandalay. “The journey is taking longer and longer as the water level keeps dropping,” says the skipper of the creaking, wooden-hulled boat. “It has been so dry. For the last two years, the monsoon in this area has arrived late and the rains were not enough. Then, when it did rain, it was intense, and more and more sand and earth was washed downriver because the trees are being cut down further north. It makes the journey very difficult.” Damaged crops A similar story is being heard across much of the region – from the Brahmaputrain Assam in India, west of Myanmar, to the Mekong in Vietnam in the east. Unusual weather patterns and a lack of rain in many areas in recent years have caused drought and severely damaged crops in what are some of the world’s most fertile areas. When the rains do arrive the dry, caked earth often cannot absorb the water. Read More here