An A to Z of Climate Matters.

April 2012. An A-Z of Climate Matters. 
There is a link in the sidebar to the A-Z blogging challenge hosted by Arlee Bird and his wonderful team.

A is for Advertising - a brief look at the methods media, vested interests and the advertising industry use to sway opinion regarding climate change rather than to share facts.
B is for Biodiversity - why it's important for our very survival on earth.
C is for Change - how we often resist it, fear it and avoid it, but how we also need to face it head on if we're to negotiate climate change and energy depletion with hope and confidence.
D is for Desertification - what can happen to lands which are overgrazed, and have every natural living thing removed for the planting of mono crops.
E is for Eat - what we choose to eat, how much, how often and where it's imported from has major implications for food security. Farting cows make their appearance here.
F is for Fracking - a method of extracting fossil fuels from deep under the earth.
G is for Greenhouse - the gasses which we're emitting into the atmosphere at such a rapid rate aren't healthy and are contributing to a toxic blend of chemicals which will last many hundreds of years. We don't breathe these easily, nor do animals. Trees that normally absorb carbon-dioxide aren't keeping up with our emissions.
H is for Health - Our mental and physical health is intricately tied with our climate. Increasingly frequent and severe weather events such as fire, drought and flood have impacts on everyone involved.
I is for Insects - We need them! Without creepy crawlies and bees, humankind is unlikely to survive. Toxic chemicals used on crops as pesticides kill not only "pests" but helpful critters too.
J is for Jellyfish - these can survive and thrive in ocean areas which have been overfished.
K is for Kilter - as in Our climate is out of kilter and so are some of our lifestyle choices.
L is for Leadership - innovative, farsighted, visionary, leaders are rare and need to be encouraged and celebrated.
M is for Mangroves - mangroves are the most interesting trees! They're salt tolerant meaning they can grow in sea water, and can deal with more carbon than any other tree.
N is for Notice - notice how you can make energy savings in your home AND save money!
O is for Oil - such a recent discovery and one which has infiltrated almost all our lives. In fact it's probably fair to say we're addicted to it and as with any addiction, breaking it could be a bit of a challenge. but it will run out, so perhaps it's not a bad idea to have a "Plan B".
P is for Plastics and Pollution - plastics are a wonderful invention, and a byproduct of oil. They're extremely handy for all sorts of things. Unfortunately products are often discarded thoughtlessly and add to the increasing problem of pollution.
Q is for Quadruple bottom line - a little bit of accounting - a different way of looking at what is valuable for businesses. Interesting rather than daunting :)
R is for Responsibility - hyper-consumption has an impact on using fossil fuels and therefore our climate.
S is for Soil - you don't have to get down and dirty to appreciate how necessary healthy soil is! Healthy soil = healthy plants. Healthy plants = healthy us.
T is for Trees - tall, majestic and leafy or stunted and straggly. No matter what they look like, trees are vital to maintain a breathable atmosphere, to stabilise soil and to assist with biodiversity.
U is for Urban heat island - cities absorb heat so people to use more air-conditioning. Greening our cities creates cooler, healthier lifestyles.
V is for Values - values underpin much of what we do and give our lives meaning. When people are out of touch with their values, their lives can lack direction and be unhappy and empty.
W is for Water - Water wars. Water disputes. Country against country, region against region. Farming, people, mining, all demanding more of this increasingly polluted vital resource.
X is for eXtreme weather - did it really take me this long to discuss weather?
Y is for Yesterday - sing the words from The Beatles song "Yesterday" to get a sense of this letter.
Z is for Zero - Zero population growth - improved quality of life for mums, children, families and communities. Enough food and water to go around. Equity and balance. So easy, yet so hard for many to accept the need for reliable modern contraception.

And now ... a well earned celebration :D

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Climate Matters. S is for Soil

This post is for S in the A-Z Blogging Challenge 2012. Link in the sidebar.












This trailer is only about 3 minutes long. It's fascinating!

Loss of topsoil is a massive worldwide problem but it rarely receives much mainstream media attention. And whilst some people are scathing about groups concerned with environmental issues, without healthy soil to grow food, we have a serious problem.

Most of the world's food comes from cropland which is being degraded an an extraordinary rate by such things as overuse, clearing, mono-crops, salinity and erosion, which leads to a massive loss of soil productivity. It's estimated that in the US alone, this is in the vicinity of $38 billion each year.

When soil erosion occurs, the soil is unable to store water or support plant growth which leads to an escalating problem of increased erosion, and decreased food production.

Eroding top soil washes into waterways, taking toxic pesticides and fertilisers with it. This eventually finds its way into human water sources leading to an increased need for filtering or chemical purification.

It's estimated that 30% of the worlds' arable land has become unproductive over the past 40 years. With increased extreme weather events occurring as a result of climate change, this may occur more frequently in the future with the result that malnourishment will increase accordingly.

Australia has experienced devastating loss of cropland both as a result of drought and flood. At times Melbourne has been blanketed with rich topsoil blown across hundreds of miles from cropland upwind, leaving those areas depleted and less productive. People downwind experienced a rise in airborne health issues - difficulty breathing, eye irritation and skin problems were prevalent. Traffic was affected as visibility decreased and driving became hazardous. In addition to direct loss of income and production on farms was indirect loss of income and production from those affected downwind. More recent flooding has eroded rich farmland and left farming communities stressed and with many livelihoods in tatters.

Recently there has been concern that coal seam gas has been discovered below Australia's most rich farmland. The push to extract it further erodes farming communities and could eventually force Australia to be reliant on other countries to supply food. Being reliant on others to regularly and happily supply food could be problematic as arable lands become more scarce worldwide and the producing countries choose not to sell.

Composting to make soil for your own garden:

A bokashi bin in a workplace kitchen encourages employees to compost rather than discard lunchtime food scraps. If they're thrown in a regular bin, they eventually end up in landfill where they release greenhouse gases. In this workplace, however, every Friday evening, one employee wins the jackpot and takes the bin home to add to the soil in the garden to enrich it! The smell is not like "off" food at all, but similar to fermenting bits and pieces and not at all disgusting.


Last year I wrote about Sociopaths and Serial bullies for S for my theme of workplace bullying. Here and Shilly-shally here.


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