News – Page 14 – See Animals Wild

March 23, 2023March 23, 2023

Returning Jaguars to the USA

While few animals have been completely exterminated from north America in the last 300 years there are a few on the brink.

One such animal is the Jaguar.

Could Southern Arizona become a place for ecotourism in the future?

The last known Jaguar roams the Rocky lands of Southern Arizona and is called Sombra. The last known female was shot 60 years ago this year. Conservationists are calling for Jaguars to be reintroduced into the Gila national forest, a 3 million acre wilderness in New Mexico, along with protection for millions more acres which Sombra currently roams.

March 22, 2023March 21, 2023

If Europe wants to cut emissions faster, does this require a carbon tariff?

At the moment, there is a serious problem facing the world in global warming. The developed countries in the world are making moves to cut their emissions faster than the rest of the world.

If we are not careful, carbon tax can simply mean things need to be made on the other side of the world and shipped here

While this is only right, given the historical emissions that developed countries have already released, carbon tariffs are still going to be necessary.

You might ask why?

March 21, 2023March 21, 2023

Wolves have returned to Belgium after 100 years

Estimates vary, but it is thought that 15-20 wolves are in the country. This is made up of 1 pack in Flanders, and another in Southern Wallonia as well as a newly settled pair (this pair is likely to become a pack if allowed to survive).

Wolves have returned to Belgium. While only numbering about 20, if allowed to, it is likely to grow

Across the border in France and Germany, numbers are far higher. As a result, should these wolves be left alone, the numbers are likely to grow and spread.

Experts can be very good at spotting signs and clues of their presence, these skills are important to track the wolves however, these skills can also become very useful in ecotourism.

March 21, 2023March 21, 2023

Bringing back the Amur tiger to the western part of its range! (The Caspian tiger)

Across the world many species have huge ranges – look at the leopard, found across Africa and much of Asia. It is not a surprise that these animals have a great deal of genetic variability.

The Caspian tiger went extinct in 1970, many pictures are far older

However, until recently, far to much of the decisions about subspecies status went on the look of the animal.

March 1, 2023February 28, 2023

As global warming continues, Tigers and Leopards are extending their range higher into the Himalayas: how will snow leopards cope?

Nepal has significant populations of Tigers Leopards and Snow Leopards. Historical knowledge would state that tigers rule on the countries southern plains, Leopards rule in the mid country hill region and Snow leopards in the Himalayas.

This photo of a tiger high in the Himalayas was taken by a BBC crew for a documentary a few years ago

February 28, 2023February 28, 2023

Despite the promise to reverse their insane ban on on-shore wind turbines, there are fears that this what is going to happen

On-shore wind-turbines are far and away the cheapest (currently) and easiest form of renewable power to roll out. The UK is targeting net zero emissions by 2050 (as well as a 68% reduction on 1990 levels by 2030), so any rejection of the cheapest and one of the simplest means of power generation goes against all this. More urgent, the aim is to have a power grid that is 100% green by 2035 – just 12 years away.

Why should a very noisy minority be able to stop the countries efforts to cut our carbon footprint.

The simple fact is, that farmers up and down the country can make good extra money by hosting turbines. Whether crops or grazing is the primary use of the land, wind turbines take up a tiny proportion of the land, and have no discernible effect on output.

January 21, 2023January 9, 2023

Another habitat which stores vast amounts of carbon needs to be added to our list: Fjords

While Fjords are not particular common, and account for just 0.1% of the ocean surface area, they store 11-12% of the oceans carbon. Put differently, there are thought to be roughly 18 million tons of carbon stored in fjords around the world. To put it in perspective, that is a similar area to a speck of zest compared to the whole orange.

January 20, 2023January 9, 2023

Could fossil fuels be pushed out of electricity generation by 2035 simply by market forces?

A report from Carbon Tracker (a London based non-profit) points out that Solar and wind have the potential of creating thousands of Petawatt hours of electricity a year, while current electricity demands stand at just 27PWh.

More crazy still is the space that it would take to get all our electricity from Solar. It would take 450,000 square km, which sounds like an insane amount of land. However, this is just 0.3% of land and significantly less than the land currently given over to the Fossil fuel industry. Given that much of our energy needs will come from wind, this is likely to be significantly lower. Another analysis suggests just 0.2% of land for solar, with 0.5% covered in wind turbines.

End of Oil Age? might we as a society end the need for oil within the next few decades? Photo credit Alexey

January 19, 2023January 9, 2023

Fusion breakthrough!

I wrote (rather poorly) back in October about fusion and its potential positives. In the middle of December, we had a breakthrough of incredible proportions.

For the first time, it took less energy to start fusion and sustain it, than was released in the reaction. This is obviously essential, as if it takes more energy to get the reaction to take place, than is generated you are using electricity not generating it.

Could this be the future of all energy creation?

January 18, 2023November 21, 2023

Kenyan boy of 4 somehow survives for 6 days on the edge of the Tsavo east national park -where spotted hyenas and jackals roam

The boy wandered 11 miles from his home through wilderness that surrounds the national park. Tsavo east is an incredibly important reserve, and together with Tsavo west, together protect one of the biggest single ecosystems of east Africa.