Reading 2 Flashcards
Millions of sea creatures died along the B.C. coast from the combination of low tide and an extreme heat wave. If they are unable to re-establish in the area, what are some implications of this?
many species would take years to re-establish at some sites if they came back at all, opening the door to shifts in the food chain, altered nutrient cycling and invasive species
What is a cascading hazard?
Wildfires dovetailing heat waves are an example of a “cascading hazard,” where one extreme event triggers others. And the cascade rolled on.
Under the intense heat, an entire summer’s worth of glacier and snowmelt descended from the mountains in less than a week, flooding valleys, triggering more evacuations and bringing the prospect of further drought, wildfire and landslides.
What is the 2030 Nature Compact?
a pledge to conserve at least 30% of their land and water by 2030
more than 50 countries, including Canada and the rest of the G7 have signed
What is described as the conundrum around motivating people to action from a specific event?
while scientists record such advents and duly incorporate them into future models, public and political attention moves on to the next disaster. And it isn’t just what we’re informed of, but how we’re informed.
the Columbia Journalism Review saw fit to excoriate the media for its handling of the heat dome story: “The images that led news stories widely minimized the event,” continued the critique. “Many photos made it look like a run-of-the-mill heat wave; some were so BANAL as to conjure stock photography.”
What was the faint hope provided in the most recent report of the International Panel on Climate Change?
Only immediate and drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can prevent the worst effects of climate breakdown.
What are the three highest profile examples of the interaction of climate change and biodiversity?
impacts on polar wildlife from the loss of sea ice
displacement and death by wildfires
a warming ocean responsible for everything from the bleaching of coral reefs and more
What is the biohazard aspect associated with wildfires?
microbes and fungal spores can survive in wildfire smoke
When Simon Donner of UBC was asked if this was the new normal, how did he respond?
he answered that things were now changing so fast he didn’t think there was ever going to be anything we could describe as normal again
Why was it suggested that policies for protected areas and species at risk are insufficient for reaching biodiversity goals?
Ray makes the point that protected areas and species-at-risk policies are an important anchor, but insufficient for reaching biodiversity goals.
“No matter what the percentage of protection, it really depends on what’s going on in the remaining percentage of unprotected area,” says Ray.
“It’s context dependent. As an example, Wood Buffalo, Canada’s largest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage site with outstanding biological and high Indigenous values, is in danger because of industrial development outside its boundaries.”
What has the government realized about implementing protections?
“There’s public pressure to set up marine protected areas, but the process is too slow because of all the stakeholders and push-back involved”
“the government realizes the only thing it can do without a fight is protect offshore waters where there are no people or fishing isn’t an issue — as opposed to nearshore areas that are more diverse or where important spawning takes place.”
