Five Terminal Strategies Played Out On Earth – No 5

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FIRE-EARTH Presentation: Terminal Strategies – No. 5  (KTSWMGFR)

[Prepared by FIRE-EARTH and affiliated scientists.]

• Presentation available via FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

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330 Million People Affected by Severe Drought: Indian Govt

Quarter of India’s population impacted by drought

However, the number of people hit by the drought could be even higher because the states of Bihar (east) and Haryana (north) haven’t declared drought conditions despite shortfall in rain, said a report.

A report stating that 255,000 villages in 254 districts [out of a total 678] are being severely affected has been presented to the India’s Supreme Court.

The people are facing acute “drinking water shortage and agricultural distress,” the Court was told.

The worst hit state is Uttar Pradesh with almost 100 million people in 50 districts affected by rain deficit.

According to a petition filed by NGO Swaraj Abhiyan, 12 states — Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Haryana and Chattisgarh — are facing severe drought conditions. The report also avers that “the state governments were not implementing social welfare laws like MGNREGA, Food Security Act and the Centre’s drought manual.”

The drought is exacerbated by heatwaves that are plaguing much of India with temperatures exceeding 40ºC for several consecutive days each time.

“In water-scarce Orissa, farmers have reportedly breached embankments to save their crops,” said a report.

“Water availability in India’s 91 reservoirs is at its lowest in a decade, with stocks at a paltry 29% of their total storage capacity, according to the Central Water Commission.

“Some 85% of the country’s drinking water comes from aquifers, but their levels are falling, according to WaterAid.”

Half of Global Wildlife Lost in 40 Years: WWF

PLANETARY-SCALE  DISASTERS
SPECIES EXTINCTION
COLLAPSE OF BIODIVERSITY
SCENARIOS 998, 900, 444, 222, 114, 04, 02, 01
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Populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish drop 52% since 1970

Global populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish have plunged 52 percent, says the 2014 Living Planet Report released today by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

“There is a lot of data in this report and it can seem very overwhelming and complex,” said  the chief scientist at WWF. “What’s not complicated are the clear trends we’re seeing—39 percent of terrestrial wildlife gone, 39 percent of marine wildlife gone, 76 percent of freshwater wildlife gone—all in the past 40 years.”

The Gross ‘Misunderstatement’

Then comes the understatement of the Anthropocene, or even Era Vulgaris:

“We’re gradually destroying our planet’s ability to support our way of life,” said president and CEO of WWF.

Gradually, indeed!

After all, the oldest traces of life on earth dates back about 3.7 billion years, and in a mere 40-year period, the wildlife populations have been annihilated.

The Worst Decline

The WWF’s “Living Planet Index” is based on trends among 10,380 populations of 3,038 wildlife species.

The worst decline has occurred among populations of freshwater species, which plunged by 76 percent during the report period (1976 – 2010).

Both the terrestrial and marine (species in decline include sea turtles, many sharks, and large migratory seabirds like albatross) numbers have declined by 39 percent.

The average 52 percent decline was nearly TWICE larger than the previous figure reported by WWF two  years ago, which put the loss at 28 percent for the period  1970 – 2008.

Ocean Greenery Under Stress

According to a study on phytoplankton decline, which was published in 2010, the average global phytoplankton concentration in the upper ocean was declining by about 1% per year. Between 1950 and 2000, “algal biomass decreased by around 40%, probably in response to ocean warming—and the decline has gathered pace in recent years.”

[Isn’t it interesting to see how everyone is re-adjusting their “extinction clocks?” —Editor]