carbon dioxide

New study finds bottom trawling emits carbon dioxide equivalent to airplanes

New study finds bottom trawling emits carbon dioxide equivalent to airplanes

The ocean covers over two-thirds of the Earth’s surface and acts as a major heat and carbon sink. Despite the role it plays in mitigating climate change, it bears the brunt of our warming planet, with impacts heavily felt by marine species and ocean ecosystems. A recent study published in the scientific journal Nature found that bottom trawling emits as much carbon dioxide annually as airplanes. Bottom trawling is notorious for causing damage to ecosystems, as various forms of marine life are caught unintentionally in nets.

Trees Are Becoming Less Efficient at Climate Change Mitigation

Trees Are Becoming Less Efficient at Climate Change Mitigation

At the end of 2020, the U.K government approved planting trees in over 100 acres of a northern England peat bog. Peat bogs, areas where plants have been decaying over thousands of years into soil that traps their carbon, can store twice as much carbon dioxide as forests. When the trees were planted in northern England, they effectively dried out the soil, causing carbon to be released from the bogs and ending the project before it was ever finished.

‘Nature Under Siege’: Insect Populations Declining Due To Climate Change

‘Nature Under Siege’: Insect Populations Declining Due To Climate Change

In 2020, biologists Daniel Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs decided to extend their annual six-month stay in Costa Rica for ecological research due to COVID-19 restrictions. With extra time on their hands, they reflected on the declining insect population caused by the “heterogeneous blanket” of climate change. While their primary field of research is not climate change, the toll it takes on ecosystems was hard to ignore. The biologists noticed that rising temperatures led to disturbances in the insect population, affecting food webs from the bottom up.

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