August 2021 Factfile - some news, animals and a plant

Welcome to our August factfile,

News

Bad news :(

Fires in and around Athens

Athens has been under siege this month, but not by any army. The forests all around the capital and in other parts of Greece and Turkey have gone up in flames. Houses have been destroyed and thousands have been evacuated. The reason is, of course, climate change.

“It’s been crazy over here. Between the extreme heat and the wildfires, it feels apocalyptic,” Eleni Myrivili wrote in an email on Thursday as the army was deployed to assist firefighters. “Ash is raining down on us here in Athens.”

England's lake district in peril

Lake District, a popular holiday resort in the north of England, is now eroding faster as a result of climate change and an increased amount of walkers due to the pandemic. Paths that were once two meters wide are now at least 12 meters wide on some walks. Also visitors tend to walk off the path, endangering local wildlife.

With no support from the government, charities are struggling to maintain the lakes natural beauty. The severe and often irregular weather due to climate change is not making matters any easier.

Rain on the peak of Greenland's ice cap for the first time on record

The summit of Greenland's huge ice cap experienced rain for the first time on human records. This is a strong sign of climate change. With the earth warming up at an alarming rate, things like this are only going to become more common. As sea levels rise, more and more islands and coastal regions are experiencing devastating floods. Study's show the over half the world's children are at risk because of climate change, with more being added everyday.

Animals

Land - White rhino

There are two types of white rhino: the northern white rhino and the southern white rhino. However, I am afraid to say that the northern white rhino is functionally extinct. For an animal to be functionally extinct, their population must be so small, that it is virtually impossible for them to thrive. In the case of the northern white rhino, all hope was lost in 2018 when the only known male died. The two remaining females are protected round the clock by armed guards. However, there may be hope of fertilising a northern rhino egg with frozen sperm from deceased males and thus creating more male rhinos. For the southern white rhino, things look a better: with 19 600 - 21 000 known individuals the southern white rhino is the only rhino species that isn't endangered (they're considered Near Threatened).

Like with many endangered animals, the reason for the past struggles with rhino populations is due to human influence. But this time, it isn't climate change. (Well actually, rhinos are also effected by climate change, but that isn't the main factor.) The main factor is hunting. For centuries, rhinos, along with elephants, have been hunted for their ivory horns/tusks. In many countries, ivory trade is now illegal and both elephants and rhinos are protected by the law.

A southern white rhino

A northern white rhino

Air - Peregrine falcon

Peregrine falcons are arguably the fastest animals in the world. They can reach speeds of over 320 km per hour ( 300 miles per hour) when diving for prey. However seeing as they use the force of gravity to reach these speeds, there are debates about weather that cheetahs are actually the fastest animals in the world. But whether, you believe the peregrine falcon is the fastest animal in the world or not, they are still very fast.

The peregrine falcon is found almost everywhere in the world. In fact they are one of the most widely spread bird species in the world.

Due to their wide distribution and stabile populations, peregrine falcons are considered Least Concern.

Water - Humpback whale

The Humpback whale lives in oceans all around the world. They have one of the longest migrations of any mammal! Some groups can swim 5,000 miles from tropical climates to colder more productive feeding areas. They feed on krill and small fish. NOAA Fisheries website says that they do this by 'straining huge volumes of ocean water through their baleen plates, which act like a sieve'. They get their name by the hump on their back. For centuries, humpback whales were hunted to the brink of extinction. But now, after forty years of conservation work to protect them from whalers, they are classified as Least Concern. Their populations are now rising and so are not at risk of extinction, though with plastic pollution and the acidification of the oceans, I wouldn't be surprised if one day they did move back up the categories. There is a quite old article from National Geographic which is very good at stating the risks still faced by Humpbak whales. Click here to view it!

Plant - Aloe Vera

The Aloe Vera is as I'm sure you'll know, a plant known for it's medicinal qualities (my grandma puts it on everything: sunburn, mosquito bites...anything!). But beyond that, it is a succulent that is native to North Africa, Southern Europe, and the Canary Islands. However, today it is grown by many people at home all around the world (including me!). If you have it as a houseplant, you need to be water it deeply, but infrequently. To avoid rot, it is recommended to allow the soil to dry between watering about every 3 weeks. They need about 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. They are in my opinion a great plant to have!

My Aloe Vera Plant🌱
(called Vera, I know it's so unique 🤣)

Eco tip

Be careful when shopping. When out shopping, it can be tempting to see an item and want to buy it straight away. Next time you go shopping, think before you buy.

Do you really need this product?

Has it had a negative impact on the environment?

This will hopefully reduce how much you buy and will also save you money!

Film recommendation

I recently watched an amazing film called, my octopus teacher. It's about a filmmaker who befriends a common octopus living in a kelp forest off the coast of South Africa and I'm not going to tell you any more! It's currently available on Netflix.

Here's the online vote for next month's animals and plant. A massive thanks to all those who suggested an animal or plant - it was incredibly helpful and made my least favourite part of writing this blog post a lot easier. It will also mean, that we write about the animals you want to read about. I hope I got all of the suggestions into the vote. If yours isn't there, then it will either come in the next vote or we have already written a post about it.

If you have any questions or problems with this post, then feel free the write us an email at contact.greenworldblog@gmail.com.

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/07/apocalyptic-scenes-hit-greece-as-athens-besieged-by-fire
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/aug/18/lake-district-climate-emergency-pandemic-walkers
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/20/rain-falls-peak-greenland-ice-cap-first-time-on-record-climate-crisis
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/white-rhino
https://rhinos.org/about-rhinos/rhino-species/white-rhino/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/peregrine-falcon
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/humpback-whale

Images:
Title image: This image is owned by a blog editor.
Wildfires in Athens: This image, owned by European Space Agency (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Lake District: This image, owned by barnyz (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Iceberg: This image, owned by James Petts (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Southern white rhino: This image, owned by Marie Hale (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Northern white rhino: This image, owned by Eliya (on flickr.com), is licensed by CC BY-NC 2.0.
Peregrine falcon: This image, owned by Hari K Patibanda (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Humpback whale: This image, owned by ashala Tylor (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Aloe Vera: This image is owned by a blog editor.

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