Skip to main content

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 PlantšŸŒ±
(called Vera, I know it's so unique šŸ¤£)

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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

16.08.2020 Animal of the week: Elephant

Hello. On the 12th of August it was International Elephant Day, so we decided that this week's post should be about elephants. Elephants are the largest living land mammals. There are three types of elephant; the African bush elephant; the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant. African elephants have larger ears, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears. Elephants use their trunks to breath, bring food and drink to their mouths and to grasp objects. Elephants' legs are like pillars. They carry the Elephant's massive weight. African bush elephants weigh 6000kg, Asian elephants weigh 4000kg and African forest elephants weigh 2700kg. Basically, they are very heavy.Elephants eat grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots. Elephants can live up to 70 years old in the wild. They communicate by sight, touch and smell. Sadly, these wonderful mammals are in danger. African elephants are listed as vulne

Ozone layer

Hi everyone, What even is ozone? And the ozone layer? Where does the hole in the ozone layer come from and what does it mean? Is it dangerous? What can be done? Often the ozone-talk can be complicated and confusing, keeping an overview is hard and understanding all the problems always difficult. Let us break it down a bit for you: What is the ozone layer? We'll start with the basics: The ozone layer is part of the stratosphere, which is the second layer of the Earth's atmosphere, between 10 and 50 km above the Earth's surface and made up of protective gases. One of these protective gases is ozone. There is not much ozone in the atmosphere, only 0.3 molecule of ozone per 1 million molecules of air. This is because ozone is chemically unstable and only forms when ultra violet radiation (UV light) hits oxygen and breaks the bonds between the atoms. It fact it is so unstable that even when it has formed, it breaks down again relatively quickly. This leads to ozone turning back

Discussion || Should Everyone Switch To Electric Cars?

Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for joining me today, as I hop on the blog to discuss whether everyone switching to electric cars would really help the environment. In other words, should everyone switch to electric cars? This is the first part of a two-part series, discussing electric cars, so stay tuned for part two!! I would like to start this post by stating that I am by no means an expert. This is knowledge I have from my own experience, and from research I have done. If anything is incorrect please take it as it is and accept that this is a discussion and I am taking on board all opinions from reliable sources on this complex topic. Electric cars are a huge topic when it comes to sustainability and "saving our planet". There is no debating the fact that electric cars are better for the environment than diesel or petrol once they are on the road. But the production of them is often very polluting, with one study show

Major ocean currents and how they affect global temperatures

Hi everyone, This week we're talking about ocean currents. Ocean currents are part of the ocean's circulation system and influence local and global weather patterns. They are produced by gravity, differences in water density, winds on the ocean surface and Earth's rotation on its own axis. They cause the movements and exchanges of different ocean properties such as salinity, temperature and nutrients. Ocean currents can flow at speeds of up to 4m per second however most flow at speeds between 5cm and 50cm per second. Weather patterns and ocean currents constantly influence one another. Ocean currents follow similar paths as global wind do, transferring heat from the equator to polar regions. They create and influence ecosystems worldwide, especially marine ones. However they also spread plastics and microplastics around the world far from their original source. This system of ocean currents is often referred to as a global conveyor belt. Today w

Announcement: Animal of the week

02.08.2020 Animal of the week: Owl

Hi everyone, This week's blog post is all about owls. Habitat There are many different types of owl: barn owls, long-eared owls, snowy owls and lots more. Different species live in different places. Here are a few examples. Snowy owls live in the Arctic . Great grey owls live in pine forests. Elf owls live in deserts. There are about 130 different species of owl. Owls can be found everywhere in the world apart from Antarctica . Owls live in trees, holes in the ground, barns and caves. Most owls do not migrate in winter. Diet Owls eat insects, spiders, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds and small mammals. What they eat the most depends on the type of owl and where it lives. Screech owls feed mostly on insects. Barn owls mainly eat mice, shrews and voles. Eagle owls eat hares and young foxes. Some owls can even fish like the Asian Fish Owl. Even though some species prefer a certain type of food, most owls will eat whatever they can find

10 Animals on the Edge of Extinction No. 10- The Javan Rhino

The Javan rhino is listed as the 1st animal on WWF’s list of the 10 world’s most endangered animals, and I for my part, had never heard of it! If you hadn’t either, we’re changing that now.  A bit about the rhino’s lifestyle The Javan rhinos are now exclusively found on the island of Java in Indonesia, but were once found in vast regions of northeast india and Southeast Asia. They have a dark grey colour which looks almost black when wet, and their (often pink) skin folds look a bit like plated armor. Both males and females have lower incisors which resemble tusks that they use to fight. Males have one relatively short horn of about 25 cm (10 inches).  Javan Rhinos live in tropical forests, marshy areas and in the thick bush. They are mainly browsers and eat over 100 plants species they find in the forest, weigh between 900 and 2300 kg (1984-5071 pounds) and are between 3 and 3.2 meters (10- 10.5 feet) long.  How endangered are we talking?  Javan rhinos are the most endangered animal s

February 2021 Factfile - a bit of news from the last month and more!

Hi Everyone! Welcome to February's factfile! We are very sorry that we have not posted very much so far in 2021 but we are going to hopefully make up for it in the spring. News: Source- BBC Newsround The great yellow bumblebee has been spotted in Scotland! They used to be common in the UK but their population declined by about 80% in the last century. The find is a spark of hope as it is currently endangered. This is thought to be because of a decline in natural flower meadows and a boost in farming. The team of conservationists that found it were thrilled and when we heard about it we wanted to share it with you in case you hadn't heard! Source- Guardian In the 1840s a bird was caught in the East Indies. It had never been seen before and Charles Lucien Bonaparte (Napoleon's nephew) named it the black-browed babbler. The species wasn't seen again, so the only proof that it had ever existed was a stuffed specimen.

April 2021 Factfile - some news from the past month and animals that you voted for

Hi Everyone! In this factfile we are bringing you some more news from the past month, animals you voted for, an exciting announcement and more! News: The Guardian reports that 'the new research shows that since the 1990s, the loss of hundreds of billions of tonnes of ice a year into the oceans resulting from the climate crisis has caused the poles to move in new directions.' Previously, the poles could only move due to ocean currents and other natural factors. Apparently, glacial losses accounted for most of the change but some were also due to the pumping of groundwater which once pumped up by humans isn't replaced. This shows just how much climate change is having an impact on our beautiful planet. You may have heard about M&S's plans to release 30 million  honey bees  to the countryside. It has faced many complaints from experts saying that this could damage the balance of natural pollinators. It is important t

December Factfile

Hello, The fact file vote has come to an end and we have a winner. This year, we will be doing top tips. These will come out at the beginning of the month. These tips are, at the same time, challenges. We hope you will enjoy, and apply them! News Good news New hope for coral reefs A coral reef in India has been restored to health- the proof being in the noises the fish have been making. Many of these strange sounds have never been recorded before. This is amazing, especially considering that the reef has been devastated by blast fishing, where explosives are used to stun or kill everything in the area. Although the corals are being restored, scientists want to know if the animals are also returning and in what numbers. The Guardian states that  'Sound is vital for reef survival, because almost all of its inhabitants, from corals to crustaceans to fish, produce offspring that spend the early part of their lives in the open oceans, before us