October 2021 Factfile | news, animals and more!

Hello,

October is over and November is here - let's hope it's a cosy month full of stunning Autumn colours and beautiful rainy days!

News

Good news

Judge postpones wolf hunt in Wisconsin

Every year in Wisconsin there is a wolf hunt in autumn. But this year, something amazing happened: A judge halted the season. For years there has been a dispute, on one side environmentalists, and on the other hunters and farmers. The farmers claim that wolves destroy their crops and that killing them is the only solution. Environmentalists argue that wolf populations are too weak and that the animals shouldn't be killed. Let's hope that this is the first step toward stopping the wolf hunt altogether.

Bad news

Pacific islands are disappearing

For many of us, the threat of climate change feels distant. But for the people of the Pacific islands, the terror is all too real. These are their homes, and they are rapidly becoming submerged by water. This is, as you may have guessed, a result of the rising sea levels, which is down to the melting of ice caps and the thermal expansion that happens when the sea water heats up. So directly linked to climate change.

The loss of this land is forcing people to move out of their homes and worse: seeing them disappear under the waves. For those who manage to remain on the ever-shrinking islands, life is far from ideal. The seawater seeps into the groundwater, making it unfit to drink and meaning no crops can be grown. This leaves communities relying on the mainland for food supplements and rainfall for water. The soil is sandy and unstable.

The islands may not disappear completely: there may still be trees and some plants. But they will be so small and infertile that those who have always lived there have to move on.

There are a few initiatives in place to help these people rebuild their lives, but nothing can replace the homes and communities they've either lost or will lose. Although the standard of living is better on the mainland and they can grow crops, it's not the same as living on a small tight-knit community-based island.

People are facing the consequences of climate change right now. So anyone who says that they're saving the climate for their children is wrong. They're saving it for people of the same generation as themselves. And the people of the Pacific Islands are the proof.

Rotting Red Sea oil tanker could leave millions without water

In 2017, an oil tanker was abandoned off the coast of Yemen. Ever since it has been slowly breaking apart. Now there is a high risk of the oil on board leaking into the ocean. This would destroy the habitats of millions of marine animals and plants, ruin Yemen's fish industry and possibly leave 8 million people, without proper water. The vessel may also explode which will cause even more damage.

Big businesses lobbying against the climate bill

With the climate crisis becoming more real by the day, new bills and laws are being passed to help stop climate change (although in most cases, not nearly enough is being done). However, it seems that some of the biggest companies in the world are against these new laws. Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Disney are among these companies. Despite publicly saying that they will cut emissions and so on, it seems that they are also trying to stop the climate bill from being passed because it will slightly lower their profits.

Animals

Land: Glowworm

Glowworms aren't actually worms - they're beetles. The males look like any other beetle. It's the females, that give this species its name. They give off a low light at night to attract a mate.
Glowworms live in grasslands, moorlands, farmlands and woodlands (so pretty much everywhere). The larvae are predators, feeding on slugs and snails. They often ride on the snails' backs, while waiting for the poison from their bites to kill their prey.

Air: Fruit bat

The fruit bat is one of the numerous bat species, widely found in Australia, Southeast Asia and Africa. As the name suggests, they feed on fruits and flowers, although some of the smaller species feed on nectar and pollen as well. The biggest and most known type is Flying Foxes, which are widely spread from Madagascar to Australia and Indonesia. Flying foxes can reach a size of 40 cm (Head and body length) and a wingspan of up to 1.5 meters.

Water: Sea otter

Sea otters are fast swimmers. They are probably best known for lying on their backs on the surface. They don't only sleep in this position. They also smash open clams and mussels with a rock. Due to the ocean constantly moving and swirling, they often anchor themselves to the ocean floor with kelp or seaweed.
Of course, sea otters eat more than just clams and mussels, they feed on sea urchins, crabs, fish and squid.

They live for up to 23 years and are classified as Vulnerable.

Plant: Banyan tree

The banyan tree was originally native to India but is now spread throughout South Asia. Its sap is used for healing and soothing. The wood and bark are good for making paper and the roots are often turned into rope. They are massive, with the oldest trees reaching a diameter of more than 200 meters and a height of 30 meters. The fruit attracts monkeys and birds and the flower attracts bees and wasps for pollination. The banyan tree is considered sacred and it represents eternal life. In many villages, the villagers meet under this type of tree for meetings and socialising.

Book Recommendation- The Lost Spells and The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris

These are two books I absolutely love! They are both acrostic poetry collections by nature writer Robert Macfarlane and absolutely BEAUTIFULLY illustrated by Jackie Morris. It truly transports you to the world of the wild and I love it so much! I wish I could frame the entire book on my wall! Out of the two, The Lost Words is a very large format which is fine but it's harder to read and less practical. I prefer The Lost Spells personally but if you're looking for more of a coffee table book, then I would go for The Lost Words (as long as you have a big coffee table!).

Thank you so much for reading our October Factifile! We're sorry it's late but we hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! Thank you so much for all your support and we'll be back soon.

Online vote

Sources:
https://apnews.com/article/environment-and-nature-wisconsin-lawsuits-madison-scott-walker-c08117dbcc2389817ff7a2ce93d2166b
https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/11/1105482
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/01/apple-amazon-microsoft-disney-lobby-groups-climate-bill-analysis
www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/11/rotting-red-sea-oil-tanker-could-leave-8m-people-without-water
https://www.britannica.com/animal/glowworm
https://allanimalfacts.com/fruit-bat/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/sea-otter
https://www.britannica.com/plant/banyan

Images:
Title image: This image is owned by a blog editor.
Wolf: This image is owned by Pixabay (on pexels.com).
Island: This image is owned by Flo Dahm (on pexels.com).
Cargo ship: This image is owned by Ian Lavrinovich (on pexels.com).
Apple laptop: This image is owned by Pixabay (on pexels.com).
Sea otters: This image is owned by Timothy Wills-DeTone (on pexels.com).
Book: This image is owned by a blog editor.

Comments

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

Killing invasive species: necessary?

Hi everyone, Today's topic is a rather controversial one: is killing invasive species necessary? We'll take it apart for you to come up with your own opinion. Enjoy! Definition Firstly, let's clarify what an invasive species is. An invasive species is a species that is not native and most likely causes harm to the ecosystem where it now lives. This does not include animals that migrate to another area. Why is it a problem? Depending on the species and the ecosystem, invasive species can cause a lot of harm to their surroundings. Often invasive species have no predators in their new habitat and reproduce in such large numbers that they massively overpopulate, causing death for other species. Or they bring sicknesses the local animals are not accustomed to, and that kills them. For example black and brown rats are an invasive species on the Galapagos Islands : Black and brown rats were introduced to the Galapagos Islands in the 17th ce

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

Why Don't People Switch To Electric Cars? || Green World Blog

Hi Everyone! The previous post in this series really blew up, so thank you so much for your support on that one. In this article, I wanted to discuss why people are not switching to electric cars, and why the transport industry still has a way to go in terms of reaching net zero. If you missed the first part of this post, then click here to read it! ! I talked in the post linked above, about why people should switch to electric cars, while also taking into account the potential issues with them, and coming to a conclusion about should everyone switch to electric cars. In this post, I wanted to delve further into the topic of why people don't switch to electric cars. The cost is one of the main issues at the moment. To own an electric car, you need a reliable electricity supply, which is not readily available for everyone in the developing world, let alone the cost of buying the vehicle in the first place. The cost of the vehicle coul

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.

Green World

Search This Blog