Paradise Lost
One year ago, a massive wildfire started near the community of Paradise in the foothills of the California Sierra Nevada mountains. The Camp Fire, raged for days eventually burning 153,335 acres (62,052 hectare) before it was contained.
The fire consumed 100,000 of those acres in the first two days, its wind driven flames were spreading at the rate of 80 football fields a minute.
On this day one year ago the fire consumed the town of Paradise in four hours. The fire destroyed virtually every structure in the community. Nearly 19,000 buildings were destroyed including the homes of over 30,000 people. The fire also killed 86 people, often as they were trapped by the rapidly expanding blaze in their homes or cars struggling to escape.
It would be of some comfort to blame "nature" for this horrific event, but it would also be a massive evasion of the truth. Human greed and political failures were the reasons for the devastation and loss of life. You can read the about both in this excellent article.
The camp fire wasn't California's first mega-fire and clearly based on the fires of 2019, it wasn't the last. The climate is changing and making these fires more likely and much more powerful. Can humans learn the lessons from these fires and do what's necessary to mitigate their impact in the future? We'll see.
Fake Rhino Horns
The headline for this Guardian article is somewhat misleading. There is no indication in the article that there is an organized plan by scientists or conservationist to flood the market with fake rhino horns. The article describes a technical concept by which very convincing, but essentially fake rhino horns could be produced in order to flood the black market with these fake horns. The assumption is that this flood of fakes would depress the market and depress the value of real rhino horns to the point that poaching would not be profitable.
The team believe the development could lead to the rhino horn market being swamped with faux horns, thereby sowing confusion and causing a price crash – making it less profitable for poachers to source the real thing.
“[The idea is] any punter who wants to spend 1,000 quid on a couple of grams says, ‘Wait a minute, what is my probability that my stuff is real or that it is just horse hair?’” said Vollrath. “It is just rattling the market.” However, the team say it will be up to others to develop their idea.
Assuming that some group put the time, financial resources and black market contacts together to actually produce and move these fake rhino horns into the global market, is there not another potential outcome?
Dr Richard Thomas from the wildlife organisation Traffic said that while the latest study had good intentions, it posed considerable risks.“Pushing a synthetic alternative could help to reinforce the perception that rhino horn is a desirable commodity, thus perpetuating existing demand, while presenting consumers with a synthetic alternative may actually stimulate demand for the real thing, thus exacerbating the existing situation,” he said.
There is another option that sadly appears much more difficult to implement. Getting the deluded assholes that are buying rhino horns and powder to just stop doing it. The Asian market for this bloody trade needs to be closed down through both social and political pressure.
Bristol’s Diesel Ban
Air pollution in Bristol kills around 300 people a year, Bristol Live reported, and the city is under a legal obligation to lower its high levels of toxic nitrogen dioxide as quickly as possible to below legal limits. Because of this, efforts to clean the city's air have wide support, but some have raised concerns about the plan's impact on low-income residents.
The plan will ban private vehicles from the center, but allow taxis and emergency vehicles. Private vehicles will have to pay a fine if they drive into the restricted area, and commercial vehicles will need to pay a fee to access it…
"It's hard to overstate how significant a policy intervention this is," BBC Radio Bristol politics reporter Pete Simson said. "This is a first, no other UK city is introducing an outright diesel ban, and it will require the government to introduce new legislation."
It’s going to take a lot of negotiation to finalize the rules here, which is an illustration of the difficulty of putting meaningful environment or carbon reduction rules in place.
New Zealand Leader Understand
The climate change response (zero carbon) amendment bill passed on Thursday afternoon with the centre-right opposition National party throwing their support behind it late in the day, despite none of their proposed amendments being accepted. The bill passed 119 votes to one.
Climate change minister James Shaw said the bill, which commits New Zealand to keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees, provided a framework for the island country of nearly 5 million to adapt too, and prepare for the climate emergency.
“Climate change is the defining long-term issue of our generation that successive governments have failed to address. Today we take a significant step forward in our plan to reduce New Zealand’s emissions.”
For perspective – New Zealand has a population of 5 million and a GDP of 206 billion dollars (USD). Los Angeles County in California has a population of 10 million and a GDP of 700 billion dollars (USD).
New Zealand can set the example, but public opinion in the rest of the world must demand that we follow their example.
Dingo From the Sky
Dingos were once Australia's apex predators, now their range and even their genetic make-up have been drastically altered by humans. Pure dingos are rare and an finding a 100% genetically pure Alpine dingo is exceedingly rare. Then this little ball of fluff fell from the sky.
...one day, he could play a vital role in saving his own species. That’s because Wandi, a little ball of fluff found completely alone in rural Australia, turns out to be a purebred Australian alpine dingo. The species is endangered and at risk of extinction—and conservationists think Wandi could help.
Also posted at
Just Save One.