Taking Action on Climate Change - A Matter of Justice

The seventeenth UN Convention on Climate Change, COP-17 is currently taking place in Durban, South Africa. It began November 28 and will run until December 9. Once again developed nations that are doing the most to accelerate global warming have a chance to commit to making a difference. "Climate Change is a matter of Justice." declared Mary Robinson and Desmond Tutu of the General Council of Elders.  The nations that are most affected by climate change are the ones least able to put a stop to it. One example is the Republic of the Maldives, a small island nation in the Indian Ocean. Laura Flanders of The Nation describes a conversation she had with Dr. MohammedWaheed Hassan, the vice president of Maldives. They have seen the sea level rise 8 inches causing erosion, most of their fresh water to become brackish, and the dying of their coastal reefs. As a people they have lived on these islands for 3000 years and are looking at the possible destruction of their nation.

And they’re not alone. The small Pacific island nation of Kiribati is facing the same problems. Parts of their country are already underwater and the contamination of fresh water supplies is affecting their ability to grow crops. The president, Anote Tong, is encouraging his people in what is called merit-based relocation. They have worked out deals with Australia and New Zealand that allow young people who successfully complete training in professions that are in-demand to stay in their countries. This will hopefully give their families preferential status for migration. This is preferable to emergency evacuation on down the road, but how sad that an entire nation might have to leave their ancestral homes. And there are others. Twenty-two Pacific island nations are home to approximately 7 million people. Where will they go? Most nations in the world are not prepared to accept large numbers of environmental refugees, but that may be exactly what we are looking at within the next generation. 

Many people are still skeptical about our ability to affect global warming, even though the vast majority of scientific organizations have issued statements that support not only global warming, but that human activity is a large contributing factor. The few that disagree are at best non-committal on the involvement of human activity. Richard Muller, once a beloved scientist of the skeptics, has completed his own study and come to the same conclusions as other studies, that the earth is warming at an increasing rate.

In the mean time, there appears to be an attempt by developed countries to allow access to the Green Climate Fund by multinational companies, bypassing the governments of the developing nations it was created to help. This would allow Wall Street companies, for example, to directly access those funds. The problem is that many of the initiatives required may not be financially lucrative, but that doesn’t mean they are not still necessary. Given the recent record of some Wall Street firms with regard to their concern for people in general, I have a hard time believing that they would have the best interest of these small “insignificant” island nations at heart.

I am a skeptic, but not a skeptic about global warming, a skeptic about the ability of people who are not directly affected by global warming to care. It’s sad to say that, but there it is. I do hope I am proven wrong. During the conference in Durban, the US and other large developed nations have the chance to really make a difference. I’m hoping that this year we will finally take a stand in favor of the other people in the world who need us, not worrying about the inconvenience it might be to us, or whether or not we can profit while helping, just whether or not we can help.

Sitting can Kill You

 When I worked as a technical instructor, I had weeks when I stood all day every day teaching, and other weeks when I would sit at my computer doing course development or other forms of technical writing.  I frequently had trouble with my back during those years. It helped when I quit wearing heels to teach, go figure! But sitting all day was just as problematic. I got in the habit of getting up frequently, which did help, but it is a habit that I haven't kept up. For some reason at home I don't seem to have the same back problems when I sit for long periods. It may be because I do less writing and more reading on the computer, which allows me greater mobility. I can read in a lot of positions that I can't type in! But now it seems that I have other reasons to get up frequently. 

In the article, Prolonged Sitting Linked to Cancer , Scientific American reports on a study which connects the length of time we sit with our chances of getting cancer. The longer we sit, the more at risk we are for cancer. The study suggests that breast and colon cancer are those most closely related to sitting for prolonged periods, but it does affect other types as well. This seems to be the case regardless of how active we are during the rest of the day. The good news is that 1 – 2 minutes each hour can make a difference. 

If you’re like me, constantly sipping on water while at my computer gives me a frequent reminder that I need to get up!  I've also started using the bathroom upstairs, even though I basically live downstairs. Those few extra stairs certainly don't hurt and it keeps me away from my computer for a longer period of time. But, the big change for me is that I'm trying to spend less time on my computer. Life on the computer can certainly be addictive and in the last couple of years since I've been at home, I've spent far too much time on it. A lot of housework, yard work, and good books have been neglected. (Of course reading, since I usually sit while I do it, would have the same sitting issues.) So here's to an early new year's resolution, sitting less. Maybe I'll be a little healthier, and who knows, maybe my house will be cleaner too!

Don’t Sit Tight, an article in “Health News Daily” gives suggestions that can help you be kind to your body when sitting at a computer.

A Saber-toothed Squirrel?

I've always been fascinated by paleontology, but things change so quickly in science that it doesn't take long to get behind. When I first taught biology at South Providence (I think it was 2003) I quickly found out that MANY things were different from when I first studied it in college. (I just told my students that I went to college during the last Ice Age. I think some may have believed me!) I only taught biology for a couple years and went back to teaching math, so I've been trying to catch up a little bit lately on changes. Here are a few interesting articles I found.
 

A Saber-toothed squirrel?
A fossil found in Argentina of a small mammal will hopefully help scientists to determine if mammals evolved differently in the Americas than they did in other parts of the world. The fossil dates to approximately 100 million years ago from the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era, and falls into a 60 million year gap in the fossil record of South America. It is in the subclass of mammals Theria, which means it was live-bearing, as opposed to an egg-laying mammal such as the platypus. You can find an abstract of the article in Nature below. Clicking on the title above will take you to the Science News article that has an artist's rendering of what the little creature might look like. Not nearly as cute as the gray squirrels currently playing on the pecan tree in my backyard.
Nature article


Homo Sapiens may have moved faster than we think.
Two new studies have found that modern humans may have arrived in Europe earlier than previously thought, perhaps as early as 45,000 years ago. This would mean they coexisted with Neanderthals for a longer period of time. Neanderthals died out around 30,000 years ago. Both studies are based on the reexamination of previously found evidence: two teeth found in a cave in England in 1927, and three teeth in a partial jaw bone found in Italy in 1964. But other scientists are skeptical or outright disagree. To read the entire story click on the heading above. If you're way behind on human evolution, as I was, there are a series of PBS videos that explain the current thinking on the subject. They are well done and fascinating. You can find the first video, Becoming Human Part 1, here. There are three videos.

Giant Sauropods may have migrated
Sauropods were immense. The most familiar example is the Apatosaurus (what we used to call the Brontosaurus.) Henry Fricke believes that one reason they became so large is because they migrated to richer feeding grounds during certain times of years. His analysis was based chemical variations in the teeth. Oxygen in the water animals drink finds it's way into the blood stream and eventually into tooth enamel. This can be compared to samples of sediment found near the teeth. If they differ there is evidence that the animal has migrated to that area. Or so the theory goes. There is always more to investigate. That's one thing I like about science, there are always new questions.