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October 20, 2021
By Amy Lupica 
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 Climate Change

Image: Josski via Wikimedia Commons
Africa Climate Report Predicts Disappearing Glaciers and Displaced People
By Amy Lupica, ODP Daily Editor

report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and African Union (AU) agencies has found that Africa’s eastern glaciers will vanish over the next 20 years, and 118 million people will face droughts, floods, and extreme heat. Climate experts say the melting of the continent’s glaciers should be a warning that worse things are yet to come for the environment and people of Africa.
 
Why This Matters: Millions of African people will be impacted by climate change in the near future. Not only will that cause new problems, but it will hinder decades of progress toward poverty alleviation and economic growth. Those financial consequences could also prevent countries from developing climate mitigation infrastructure. As COP26 approaches, this study shines yet another light on the harms facing developing nations largely due to the emissions of wealthy nations and the widening inequality of climate impacts.
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 Forests

Image: Dallas Krentzel via Wikimedia Commons
Indigenous Communities Take Ecuador to Court to Protect the Amazon
By Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer

Earlier this year, Ecuador’s new President Guillermo Lasso issued decrees to expand oil and mining projects in the Amazon. Indigenous communities from the country’s rainforest are now suing the government in an effort to stop these projects, calling them a “policy of death,” according to reporting by Reuters. Community leaders are asking Ecuador’s Constitutional Court — the highest in the country — to nullify the decrees and stop the projects from moving forward.
 
“The Ecuadorian government sees in our territory only resource interests,” saidWaorani leader Nemonte Nenquimo outside the court. “Our territory is our decision, and we’ll never allow oil or mining companies to enter and destroy our home and kill our culture.”
 
Why This Matters:  First and foremost, drilling for oil or mining minerals in the Ecuadorian Amazon is a direct threat to the dozens of Indigenous communities who live there. These extractive processes poison the water and air around them. Indigenous communities are also most likely to experience climate impacts because of their close relationship with the natural world. And on a global scale, clearing parts of the Amazon to extract oil or set up mining operations is counter-productive to global climate goals.

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 Land

Image: Boris Radosavljevic via Wikimedia Commons
Melting Russian Permafrost Threatens Infrastructure
By Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer

The earth is collapsing under Russia’s northeastern towns as global warming melts the permafrost beneath them. Permafrost occupies 65% of Russia’s landmass, making this massive thawing particularly destructive. 
 
“There isn’t a single settlement in Russia’s Arctic where you wouldn’t find a destroyed or deformed building,” said Alexey Maslakov, a lead researcher at Moscow State University
 
Why this Matters: More than 15 million Russians live on permafrost foundations, and the Russian government could incur $97 billion in infrastructure damage by 2050 if warming continues.
 
Moreover, permafrost melt threatens not only Russia but also the rest of the world. As the tundra thaws, it releases greenhouse gases. Scientists have referred to Russian permafrost as a “methane time bomb” due to the prevalence of methane deposits trapped in the ice that could be released as the region heats up. Russia is warming 2.8 times faster than the global average, making the potential consequences even more intense.

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 Oceans

Image: Michael L. Baird via Wikimedia Commons
One Cool Thing: Otters Stoke Seagrass Romance

It’s about time we had a conversation about the birds and the bees…or in this case, the otters and the seagrass. A new study found that the ecological relationship between sea otters and the seagrass fields where they make their home is spurring the rapid reproduction of the plants. Otters dig up about 5% of the grass in their habitats, which puts the grasses under pressure and causes both sexual and asexual reproduction.
 
Why is the otter and seagrass romance so important? Often called the “forgotten ecosystem,” seagrasses can sequester vast amounts of carbon and are one of the most widespread ecosystems in the world, though they are also among the least protected and declining rapidly. But, this study could spark new methods of restoring seagrasses — all thanks to our furry, watery wingmen.
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