Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Fire and Flames – Kaushal Kishore

 

Around the crackling logs, reflections unfold,

Sacred fire, vital force, in worship, stories retold…

Bonfire’s warmth, defying the cold, caresses beyond skin,

Flickering flames unveil images that stir from within…

 

Source: Fire and Flames – Kaushal Kishore

The new Arctic: Amid record heat, ecosystems morph and wildlife struggle – Stigmatis News

  • Every species of animal and plant that lives or breeds in the Arctic is experiencing dramatic change. As the polar region warms, species endure extreme weather, shrinking and altered habitat, decreased food availability, and competition from invading southern species.
  • A wide array of Arctic organisms that rely on sea ice to feed or breed during some or all of their life cycles are threatened by melt: Over the past 40 years, the Arctic Ocean has lost about 75% of its sea ice volume, as measured at the end of the summer melt season. This translates into a loss of sea ice extent and thickness by half on average.
  • Researchers note that the rate of change is accelerating at sea and on land. While species can adapt over time, Arctic ecosystem alterations are too rapid for many animals to adapt, making it difficult to guess which species will prevail, which will perish, and where.
  • The only thing that could limit future extinctions, researchers say, is to quickly stop burning fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change.

Walruses have traversed the Arctic for millennia, gregarious pinnipeds that rest en masse on drifting pack ice, diving to feed on crabs, clams and other seafloor delicacies. Icy platforms also serve as safe birthing and nursery grounds. But as the far north rapidly warms and sea ice disappears, some herds now huddle on overcrowded shorelines, with deadly consequences for young calves: Because more disturbances occur on shore than at sea, calves are regularly trampled during panicked stampedes by the 1-ton-plus adults.

Source: The new Arctic: Amid record heat, ecosystems morph and wildlife struggle – Stigmatis News

Andes community-led conservation curbs more páramo loss than state-protected area: Study – Stigmatis

  • In the central highlands of Ecuador, land managed by Indigenous peoples and local communities is associated with improved outcomes for drought adaptation and páramo conservation, according to a new study.
  • The study finds that páramo areas managed by communities in this region are better protected than those under the care of the state.
  • Due to the advance of the agricultural frontier in the highlands, approximately 4 hectares (9.9 acres) of páramo are lost every day, which threatens the water supply of the entire region.
  • Community-led land management that incorporates inclusive participation, traditional knowledge and the cultural values of those who inhabit the areas, coined by reseachers as “social technology,” can aid in the conservation of the páramo.

A recent study found that high-altitude ecosystems in the Andes, known as the páramo, managed by eight communities in Ecuador have led to a reduction in soil and vegetation decline, due to the incorporation of a concept called “social technology.”

 

Source: Andes community-led conservation curbs more páramo loss than state-protected area: Study – Stigmatis

Rosicrucian Reflections #210 « Kelly’s Quest

“Come, step back from your close view of the obstacles that seem to surround you. Close your eyes to them for a while and create a new picture. Leave the past and the present out of your consideration and make a new life, a new day, beginning with tomorrow. Build it up part by part in your mind and in your conversations and contacts with those around you until you have a perfect picture of the future that is just beyond today’s horizon. Then step forward bravely into this picture; and with determination start your journey along the line that leads to your new life. You will find yourself master of the picture and of those realities, and you will find in it the greatest happiness and rewards, and every effort, every thought devoted to it.” H. Spencer Lewis Source: Rosicrucian Reflections #210 « Kelly’s Quest