Land Degradation Accelerates Global Climate Change

The UN body dealing with climate change has issued a warning saying global food security is at risk if we do not change the way we use the planet’s resources.

In a major report on land use and climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says rising global temperatures are creating more extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and droughts, leading to land degradation and desertification.

At the same time it says poor land-use practices are contributing to global warming.

The destruction of natural habitats to make way for livestock and cultivation, is responsible for about a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, and is reducing the land’s capacity to store carbon.

The report’s authors are calling for a shift to sustainable land-use practices, and for action to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions.

While they have stopped short of telling people to stop eating meat they say reducing consumption will take pressure off our planet’s limited natural resources.

Cleaning Plastics from Moreton Island

This video tells the story of ten Sea Shepherd volunteers on a remote clean-up at Queensland’s Moreton Island (Moorgumpin) on a mission to find out just how polluted with plastic this remote island is. During the clean-up the volunteers found a dead green sea turtle entangled in discarded fishing gear. Results from the clean-up and microplastic survey showed significant plastic accumulation on the island with over one tonne of marine debris removed from the 21km of beach cleaned.

“Moreton Island is such a beautiful and unique location, home to so many important marine species. It is devastating to see an endangered animal has died from marine pollution; something which could have been avoided” — Campaign Leader Rebecca Griffiths.