Monthly Archives: February 2021

A Differential Equation Governing Methane Concentration In The Atmosphere

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Exposing the Big Game's avatarThe Extinction Chronicles

Often one hears that methane (CH4) is many times worse than carbon dioxide (CO2) as a greenhouse gas.

ByGuest Contributor

Published20 hours ago

    By Matthew Fulkerson, Just a former physicist turned applied mathematician

    Often one hears that methane (CH4) is many times worse than carbon dioxide (CO2) as a greenhouse gas. For example, the Wikipedia article onatmospheric methanestates that over a 20 year period, CH4 is 84 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas. However, over 100 years, this potency drops to 28 times stronger.

    What is really going on here mathematically? That is the subject of this article.

    There is a chemical reaction that converts CH4 to CO2 and H2O in the atmosphere at some rate k1. Let y be the concentration of methane in the atmosphere. Let k2 be the rate of emission.

    The governing differential equation for this problem is:

    dy/dt =…

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    China adds more than 500 species to wildlife protection list

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    By Reuters Staff

    2 MIN READ

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-environment-wildlife/china-adds-more-than-500-species-to-wildlife-protection-list-idUSKBN2A604H

    SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China has added 517 species to its list of major protected wild animals, part of its campaign in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to end the wild animal trade and destruction of habitats.

    A joint statement on Friday by the forestry and agriculture ministries said adjusting the list had become “extremely urgent” because of recent changes in China’s wildlife situation. A total of 980 wild animals are now under state protection.

    The ministries promised to work with local governments to identify and protect the habitats of the animals added to the list, which include the endangered large-spotted civet and several species of birds that have dwindled in number in recent years.

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    Those who hunt and traffic the animals face fines and even custodial sentences for “level one” protected species, such as the critically endangered panda, pangolin and Yangtze finless porpoise.

    China has been trying to crack down on the wildlife trade since January 2020, after the first cases of COVID-19 were linked to a seafood market in the central city of Wuhan that was known to sell exotic animal species.

    Scientists speculate that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could have crossed into humans from bats through an intermediary species, with pangolins often identified as a potential candidate.

    China has also promised to step up efforts to protect forests and wetlands, and to seal off nature reserves behind “ecological protection red lines” in a bid to reduce human exposure to virus spillovers.

    China’s parliament announced plans to implement a permanent nationwide ban on wildlife trade and trafficking in February, though it left big loopholes for the captive breeding of animals traded for fur or used in traditional Chinese medicine.

    In the first nine months of 2020, China prosecuted more than 15,000 people for wildlife crimes, up 66% from the same period a year earlier, state prosecutors said.

    No more shooting to scare Pyrenees bears, French court rules

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    https://www.thelocal.fr/20210206/no-more-shooting-to-scare-pyrenees-bears-french-court-rules

    Tensions over the presence of brown bears in the Pyrenees have run high for decades. Photo: AFPAFP/The Localnews@thelocal.fr
    @thelocalfrance6 February 202115:26 CET+01:00Livestock owners in the French Pyrenees can no longer fire warning shots to scare off endangered bears, a court ruled on Friday, handing a victory to animal rights groups who warned of the risk of accidental deaths.

    Tensions over the presence of brown bears in mountains separating France and Spain have run high since a re-introduction effort was launched in the mid-1990s.

    Farmers were furious when the government stepped up its efforts with a 10-year “bear plan” in 2018, mounting fierce protests when the first female was brought in by helicopter that year.

    They say the warning shots are needed to keep the predators from killing sheep and other livestock or destroying bee hives, and authorities began allowing them on a trial basis in 2019.

    But the State Council, the country’s top administrative court, struck down the measure after around a dozen pro-bear associations filed a complaint.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1357976415988289539&lang=en-gb&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thelocal.fr%2F20210206%2Fno-more-shooting-to-scare-pyrenees-bears-french-court-rules&siteScreenName=thelocalfrance&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550pxhttps://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1353708056056651781&lang=en-gb&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thelocal.fr%2F20210206%2Fno-more-shooting-to-scare-pyrenees-bears-french-court-rules&siteScreenName=thelocalfrance&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

    It said warning shots are not compatible with “maintaining the populations in their natural environment.”

    Contacted by AFP, the environment ministry did not immediately comment.

    In a joint statement, the associations welcomed the ruling, saying the decree “made it possible to get around the ban on intentionally disturbing a protected species.”

    Three bears were killed in the Pyrenees last year, including one by a hunter who said he acted in self-defence.

    In January, the European Commission called on France to rapidly carry out new re-introductions to replace them, as called for in its “bear plan.”https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1354487180845051904&lang=en-gb&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thelocal.fr%2F20210206%2Fno-more-shooting-to-scare-pyrenees-bears-french-court-rules&siteScreenName=thelocalfrance&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px There are about 50 bears currently in the Pyrenees, and French officials have said early indications point to a reduction in the number of livestock killed by them last year, after 1,173 animals were killed and 36 bee hives destroyed in 2019. READ ALSO: Shepherds on French-Spanish border fear that bears will strike again

    Pennsylvania men accused of hunting squirrels while high on marijuana

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    Exposing the Big Game's avatarCommittee to Abolish Sport Hunting Blog

    1 day ago

    The two men admitted to smoking before hunting in the fall

    ByJanine Puhak| Fox News

    https://static.foxnews.com/static/orion/html/video/iframe/vod.html?v=20210201170220#uid=fnc-embed-1

    New Jersey squirrel caught stealing pizza after contactless delivery

    This squirrel appears to be a fan of contactless delivery.

    Hunting while high will never end well.

    Two men inPennsylvaniahave been cited for hunting under the influence of a controlled substance after they got caughtstalking squirrelswhile under the influence ofmarijuana.

    On Jan. 27, Warden Harold L. Cole Jr. of the Pennsylvania Game Commission Northcentral Region filed charges alleging that Douglas W. Litz and Bryan T. Poust smoked cannabis before going hunting in the fall,NorthCentralPA.comreports. The Williamsport men admitted to smoking before hunting on Sept. 17, when they were stopped by Warden Geril Schoonmaker in State Game Lands 252, Lycoming County.

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    Two men from Williamsport, Penn., have been cited for hunting under the influence of a controlled substance after they got caught stalking squirrels while under the influence of marijuana.

    Two men from Williamsport, Penn., have been cited for hunting under the influence…

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    Climate change “may have played a key role” in coronavirus pandemic, study says

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    Exposing the Big Game's avatarThe Extinction Chronicles

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-coronavirus-bats-study/

    BY JEFF BERARDELLI

    FEBRUARY 5, 2021 / 4:04 PM/ CBS NEWShttps://www.cbsnews.com/embed/video/?v=290f588c4a9f050e7ec1fceb8754cf75#xVZZb9w2EP4rgh6L5YqSqGuBovARIEEC14jj%2BMEqFhQ52mWsq6K0RwP%2F9w4l7eGkRVAgSWEsTJEzw%2BE3M9%2FMZ5v3Xd0UfG8vuraHmb1REmp78dlWHZTaXjx%2Btrt9A%2FbC3tTSntlK4pJnInaj3CVJQD3CwAcSBxHDT19IL6eU8RBly2b3HvI3RuOT3O7%2BvPeyD%2FHb6uov2EH7tFP3dwD9x%2Bb9w51GaV30K5Tcrmuiqg3oTq14V7eaiLrqVNUD0cBbscbTrsbNtq74RrW9JnWrVqrSeEC2%2FZpXRKxVxdFkp7rCuP7w%2BnfrhU1rNGXldWtd%2Ff7xzTVxE0sUPWhLzedzVJXwhIq4yPui%2BHc7B98OBo1v1plv1uQbHlgPxreZdTU5J3hVV0rw4sOPsN6pEg3xsrEXbuh6lCUJiyml%2BLK%2B5Z2qKzzw49PnO55BgV5Qb%2BHGaKAYvyt8Pka95CvQJi20iea66xq9SJ3UEZmuYKu9OS4U3tcpMRd1mTrrPksdlTpt6njUc1OH4s%2BnqeNGUR74LCQyYRFhInNJluWCJJEnfY8nmQy91OnWfZlVXBWpEzK680PUDFwWZIkvYplDLqkvQ4hzL%2FSpT3OZyWT0huS9xueQ75ZH5OgLCf2QBT6ZPJp%2FalYI1PqnI%2BJ6Md1FHqoymYmQ5TKMfZFkQS4QHiEY5zSiTEL0v0DyPLObFjYKtvdt8QIb3RRKwJyXxWqu6tThDeKxwccNrJM632KJ1JkMp459pKoz%2B01byzny1HAynyIxoj994FWI%2F7rQXwUhDmiQ%2BHGQJDTEpDPPcpeDYMl1B%2B289Pv4cKv3069Fpip5Z7i3MSAOJZs6O1I2sLp%2F%2Fw4l%2Bi%2FA3m63L32ZQP5uWTAEQek3ZVMbT%2B1FzguNLQQbihJDCzGVQd2YBiwLicCHEub7Hom5HxBK8xA5iWWMuSf2R4cJbKBS1YoYz8kW4AkqSUShGtMl1gpa4yQ2rEd7krSMJJ5NsoZbM22dH1rTkTWa%2BQMzlLdQdR%2BMqze8NPR7dXlnvZp0bkaDx8su96PQ4z9JPRyvvRqtYwFAo3QtUcPFpwHXhm7t4Z2wKvHi8aBvMJ%2B1PiLHi%2BJCCNy5LGrxdCRffa%2BhveszLVqVgTyK66audN0e5Nawu7iGnPeFyRM6wz972L087frJjAWzIDEdouXiCZ9hIoX5oTHgMKwxuX1KAxqHCCQbkbmZsshgG%2BLWL%2BZK%2FKj0UnfLlcFvCgLu8GbJzXtvUufCfkY0yn5329YNtN3%2BLWDkbI9FIHkQ%2Bm4k3YAlLHE93%2Bd%2BaD9jbEro%2BNBr0MUOVnuzxr11Lcf8N2Abs1PO5MC7vgXMEdPKwARiGlnQYYTIwH2aBXCJtIOLY0Hs1liboi4KEGNVHdVS50vbqfOb0suiXq1ALlX1KzVsd46k0q8qnhUmSuNAxVvsAAVc9Oh%2Fa2ahR9tDXuc0DoiAyCXMA%2BR6DxgB4bLENDYReyZHX6geEvAT5LmVmbyUUBTqTG4YtARWVJShRWyW2ExkxEmG7Z9kMeRZQpmfx2Y8mFRu%2B%2Bwan2UigrREcJijgeW5C8oWbnISO0woWD1IQmAJ5IAVWKld8r215huwzAgJ0uLWE%2Bytti4gtc1Qcj6rNLySUCoxs3TXy72l%2BV6fXXGIWNUh8Mtp16TbMTAjeDTkNKRhRsALAoKJExCeuxnxIPISEfu5zHNUS7wQKwk7E8gkJCzkHGknAeysoQsej%2BKY%2Bga7k%2FkDwC8fOXhwegRWIHZ1oyixEYmD2xL0E9LewIfXsDF42oZjVgcBUxxLM1IbCsD%2Fr5UhzEdbCwWVAGPQbN%2BNrqDC4WDcn6wgWZiSVwj4FjJ7otoh7hGWbORjDDPPRZpNGD415wnJIzfBKQmHgyA4KEyEd7oCX6yQHdgxGnd13woY%2BfjArlmLAbwteGda0ZhrY3dZGg%2BXJwjM53TFJGEuBl6ovjQlgu0yV8XZsVFAEagMcKaZmqI6jsdfDhFf9bWxwU5hI2PYXrSvjHeaDEk3tKwSpOK3Nd6KUE%2FIFsDlFLHvfp8xOuHx35UHjvqmSz%2BgtT8%2F%2Fw0%3D

    Human-causedclimate change”may have played a key role” in thecoronaviruspandemic. That’s the conclusion of a new study which examined how changes in climate have transformed the forests of Southeast Asia, resulting in an explosion of bat species in the region.

    The researchers found that, due to changes in vegetation over the past 100 years, an additional 40 species of bat have moved into the region, carrying with them 100 more types of bat-borne coronaviruses. Bats are known carriers of coronaviruses, with various species carrying thousands of different types. Many scientists believe the virus that started the worldwide COVID-19 pandemicoriginated in batsin southern China’s Yunnan province or neighboring areas before it crossed paths with humans.

    These findings have scientists concerned about the probability that climate change will make future pandemics more likely.

    “If bats…

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    Mink, COVID-19, Fashion Furs, and Priorities

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    Exposing the Big Game's avatarCommittee to Abolish Sport Hunting Blog

    by Barry Kent MacKay in Animals in Captivity, Coexisting with Wildlife, COVID-19, Fur Trade on February 05, 2021

    https://www.bornfreeusa.org/2021/02/05/mink-covid-19-fashion-furs-and-priorities/

    Akey to successful advocacy work, whatever the cause, is the ability to understand the views, values, and priorities of “the other side” – those who wish to impede whatever you want to achieve. I value compassion and conservation. I oppose cruelty and environmental degradation. These are values that have long motivated me to oppose the fur industry. They are part of a bias, and I will admit that up front, freely.

    I will not pretend to understand fully why people still buy fur apparel or want to enable the process that makes it available. If they do not care about causing suffering and death to the animals (or find the degree of either to be acceptable, even necessary), that is as it is. If they do not care…

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    In a warming world, it’s better to be a small mammal than a bird

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    Exposing the Big Game's avatarThe Extinction Chronicles

    Science Feb. 4, 2021
    By Elizabeth Pennisihttps://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/02/warming-world-its-better-be-small-mammal-bird
    In the early 1900s, Joseph Grinnell traversed the wilds of California in his Ford Model T truck, meticulously surveying its fauna. Along the Californian coast, he trapped pocket mice and watched condors soar; in the Mojave Desert, his team chronicled American kestrels swooping for insects and caught cactus mice hiding among rocks.
    Now, by comparing Grinnell’s data with modern surveys, ecologists have shown that climate change has not been an equal opportunity stressor. As the Mojave warmed by about 2°C over the past century, bird numbers and diversity declined dramatically, but small mammals like little pocket mice are holding their own. The survivors’ secret seems to be a nocturnal lifestyle and an ability to escape the heat by burrowing, the team reports today in Science. 
    Until now, researchers have often assumed climate change challenges mammals and birds in similar ways, because…

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    Two Sumatran tigers escape Indonesian zoo, one shot dead

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    AFP  6 hrs ago

    Two Sumatran tigers escape Indonesian zoo, one shot dead (msn.com)

    Fox News cancels Lou Dobbs’ programTwo Sumatran tigers escape Indonesian zoo, one shot dead

    A critically endangered Sumatran tiger was shot dead on Saturday while another is still on the loose after they escaped from a zoo on Borneo island, leaving a zookeeper dead, an official said.a zebra standing on top of a tiger: Sumatran tigers are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with fewer than 400 believed to remain in the wild© JUSTIN SULLIVAN Sumatran tigers are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with fewer than 400 believed to remain in the wild

    The tigers, both female and about 18 months old, escaped from Sinka Zoo in the town of Singkawang, West Kalimantan late Friday after days of torrential rain caused a landslide and opened a tunnel allowing their exit. 

    A 47-year-old zookeeper was found dead with scratches and bite wounds on his body.

    Authorities also found dead a cassowary, ostrich and monkey near the tiger cage. 

    Police and conservation officials were immediately dispatched to search for the tigers. 

    Nearby tourism attractions were ordered to close and locals were told to stay at home while police searched for the animals. 

    “We tried with a tranquilliser gun first but it didn’t work, so we were forced to shoot the tiger because it was already behaving very aggressively,” Sadtata Noor Adirahmanta, the head of a local conservation agency, told AFP.

    “We were afraid it would escape to the nearest neighbourhood. Although we tried our best to catch it alive, our priority is humans’ safety,” he added. 

    Authorities are still looking for the other tiger in the jungle surrounding the zoo.

    A cage with animal prey inside has been prepared in hope the escaped tiger will return to the zoo at her feeding time.

    Sumatran tigers are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with fewer than 400 believed to remain in the wild.

    Tiger parts are widely used in traditional medicine — particularly in China — despite overwhelming scientific evidence they have no beneficial value.

    Pets are helping us cope during the pandemic—but that may be stressing them out

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    Exposing the Big Game's avatarThe Extinction Chronicles

    ANIMALSDOMESTICATED

    Some pet owners are noticing behavioral changes in their animals, while also worrying more about their animal’s well-being during lockdown, new research shows.

    A therapy dog named Casey snuggles with Janice—whose last name was not provided—in Massachusetts on April 20, 2020. The Siberian husky has provided support for Janice and others in her household during the COVID-19 pandemic.PHOTOGRAPH BY HANNAH REYES MORALES5 MINUTE READBY RACHEL MAY

    https://1fd2087ad40cdb8077d2319d7c5874bd.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

    PUBLISHEDFEBRUARY 2, 2021

    As thecoronavirus pandemicwears on, one thing is clear: Many of us are turning to pets to help us endure this challenging time in history.

    In fact, as people remain stuck at home, the demand for adopting or fostering pets, particularly dogs, has risen worldwide, fromCanadatoIndia. Between March and September 2020,the number of foster pets in U.S. homes increased by 8 percent,according to PetPoint, which collects industry data on pet adoption.

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