Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
A Hallowe'en treat!
This Hallowe'en will see a unique event. The Earth's global population will reach 7 Billion! It is estimated that it will reach the major landmark on 1:49 pm Monday. Research shows that that on average 150 people a minute are born. This rate is expected to increase. It is expected that the global population will reach 8 Billion in 2027 and 9 Billion by 2046.
The global population in 1804 reached 1 Billion. It would be over 150 years until the numbers began to grow significantly.
What has led to this rising population?
China has a massive 19.3% of the global population with India following at 17%. The USA has 4.48%. The United Kingdom has 0.89% The lowest ranking is Vatican City with 0.00001%(800 people). Ireland has 0.066%(nearly 4.6 million). The continent with the largest population is Asia with 60%(4 billion) with Africa the second most populated(1 billion). Europe makes up 11% with the Americas totalling 14%(South America has 9% and Northern America 5%). Oceania is the least populated with 0.5%
The global population in 1804 reached 1 Billion. It would be over 150 years until the numbers began to grow significantly.
What has led to this rising population?
- Better living standards.
- Higher life expectancy
- People are more fertile.
- Popularity of the need for a larger family.
China has a massive 19.3% of the global population with India following at 17%. The USA has 4.48%. The United Kingdom has 0.89% The lowest ranking is Vatican City with 0.00001%(800 people). Ireland has 0.066%(nearly 4.6 million). The continent with the largest population is Asia with 60%(4 billion) with Africa the second most populated(1 billion). Europe makes up 11% with the Americas totalling 14%(South America has 9% and Northern America 5%). Oceania is the least populated with 0.5%
What does this all mean for the Environment?
The only victim of this story is the environment. How? Every new person who is born needs, food, water, and energy. The world has the capacity to feed all these people for a short term. But the population is not stressing the planet it is our energy demand. We need to become more sustainable with our energy. With the global population growing and energy sources depleting how will earth be able to cope? Will it result in more war?
With human population growing animal life decreases. A study last year found that 52 species of mammals, birds and amphibians moved one category closer to extinction. For example the global tiger population has dropped by 95% to 3,200.
So, if we can live more sustainably and more environmentally friendly we should welcome the 7 billionth newcomer on Monday!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Dublin floods
 |
| Floods cause travel difficulties |
Many people woke up to find water in their homes. One resident in Tallaght said, "I've never seen anything like this in the last day in 38 years. I'm living in Tallaght 43 years and I've never seen anything as bad as this."
Roads have been closed, public transport has been halted, shops and business's have been submerged in water.
The floods have taken the lives of two people. A local Garda aged 25 and a young Filipino woman living in Dublin.
As the floods begin to recede the cost of the damage is estimated to be around 100s of millions of euro.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Gorse and bog fires damaging the Irish Environment
In the last week 16 counties have been fighting to quench fires on peat lands or gorse fires. These fires have caused enormous damage to the environment. Fires in Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Donegal and Offaly have caused the most damage. Some fires have been started deliberately but most fires have been caused due to the land been to dry for this time of the year. The recent warm spells have left the ground warmer than average. A cigarette discarded could easily spark off a fire or a piece of shattered glass.
These fires are wrecking havoc on various habitats. Due to herbage been burnt away meaning a loss in food sources. Birdwatch Ireland says 'the last two winters have had a detrimental effect on bird numbers and that the present spate of fires will make it difficult for species to mate again. The loss of food sources such as insects will prove detrimental for birds'.
The organisation believes the most affected species will be, twite, red grouse, grasshopper warbler, whitethroat, linnet, stonechat, dunnock, curlew, blackbird and meadow pipit.
“We are in the middle of the nesting season and tens of thousands of chicks and eggs have been destroyed”,Birdwatch Ireland’s John Murphy stated.
In Donegal and Mayo, the rare Cuckoo has been affected by the worst gorse fires have occurred. Red Grouse is also dangerously affected. The Red grouse is on the Red Data list. It has only over 4,200 individuals(2008). They live in bogs, moors and higher terrains.
One of Ireland's rarest birds the Twite which is common along the west especially in North West and Donegal. It is a finch that lives in areas of heather and gorse.
Gorse fires in Ireland are different to those in other countries. “Gorse and bog fires in Ireland are different in many respects to similar fires in Scotland, for example, as the compacted peat (up to 20ft deep in places) that lies underneath the gorse here continues to smoulder long after the gorse fires have been extinguished. Scotland’s granite terrain means that the gorse fire is faster burning and does not penetrate as deep underground and therefore the effects on wildlife are not as significant. In Ireland, the grass that grows in the aftermath of such fires benefits cattle and sheep only and not the birds and food sources that previously inhabited the area.”
“Another consequence of these fires is that birds in the affected areas have been forced to relocate in large numbers to secondary habitats, where resources are limited and the terrain is less suitable”, John Murphy-Birdwatch Ireland
These fires are wrecking havoc on various habitats. Due to herbage been burnt away meaning a loss in food sources. Birdwatch Ireland says 'the last two winters have had a detrimental effect on bird numbers and that the present spate of fires will make it difficult for species to mate again. The loss of food sources such as insects will prove detrimental for birds'.
The organisation believes the most affected species will be, twite, red grouse, grasshopper warbler, whitethroat, linnet, stonechat, dunnock, curlew, blackbird and meadow pipit.
“We are in the middle of the nesting season and tens of thousands of chicks and eggs have been destroyed”,Birdwatch Ireland’s John Murphy stated.
In Donegal and Mayo, the rare Cuckoo has been affected by the worst gorse fires have occurred. Red Grouse is also dangerously affected. The Red grouse is on the Red Data list. It has only over 4,200 individuals(2008). They live in bogs, moors and higher terrains.
One of Ireland's rarest birds the Twite which is common along the west especially in North West and Donegal. It is a finch that lives in areas of heather and gorse.
Gorse fires in Ireland are different to those in other countries. “Gorse and bog fires in Ireland are different in many respects to similar fires in Scotland, for example, as the compacted peat (up to 20ft deep in places) that lies underneath the gorse here continues to smoulder long after the gorse fires have been extinguished. Scotland’s granite terrain means that the gorse fire is faster burning and does not penetrate as deep underground and therefore the effects on wildlife are not as significant. In Ireland, the grass that grows in the aftermath of such fires benefits cattle and sheep only and not the birds and food sources that previously inhabited the area.”
“Another consequence of these fires is that birds in the affected areas have been forced to relocate in large numbers to secondary habitats, where resources are limited and the terrain is less suitable”, John Murphy-Birdwatch Ireland
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)