Impacts of wildfires on wildlife

The wildfires in Australia have been making headline news this week as they sweep through the outback with up to 40 people dead. But what about the huge death toll among the wildlife population of the region? There are estimates that the death toll among animals will be in the millions, with wildlife workers trying to rescue as many animals as possible from the inferno.

But, while it seems terrible, wildfires are a natural phenomenon and have been occurring throughout history irrelevant of human intervention. We have to remember that the effects of fires are really only temporary and can play an important role in managing the environment. Many animals are capable of effectively escaping from fires and while individuals may be killed the wildlife populations in the region will recover. Similarly the vegetation destroyed by fire will provide opportunities for new growth to develop which can in turn provide favourable conditions for some species.

So while the spectacle of wildfire may appear catastrophic it's important to remember that it has happened many time before and will again. In reality it is probably the more systemic destruction caused by human activities that will result in long term impacts to ecosystems.

An aerial solution to deforestation

I just came across an article on the new scientist website that provides a nice balance to the blog entry last week on tree deaths doubling due to climate change. A British company is developing technology which will allow for forests to be re-planted from the air. The technique allows a helicopter to deploy around 200 trees in a single trip, with the benefits of speeding up replanting and allowing it to take place in inaccessible areas.

It's good to know that people are still coming up with new and innovative solutions to combat some of the environmental issues that need to be addressed. Hopefully tests will prove the method to be successful and it can play a role in reforesting regions around the world.

Water, water, everywhere? Not if we're not careful...

There's so much news about climate change and carbon emissions that other environmental issues often slip to the background. The importance of conserving water is one of those, yet it's every bit as vital to us as the climate, if not more so. Not to mention that if the climate does change problems with water supplies are a possible consequence. So the best thing we can do is get in to good habits now and solve the problem before it happens. Conserving water isn't difficult, it just takes a tiny bit of thought and effort. And it's amazing how easy it is to waste huge amounts of water on day to day tasks.

A friend working in Malaysia sent me the picture below of water saving tips and how much you can save by following them. Obviously not all of them apply to everyone, but they'll definitely get you thinking.

For loads more water saving tips you can also check out http://www.water-guide.org.uk/tips.html or this A-Z of tips from the BBC.

Beauties or beasts: The reintroduction of native species

I've noticed several articles recently on the reintroduction of once native species back in to Britain. There's a number of species that are being, or have been, considered for reintroduction including wild boar, beavers, wolves, lynx and even bears. It's no real surprise that controversy surrounds the issue, particularly with animals such as wolves that have played such an important role in stories and folklore for hundreds of years - from majestic creatures running in the moonlight to fearsome beasts hidden by the night. But what really are the benefits and problems that would be associated with these once common species returning to our shores?

Lets start with wolves. The area that's being looked at here is the Scottish highlands, our biggest remaining area of wilderness. Discussion has been going on for several years now as to whether wolves should be reintroduced here and has generated a lot of debate on both sides. So why are people worried about them returning? Well, firstly there are the farmers who keep livestock in the region. They have worries that wolves would prey on their livestock and become a major pest, eventually needing culling to keep down numbers. Then there are some walking groups and others who use these areas for recreation who worry that the reintroduction of species would conflict with the right to roam, with areas being set aside as reserves. Then there is just the general fear of predatory creatures. It's not something we're used to in Britain these days and fears that wolves could spread well beyond the areas they're introduced to is a big worry to many people.

But what about the benefits? Firstly all of the creatures being considered for reintroduction were once native species and were hunted to extinction by man, so there is a moral argument that it is right for us to bring them back. On a more pragmatic note wolves could play an important role in bringing balance to our eco-systems, and in particular red deer populations. Currently there are many more red deer than their habitats can sustainably support and so tens of thousands are culled each year to stop them from causing long term damage. The reintroduction of wolves, for whom deer would provide a major food source, would reduce these numbers and do so in the way that is best for the deer populations, by killing of the weak and elderly that make for easiest pickings. This would leave stronger deer populations and in more manageable numbers. Finally there is the economic benefits that come from the tourism wolves would bring.

The concerns and benefits vary slightly with each species, with worries that wild boar may spread diseases and beavers cause habitat damage to balance benefits that they may bring to the ecosystem and the responsibility that we have to see them back in Britain.

Trials are already approved for trial reintroductions of beavers in Scotland, which are due to take place this spring. It's always going to be an individual choice as to whether we think the benefits outweigh the risks, but in the end the only way to find out is going to be to carry out trials like this and see what happens.

Tree deaths doubling due to climate change

We tend to think of climate change as something that could happen if we don't change our ways, but something that can still be prevented if we act soon. Then something comes along that suddenly brings home the fact that climate change is happening now, and we need to act immediately if we hope to avoid the risk of catastrophic changes.

A recent study has suggested that climate change could be responsible for a doubling in the mortality rate of trees in the western US in recent decades. The study, published in Science, looked at data from 76 forest plots from 1955 onwards and identified that mortality rates significantly increased over the time period in 87% of the plots while there was no significant increase in the number of new trees being established.

The study looked at a wide spectrum of tree species over a range of latitudes and altitudes and noticed that increased mortality rates were present in all conditions. They also ruled out effects such as increasing forest density, changing management techniques or the age of trees as being the likely cause. Instead they think that changing climate resulting in less snowfall, and therefore less snow melt runoff as well as a longer summer drought is the most likely reason for the change.

This is even more significant as it is possible that similar changes are happening all over the world. With forests providing a significant carbon sink a decrease in the number of trees globally could result in feedback effects changing the climate even more.

It's a worrying thought that changes of this kind are already happening. If we needed any more of an incentive to change our lifestyles then this is it.

We need your tips! Saving money and the environment

We need your help finding the best eco-friendly, credit-crunch busting tip! Allaboutyou.com have asked us to pick the best green, money saving tip suggested by our readers for use in a list that they're compiling. All you need to do is send us an email with your tip and it could be yours - the more interesting and original the better! We'll be very grateful for all your ideas - send them to us at environmentweb@googlemail.com.

Thanks in advance!

Green nightlife - reducing the cost of having a good time

Everyone needs to let their hair down sometimes. But no matter how green we are in other aspects of our life it's easy to forget that a night out has its own costs in terms of the environment. Radiohead recently had the carbon and ecological footprints of two of their tours assessed with some interesting results. One tour, an amphitheatre tour, generated an estimated 9000 tonnes of CO2, while a tour of smaller theatres and venues generated almost 2300 tonnes. Even more interestingly well over 80% of this (over 90% in fact for the amphitheatre tour) was a result of fan travel and consumption.

Now, obviously we don't want to have to give up live music for the sake of the environment, but there's some obvious things we can do to improve things. In particular where transport is concerned - if more gig-goers car shared or even better used buses and trains it would make a major dent in these figures.

It's not just live music that has environmental impacts though - even a night out on the town will mean more carbon being produced. The lights and sound systems at an average nightclub mean that they produce around the same annual carbon emissions as twenty houses. But steps are being taken to improve things, with a number of eco-friendly clubs existing around the world including Surya in London, which opened last year. The club sells organic drinks, uses a system that recycles its waste water and to top it off generates electricity from the vibrations of its dance floor! It also offers discounts to clubbers arriving on foot or bike rather than by car. The organisation behind the club, Club4Climate are hoping that it will encourage other nightspots to follow in its footprints.

And don't forget even a night in can be made greener, with organic drinks and even carbon neutral beer meaning we can enjoy ourselves with minimal impacts.