20/12/2021

(AU Forbes) Album Of Endangered Australian Bird Songs And Tweets Soars Above Holiday Classics

Forbes - GrrlScientist

“Songs of Disappearance” debuted at number five on Australia’s ARIA music charts — ahead of Christmas favorites by ABBA, Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé

A regent honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia) at Sydney's Taronga Zoo. With the population of regent honeyeaters plummeting, Australian officials have turned to captive breeding in the hopes of saving the endangered bird species from extinction. The first 27 of the yellow and black birds fitted with radio transmitters were released on May 1 into Chiltern Mount Pilot National Park in Victoria state. (AP Photo/Mark Baker) ASSOCIATED PRESS 
Now that the covid omicron lockdown has thrown a wrench into most people’s holiday plans — and even into their holiday shopping plans — I thought I’d share something that I think many people will enjoy: an album filled with recordings of Australian birdsongs.

Songs of Disappearance is different from other holiday music albums. It consists solely of recorded birdsongs and calls — no singing people, barking dogs, blaring sirens and especially no annoying Christmas music! Instead, this album features audio recordings of the vast variety of distinctive sounds made by 53 of Australia’s rarest bird species that are on the brink of extinction.

Here’s the title track for you to enjoy:

The title track was arranged by Australian violinist Simone Slattery, who is a co-founder of the musical duo, the Bowerbird Collective.

This track, which sounds somewhat like an avian dawn chorus, is comprised of isolated recordings of all 53 bird species featured on the album, such as the forty-spotted pardalote, which is one of Australia’s rarest birds, and the critically endangered regent honeyeater.

The title sound track highlights what will be lost if people, politicians and corporations don’t take immediate action to save Australia’s iconic birds.

Songs of the endangered spotted pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus) are included on this album. This species is one of the rarest birds in Australia. (Credit: Patrick_K59 / CC BY 2.0)

“Be immersed in a chorus of iconic cockatoos, the buzzing of bowerbirds, a bizarre symphony of seabirds, and the haunting call of one of the last remaining night parrots”, the album description says.

“This album is a very special record with some rare recordings of birds that may not survive if we don’t come together to protect them”, writes Paul Sullivan, CEO of BirdLife Australia, a Non-Profit & Charitable Organization that was founded in 1922 to conserve Australia’s unique birds.

All proceeds from this album’s sales will be donated to Birdlife Australia to support their conservation work. So far, more than 3,000 units have been sold, around half of them in presale.

The impetus for this album was a recently published study out of Charles Darwin University (CDU) that found that one in six Australian birds (216 of 1,299 species) are now threatened with extinction.

This 2020 study, Action Plan for Australian Birds, found that climate change is pushing most of Australia’s birds towards extinction, a situation made more dire by the 2019 and 2020 bushfires that devastated desperately needed trees and habitat.

Based on this and other studies, BirdLife Australia estimates that the number of threatened bird species recently increased by as much as 25%.

This album is the result of a conversation between Anthony Albrecht, co-founder of The Bowerbird Collective, and his PhD supervisor, Stephen Garnett, a professor of conservation at CDU. Professor Garnett is the author of the recently updated Action Plan for Australian Birds.

“He asked whether the Bowerbird Collective could do anything to help promote [the Action Plan], and it was immediately obvious to me what we needed to do”, Mr Albrecht explained to The Guardian.

“I’m really keen to understand whether environmental art such as this project can have an impact on [public] attitudes and behavior”, Mr Albrecht told ABC News. “I think it’s incredibly important to tell stories about nature in a way that is going to get people really emotionally involved.”

The sound recordings are courtesy of nature recordist and wildlife sound expert, David Stewart. He spent 36 years traveling across the remote regions of the continent to capture these high quality sound recordings — the most extensive collection of natural bird, frog and mammals sounds made in Australia.

Some of these recordings took weeks of research to find the best places to record extremely rare species, followed by days of hiking and hours of waiting, hidden in the remotest parts of Australia, overrun with venomous spiders, snakes and other dangerous beasties.

Joining David Stewart, Birdlife Australia, Charles Darwin University and the Bowerbird Collective in this collaboration was Mervyn Street, one of the Gooniyandi people, who is an author, illustrator, carver, and artist, and a former chairman of Mangkaja Arts.

This core group of academics, musicians and conservationists hoped this project would increase the public’s awareness of Australia’s unique and threatened birds.

A pair of wild gang-gang cockatoos (Callocephalon fimbriatum) in a tree at Hughes-Garran, Australia on a summer morning. This beloved parrot species is not endangered, but it is included on the album, Songs of Disappearance. Gang-gang cockatoos are severely range-restricted and fond of cool rainforests, which means its conservation status could change quickly particularly as climate change worsens. Getty

“We did it!” BirdLife Australia rejoiced on its website. “Thanks to your incredible support we reached #5 in the ARIA charts, ahead of ABBA, Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé.”

Songs of Disappearance also bested Justin Bieber and Billie Eilish.

Mr Albrecht said he was pleased Songs of Disappearance resonated with so many Australians.

“In some ways, it’s not surprising, because I believe Australians generally are so much more attuned now to the environmental crisis that we’re all facing — and that the unique and incredible species that also call Australia home are facing.”

But, my friends, you don’t have to be in Australia to purchase this album: thanks to the magic of the internet, people living outside of Australia (like me!) can also purchase this album online for immediate download. (Purchase and download here!)

Everyone can be part of this unusual event and can enjoy hearing the remarkable sounds of these amazing birds.

As an added bonus, we all can also help conserve endangered Australian birds! What’s not to like?

NOTE: Although I have heard this entire album, piecemeal, I don’t get anything for sharing news of this inspiring project with you and telling you how to purchase your very own copy of this recording. But thanks to your readership, I am earning countless smug points.

Links

at No comments:

(AU AFR) Government Denies It Has Climate Disclosure Obligations For Bonds

AFR - Hannah Wootton

The government says it is not obliged to disclose climate change risk to sovereign bondholders, despite imposing similar duties on private companies and admitting that the national coffers could be tapped to support industries and communities hurt by rising temperatures.

In its defence in a landmark case alleging it misled or deceived sovereign bonds investors, the Australian Government Solicitor rejects the idea that climate risk should be disclosed to bondholders in the same way climate risk is disclosed to investors in privately owned financial products.

In the case, 24-year-old student and bondholder Katta O’Donnell is pushing for the Commonwealth to declare climate change risk associated with bonds, and for a ban on the promotion and sale of bonds until such a declaration is made.

The Commonwealth is fighting Katta O’Donnell’s claim that it is obliged to disclose climate risk to sovereign bonds. Josh Robenstone

It comes as regulatory and public pressure on companies and superannuation funds over climate disclosure and net zero commitments ramps up, and after the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM), which administers the sovereign bonds, conceded that ratings houses will likely force greater climate disclosure by the state.

The case is one of several cases in Australian courts in which applicants are trying to improve the conduct of those they are suing in regard to carbon emissions before the alleged harm occurs.

But the defence says the government does not treat sovereign bonds the same way corporations do corporate bonds, so it does not owe its bondholders the same disclosure obligations.

“The AOFM’s purpose is to manage [the Commonwealth’s] debt financing and cash needs, and support the domestic lending market,” the defence, which was filed on Friday, said.

The defence points out that the Commonwealth does not pay dividends, hold assets or make a profit.

Instead, the bonds exist “to facilitate the development of a deep and liquid corporate bond market” that is “in the interests of the community”.

The defence claims this means the disclosure obligations imposed by the Corporations Act do not apply to the government, and it therefore does not need to disclose risks in the information statements regarding bonds.

This was despite an admission in the defence that the information statements may reasonably be expected to have “a material interest on decisions by potential investors” to buy or sell bonds.

The defence also denies that any of the physical or transition risks posed by climate change would damage the Commonwealth’s “status and reputation as a reliable and safe issuer of sovereign debt securities”.

It denies its AAA status as a debt issuer was under threat, just months after Treasurer Josh Frydenberg admitted financial markets and lenders may sanction Australia if it does not move faster on cutting emissions.

It also makes the claim despite conceding that extreme weather will likely cause “significant” costs to the Commonwealth before Ms O’Donnell’s bonds mature, as would the need to help industries hurt by climate change.

The defence admits that the longer it takes to begin to implement net zero measures, the greater the cost of both doing so and countering any economic damage from the move will be. The government’s net zero plan has been widely criticised for its long timelines for energy transition.

The Commonwealth has already failed in an attempt to get Ms O’Donnell’s case thrown out, with the Federal Court last month slamming the attempt as “exaggerated” and having “little force”.

It was successful in having cases against the heads of both the Treasury and the AOFM dropped, however, with only the claims against the government remaining.

Links
at No comments:

(Reuters) Killer Heatwaves And Floods: Climate Change Worsened 2021 Weather Extremes

Reuters -  and

Extreme weather events in 2021 shattered records around the globe. Hundreds died in storms and heatwaves. Farmers struggled with drought, and in some cases with locust plagues. Wildfires set new records for carbon emissions, while swallowing forests, towns and homes.

Many of these events were exacerbated by climate change. Scientists say there are more to come – and worse – as the Earth's atmosphere continues to warm through the next decade and beyond.

Here are some of the events Reuters witnessed over the past year: https://reut.rs/3m2pptL

February — A blistering cold spell hit normally warm Texas, killing 125 people in the state and leaving millions without power in freezing temperatures.

Scientists have not reached a conclusion on whether climate change caused the extreme weather, but the warming of the Arctic is causing more unpredictable weather around the globe.

February — Kenya and other parts of East Africa battled some of the worst locust plagues in decades, with the insects destroying crops and grazing grounds. Scientists say that unusual weather patterns exacerbated by climate change created ideal conditions for insects to thrive.

A man tries to chase away a swarm of desert locusts away from a farm, near the town of Rumuruti, Kenya, February 1, 2021. REUTERS/Baz Ratner
March — Beijing's sky turned orange and flights were grounded during the Chinese capital's worst sandstorm in a decade.

Busloads of volunteers arrive in the desert each year to plant trees, which can stabilize the soil and serve as a wind buffer. Scientists predict climate change will worsen desertification, as hotter summers and drier winters reduce moisture levels.

June — Nearly all of the western United States was gripped by a drought that emerged in early 2020. Farmers abandoned crops, officials announced emergency measures, and the Hoover Dam reservoir hit an all-time low.

By September, the U.S. government confirmed that over the prior 20 months, the Southwest experienced the lowest precipitation in over a century, and it linked the drought to climate change.

The Dixie Fire, now over 200,000 acres, burns at night in Taylorsville, California, U.S., July 27, 2021. REUTERS/David Swanson

June — Hundreds died during a record-smashing heatwave in the U.S. and Canadian Pacific Northwest, which scientists concluded would have been "virtually impossible" without climate change.

Over several days, power lines melted and roads buckled. Cities, struggling to cope with the heat, opened cooling centers to protect their residents. During the heatwave, Portland, Oregon, hit an all-time record high of 116 Fahrenheit (46.7 Celsius).

July — Catastrophic flooding killed more than 300 people in central China's Henan province when a year's worth of rain fell in just three days.

Meanwhile in Europe, nearly 200 people died as torrential rains soaked Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Scientists concluded that climate change had made the floods 20% more likely to occur.

People ride on a front loader as they make their way through a flooded road following heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China July 23, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song

July — A record heatwave and drought in the U.S. West gave rise to two massive wildfires that tore through California and Oregon and were among the largest in the history of both states.

Scientists say both the growing frequency and the intensity of wildfires are largely attributable to prolonged drought and increasing bouts of excessive heat from climate change.

July — Large parts of South America are suffering from a prolonged drought. While Chile is enduring a decade-long megadrought linked to global warming, this year Brazil saw one of its driest years in a century.

In Argentina, the Parana, South America's second-longest river, fell to its lowest level since 1944.

Around the globe, heatwaves are becoming both more frequent and more severe.

Cows that were stranded in a flooded barn are rescued by a group of people after rainstorms lashed the western Canadian province of British Columbia, triggering landslides and floods, shutting highways, in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

August — In the Mediterranean, a hot and dry summer fanned intense blazes that forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes in Algeria, Greece and Turkey.

The fires, which killed two people in Greece and at least 65 in Algeria, struck amid an intense heatwave, with some places in Greece recording temperatures of over 46 Celsius (115 Fahrenheit).

Late August — Nearly all the world's mountain glaciers are retreating due to global warming. In the Alps, Swiss resort employees laid protective blankets over one of Mount Titlis's glaciers during the summer months to preserve what ice is left.

Switzerland already has lost 500 of its glaciers, and could lose 90% of the 1,500 that remain by the end of the century if global emissions continue to rise, the government said.

A woman carries bottled water she received from a warming center and shelter after record-breaking winter temperatures, as local media report most residents are without electricity, in Galveston, Texas, U.S., February 17, 2021. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

August/September — Hurricane Ida, which hit Louisiana as a Category 4 storm, killed nearly 100 people in the United States and caused an estimated $64 billion in damage, according to the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

As the remnants of Ida moved inland, the heavy rains created flash flooding across the densely populated Northeast, vastly increasing the storm's death toll.

Climate change is strengthening hurricanes, while also causing them to linger longer over land – dumping more rain on an area before moving on. Studies also suggest these storms are becoming more frequent in the North Atlantic.

Wang Tianchang, 78, waters a tree planted on the edge of the Gobi desert on the outskirts of Wuwei, Gansu province, China, April 15, 2021. The Wangs have been fighting desertification since they settled on barren land near the village of Hongshui in Wuwei, a city in Gansu close to the border with Inner Mongolia, in 1980. A local institution in northwest China's Gansu province, Wang and his family lead busloads of young volunteers from the provincial capital of Lanzhou into the desert each year to plant and irrigate new trees and bushes. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

September — Infrastructure and homes in Russia are increasingly in peril as underground permafrost melts and deforms the land underneath them.

Permafrost was once a stable construction base, in some regions staying frozen as far back as the last Ice Age. But rising global temperatures threaten the layer of ice, soil, rocks, sand and organic matter.

November — The worst floods in 60 years in South Sudan have affected about 780,000 people, or one in every 14 residents, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Every year the county goes through a rainy season, but flooding has set records for three years in a row. The destruction will likely increase as temperatures rise, scientists say.

November — A massive storm dumped a month's worth of rain over two days in the Canadian province of British Columbia, unleashing floods and mudslides that destroyed roads, railroads and bridges. It is likely the most expensive natural disaster in Canada's history, although officials are still assessing the damage.

Meteorologists said the rain had come from an atmospheric river, or a stream of water vapor stretching hundreds of miles long from the tropics. Atmospheric rivers are expected to become larger — and possibly more destructive — with climate change, scientists say.

Guyler Antoine rests at a shelter run by the Salvation Army after winter weather caused electricity blackouts in Plano, Texas, U.S. February 18, 2021. REUTERS/Shelby Tauber

Links
at No comments: