08/01/2022

(AU ABC) Global Warming Drives Wet Tropics Possum Species From Their Mountain Homes

ABC Far North - Mark Rigby

The Herbert River ringtail possum is being driven from parts of its mountain home. (ABC Far North: Mark Rigby)
Key Points
  • Global warming is driving high-altitude possums from the lower parts of their range in the Wet Tropics
  • Researchers and rangers are teaming up to document the effects of climate change on species
  • Scientists fear longer, hotter summers could see some disappear completely from the mountains
In the dead of night on the dark and often misty mountain peaks of far-north Queensland, researchers and rangers search for possum species that are disappearing from their natural habitat.
Among them is one of Queensland's most recognisable animals — the Herbert River ringtail possum, the logo of the state's Parks and Wildlife Service worn on the uniforms of its rangers.

At 600 metres above sea level, the edge of the possums' natural range, researchers are making stark discoveries.

"Right now, we just don't see any; in certain locations we haven't seen a single individual for a decade," said James Cook University (JCU) PhD student Alejandro de la Fuente.

"The possums that are dying are not being replaced by newborns, and that basically leads to a long-term decline in the net number of ringtail possums in that location."

"Herbie" was adopted as the QPWS logo in 1976. (ABC Far North: Mark Rigby)
'Islands in the landscape'

JCU professor Stephen Williams has been researching and monitoring the effects of climate change on mountain ecosystems for more than 20 years.

"As the summers get hotter and hotter, it's essentially pushing [the possums] up the mountain, and at the lower elevations the heat's getting too much for them and they've disappeared," he said.
"Unfortunately, the predictions we made about climate change almost 20 years ago are now coming true."
Researchers have joined forces with Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) rangers and the Wet Tropics Management Authority (WTMA) to monitor populations of the Herbert River ringtail and other high-altitude species suffering the impact of a warming climate.

Roger James, ranger in charge of the QPWS Tinaroo base, said lemuroid and green ringtail possums faced the same dire situation as their not-so-distant cousin.

Global warming has hit the lemuroid ringtail possum population particularly hard. (ABC Far North: Mark Rigby)
"The problem is these mountain peaks are like islands in the landscape," he said. "When you're at the top of the mountain there are no other mountain tops around, so if you want to go to another mountain peak you have to go down and across the farmlands and the possums just don't do that.

"They're stuck on these islands on these mountain tops, and that's the critical thing."

'Nowhere else to go'

QPWS natural resource management ranger Ben Solowiej said rangers' presence in Queensland's national parks put them in a valuable position to contribute to monitoring the state's endemic species.

"We have the ability to provide staff to undertake the surveys and provide the logistical support," he said.

"In the past 18 months, taking out the wet season which would be about six months of that, we've managed to contribute over 110 survey nights, whereas in the past that might have taken years to achieve."

The location, time and weather at each possum sighting is recorded. (ABC Far North: Mark Rigby)

While the concentration of possums at elevations higher than 1,000 metres above sea level is increasing, there is no cause for celebration.

As the climate warms, researchers fear the possums will continue to disappear.

"After the mountain tops, they have literally nowhere else to go up in elevation, and it's really difficult to do conservation in an area that's already protected," Mr de la Fuente said.

What can be done to stop
the decline of our birds?
Scientists are calling on governments Worldwide to do more to protect the habitats and food sources of birds, as new research shows a third of Australia's most threatened birds have become more endangered. Read more

Well-protected animals disappearing

The teams monitoring the possums are finding no shortage of other Wet Tropics species suffering a similar fate.

Mr James and his fellow rangers at Tinaroo are witnessing the disappearance of mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates that usually inhabit the mountain peaks.

"The golden bowerbird, an iconic bird species for the Wet Tropics, is being monitored because, if the effects of climate change are going to pan out as predicted, it's likely to be one of the first endemic species to disappear off the top of the mountain," Mr James said.
"The spotted-tail quoll population on the Lamb Range is down to just a handful of individuals."
Ben Solowiej, Alejandro de la Fuente and Roger James discuss their plans for the night's monitoring trip. (ABC Far North: Mark Rigby)

Professor Williams said the disappearance of endemic species from World Heritage-protected areas was testament to the impact of climate change.

"It's really critical right now as we've already seen a 50-per-cent decline in the total population of some species," he said.

"All of these species that we would have considered to be completely safe because they're in a well-protected, well-managed World Heritage area are disappearing in front of our eyes."

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(TIME) Imagine If The Rich Countries That Caused Climate Change Actually Took Responsibility

TIME - Surangel S. Whipps Jr.

An aerial view of Funafuti, Tuvalu, on Nov. 27, 2019. Tuvalu, a low-lying South Pacific island nation of about 11,000 people, has been classified as "extremely vulnerable" to climate change by the United Nations Development Programme. Mario Tama—Getty Images—2019 Getty Images

Author
Surangel S. Whipps Jr. is president of the Republic of Palau.
Typically, much of the climate change discussion refers to it as a “threat.”

But the reality is, for many on earth, the crisis is already here.

Many small-island developing states have already suffered climate-related losses of livelihood, security, and welfare.

My country, Palau, has been ravaged by the climate crisis, suffering two major typhoons that resulted in a loss of more than half of our national GDP.

Our lives have been engulfed by sea-level rise for two decades. King tides habitually flow into our homes. Mudslides are common along the only road to our hospital and main business center during increasingly frequent and intense storms.

It is only a matter of time before a typhoon floods the corridors of our only hospital, wreaking havoc on our already strained public-health system. These once seasonal occurrences now exacerbate our existing health, environment and economic crises.

On the world’s stage, we and those suffering similar realities have demanded bold action and robust delivery of community-­centric adaptation and mitigation. Yet the voices of these Indigenous people are drowned out as though by the winds and rain that pummel their shores. That’s despite the fact that Pacific small-island nation-states combined are responsible for a mere 0.03% of global emissions.

Meanwhile, powerful economies continue to discharge poisonous emissions along with unfulfilled pledges to fund losses and damages. Sadly, international platforms like COP26 have been feeble sounding boards resulting in promises leading to disappointment and false solutions that dilute the problems. The injustice is that the largest emitters are not held accountable for our plight.

Given this dilemma, Palau has joined the Commission of Small Island States (COSIS) on Climate Change and International Law to seek justice that advances the basic principle that the polluter must pay. COSIS aims to be the first to bring a case of this kind to the U.N. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

We hope that our case will help determine the obligations of countries under international law and hold polluters accountable.

Palau was the first member of COSIS from the Alliance of Small Island States. Following our work at the U.N. General Assembly and COP26, in 2022 we hope to bring in all small-island countries in pursuing judicial action through international courts.

This will be a priority at the Our Ocean Conference, which Palau will host in April.

Like schools of surgeonfish that unite in the face of an imminent threat, the global community must come together in vision, voice and action to combat the alarming realities of the climate crisis.

Allies must hasten their stride into a persuasive march toward real progress on the reduction of emissions and prompt delivery of climate financing.

Palau’s people are resilient. Until the world corrects its course, we will continue to adapt one day at a time.

We will mobilize our scarce resources to move our hospital to higher ground; clear the debris and repair our homes and businesses after each coming storm; and continue to collaborate with partners and allies to collectively address future adversities.

I and other Pacific leaders look to our culture and environment for wisdom to withstand these uncertain times. Yet we know wisdom without capacity cannot save us.

Palau joins other small-island states and Indigenous peoples across the globe in calling on the international community to make 2022 a year of accountability, reciprocity and significant investments in adequate safeguards that ensure basic human rights for the world, enabling us to fulfill our responsibility as custodians of the earth to transfer our lands, our ocean and our cultures to future generations.

Note: This essay is part of a series on concrete goals the world should aim for in 2022 in order to put us on track to avert climate change-related disaster. Read the rest here.

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(The Nation) Defusing The Global Climate Emergency Depends On Defusing The Democracy Emergency

The Nation - Mark Hertsgaard

On the first anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, we’re reminded that the future hinges on rejecting the two Big Lies.

The Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021. (Brent Stirton / Getty Images)
Author
Mark Hertsgaard is the executive director of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism initiative committed to more and better coverage of the climate story. He is also the environment correspondent for The Nation and author of books including HOT: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth.
A year ago, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy were fleeing for their lives as a violent mob swarmed the halls of the US Capitol. With their personal safety at risk, the two most powerful Republicans on Capitol Hill at last stood up to Donald Trump.

In a heated phone call, McCarthy, the House minority leader, fruitlessly implored the president to call off the mob. Senate majority leader McConnell later called the rioters “terrorists” and said Trump was “morally responsible” for the violence.

But McConnell and McCarthy soon slunk back to enabling Trump’s assaults on democracy. They were quiet while Trump insisted that the 2020 election was stolen and that anyone who disagreed must be purged from public office. They stayed mute as Trump supporters threatened violence against election officials and Republican-dominated state legislatures rewrote laws and procedures to prevent fair voting.

McConnell and McCarthy have shamelessly put party ahead of country and ambition ahead of duty, setting up alarming ramifications for the future. Scientists have said for years that humanity faces a climate emergency and that only rapid, far-reaching action can preserve a livable planet.

On the first anniversary of the January 6 attack, it’s clear that the United States also faces a democracy emergency. Only rapid, far-reaching action can preserve a government that is of, by, and for the people.

The democracy emergency is closely linked to the climate crisis. Each is grounded in a big lie—that climate science is a hoax, that Trump won in 2020—pushed by the same right-wing politicians and propaganda “news” outlets and embraced with cult-like devotion by Trump’s followers. Left untreated, each threatens disaster.

If Trump’s forces do change enough electoral rules and personnel to guarantee victory in 2022 and beyond, there is zero chance the US government will take the strong climate action needed to avert global catastrophe.

Defusing the global climate emergency therefore depends on protecting democracy. To be sure, the United States is not the only country where anti-democratic trends hamper climate progress. Most of the worst laggards at November’s Cop26 climate summit were countries where authoritarianism is either entrenched or on the rise: China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, India, the US.

But the collapse of US democracy would carry especially damaging climate consequences. Slashing global emissions in half by 2030, as science says is imperative, would be impossible if the world’s biggest economy and leading historical carbon emitter refuses to help.

How to defuse the democracy emergency is too big a question to answer briefly. President Biden and the Democrats surely must do more; Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has promised a vote by January 17 on reforming the filibuster to pass fair voting laws.

A mobilized civil society is also vital. With Trump’s followers trying to install partisans on voting boards across the land, The Atlantic’s Barton Gellman notes that democracy activists can likewise work at the local and state levels to block such skulduggery and ensure fair elections..

A free press is foundational to democracy, and journalism must also rise to the occasion with outspoken coverage. Monika Bauerlein, chief executive of Mother Jones, urges the media to treat “the war on democracy” as the “big story” of 2022.

Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin says political reporters should “stop…concealing that only one party is launching a campaign to suppress votes” and “demand that Republican [officials] defend their participation in the big lie of a stolen election”—and if Republicans try to dodge, keep asking the question.

Aside from Trump himself, no one deserves such journalistic grilling more than McConnell and McCarthy. As the senior Republicans in Congress, they have the stature to oppose Trump’s campaign for one-party rule. Twin profiles in cowardice, they have instead betrayed their oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

McConnell and McCarthy want the world to forget that a year ago today Trump’s mob was hunting them down, leading each man to stand up, briefly, for democracy. But the world must not forget. The press in particular must not allow McConnell, McCarthy, and most other Republicans to obscure that they are enabling the gravest threat to American democracy since the Civil War—and, by so doing, encouraging a hellish climate future.

Covering Climate Now (CCN)

CCN is a global journalism initiative committed to bringing more and better coverage to the defining story of our time. Cofounded by The Nation and Columbia Journalism Review, our initiative includes more than 300 outlets worldwide, and dozens of institutional and independent partners, with a combined audience of more than 1 billion people.


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