Fly Fishing in Danger

It’s the same trend, but just a different consequence. As warmer temperatures emerge, bad things start to happen. In this case, trout is in danger. According to the USDA Forest Service (FS), 53 to 97% of natural trout populations in the Southern Appalachians could disappear due to the warmer temperatures predicted under two different global climate circulation models. The three species of trout that live in the Southern Appalachians are the native brook, the rainbow trout, and the brown trout. The mountainous higher elevations provide the cool waters that the trout need. The increase in the air temperature leads to an increase in the water temperature. Scientist are not only worried about the warmer temperatures, but that the distressed forest cover and the resulting loss of shaded areas will also negatively affect the habitat in which the trout have thrived."Trout species in the Southern Appalachians are already at the southern limits of their ranges," says biologist Patricia Flebbe from FS Southern Research Station unit in Blacksburg, Virginia. Flebbe and her team were able to combine to map elevation and latitude factors adding the temperature rise over the next 100 years to get information about how much trout habitat will be left. Predictions showed that about 53 percent of trout habitat would be lost over the next century. "As the remaining habitat for trout becomes more fragmented, only small refuges in headwater streams at the highest levels will remain," says Flebbe. As a result, fly fishing in the southern Appalachians may become a rare activity in the near future. 

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Global-Warming-Wipes-Out-Trout-Popolations-in-Southern-Appalachians-37329.shtml

Individual Responsibility for Climate Change

The other day I went to Dr. John Nolt’s lecture called Individual Responsibility for Climate Change. Dr. Nolt is Philosophy professor at the University of Tennessee- Knoxville. Dr. Nolt’s message was simple: we need to simply stop using all green house gas emissions. The emissions, unless necessary, should not be used what so ever. He used his clear message to then use arguments to state his claim. He pointed out that global climate change is likely to harm or kill billions of people over the next millennium (and untold numbers of nonhumans), as climate change leads to random and hazardous weather. He really emphasized on the fact that it doesn’t matter how fast you put the greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, but it is the quantity that matters. The more greenhouse gases there are in the atmosphere, the worse it is for mother nature. Another argument he had was that the harm varies directly, and probably more or less continuously with total emissions. What really stood out to me was the fact that it is really only the affluent who are responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. This makes sense since the affluent are the ones who have the money to use energy and burn fossil fuels. Nolt explained that we are the dominators. Those responsible for the domination are the affluent; namely those of us who live comfortably in industrialized nations. This harm contributes to an unjust domination of posterity by the affluent. At the end of the day, it’s about getting rid of the unnecessary things. This can be done in two ways: to retain, but stop using unnecessary greenhouse-gas-emitting devices, or to do away with them. According to Nolt, there are many devices we have that we simply don’t need. We don’t need a leaf blower, hot tubs, or jet skis. Changing our lifestyles might be hard, but Nolt thinks it’s a necessity. This isn’t something that will happen tomorrow, but it will take time. However, the message is clear; we need to simply stop using unnecessary greenhouse-gas-emitting devices now. 

Baseball and Climate Change?

The most common major league baseball bat comes from the white ash tree, but that may soon be a thing of the past. The number of ash trees in the U.S. is significantly decreasing mostly because of the winged beetle, the ash borer. This invasive specie comes from Asia and arrived in the United States in the 1990s most likely in wood products. In 2002 scientists found evidence in Michigan that the beetle was responsible for mush of the sufferings of the tree. As well, some scientists believe that a warmer climate may put more stress on the ash, therefore aiding in the borer’s invasion.  A warmer climate may be resulting in a quicker reproductive cycle of the beetle and a more rapid disappearance of the tree. Climate change may also be affecting the ash in the bat, in that the normally dense and flexibly bat might be turning softer because of a longer growing season. Like many other trees in the United States, the ash tree is threatened by habitat changes in part by a warming climate. It seems that maple bats may be the only option in the near future. “We’re watching all this very closely,” said Brian Boltz, the general manager of the Larimer & Norton company, whose Russell mill each day saws, grades and dries scores of billets destined to become Louisville Slugger bats. “Maybe it means more maple bats. Or it may be a matter of using a different species for our bats altogether.” Already, a bat factory in northwestern Pennsylvania has come up with a three to five year plan if the white ash tree disappears, and a plant in Michigan has begun collecting the seeds of ash trees for storage in case the tree is completely wiped out. Many experts think that the extinction of the ash tree is now inevitable.  In the end, baseball players may have fewer kinds of bats to choose from, and it won’t be made of ash.

the becoming rare ash wood being used to make baseball bats

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/us/11ashbat.html?pagewanted=1