American Presidential Race: Biden for the Environment

Torstai 16.7.2020 klo 19.14 - Mikko Nikinmaa

When I stayed a year in California, one of its greatest sides was the diverse environment. Seeing elephant seals, Yosemite, Sierra Nevada, redwood was great. The worst smogs were long past. Thinking back to the time 40 years ago it seems that in the presidential election this November one makes a choice between degradation and conservation of the environment (among many other things).

Trump has always put money first, regardless of what is destroyed IMG_20170727_0036.jpgwhile making money. This has been very obvious with the Covid-19 pandemic: the economy of the states was opened before the peak of infections was past. One sees the result now, whereas Europe is starting to recover also economically, USA is going back deeper into recession with increasing number of Covid-19 cases. The short-sighted thinking of economic growth would probably also hurt American economy, if Trump were able to carry out his environmental agenda – loosening restrictions, allowing pollution, increasing coal use, giving benefits to oil industry etc. Going in the past with the climate change looming is not an option, the future technologies are the ones offering profits, not the ones resorting to old technologies.

Luckily the democratic candidate John Biden is taking a completely opposite stand. He recently gave out a plan of putting 2 trillion dollars to environmental actions, if getting elected. (Being able to do this requires that also the senate will have democrats in majority). He also realizes that the environmentally sustainable technologies are the ones that can be profitable in future.

The American presidential race is also important for the rest of the world, since USA is the most important energy and natural resource consumer. What is the direction at the top in USA will affect the possibilities for any global environmental agreements.

 

Kommentoi kirjoitusta. Avainsanat: climate change, energy consumption, environmental conservation

The Earth Day - 49th time

Maanantai 22.4.2019 klo 12.54 - Mikko Nikinmaa

It is again Earth Day, and compared to last year the state of the earth has not improved. The predictions are gloomier and gloomier. However, there is much to be pleased about, despite the gloomy predictions. The state of environment, especially climate change and plastic pollution have become front page news. Although many people are of the opinion that one should not scare people by giving them too negative news, it appears that IMG_20170727_0037_NEW.jpgnothing is accomplished unless a catastroph is imminent.

As a flagship for Earth day one could take Our Planet, now available in Netflix. David Attenborough (born 1926) is still avtive, and his documentary, showing different aspects of the earth clearly indicates that the beauty and diversity of world is far too great to be given up. This is so especially, as we have the means to combat climate change and other environmental problems. With regards to plastic pollution, it doesn't even require significant funds, just a change of attitude all over the world. What is worrying that plastic collected in Industrialized Western Countries has recently been found disposed in the environment in Malaysia. It is not the way that collected plastic should be found. A likely reason for such finding is that China has stopped importing plastic waste. However, the stop of import should not result in throwing the problem elsewere, it should result in treating the material where it is used. In the case of climate change, we need to be willing to set aside funds. However, most people are certainly willing to give up some of the money we have taken as loan from future generations. The problem is people, whose attitudes are from the past, when there were only 2 billion people in the world, when Europeans dreamed of big Amerrican cars and petrol was cheap and coal mines an important work place.  Such people should see that thing are different now, and stop resisting actions that are needed to keep world beautiful as in Our World.

Kommentoi kirjoitusta. Avainsanat: climate change, extinctions, environmental conservation

The Earth Day

Sunnuntai 22.4.2018 klo 20.04 - Mikko Nikinmaa

It is the Earth Day today. The day for global environmental questions has been around since 1970. During that time a couple of environmental problems have been more or less solved in Western Europe, but many global questions have emerged. Acid rain is not a problem any more in Europe - smoke cleaning standards have abolished it. The ozone hole has started to shrink, because the most harmful chemicals have been banned. The levels of persistent organic pollutants in the Baltic Sea have dNorsu.jpgecreased markedly as water treatment has become strictly required. These examples show that environmental problems can be solved if it is deemed necessary. Today's urgent environmental problems are climate change, and associated with it the availability of water. Solving the climate problem requires many different actions, but two are clear, changing our energy use habits, and increasing carbon dioxide fixation by plants. The most effective solution to the plastic waste problem would be to make waste collection effective everywhere and influence the attitudes of people. In the present situation, if it weren't for plastics, other types of waste would be filling our beaches and seas. Finally, the Earth is facing mass extinctions. For big mammals a solution is to stop trophy hunting completely, but in addition to the mammals, also other species are suffering from the decreased availability of suitable habitats and deaths caused by pesticides and other environmental toxicants.

Kommentoi kirjoitusta. Avainsanat: environment, conservation, climate change, drought

Physiology - the centre of environmental research

Lauantai 6.5.2017 klo 15.43 - Mikko Nikinmaa

As I am again reading a grant application on conservation biology, I started thinking what is important when combining environmental changes and organisms. And the single factor is physiology (=function). This conclusion may be surprising, as physiology is virtually always at least in Finland considered to be a minor field of biology with little importance in environmental science. However, I hope that the points I make below will convince the reader about the truth of the conclusion.

First, without functions organisms would be just stones. They could  have exactly the same molecules, including the whole genome, but if they would not function (=be physiologically active), they would be just unliving material with interesting molecules.

Second, environmental changes will influence the ecosystem only if the function of some organism(s) in the ecosystem is affected. Thus, any ecological effects are only seen after  there must be physiological effects. It is possible that one does not see any change in, e.g., species abundances or composition, even if the environmental disturbance is affecting the physiology of organisms, provided that immigration/emigration balances the disturbance. Consequently, environmental changes can be observed first at the physiological level; physiological changes may cause measurable ecological effects.

Third, even if environmental changes affect the genetic makeup of organisms, the changes are only important, if the physiology of the organism is affected in such a way that the fitness of organism (taken as the number of sexually mature offspring produced) is influenced. Thus, also genetic effects of environmental changes are only seen, if changes in the physiology of organisms take place.

As a conclusion, physiology should be in the centre of biological environmental research. This has already been realized in some cases in USA: I recently participated in filling a position of conservation biology, where a physiologist was selected instead of other biologists. I hope that in this regard Finnish science would be among front runners in noting how environmental biology should develop.

Kommentoi kirjoitusta. Avainsanat: environmental science, toxicology, conservation biology