Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the totality of species living on Planet Earth. The places where species live are called habitats. An ecosystem is a collection of habitats and their inherent species. The Biosphere is that part of our planet where ALL life occurs ::: that means it incorporates different ecosystems.

There are parts of our planet, such as the molten core, that might not contain life. Perhaps we have yet to discover new forms of life that are beyond our comprehension.

There are different ways of gathering habitats together, for example we could group the saltwater areas into a common ‘ocean’ or several ‘seas’. But what would we do with the shorelines that all this water washes against? Should it be part of the ocean (i.e. its borders), or just ‘coastline’. If it’s coastline then is it part of the land too (terrestrial ecosystem)? What about all of the rivers and streams that flow down to the sea? Are they oceanic, freshwater, or part of the land? Not easy!

People sometimes ask ‘are we part of biodiversity’? Yes indeed, we are alive, therefore ‘living species’. I know at times that some people think we are different from everything else, but we are not so different. We breathe air, we need food, water and sleep; somewhere to make a home and raise some young ::: same as most species. In fact as a species, humans are remarkably successful ~ we’ve colonised most of the planet. But unfortunately we have yet to learn how to live in balance with our environment. In the event of us becoming extinct it will be largely due to our own destructive efforts ~ converting the Living Planet into money!


Sustainable Development Goals

Picture perfect office - © Dr. Michael White

Tongareva Atoll: Living at the forefront of climate change

Ecosystem scale translocation at the Stockton Mine (New Zealand) - © Stéphane Boyer

As humans destroy, might they also create?

Consume more, conserve more - © Andrzej Krauze

At last: Planet or money!

Fictitious petrol receipt - illustration: Janos Borbely

CO2 Accounting and Other Wicked Tricks

Bees land on a sunflower in Munich, Germany - © AP

A Dilemma

Citarum River - © Channel 4 - Unreported World

Citarum River

Pomacantus imperator (emperor angelfish) cleaning sea turtle - © Dr. Michael White

Novel observation of sea turtle cleaning

Greenpeace India

Extinct or not known?

Solar Power in Morocco

Cash free

Poisoning Hawai’i

David Cameron: the bee killer!

Wildlife Justice Commission

NBSAP Forum - CBD, UNDP, UNEP

NBSAP Forum

Glastonbury 2015: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

Glastonbury’s ‘footprint’

The Hague: a climate change win

Air pollution: a conundrum?

Update on background extinction rates

Whaling: for science or eating?

Pope Francis

Another important e-petition asking for help

At last! A hint of truth about hot air!

California: death of the lawn?

Nuno Alves - Environment & Me - EEA

Stop Weakening Europe’s Birds and Habitats regulation!

Nuno Alves: Environment & Me - EEA

Are Natura 2000 directives the first visible victims of TTIP?

Poyang lake, China - CCTV

China’s wetlands

A jungle village on Bougainville, 2005 - Lloyd Jones, AAP

Bougainville

Zambia to lift ban hunting on big cats - Brendan Raisbeck, Alamy

Wildlife trophy hunting!

China's last Beijing coal power plant - David Gray, Reuters

China: rapid progress with air pollution

Ortolan bunting - Roger Tidman, Corbis

Europe’s birds

El Nino heat map - AFP / Getty images

El Nino has, apparently, arrived.

Human embryo at the 16 cell stage - Dr Yorgos Nikas, Science Photo Library

CRISPR: for good or ill?

Association of Journalists and Writers for nature and ecology

Pangolin campaign shared on JNE’s fb public group

Gregory Boyce chairman, Peabody Energy - Aaron M. Sprecher, Getty Images

Vested interests vs. climate change

Sudan, one of the six remaining northern white rhinos

Rhinos

Rotoroa Island - Rototoa Island Trust

Rotoroa: Creating a novel ecosystem

Shrinking Pastoruri glacier - Karel Navarro, AP

Re-inventing glacial loss!

Inuits - ravenswood-inuits.weebly.com

Message from the Inuit: Our world has moved

EU EEA Soer study - European Environment Agency

European Union environment

Sharp decline in British wild salmon

Amazon Corridor – AVAAZ Petition

Hydrogen-powered trams

Great Green Wall

Pitcairn Island declares marine reserve

Another great story from Discover Conservation

Sustainable fish-eating!

Faeces First?

Water World and the impact of climate change

David Hill: Palm oil fields in Peru

Palm oil yet again

The impact of road-building on biodiversity loss

Tongareva Atoll: we are going solar!

Sustaining Nature for Sustainable Living-The Legal Aspects

Queensland appoints minister for Great Barrier Reef

Online courts: an interesting possibility?

? 2014 fair-fish international

Fair-Fish.net

Human evolution still unfolding

IUCN Director General op-ed article

Final version of the IECC document

Saving Kemp’s ridley turtles in Gulf of Mexico

US Public’ (and Scientists’) view on Evolution…

Last chance to sea!!!

Emperor’s New Clothes? : Death of an illusion?

Australia (Australia.gov.au)

Valuing tribal law

New Scottish species from the fossil record

s_260x260 201412__Coconut_crab_in_Hawaii_&_A photo posted by Enrique Steven Victor xsubsoniqx on Dec 12 2014 at 944pm

Coconut crabs are considered to be invasive in Hawai

Mediterranean Sea & benthic invertebrate mortality

Global DNA repository

IBC-2014

News: Indian Biodiversity Congress 2014

Xingu River & Belo Monte dam

IECC