UN in Nairobi asked to ‘kick the habit’ – again!

One of the sweetest surprises of the Blog Action Day 09 – Climate Change, was a post by Sukuma Kenya. As you already know, we have been ‘collaborating’ with this passionate Kenyan to try and end the show of opulence and total disregard for climate change – with the vehicles they drive – among UN employees in the Nairobi office.

Did UNEP staffers drive such a car on #BAD09?

Although I get carried away by wildlife conservation matters and tend to wander away from this ‘campaign’ to end ‘environmental impunity’ at the offices that house the global headquarters of the United Nations Environmental Programme, Sukuma Kenya doesn’t.

I was thus pleasantly surprised when he informed me that he had chosen to address the ‘Kick the Habit‘ campaign in his Blog Action Day 2009. Never mind the post was on 16th not 15th October, which is the official Blog Action Day, the post was simple but very powerful.

You might want to read it yourself…So UNEP, did you Kick The Habit (Just for today)?

Blog Action Day – Climate Change: Wildlife Species Will Become Extinct

This post is my call to you to think about the wildlife. It is my contribution to the Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change.

Dead crocodile in dried river

When world leaders discuss climate change, the picture that is in their minds is of people caught in drought and floods, melting snow and icecaps in the mountain ranges and polar regions, and the polar bear. Well, that is not the worst case scenario. Less obvious wildlife (as compared to the polar bear) will suffer too – and perhaps more than humans.

You see human kind – as a species – will survive this rapid change in climate better than wildlife. Humans, in short, will survive. But some non-human inhabitants of mother Earth will not. It’s a given that wild species of animals and plants survived the beginning and end of the Ice Age, but they did so naturally. The climate change then was not as rapid as the climate change we are witnessing today. We all know the reason why – humans had not invented the steam engine, hadn’t discovered coal and petroleum and industrialisation was not even a seed in the little mind our ancient ancestors.

Now greenhouse gas emissions and an opulent consumerism has renderd the natural systems weak and the pace at which global warming and other climate change factors are progressing is mind boggling – and wildlife cannot keep abreast.

Take the example of trees. In mountain ranges, there is a nice tiered arrangement of different dominant species of plants. From lowland forest trees to upland, bamboo, alpine glades, tundra etc. Two problems arise here. 1) Assuming the vegetation belts can quickly stay at pace with temperature rise, they will push each other up the mountain until they all have nowhere else to go then they go extinct. 2) In reality, they cannot keep up the pace so they will die on the way up.

The great Savannahs of Africa may look indestructible – but they are not. We are increasingly seeing irregular rain patterns which is disrupting vegetation growth resulting in mass deaths of the massive herds of charismatic and much loved large herbivores, and their attending predators iconically represented by lions, cheetah, leopard and the like.

In Kenya recently, prolonged drought – and we can not rule out the effects of climate change as the cause – first killed livestock, then pushed the livestock into wildlife habitats, then killed the wildlife. Now Kenya is – ironically – waiting for El Nino rains to settle in so that it can save people, their livestock and wildlife. But the El Nino could be made more severe by the effects of climate change. So more people, livestock and wildlife will die. Iregi Mwenja, a Kenyan bushmeat researcher posted pictures of the onset of the El Nino rains in Voi today. One of the casualties of the big water was a masai goat that died in the floods.

That is a look on the extreme weather conditions that climate change is making worse. The silent increase in temperature will have the most devastating impact on wildlife as habitats change. According to the BBC:

It is estimated 20-30% of plant and animal species will be at increased extinction if the temperature rises by more than 1.5 – 2.5C. Less snow in winter, warmer temperatures in summer and more winter rain will affect wildlife across the board. Sea level rises will reduce land area in some countries, which will instantly affect vegetation which is currently used for homes and foods by animals.

In Africa, most of traditional dispersal area for wildlife is now occupied by humans as population increases exponentially. When climate change takes full effect, wildlife will attempt to move to these areas and human-wildlife conflict will escallate. The result is that wildlife will be killed. From another perspective, humans, with the effects of climate change on their heels, will invade wildlife protection areas, killing wildlife to create room for themselves, and their ravenous progeny.

Lest you tell me that the earth is man’s home, and we don’t need the wildlife, let me remind you the intricate balance between biological  systems, including bacteria! and the physical (rock) earth. The scientific author, Edward O Wilson, in his book “The Future of Life” talks of the earths biological system as a layer of living matter so thin you cannot see it sideways from space but absolutely neccessary for overall integrity of the planet as a whole (including energy flows). So there you have it: Without the biological system, there is no earth. Or in a language that you will understand, without the biological matter of old that became fossilized millenia ago, we would not have oil or coal = no fuel = no cars = no industrialization.

It is time to act. Our first wave of action is no doubt massive adjustment to our consumption patterns in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This, if dully practiced, could slow down climate change. Talk, write, chant, wave placards at or do what you do best, but make your leader act on climate change. Tell them that when they get to Copenhagen on 7-18 December 2009, they have to come up with a climate deal that saves us and wildlife. And go over to TckTckTck and join the more than 2 million ‘planet earthians’ tell the world leaders that you are ready for a climate deal that works.

It is said that climate change is inevitable, but the pace will have to slow down. Climate change has occured before, but not at this pace. Let us all change the way we live, slow climate change and give the other inhabitants of this planet a chance to take on climate change at their own pace. We cannot make them adapt at our pace…they were not made that way.

Let’s slow climate change. Lets save our wildlife.

Climate Change: The New Driver of Mass Extinctions

Back in 2007, some 2,000 UN scientists produced a massive 4-volume report of an assessment of Earth’s climate. In this dossier they came up with a projection that as global temperature rises, species will start falling. They called this projection the “Highway to Extinction”.

This must have been lost from the daily parlance of governments, organizations and individuals because neither you nor I have ever seen a ‘layman friendly’ version of this grand assessment report. But that has not stopped the Earth’s climate from changing. So even as a small, but growing number of pundits take the matter of climate change and it’s effect on biodiversity to the public, species are still being lost.

Let’s go back before 2007. Way back to 2004 and the journal Nature said that most species will not survive climate change. The had that story on the cover of their January 2004 issue. The extract from this particular story says, in part:

New analyses suggest that 15–37% of a sample of 1,103 land plants and animals would eventually become extinct as a result of climate changes expected by 2050.

Given that climate change was responsible, in part, to the loss of the woolly mammoths and mastodons some 10,500 years ago, there is no doubt that climate change will claim a large number of species again. The difference is that the current climate change is being accelerated – and made more severe – by human activities. In short, despite the direct extinction from human activities such as hunting and habitat loss, we – the plague of the earth – have acquired a new way of killing off species indirectly: accelerating climate change.

It is clear that climate change will leave the planet in abject ecological poverty. But not many people are talking about this – and fewer still are doing anything about it. It is upon everyone of us to take action. To do those things that we have been told will reduce the severity of climate change – however remote the chance that these actions will actually work – and to take the matter to our leaders and public.

Remember, an ecologically poor planet is not good for humanity – if we are to be human-centric (as usual). Generally, an ecologically poor planet is bad for itself.

Blog Action Day 2009 is All About Climate Change

It’s that time of the year again. Blog Action Day is happening on 15 October 2009. This year, it’s about the ‘big one’: Climate Change. I will take part in this global conversation about the most urgent matter for humanity. Will you?

If you have not heard about Blog Action Day you should go over to this site and read all about it. Essentially they will tell you that;

Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. Blog Action Day 2009 will be the largest-ever social change event on the web. One day. One issue. Thousands of voices

Since this year, the focus is on climate change, you will also read that;

Climate change affects us all and it threatens more than the environment. It threatens to cause famine, flooding, war, and millions of refugees.

Let this video explain to you a bit further:

To me, there is an even more pressing effect of climate change that has been lost in the debate – loss of biodiversity. Clearly, climate change is not only about flooding, famine and the like. And when we talk about biodiversity loss we are not only thinking about the polar bear.

In Kenya for instance, we have seen the Mara River at it’s lowest, and the drought that has brought thousands of cattle into wildlife refuges (only for them to die) and threaten the very existence of our beautiful wildlife. That to me is a pressing issue. Therefore I agree with the organisers of the Blog Action Day when they say that;

Given the urgency of the issue of climate change and the upcoming international climate negotiations in Copenhagen this December, we think the blogosphere has the unique opportunity to mobilize millions of people around expressing support for finding a sustainable solution to the climate crisis.

I will weigh in with a post, or two, about climate change and biodiversity. What will you do?

On this Earth Day

The symbol of Earth Day is the Greek letter 'theta' in green

April 22 is Earth Day. People mark this important day in the environmental calendar in different ways. It is not as much known as, for instance, the World Environment Day that has so much been promoted by the UN.

Senator Gaylord Nelson, a Democrat from Wisconsin, is responsible for the first official Earth Day in 1970. In those days, saving the environment was synonymous with the now famous “Zero Population Growth”. He organized a lecture session in university to teach about the problems that the Earth was facing such as extinction, pollution and the like. On the first official Earth Day on 22 April 1970, many people around America organized their own similar events to discuss these issues.With time the celebrations expanded and started spreading outside the US borders.

Of course many other issues have now arisen including climate change and Earth Day is no longer an American holiday alone. It is celebrated throughout the world. Maura Judkis has a list of some 10 things you should know about Earth Day that you should probably read for a brief introduction on what this Day is all about

American president Barack Obama, who is seen as someone who cares about the environment has his own agenda for this years Earth Day. In the New York Times they say:

The Obama administration is using Earth Day for launching another all-out effort to sell the American public and key lawmakers on “green jobs” as the solution for the United States’ environmental and economic woes.

Which then begs another question, are we really concerned about the Earth for the Earth’s sake or for our own good? President Obama is pushing for ‘green’ because he believes that ‘green jobs’ will save the American economy. There are those who think that Earth Day is useless, and we should get rid of it.

Whatever your thoughts about this Day are, have a Happy Earth Day

The Elusive Humvee Shows Up Again – In a ‘Green’ Place

For months now, the blogosphere, represented by the likes of Sukuma Kenya, have been hunting for one elusive beast: the banana yellow fuel guzzling Humvee with UN plates in Nairobi. This polluter of choice for one UN staffer has been accused of being an insult to the UN’s attempt at being carbon neutral and it’s actions on curbing climate change.

Well, guess what? The Humvee showed up. Not in a dingy nightclub or some dimly lit back road, but in one of the primary ‘green’ places in Nairobi: the Nairobi National Park - at the parking lot. By coincidence, I was there, with a good camera. That is why I am able to present this magnificent picture of one of the rarest and most elusive species of beast in Kenya.

*Note: no attempt made to blur the registration number plates – that would be redundant.

The banana yellow Humvee shows up again

What the Humvee was doing in the one spot that makes Nairobi qualify to be called a ‘green’ city – and perhaps why the UN Environmental Programme has it’s headquarters in this city – is indeed puzzling. Did the seeming flamboyant owner suddenly realize that he cared about the environment? No doubt an oxymoron. Was it just another opportunity to show off his behemoth? Well, we’ll probably never know.

Whatever happens, the blogosphere can now feast their eyes on this beast and continue to ask themselves ‘will the UN Nairobi office ever change their ways?‘ ‘Will they ever practice what they preach?’ One thing is for sure though; the blogosphere will continue to try and bring them to their senses. Whether they’ll ever succeed or not is open for debate. Afterall, the eagles once sang:

And in the master’s chambers,
They gathered for the feast
The stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can’t kill the beast

-The Eagles: Hotel California

The Saga of Nairobi’s UN Fuel Guzlers

The bad guys

Sukuma Kenya knows how to kick up a campaign. He’s unrelenting in his quest for an environmentally, and carbon neutral UN office in Nairobi. If you don’t already know, Nairobi is where the global headquarters of the global United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is located.

Sukuma Kenya and others in the blogosphere are totally appalled by the largess with which the UN staffers in the UN office complex at Gigiri, Nairobi move around town. Sukuma and the said others apparently get migraines whenever they see the colossal 5-liter engine fuel guzzlers that most of the UN people drive around, garnished with their red diplomatic plates, clearly separating them from the regular Kenyan motorist in his 1400cc Toyota Corolla.

These behemoths of locomotion have galled Sukuma for ages and he’s made personal the quest to make the UN people ‘Kick the Habit‘ . No wonder – or not – Sukuma’s blog is now banned at the UN complex in Gigiri. In short, inside of the sprawling complex, you cannot access the blog. And here I was thinking that the freedom of speech is one of the fundamental freedoms that the UN stands for.

He’s been alerted by a friend that his blog is no longer wanted in Gigiri. What followed that is is not particularly clear but he’s now received somewhat official communication confirming that his blog is actually banned. Now the Media Department at UN-Gigiri has informed the IT Department to unlock that blog. Someone should check on that.

This is totally unconfirmed and is not an accusation, but I have had it mentioned that the newest – and most obscene – entry into the fuel guzzlers’ stable at UN office, the banana-yellow Humvee , belongs to a staffer in the IT Department.

The good guys

Perhaps it is Sukuma’s campaign or it is just that there are genuine environmentalists in the UNEP. I saw a Toyota Hybrid Prius the other day with UNEP plates. I couldnt have been happier. Here is the picture.

A much 'greener' car

It seems that not all the people at UN want to drive around in ‘planet-killers’.

A breathing, breeding, bleeding earth

Do you know how many humans will be born in the next 1 second? Do you know how many people will die in that same second? And how many tonnes of Carbon Dioxide will be released into the atmosphere? There is a place where you can at least see a simulation of this.

I was idly roaming the Web today when I encountered a site that paints a really painful picture…if you care about the planet that is.

Breathing Earth Simulation

In 1 minute I witnessed 199 people being born, and 68 people die. That means the population of the earth grew by 131 people in that short minute. Withing the same minute, 26,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide had been emitted.

Whereas this simulated calculator is not – by all means – 100% correct, chances are that the statistics are below the actual statistics. Meaning that more than 131 people have been added onto this planet this minute and that we have a load of carbon dioxide heavier than 26,000 tonnes.

It is common knowledge that there is indeed a corelation between global warming/climate change and the growth of human population. We really need to think of how we can stop multiplying like rabbits. Actually I think we are worse than rabbits…

In Kenya for instance with a population of 34.3-million humans, we still give birth every 23.2 seconds. China on the other hand has a new birth every 1.8 seconds (and their population is 1,315,844,000).

On matters of contributing carbon dioxide – the key greenhouse gas – to the atmosphere, USA and China are in tandem. The US with 304.9-million emits 1000 tonnes of CO2 in a blistering 5.4 seconds. That’s huge. It is even faster than China which emits 1000 tonnes in 9.2 seconds and China has 1.3 billion people – four times the population of the US.

I wont tell you to conclude anything, just go have a look at the simulation and be the judge…click on the picture above to go straight there.