Ecoclimax

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is at the centre of a crisis of sustainability. Nowhere is that crisis more visible than in western Africa. Current rates of extraction are driving several species towards extinction while jeopardising the livelihoods of local fishing communities across Senegal, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Mauritania. Drawing on a unique satellite tracking database from FishSpektrum, this report presents new evidence of the scale and pattern of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. It focuses on ‘reefers’ – large-scale commercial vessels receiving and freezing fish at sea – and the use of containers. It provides evidence of practices that undermine multilateral governance rules aimed at curtailing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and promoting sustainable, legal practices. This map developed tracks the movement of 35 reefers through western African waters in 2013. A high density of hotspots and an erratic track pattern highlight ar...

When considering the deadliest animals, it’s important to include humans in the discussion. While humans possess intelligence, technology, and the ability to reason, our actions and behaviors have had a significant impact on the environment and other species, including other humans, making us one of the deadliest creatures on Earth and the planet as a whole. Mosquitoes are responsible for transmitting deadly diseases to humans and animals, causing almost million of deaths worldwide each year. While humans may not possess the physical prowess of other deadly animals, our species' impact on the environment and other living beings has been immense. Through activities such as deforestation, pollution, hunting, and warfare, we have significantly contributed to the decline and extinction of many species, leading to devastating consequences for ecosystems worldwide. Some snake species , such as the inland taipan and black mamba , possess venom that can be lethal to humans. Snakebites ...

Via nrdc.org

Sundaland is a biogeographical region of Southeastern Asia which encompasses the Sunda shelf, the part of the Asian continental shelf that was exposed during the last glacial period of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 12,000 years ago. It includes the Malay Peninsula on the Asian mainland, as well as the large islands of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra and their surrounding islands. Last glacial vegetation of Sundaland.

Density of endemic species of birds (left), mammals (middle), and amphibians (right).

Materials: Setup:

This visualization uses data from the Southern Ocean State Estimate to illustrate sea ice thickness (pink) and motion (arrows). Darker blue colors indicate greater salinity in the water below.

An extended look at drought intensity and variability in the contiguous United States. A stacked view of drought borders over time. Solid borders indicate consistent drought edges, while more transparent borders indicate boundaries in flux.

Countries around the world that have Giant Pandas.

It's hard to grasp how fast all of that happened. It's been about 125,000 generations since the emergence of the first human species. About 7,500 generations since the physiologically modern humans saw the light of day. 500 generations ago, what we call civilization began. 20 generations ago, we learned how to do science. And the Internet became available to most people only one generation ago. Today we live in the most prosperous age humanity has ever experienced. We have transformed this planet, from the composition of its atmosphere to large-scale changes in its landscape and also in terms of the other animals in existence. We light up the night with artificial stars and put people in a metal box in the sky. Some have even walked on our Moon. We put robots on other planets. We've looked deep into the past of the universe with mechanical eyes. Our knowledge and our way of acquiring and storing more of it has exploded. The average high school student today knows more a...

Landscapes capable of sustaining natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. Via sciencebase.gov

Urban Jungle Visit any place available in Street View by entering a location, drag the map to browse around and drop the little guy on a road. It works best in environment with large buildings surrounding the streets. Some locations need a little more imagination than others. World under water Soon, climate change won't just affec people living in coastal regions, but each & every one of us. See the effect of global warming in your neighborhood. Perfect Storms On rare occasions natural and human forces collide in a spectacular way to provoke disaster and change the world forever.

The communities in Cape Town (the Republic of South Africa)  were “designed with separation in mind,” while others grew “more or less organically.” This is the result of the Apartheid policies when racial segregation was enforced by law. While these policies were eliminated 22 years ago, in reality, “many of these barriers, and the inequalities they have engendered, still exist.” Via unequalscenes.com & boredpands.com

Heat Map of Monthly Occurrence of Tornado Reports in Europe (1800 - 2014) Heat Map of Intensity Distribution of Tornadoes in Europe (1800 - 2014) Via www.ametsoc.org ( 1 , 2 )

Horizontal row is years 1960 to 2011 Vertical column is days of that year 1 to 365 Data is Low Temperature difference from the average Low Temperature of (1960 - 2015) Temperature is in Fahrenheit Color scale show red as the max for each day then yellow is the average and green is the min. Via noaa.gov & reddit.com

The Köppen-Geiger climate classification scheme divides climates into five main groups (A, B, C, D, E), each having several types and subtypes. Each particular climate type is represented by a two- to four-letter symbol. Group A: Tropical/megathermal climates: Tropical rainforest climate (Af) Tropical monsoon climate (Am) Tropical wet and dry or savanna climate (Aw) Group B: Dry (arid and semiarid) climates: Desert climate BW: Hot desert (BWh), Cold desert (BWk) Steppe climate (Semi-arid) BS: Hot steppe (BSh), Cold steppe (BSk) Group C: Temperate/mesothermal climates: Dry-summer or Mediterranean climates (Csa,Csb) Temperate or subtropical hot-summer climates (Cwa,Cfa) Maritime temperate climates or Oceanic climates (Cwb, Cwc,Cfb, Cfc) Maritime subarctic climates or subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) Temperate highland climates with dry winters (Cwb, Cwc) Dry-summer maritime subalpine climate (Csc) Group D: Continental/microthermal climates Hot summer continental clima...

Yearly Cycle of Earth’s Biosphere Simulation of Aerosols in Earth's Atmosphere Simulation of Water Precipitation in the Atmosphere The Decline of Arctic Sea Ice (1980-2015) Global Sea Surface Currents and Temperature Vegetation greening trend in Canada & Alaska (1984 - 2012) Dynamic Earth Excerpt Air quality improvements across the USA (2005 - 2014) Via NASA ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ) & metrocosm.com

185 people killed for environmental activism in 2015 2012 was the deadliest yar on record for the men & women who defend our planet. In just 12 months, 185 activists were murdered across 16 countries. Thats three environmentalists a week. Attacks involved assassinations, torture & public executions. These alarming findings are documented in a new report by watchdog group globall witness. Corporate entities are encroaching on remote areas in pursuit of dwingling resources... ... clashing with indigenous communities who are desperate to protect their land. Industries like minning, logging & agribusiness are the biggest threat to environmentalists. Becoust some killings go unreported the actual figure could be much higher. More than half of the death toll came from just three countries: Brazil, Philippines & Colombia. The findings shed light on a web of collusion with govetnments increasingly criminalizing environmentalists. Deaths often go uninvestigated an...

What would the water depth be if you emptied each state’s biggest volume lake onto its land? -  Great Lakes not included because they are too big and skew the geo chart colors too much. Lake Superior would turn Wisconsin into a 71.3 m deep pool. -  Vermont and Delaware don't have colors because they were far and away the deepest and shallowest and skewed the colors too much. This was my first geo chart, I'm learning... - Did you know Florida is actually the flattest state? -  Alaska has by far the most lakes of any state. It has over 3 million lakes that don't have names. Via pressurewashr.com

Via economist.com

Based on birth rates, more than 2 million pregnant women in 20 Zika-prone states and large cities could be at risk this summer. Via washingtonpost.com

Distribution of the B type blood allele in native populations of the world Distribution of the A type blood allele in native populations of the world Distribution of the O type blood in native populations of the world The majority of the people in the world have the Rh+ blood type. However, it is more common in some regions. Native Americans and Australian Aborigines were very likely 99-100% Rh+ before they began interbreeding with people from other parts of the world. This does not imply that Native Americans and Australian Aborigines are historically closely related to each other. Most Subsaharan African populations are around 97-99% Rh+. East Asians are 93-99+% Rh+. Europeans have the lowest frequency of this blood type for any continent. They are 83-85% Rh+. The lowest known frequency is found among the Basques of the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain. They are only 65% Rh+. The distribution patterns for the Diego click this icon to hear the pr...

States with laws in place to reduce outdoor light pollution. Via ncsl.org

Via wikimedia.org

Via NASA

By 2030, 75 percent of the world’s population is expected to be living in cities. Today, about 54 percent of us do. In 1960, only 34 percent of the world lived in cities. Via metrocosm.com

Map shows the regions of the U.S. from which plants and animals will be able to escape predicted climate change. Blue areas are where they will be able to succeed given current conditions, orange areas are where they will be able to succeed only if they are able to cross over human disturbed areas, and gray areas are areas where they cannot succeed by following climate gradients. Source:  Jenny L. McGuire, Joshua J. Lawler, Brad H. McRae, Tristan Nuñez, and David Theobald, “Achieving climate connectivity in a fragmented landscape,” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016)

Modern forests in the eastern United States bear little resemblance to the forests that stood at the end of the last Ice Age. Starting with European colonial settlers and marching through four centuries of development, drought, and fire, the tree cover of North America became fragmented. The map below shows the present-day distribution of forested land in the United States. Dark green areas are more densely forested than light green areas. The total amount of forested land today is about 70 percent of what it was in 1630. Eastern U.S. forests are composed of a wide array of species. Some are common, like the red maple and American beech. Others are important food or habitat resources, such as black cherry and eastern hemlock. But what will happen to these trees if atmospheric carbon dioxide continues to rise? Jantz and WHRC colleague Brendan Rogers have been examining the state of forest cover in the Appalachian region of the United States, while also modeling what the future wi...

Via blog.ciat.cgiar.org