– Në shenjë solidarizimi, Redaksia e Diellit, fillon një traditë të re. Për nder të kësaj dite, ju lutem shkruani në portal një përshkrim të shkurtër me temën: “Dita e Tokës 2019 dhe unë, banori i saj.”

Kjo festë ka filluar të festohet në Shtetet e Bashkuara në vitin 1970. Nuk është e thënë t’i kthehemi statistikave para 50 vjetëve për tu vetëdijësuar për rritjen e rrezikshme të emetimit të gazrave të dëmshme dhe rritjes së niveleve të ujrave oqeanike, parametrave klimaterikë të shfaqura tek ciklonet, përmbytjet masive si dhe muaj thatësire dhe zjarre të shkaktuara nga temperaturat e larta, të cilat kanë sjellë si rrjedhojë emigrimin e mijëra njerëzve nga zona që janë bërë të pabanueshme. Ndërkohë që administrata amerikane në Uashingtoni vazhdon t’i injoroj paralajmërimet e shkencëtarëve, aktivistët e rinj të mjedisit shkojnë nga bankat e shkolës në sallat e gjyqeve dhe seanca dëgjimore para Kongresit amerikan për fushatën në mbrojtje të mjedisit. 

Për Ditën e Tokës 2019 fokusi është tek speciet e planetit tonë. 

Në frymë solidarizimi, Redaksia e Diellit, fillon një traditë të re. Për nder të kësaj dite, ju lutem shkruani në portal një përshkrim të shkurtër me temën: “Dita e Tokës 2019 dhe unë, banori i saj.”

Më poshtë po postojmë në anglisht disa të dhëna të publikuara nga portalet për mjedisin.

Researchers reported that Bd has driven 90 frog species to extinction and forced another 124 to decline in numbers by more than 90 percent. This population crash has only been going on for about the last 50 years.

While the fungus is deadly on its own, humans have aided its spread around the world. The disease is hard to eradicate, but there is some evidence that the pace of decline is slowing down. Life is disappearing, appearing, and evolving right in front of ush. World Wildlife Fund reported that vertebrate populations have declined by a jaw-dropping average of 60 percent since 1970. That includes birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, and amphibians.

Yet even as species disappear, we do occasionally discover new ones. 

But perhaps even more intriguing (and disturbing) is that we are changing life too. Researchers reported this year that as climate change raises average temperatures, sea turtles are experiencing a dramatic change in their sex ratios. Temperature is a major variable in determining the sex of a reptile, and in one species, scientists found that female baby sea turtles now outnumbered males 116-to-1. It’s a development that could herald a population crash among turtles.

And as species move in response to the rapid changes we’re causing in their environments, we’re seeing new hybrids emerge.

We have just over a decade left before the best-case scenario for global warming passes us by

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of the world’s top scientists convened by the United Nations, put out a stark report last year highlighting how little time we have left to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the most ambitious goal under the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

The key finding is that if we want to hit this target, we have to cut global greenhouse gas emissions in half compared to where they are now by 2030. By 2050, we would have to reach net zero emissions, and after that, we would even have to start withdrawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Despite these findings, we’re far off track and only getting farther. Global carbon dioxide emissions hit an all-time high in 2018. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels crossed a record 411 parts per million, the highest levels since humans have existed. In the United States, energy use hit a record high and greenhouse gas emissions started to rise again in 2018 after years of decline.

That said, we do know what we need to do to accelerate progress in fighting climate change, from pricing carbon dioxide to eating less meat to supporting public officials who will advance critical policies. A coming verdict on our right to a safe climate

A wave of lawsuits hinging on damages wrought by climate change gained momentum over the past year. Interestingly, climate science isn’t what’s up for debate in these climate lawsuits.

Rather, the key fights are over the legal rights to a safe climate and whether parties are owed damages from those that contributed to the problem.

In one set of cases, children and young people are suing the federal government for profiting off leases to fossil fuel extractors on public lands despite knowing the damages.

In another set of lawsuits, cities, states, and local governments are suing oil companies for posing a public nuisance. The argument is that fossil fuels produce heat-trapping gases, which in turn cause problems like sea level rise that threaten valuable shorelines.

At stake are billions of dollars in liability for some of the largest and most powerful institutions in the world. And the cases could set precedents that stand for generations. These lawsuits are now working their way through courts, in the United States and in other parts of the world. The outcomes of these cases are critical, but uncertain.