The Big Wobble by Gary Walton 12/31/2019
A look back at the top stories of 2019 on The Big Wobble as we enter the Roaring Twenties
If the recent onslaught of deadly heatwaves, unprecedented wildfires, devastating flooding, aberrant cyclones, crippling droughts, devastated crops, massive deforestation and a record-breaking ice melt on both poles didn’t scare you a little, well, buckle up folks, we ain't seen nothing yet! As we leave 2019 and enter the 20s, we will have witnessed more than a 60% decline of all wildlife during the last 40 years according to The Living Planet Report written in 2018. Indeed, the chance of survival for many species has gone with many more endangered with little documentation on our main-stream media! Can you imagine the panic if more than 60% of humans had died in the last 40 years? The last decade was easily the hottest ever, I can’t imagine what summers will be like in the roaring 20s. 10 of the warmest years on record occurred this century, with 9 of the warmest years ever recorded occurred in the last 10 years, 2019 was the third hottest year ever.
2019 was a year of record-breaking fires Sydney, Australia’s biggest city with a population of over five million people is suffering its worst pollution ever as smoke, caused by Australia's record-breaking wildfire season blankets the city turning it into a “gas chamber.†The smoke has caused a huge spike in respiratory illnesses. The toxic Sydney bush fire haze which has engulfed the city has been declared a public health emergency because of the high levels of tiny particles (PM2.5) which cause lung cancer. Sydney’s drinking water supply is at risk as are some New South Wales regional communities, where large amounts of bushfire ash have been swept into dams by heavy rainfall. Sydney is quite literally under siege, surrounded by huge wildfires to the north, south and west of the city leaving a chief firefighter to claim the fires can only be extinguished by flooding rains, (rains are not expected until late January). The fires which have reached the Greater Sydney area at the time of me writing this have scorched 5 million hectares across Australia. That’s about the same size as Costa Rica. To make matters worse a nationwide heatwave pushed the mercury up to a staggering 50 deg C, 120 deg F temperature across the country and broke the national average temperature two days running.---
Amazon the lungs of the Earth on fireBut what happened next was something which caused the entire population of the planet and world governments to sit up and take note. Wildfires in the Amazon rainforest hit a staggering record number of more than 72,000 wildfires, an increase of 83% compared to 2018, according to a report by the Brazilian space research centre (INPE). As the Amazon rain forest burned, global concern rose, the lungs of our world, the Amazon basin which produces almost a quarter of the planet's oxygen was causing anxiety among world leaders and citizens alike.---
Killer red tide hits FloridaAnother report in January 2019, claimed the Florida red tide outbreak which began in 2017 had killed more sea turtles than any previous single red tide event on record, manatee deaths were not far behind. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, (FWC) attributed 589 sea turtles and 213 manatee deaths to this episode of red tide, which began in late 2017. The red tide outbreak had also killed 127 bottlenose dolphins as of the beginning of 2019, leading the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to declare an unusual mortality event. Combined manatee deaths from red tide, human actions, cold stress and other causes was at 824, according to the preliminary FWC report. Apart from the manatee, sea turtles and bottlenose dolphins deaths, it is thought billions of fish and countless birdlife had also died. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came up with an official number of deaths during that period, they claimed the red tide had killed 267 tons of marine life, however, I covered the entirety of the red tide outbreak and believe me, 267 tons is a very conservative estimate.---
No more Salmon in ScotlandIt used to be the best salmon fishing in the world but according to the Scotsman, global warming was being blamed for Scotland's worst salmon season ever. Some beats on famous rivers like the Spey and the Nith recorded not a single salmon caught during the entire season. Just two salmon were caught on the River Fyne in Argyll this year, where once more than 700 were caught each season. Roger Brook, director of the Argyll Fisheries Trust, said: "Salmon is in decline everywhere but they are declining more on the west coast of Scotland and they're declining more the further down the west coast you go."It's dreadful now in Argyll. I don't know whether it's too late now to put it right.†He said.
More:
http://www.thebigwobble.org/2019/12/a-look-back-at-top-stories-of-2019-on.html
