• Take photos in your backyard this weekend to help save nature
• Is the Great Barrier Reef in danger?
• Hotter nights are an overlooked effect of global warming

Take photos in your backyard this weekend to help save nature

Ever wish you could identify all the weeds, insects and other plants and animals in your backyard? This week, Canadians were invited to get some expert help in this area-and in the process to help save nature, including endangered species.

From Thursday, July 29 to Monday, August 2, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is running its Big Backyard Creature BlitzThis is an activity where anyone can participate as a volunteer or “citizen scientist” by taking photos of plants, animals and fungi, no matter where they are, including the backyard.

Participants then upload them to A smartphone/web application called iNaturalist Use artificial intelligence to identify them. The identification results are then verified by experts from all over the world. (Full disclosure: I am an avid user of the app and have registered for this event.)

Dan Kraus, a senior conservation biologist at NCC, said: “Part of the purpose is to let people discover the nature around them and hope to connect with it.” “Not only can you contribute, you can also learn a lot.”

Last year’s first Big Backyard BioBlitz submitted more than 20,000 plant and animal submissions, including some categories of particular interest to conservationists this year:

• Endangered speciesFor example, turtles, monarch butterflies, some bumblebees, many of them live in urban areas. Researchers are also interested in species that have recovered from endangered extinction, such as the peregrine falcon.

• Invasive species, Such as the emerald gray borer or European common reed.

Krauss said the data helps scientists assess whether the number of species at risk is increasing or decreasing, tracking the spread of invasive species, and understanding where species are moving due to factors such as climate change.

Krauss says this can help conservationists prepare to better manage species at risk in the future—for example, by protecting the habitats they are entering.

So if you want to participate in BioBlitz, how do you start?

Kraus recommends downloading the iNaturalist app and using it for practice. He recommends starting with plants, they can take photos more steadily than animals, and don’t mind if you get close.

You can register to participate at any time during BioBlitz by following the instructions on the event page.

You can also continue to observe after the five-day event is over-species you add later will not be part of this year’s event, but will become part of iNaturalist data and may be added to other projects. (For example, some of my own have been added to the Georgian Bay Biosphere and Ontario Butterfly Atlas.)

Klaus hopes that this event will encourage more people to sign up for iNaturalist and continue to use it.

“All these discoveries are waiting to happen across the country,” he said.

“People are discovering things that scientists have never seen before, or they have not been recorded in the area. So [the public’s observations] It can really help us better understand our Canadian wildlife, which is vital in a rapidly changing world due to climate change and habitat loss. “

— Emily Chung

Reader feedback

We keep asking our readers what different things they do at home and around to benefit the environment.This week, a reader from Regina passed by Iron Lady Wrote:

“I’m planting heirloom vegetables so that I can save the seeds to replant next year and next year and never have to buy more seeds again. In addition, I participated in No Mow May. My lawn has reached the point where the dandelions start to fly, I think it’s okay. There are bees everywhere.”

Send us photos with description and location exist [email protected].

What are the old problems on earth? right here.

There is also a radio show and podcast! The drought has spread to western Canada and most of the United States, with effects ranging from stunted wheat fields to raging wildfires. this week, what happened Get predictions about the changing water cycle and study how science and indigenous knowledge can help us adapt. what happened It will be broadcast in Newfoundland on Sunday at 12:30 pm and 1 pm.Subscribe to your favorite podcast app or listen on demand at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The big picture: Is the Great Barrier Reef in danger?

In terms of visualizing the effects of global warming, few examples are as iconic as the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is composed of nearly 3,000 coral reefs and 900 islands, and is considered one of the most important marine treasures in the world. It is also a place that has suffered severe damage, especially coral bleaching. When the water is too hot, the coral will expel the algae and turn white in the process. Coral reefs suffered major bleaching events in 2016, 2017 and 2020. The bleached coral is not necessarily dead, but it is undeniable that it is in a state of stress and instability. In view of the fragility of the Great Barrier Reef, a draft decision issued by the United Nations in June stated that it should be included on the World Heritage List “at risk”. The Australian government opposes this designation, saying it unfairly targets the country because it is considered a lagging person in climate action. Although the government has done work to protect coral reefs, activists and many scientists say that what Australia really should do is reduce carbon emissions. At the beginning of this month, The government convinced the UN to exclude the Great Barrier Reef from the endangered list — Until 2022. Although some environmentalists think this is a setback, Richard Lake, the head of oceans at WWF Australia, said: “UNESCO has put Australia on probation. Business as usual on the climate will not prevent it. List time at risk within a year.”

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Hotter nights are an overlooked effect of global warming

Scientists know that climate change will cause more frequent and intense heat waves.

They have had deadly consequences all over the world.According to a Research recently published in The LancetBetween 2000 and 2019, more than 5 million deaths were related to “non-optimal temperature” each year, of which about 500,000 were related to high temperatures.

During this period Heatwave suffocated British Columbia last month, killing more than 800 peopleAccording to Dr. Jatinder Baidwan, Chief Medical Officer of the British Columbia Coroner Service, there were 232 deaths in the same period last year.

Although we know that the temperature is rising during the day, in some areas-especially parts of Ontario and Quebec- The temperature rises faster at night.

A warm night means that our body has no time to cool down. For example, for people with health problems such as heart disease or asthma, this can cause great problems and can be fatal.

“Our bodies are not designed to endure environmental heat in their 30s [Celsius],” Baidwan said.

“If you think about it, what will happen to the air conditioner? When you put pressure on it, it will freeze outside and then it will stop working. In some ways, this is a good metaphor for our situation. The body. In extreme heat conditions, we find it difficult to achieve the usual homeostatic mechanisms and protocols that occur in our bodies.”

The heat waves affecting the Pacific Northwest are very unusual—according to a study, such heat waves occur every 1,000 years. Recent analysis by the World Weather Attribution GroupHowever, in parts of eastern Canada, including Ontario and Quebec, heat waves and tropical nights are more frequent, with night temperatures reaching 20 degrees Celsius or higher.

For example, according to Canadian Climate AtlasFrom 1976 to 2005, the number of tropical nights in Toronto averaged about 6.9 times a year. With climate change, carbon emissions are expected to rise to 17.6 times a year from 2021 to 2050 when carbon emissions are significantly reduced.

If the current carbon emission rate continues, the average number of tropical nights in Toronto from 2021 to 2050 is expected to reach 20.6. From 2051 to 2080, under two different emission scenarios, the average number will rise to 26.4 and 42.8 respectively.

In 2018, a The heatwave swept Montreal from June 29 to July 5; The average temperature during the day is about 34 degrees Celsius. The temperature at night is not lower than 20 degrees Celsius. A total of 66 people died.

Nathan Gillett, a research scientist at the Canadian Center for Environmental and Climate Change Research, said: “We have seen an increase in extreme high temperature events in Canada, which is greater than the global average warming.” “Canada’s average The warming is about twice the global average warming. Extreme high temperatures are also increasing at a similar rate. Not only the hottest maximum temperature, but also the minimum temperature, the minimum temperature at night.”

A 2019 report from the federal government stated that the country is warming at more than twice the rate of the earth.

A sort of Research published in the journal Global Change Biology It was discovered in October last year that night temperatures in most parts of the world are rising. Areas where the temperature rises more at night than during the day have more cloud cover, more precipitation, and higher humidity.

As the earth continues to warm, air conditioning seems to be a possible solution. The problem is that it requires energy and generates heat.

The city has also inadvertently created a “heat island”. The concrete structure further amplifies the heat and puts more pressure on people living in hot climates.Some cities like Toronto and Montreal It is trying to introduce more environmentally friendly building codes and designs to solve this problem.

“[Heat waves aren’t] We think this is a major hazard to Canada, but as the climate warms, we will see this situation more and more,” Gillette said.

— Nicole Mortilaro

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