A study compiled by the UN Environment Programme found that carbon emissions grew over three times faster between 2002 and 2007 than they had in the nineties. Elephants and buffalo are dying due to drought in Kenya. Scientists estimate that Papua New Guinea’s Carteret Islands will be fully submerged by 2015; the region’s 10,000 residents are currently being relocated to the island of Bougainville. The president of the Maldives held an underwater cabinet meeting calling for the world to reduce its carbon emissions, lest the Pacific archipelago also be submerged. A new report from the Environmental Justice Foundation estimates that climate change will displace 150 million people by 2050. Another report predicted that fish populations in the tropics will decline by 40 per cent in the same time period. On October 24, over 5,200 events and protests were staged worldwide demanding emissions reductions and a comprehensive climate resolution at the upcoming conference in Copenhagen. Denmark, Luxembourg, and New Zealand consume the greatest quantities of meat on a per capita basis. Australia’s army continues to shoot kangaroos in an attempt to thin their population. Thirsty emus and kangaroos have increasingly forayed into Australian towns in recent weeks due to drought.
In this monthly segment, Niko Block will be covering global climate change and up-to-date environmental issues.