Climate change and wildlife habitats

The recent changes in climate have meant that wildlife habitats have either been damaged, removed or changed.



We are constantly being reminded of just how much climate change is affecting us, so what is the current situation in the U.K?

Steph Steele of People and Planet at the University of Central Lancashire said: “In terms of environmental factors as an outcome of climate change in the U.K, we can't really see much difference; the U.K. population seem to be in disarray that climate change is real because we don't see the major consequences that other countries do.”

She explained that the weather in the U.K. is so unpredictable and has now become renown for this; “it's always difficult to pin point what days will be sunny and what days will be rainy” no one realises the full reality of climate change.

This is an example of how, despite the fact that the government claim to be combating climate change as an important issue; projects like this one - a new coal-fired power station in Kingsnorth, Kent - are still on their way to being accepted. This project has recently had a lot of campaigning.

Steph Steele described how if the U.K does not reduce its emissions in some way, the effects of climate change will become very visible. She said: “The UK has the power to both prevent further climate change by cutting down or even stopping what it invests in and also has the education, resources and finance [even with a so called 'credit crunch'] to prove that it can be stopped.”



Even though the changes in climate in the U.K. are not fully visible to mankind, animals are sensing the changes more than anything right now.

Butterflies play a key example of animals sensing climate change as they are extremely sensitive to slight changes in the environment and have very specific habitats.

In U.K. wildlife, insects are declining due to various reasons; one of those being climate change because it has both positive and negative consequences on their habitat.


Steph Steele said: “As the climate changes, the temperatures of sea, land and air are rising. Species have to migrate to find a better home and it has consequently affected the life cycle of the animal world.”

Some species; for example certain butterfly species (the Small Tortoiseshell) and moths; are finding it harder to adapt to other climates further a field from their original habitat; leading to a decline in insects.

The constant demand for more oil is also having an effect on the ecosystem. Sea beds in the U.K; even though oil is now running short here; are being dredged up in the process of the extraction of oil meaning that marine life is losing its habitat or dying out.
(the oil extraction process)

Steph Steele explained that, despite the fact that oil extraction means platforms can produce micro-habitats, oil extraction may not be such a good idea as animals are harmed in the process.


What can we do to help prevent this from happening?

The nation needs to first and foremost recognise that climate change is happening now. It’s the little tasks that can help go a long way; stop leaving electrical items on standby and recycling are ideal examples.

Steph Steele said: “We need to understand as a whole population that renewable resources i.e. wind turbines, solar panels, hydro-power would not only clean our skies, but clean up the seas and the land too. There is so much to think about, but we need to think less and act more.”

National campaigns have been set up to urge the government to prevent CO2 emissions.

Here are links to important campaigns:

- Campaign Against Climate Change

- People and Planet

- Stop Climate Chaos

- Greenpeace

Butterflies in Lancashire

North Lancashire has some of the best butterfly habitat in the North of England.

Where can we find

a high population of butterflies in Lancashire?

Warton Crag

Warton Crag; situated one mile north of Carnforth and near Warton; is an important site home to rare butterfly species. The nature reserve is a limestone hill with spectacular views at the top over Morecambe Bay to the Kent Estuary. Warton Crag is abundant with wading birds as well; the sand banks and the salt marshes near to Leighton Moss are ideal for this species of bird.

The area is also home to plants that are nationally uncommon; Thyme and Rock Rose have roots buried deep in the rocks that help them stay greener for longer. Late spring shows a variety of flowers in bloom on the hill; Bluebells, Primroses, Violets, Strickland wood etc.

The rich scrub of the crag provides a perfect site for butterflies; the abundance of Hawthorn, Spindle, Juniper, Hazel, Blackthorn and much more along with warm

and sunny areas is a specific habitat for butterfly species like the Fritillaries; the Pearl-bordered Fritillary in May, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary in June and the High Brown Fritillary in July.

Forest of Bowland

The Forest of Bowland is close to Preston and Clitheroe; with rich and diverse landscapes. The area is 36,700ha complete with blanket bog, upland heath, upland springs and flushes, purple moor grass and rush pasture. The Forest of Bowland is best known for its blanket bog, which can only form in cool, wet climates. The large heath butterfly

(Coenonympha tullia) can be found in this area as their habitat is blanket bogs.

The High

Brown Fritillary (Argynnis adippe)

What?

The High Brown Fritillary is similar to the Dark Green Fritillary except for its brown underside and the row of “ocelli” on the margin.

Their main food is plants such as Common Dog Violet, Hairy Violet, Heath Dog Violet and Pale Dog Violet.

(Common Dog Violet)

Where?

This particular species is a national species of conservation concern; it needs a specific habitat and can now only be found in few places around the U.K, the North West is the national stronghold; with a stable population in North Lancashire and South Cumbria.

It lives

in a habitat of either limestone or bracken and coppice woodland. Warton Crag is one of few otherareas in North Lancashire where there is a large population of the species. Their eggs can be laid in limestone areas or mossy rocks.

(An example of coppice woodland)

Below is a map to show the population of the High Brown Fritillary around the U.K.


View Larger Map

Is there a decline?

Over the past 30 years, it has been recognised that certain butterfly species nationwide have been in decline. This article shows that the BBC wrote about this topic in 2001and this article was written in 2006 and depicts the decline of butterflies throughout England.

This article states that over the past 200 years, five species of butterflies have become extinct

and according to the butterfly conservation survey 15 species have become in decline over this period of time.

The small tortoiseshell butterfly is, according to Laura Sivell of the butterfly conservation: “once the commonest garden butterfly but reduced by a series of wet springs and now thre

atened by a parasite.”

While there is a decline in some areas, some butterflies move to another part of the country for their specific habitat. The Wall Brown (see picture) is an example of this having disappeared from the South East of England in the 90’s but now abundant in parts of Lancashire.

So, what is causing certain butterfly species

to become in decline?

• Climate change

This is one of the main causes for the decline. Temperatures warming up mean that the habitats are no longer the same for butterflies; thus making it difficult for them to live in certain areas. Climate change also means that there is less

The Butterfly conservation survey states that 15 species have travelled north of the country due to climate change; butterfly populations have been changing throu

ghout the country due to this.

• Increase in farming

This means that most butterfly habitats like ancient woodland, moors and wild meadows have been destroyed.

• Lack of woodland management/changing land management

If woodland is not managed, butterflies’ habitats become destroyed. This can lead to isolation of habitats and a difficulty for butterflies to colonise.

• Insecticides

The increase in the use of insecticides on the areas that butter

flies live or feed on could harm certain species.

What can be done?

- Butterfly conservation management projects in Lancashire: They maintain and restore habitats of species which are of conservation concern. There is inform

ation about Lancashire’s butterfly conservation society here.

- Recording and monitoring various species: This helps understand the future of British butterflies.

The endangered High Brown Fritillary has had the most success in terms of conservation in the North-West of England.

There is, however, according to the Butterfly Conservation, a severe concern with Northern species of butterflies. Over the past 20 years, colonies of the Northern Brown Argus, the Scotch Argus and the Mountain Ringlet have become extinct in the North of England.

Why do we need to do stop this decline?

Butterflies are important as they are sensitive to rapid change in climate and habitat. The Butterfly Conservation urge the government to help their biodiversity act as butterflies are a valuable factor in terms of determining the changes in the environment.

Is there only a decline in butterflies?

Butterflies are not the only insects becoming in decline in Lancashire, moths and bees are also on the decline. This article shows the decline in further detail.

Map

The following map pinpoints stories that appeared in the first few pages of the Lancashire Evening Post on Saturday November 15.


View Larger Map

What they all thought...

I asked the people of Preston what they thought about waste collection in their area to find out just how satisfied they are with recycling being taken away every two weeks.

What a load of rubbish!

Until September of this year, I had no idea that household waste was collected every two weeks in Preston! Just think of the sheer quantity of waste that builds up in every household over the period of these two weeks.



Fourtunately, for those of us sitting around in piles of rubbish, the council is about to change the dates of waste collection to once a week.

On the downside, only those lucky enough to live in South Ribble will be able to take pleasure in such changes as of February - everyone else will just have to wait their turn until the change can be made in their area.

The scheme is costing a phenomenal £126,000; which will go towards either specialist food waste bins to be put out once a week or a bin for food, garden and non-recyclable waste. County Councils will be paying for this scheme. In any case, perhaps even in times like these a high cost for waste disposal is probably well deserved.
It's about time council money was spent on something a little more worthwhile.

However, does this mean that households will now take advantage of this weekly disposal and accumulate more rubbish than they need to? If so, this could cause more damage to the environment, meaning that non-recyclable waste could take up more environmental space.

South Ribble will test the best way to collect waste food before the opening of Leyland Waste Technology Park in 2010.

We can only look on in hope that this scheme will work and further areas in Preston and surrounding areas of Preston can benefit from this environmental change.




Story from LEP website: http://www.lep.co.uk/news/Weekly-rubbish-collections-could-return.4647548.jp

Please check in at gate 20 for flight 10759 for a further rise in CO2 emissions.

Taking a few planes a year is becoming the "norm" for many of us but booking a flight could seem to be more problematic if the choice in airports rises.

I mean, how many airports and extra terminals in this country do we actually need?! (Yeah, sure, thank god for terminal 5 and its fast and simple baggage system!)

Luckily, the Tories are here to save us from such dangers (as trying to book a flight at the nearest airport). They have recently opposed projects supporting the construction of a third runway at Heathrow and a second runway at Standsted. Despite organisations such as "Stop Standsted Expansion", the project had still been given the green light. During the process of accepting said project (in a letter to BAA), the Government has more or less ignored the climate change Bill, which is subject to change in a few weeks; obviously excusing such behavior. Greenpeace's blog picked up on an important factor of the ordeal: the Secretary of State confirmed that the letter to BAA to "share the Inspector's view that Government policy seeks to reconcile growth in aviation to meet the needs identified in the [Air Transport White Paper] with action to address climate change..." - I'm sorry but what action addresses climate change? Perhaps the Government feels the need to mention "climate change" in order to show that such a matter has not been ignored. Not only that but Stansted airport isn't the only airport getting an expansion - the Government are nodding their heads at the increase in flights at City Airport. Surely the amount of reasons given for expanding the latter airports could never explain the rise in CO2 emissions.

Another important wake-up call from the Greenpeace blog would be this: "If aviation keeps expanding at predicted levels, its emissions would wipe out our entire 2050 carbon budget if we adopted the 80 per cent target Brown is considering adopting."

We'll just have to watch this space as to how much of the climate change Bill will change in terms of the expansion of airports. Will the Government ever realise that one of the main factors needed to help in the budgeting lies in the expansion of airports?

"Stop leaving me on standby!"

It's very easy to ignore all climate change warnings - from TV ads to leaflets given out on the high street - and to maintain the attitude that "it doesn't affect me." The fact is, it does affect you and is affecting you. This advert is all about acting on CO2 and demonstrates that by leaving your TV on standby or the lights on, you're creating more CO2 emissions as well as making your bills more expensive:

Basically, all you need to do is make a few small changes to your daily life to avoid the rise in CO2 emissions.
You can:

• save your carrier bags and re-use them when you next go shopping
• boil the kettle with the right amount of water in it
• set the heating in your house to appropriate times
• buy energy efficient light bulbs
• recycle your rubbish - separate paper from tins etc

Rising CO2 emissions is also affecting you in terms of climate change. Fair enough, the British summer is renown to have a spot of rain but the past couple of summers have shown that climate is changing. Last summer showed no sign of summer at all, merely floods. Mike Hulme makes a good point about climate change in this article. I mean, sun and blue skys in October?! Weather and climates are no longer predictable.

Obviously only small changes can happen if everyone takes part in trying to save energy but it will still help to push the long term consequences of climate changer further away.

Let's face it, who wants a world like this:



or even this:



Okay, so the latter is a very extreme image of long term climate change but it's your wake-up call. Make the changes and stop climate change.

Welcome to my blog.

I am writing this blog as part of my assignment for the "digital newsroom" module of the BA (Hons) Journalism course. The patch I have chosen to write about is the environment. So, welcome to your guide on what's going on in the world around you. Whether you've always been an environmentalist geek or you'd just like to know a bit more about global warming, then this is the place for you. Enjoy!