5 curiosities about Biodiversity

There are a lot of things we actually don´t know about biodiversity. So, if you are interested in knowing some new things about the biodiversity which surrounds us, you only have to read this little article.

1) You will think that the main place which provides us oxygen is the Amazonian jungle, don´t you? Well, sorry, but I have to tell you that you are wrong. According to some studies on a University in London, oceanic plankton provides us the 75% of the oxygen we breath, and on the other hand it absorbs the 25% of the carbon we emit.
2) As we all know, the amount of water in the earth surface is higher that the land surface. Well, a really curious thing is that the 60% of the oceanic animals live not farther that 60 km from us.
3) As you might know, tourism is one of the most important thing of a city, due to the fact that it improves the local economy. But maybe you didn't know that one of six jobs in a city are dedicated only to biodiversity.
4) Whales are pretty important in Canaries, for example, due to the fact that it attract turist and they earn more money.
5) Some scientists say that oceanic biodiversity is so important because it facilities the improvement of the creation of new medicines.

Jon Lozano and Lorea Bereciartua "Impact of business in biodiversity"

"Tourism in biodiversity"

It threatens our food supplies, opportunities for recreation and tourism, and sources of wood, medicines and energy. It interferes with essential ecological functions such as species balance, soil formation, and greenhouse gas absorption. It reduces the productivity of ecosystems, thereby shrinking nature's basket of goods and services, from which we constantly draw.

Moreover, it destabilizes ecosystems and weakens their ability to deal with natural disasters such as floods, droughts, and hurricanes, and with human-caused stresses, such as pollution and climate change.

Tourism, especially nature tourism, is closely linked to biodiversity and the attractions created by a rich and varied environment. It can also cause loss of biodiversity when land and resources are strained by excessive use, and when impacts on vegetation, wildlife, mountain, marine and coastal environments and water resources exceed the carrying capacity. This loss of biodiversity in fact means loss of tourism potential.

Jon Lozano and Lorea Bereciartua

Sources of information:

http://www.unep.org/resourceefficiency/Business/SectoralActivities/Tourism/FactsandFiguresaboutTourism/ImpactsofTourism/EnvironmentalImpacts/EnvironmentalImpactsofTourism-GlobalLevel/tabid/78777/Default.aspx 

HOW TO KILL A ZEBRA MUSSEL (Maiara, Bea and Mireia)

HOW TO KILL A ZEBRA MUSSEL

Some scientist of Cambridge University discovered how to kill a mussel. They said that packing potassium chloride into particles that are made by fats. Then the particles, that are harmless to other creatures, are transferred by mussels along their gills dissolving in their stomachs.

This is not harmful to people or other species that why we can prove and then if the solution is good we can use and stop with this invasion. 

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2006/feb/03/uk.research

Jon Lozano and Lorea Bereciartua "EATING ANIMALS TO SAVE BIODIVERSITY?"

"EATING ANIMALS TO SAVE BIODIVERSITY?"

Globally, livestock is considered to be one of the major threats to biodiversity. It’s quite clear that an increase in animal products is not the way to save biodiversity. Rather, a reduction and reformation is probably what’s needed from an environmental perspective.

An increase in diary and meat consumption does not automatically promote pasturelands (Wallman et al., 2014). This is likely due to that it’s more economically viable to feed animals more energy dense crops.

The issue as I see it, is that both globally and locally, livestock contributes to GHG-emissions, increased land usage and eutrophication. All of these factors are contributing to loss of biodiversity globally and locally. One has to weigh in the cost of producing livestock to the benefit of biodiversity locally. One issue as I see, is that if we increase our livestock production as it is, we will also increase the fodder imported – usually from monoculture- which instead contribute to a loss of biodiversity

Source of information:

https://veganbiologist.com/2016/01/07/eating-biodiversity/

      HOW TO STOP THE INVATION OF ZEBRA MUSSEL

The last news have shown that some scientist of Cambridge University discovered how to kill a mussel. They said that packing potassium chloride into particles that are made by fats. Then the particles, that are harmless to other creatures, are transferred by mussels along their gills dissolving in their stomachs.

This is not harmful to people or other species that why we can prove and then if the solution is good we can use and stop with this invasion. 

WHY ARE WE LOSING BIODIVERSITY?

       The destruction of natural habitats is one of the first causes of the loss of biodiversity. When we transform woods, lands, jungles… into urban zones, roads, farms… we are destroying hundreds of natural habitats.

        And to show that this is real, I’m going to put an example. Last statistics reveal that 50% of the natural ecosystem was lost in Mexico last year.  As you know, we can find a lot of woods and jungles there, so, people take advantage of them and they destroy them in order to build some new buildings, roads, or whatever. But apart from that, they also kill hundreds of animals. Actually, it seems as if we don’t realise about the good luck we have, due to the fact that our statistics are not so high.

      Regarding the animals, we can’t forget about not native species, which are introduced in different places of all around the world. These type of species can become dangerous for some of the local species. In Ermua’s dam they introduce some new fish species each year. One of the most common one is the fish called Blas Blas. These fishes are pretty big, so they need to eat constantly. In this dam, apart from little fishes there are also ducks. So what these ugly fiches do, is eating them and leaving that dam without that duck specie.

Ainara De Jesús

Jon Lozano and Lorea Bereciartua "How vegan people affects biodiversity?"

"How vegan people affects biodiversity?"

The vegan lifestyle is the strictest of all vegetarian diets as it excludes meat, eggs and all animal derived products. The reasons people choose this lifestyle vary from maintaining health to animal rights, addressing ethical, dietary and religious issues. But what is the impact of a vegan lifestyle on the environment? Is conservation of biodiversity a legitimate reason for becoming vegan?

According to the Convention on Biological Diversity, biodiversity can be defined as “the variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species and of ecosystems.” Whether you follow an intrinsic view in the debate about if biodiversity is important for conservation and to what end, one point no longer debatable is: conservation of the natural environment is vital for the preservation of human life.

Science continues to reveal the damaging effects of human behaviour on the environment and the repercussions for human life. While many people may have a passion or mere interest in contributing to the earth’s preservation from – driving hybrid cars, walking more, switching to energy efficient light bulbs, lobbying and campaigning or making a substantive change wherever they think they can – there is one aspect of our lives that has an inevitable impact on biodiversity; and that is Eating!

Poor agricultural practices continue to devastate the environment and threaten biodiversity: altering habitats, displacing species, introducing alien species, poisoning surrounding soil and water systems with the use of chemicals and killing a large number of organisms in the process.

“World meat production has quadrupled in the last 50 years,” according to studies. The livestock population now outnumbers people more than three to one. Studies have long shown that vegans use less land and energy to meet their dietary needs. Reducing the land area used for agricultural purposes is a major way of contributing to biodiversity conservation.

A vegan lifestyle helps maintain biodiversity. The vegan diet is however considered by many to be a restrictive one and requires an entire change in ideology and careful attention to ensure that daily nutritional requirements are met. It is a lifestyle that a number of people continue to be open to or interested in but the population shift to a vegan lifestyle is relatively slow as compared to the global shift towards adopting a westernized diet. There is also a growing fear that an increase in plant based diets will lead to large scale mono-cropping, which also negatively affects biodiversity. However, a healthy vegan lifestyle requires a diet of a variety of fruits, vegetables and grain. An increase in the demand for these products will propel farmers to diversify their crops to satisfy the market.

Consumers have the power to alter the alarming rate at which agricultural production is destroying species diversity. Adopting meat-less days as part of varied diet can dramatically reduce the demand for livestock and by extension the effects of livestock production on biodiversity as well as other damaging effects on the environment. Agriculture is one of the most environmentally damaging of human activities and veganism helps to reduce its impact. Eating vegan helps to sustain life on the planet and maintain biodiversity.

Jon Lozano and Lorea Bereciartua

Information sources:

http://youthforumonclimatechange.com/how-veganism-affects-biodiversity/

Environment Congo D.R.

http://www.ecojesuit.com/boboto-high-school-students-win-national-poster-competition-on-nature-and-environment/9318/

Reparar las grietas del planeta

30 Abril 2016

“Las sequías plantean la amenaza más generalizada en la región de Asia Pacífico. La escasez de agua en las economías lluvia sensible podría desencadenar condiciones de desestabilización, como la crisis energética, la migración humana y animal, la escasez de alimentos, y los incendios forestales – que conduce a conflictos y la vulnerabilidad regional.” (Del informe “El Niño: Potential Asia Pacific Impacts” de la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica, Octubre 2015)

Mark Raper, SJ

Ecojesuit está encantado de compartir el mensaje de Mark Raper SJ, Presidente de la Conferencia Jesuita de Asia Pacífico (JCAP) en relación al Día de la Tierra que tuvo lugar el 22 de abril, publicado originalmente enJCAP eNews.

Hay “grietas en el planeta.”  Al celebrar Día de la Tierra, me acuerdo de la manera sorprendentemente fresca y visionaria con la que el Papa Francisco pidió el año pasado a todos – no sólo los católicos – ser conscientes de las graves penurias de nuestro planeta, nuestra “casa común.”  En su encíclica Laudato si’, Francisco nos llama a nuestra responsabilidad moral de cuidar este mundo herido incluso mientras nos regocijamos en las maravillas de la creación, la maravilla de la vida humana, la belleza de las estrellas, los bosques y los macro y los microsistemas de nuestro universo.  La ciencia lo afirma.  El daño hecho en el aire, la tierra y los océanos exige medidas urgentes.

Los grupos religiosos se están convirtiendo en catalizadores para la acción común, instando a los cambios en el comportamiento y prácticas inteligentes.  En una Filipinas acuciada por desastres, el cardenal Chito Tagle ha establecido recientemente un nuevo Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Respuesta a Desastres.  Lo hizo, “teniendo en cuenta la necesidad de crear un ministerio más sensible que se ocupe de la preparación para desastres y respuesta, así como del cuidado y la protección de la creación de Dios.”

En la Conferencia Jesuita de Asia Pacífico (JCAP, por sus siglas en inglés), la reconciliación con la creación ha sido una prioridad desde hace algunos años, y el foco ha estado recientemente en la gestión y reducción  del riesgo de desastres, dirigido por Pedro Walpole SJ, nuestro coordinador para la reconciliación con la creación y director del centro de Ciencia Ambiental para el Cambio Social en Filipinas.

Poco después de la publicación de Laudato si’ el año pasado, los superiores mayores de la Conferencia Jesuita emitieron un comunicado diciendo: “Nuestras muchas obras jesuitas tienen el potencial de impacto de largo alcance.  Sin embargo, sabemos, también, que el primer paso necesario será una conversión personal para cada uno de nosotros.”

Recientemente, Educate Magis, una iniciativa de educación global de la Compañía de Jesús, lanzó un video mostrando ejemplos de lo que las escuelas jesuitas han venido haciendo para cuidar el medio ambiente.

Me siento alentado por los esfuerzos de las escuelas jesuitas de todo el mundo para fomentar la conversión personal que, como Francisco deja claro, es un reto de educación.  Dice: “En los países que deberían producir los mayores cambios de hábitos de consumo, los jóvenes tienen una nueva sensibilidad ecológica y un espíritu generoso, y algunos de ellos luchan admirablemente por la defensa del ambiente, pero han crecido en un contexto de altísimo consumo y bienestar que vuelve difícil el desarrollo de otros hábitos.  Por eso estamos ante un desafío educativo.” (Laudato si’, 209)

Jesuitas y nuestros amigos en Asia Pacífico tenemos Vuelos los Bosques, otra iniciativa que asume el reto educativo.  En esta época del año, jesuitas y colaboradores en varias provincias se suman los vuelos que tomaron en 2015,  reservando 5 dólares por cada vuelo.  La suma resultante se distribuye en proyectos forestales en Timor Oriental, Camboya y Filipinas.  Damos la bienvenida a todos a unirse a este programa, cuyos detalles se pueden encontrar en nuestra página web.

En Laudato si’, Francisco también muestra la interrelación de la degradación del medio ambiente con la migración y el desplazamiento de los pueblos y con los estragos de la violencia que afectan desproporcionadamente a los pobres.  Y aprovecho esta oportunidad para reiterar las palabras de los mayores superiores de Asia Pacífico, “a medida que buscamos un verdadero cambio de corazón, vamos a centrarnos en las necesidades de los pobres, que sufren más crudamente los efectos del cambio climático y la injusticia económica.  En la celebración de ellos cerca, sólo se acerca al Cristo pobre y humilde.
”

ZIKA

Zika disease is caused by the Zika virus, which is spread to people through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis. The symptoms lasts for a week. People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they rarely die of Zika. For this reason, many people might not realize they have been infected. However, this virus can cause a lot of problems when being pregnant, and one of the most important one is the microcephaly, as well as other fetal brain defects. After being infected, you are supposed to be protected from that illness in your future.

Transmission

As it is said before, it is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito, and the mosquito is an Aedes genus. This mosquito also transmits other illnesses such as the dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. Researchers are looking for more options of transmission: blood transmission, sex...

This disease appeared in the Pacific for the first time, in 2007 and it was spread to the Americas and Africa then. Nowadays, 64 countries and territories are suffering the effects of this mosquito.

Complications

       National health authorities reported potential neurological and autoimmune complications of the disease. New researches has strengthened the connection between Zika infection and fetal malformations and neurological complications.

Treatment

Although there is not a medicine to prevent the Zika, there are many ways to deal with the symptoms:

1. Rest and drink a lot of fluids.
2. Reducing the pain with medicine such as paracetamol.
3. Don't take anti-inflammatory drugs until dengue can be ruled out
4. Talk with doctors if you are taking other medicines apart from the one prescribed for the Zika.

Irati Irizar and Izarra Arredondo