#Global warming climate change Australia

[reasonsforhope]

"As solar panels heat up beyond 25°C, their efficiency decreases markedly. Green roofs moderate rooftop temperatures. So we wanted to find out: could green roofs help with the problem of heat reducing the output of solar panels?

Our research compared a “biosolar” green roof — one that combines a solar system with a green roof — and a comparable conventional roof with an equivalent solar system. We measured the impacts on biodiversity and solar output, as well as how the plants coped with having panels installed above them.

The green roof supported much more biodiversity, as one might expect. By reducing average maximum temperatures by about 8°C, it increased solar generation by as much as 107% during peak periods. And while some plant species outperformed others, the vegetation flourished.

These results show we don’t have to choose between a green roof or a solar roof: we can combine the two and reap double the rewards...

How did the panels affect the plants?

In the open areas, we observed minimal changes in the vegetation cover over the study period compared to the initial planted community.

Plant growth was fastest and healthiest in the areas immediately around the solar panels. Several species doubled in coverage. We selected fast-growing vegetation for this section to achieve full coverage of the green roof beds as soon as possible.

The vegetation changed the most in the areas directly below and surrounding the solar panels. The Baby Sun Rose, Aptenia cordifolia, emerged as the dominant plant. It occupied most of the space beneath and surrounding the solar panels, despite having been planted in relatively low densities.

This was surprising: it was not expected the plants would prefer the shaded areas under the panels to the open areas. This shows that shading by solar panels will not prevent the growth of full and healthy roof gardens.

What were the biodiversity impacts?

We used environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys to compare biodiversity on the green roof and conventional roof. Water run-off samples were collected from both roofs and processed on site using portable citizen scientist eDNA sampling equipment to detect traces of DNA shed by the species on the roof.

The eDNA surveys detected a diverse range of species. These included some species (such as algae and fungi) that are not easily detected using other survey methods. The results confirmed the presence of bird species recorded by the cameras but also showed other visiting bird species went undetected by the cameras.

Overall, the green roof supported four times as many species of birds, over seven times as many arthropods such as insects, spiders and millipedes, and twice as many snail and slug species as the conventional roof. There was many times the diversity of microorganisms such as algae and fungi.

Encouragingly, the green roof attracted species unexpected in the city. They included blue-banded bees (Amegilla cingulata) and metallic shield bugs (Scutiphora pedicellata).

How did the green roof alter temperatures?

The green roof reduced surface temperatures by up to 9.63°C for the solar panels and 6.93°C for the roof surfaces. An 8°C reduction in average peak temperature on the green roof would result in substantial heating and cooling energy savings inside the building.

This lowering of temperatures increased the maximum output of the solar panels by 21-107%, depending on the month. Performance modelling indicates an extensive green roof in central Sydney can, on average, produce 4.5% more electricity at any given light level.

These results show we don’t have to choose between a green roof or a solar roof. We can combine them to take advantage of the many benefits of biosolar green roofs.

Biosolar roofs can help get cities to net zero

The next step is to design green roofs and their plantings specifically to enhance biodiversity. Green roofs and other green infrastructure may alter urban wildlife’s activities and could eventually attract non-urban species.

Our green roof also decreased stormwater runoff, removed a range of run-off pollutants and insulated the building from extremes of temperature. A relatively inexpensive system provides all of these services with moderate maintenance and, best of all, zero energy inputs.

Clearly, biosolar green roofs could make major contributions to net-zero cities. And all that’s needed is space that currently has no other use."

-via GoodGoodGood, May 12, 2024

[nando161mando]

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - May 15-21

Like these weekly compilations? Support me on Ko-fi! Also, if you tip me on Ko-fi, at the end of the month I'll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn't use each week - almost double the content!

1. Translocation of 2,000 rhinos in Africa gets underway in “one of the most audacious conservation efforts of modern times”

“The 2,000 rhinos - more than are currently found in any single wild location in Africa - represent around 12-15% of the continent’s remaining white rhino population. […] “Rhinos perform an important ecological function in the environment as a large grazing herbivore,” says Dale Wepener[….] “The protection of rhino is far more than just looking after rhino; other species that occur in the protected areas will benefit from the protection,” explains Jooste. “This will lead to an increase in diversity and result in much healthier ecosystems.”

2. Florida Corridor Buffers Effects of Climate Change on Wildlife — And People

“A massive multi-partner effort that has conserved 10 million acres for wildlife in Florida over past decades will help buffer wildlife—and people—from the effects of climate change, a new report says. […] Protecting these corridors is important for wildlife genetics, demography and connectivity […], conducting prescribed fires in the corridor can reduce the risk of more intense wildfires [… and] they can provide buffers against hurricanes and seasonal thunderstorms.”

3. Global life expectancy to increase by nearly 5 years by 2050 despite geopolitical, metabolic, and environmental threats

“Increases are expected to be largest in countries where life expectancy is lower, contributing to a convergence of increased life expectancy across geographies. The trend is largely driven by public health measures that have prevented and improved survival rates from cardiovascular diseases, COVID-19, and a range of communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNs).”

4. Valencia has Spain’s longest urban park

“Jardin del Turia (Turia Garden) is the green spine of the City of Valencia and Spain’s (and possibly Europe’s) longest urban park stretching for a length of 8.5 kilometres [… and] the current administration plans to make Jardin del Turia Europe’s largest city green space by extending it to the sea[….] Almost all Valencia residents (97 per cent) live within 300 metres of an urban green space. […] Jardin del Turia is a true urban oasis that provides exceptional thermal comfort, with a temperature difference of up to three degrees compared to other areas of the city.”

5. This Paint Could Clean Both Itself and the Air

“When an artificial ultraviolet light source shines on [photocatalytic] paint, the nanoparticles react with pollutants to make them break down—theoretically removing them from the nearby air and preventing a discoloring buildup. [… R]esearchers developed a new photocatalytic paint that they claim works using UV rays from ordinary sunlight, making its self-cleaning properties easier to activate. They’ve also shown that they can effectively produce this paint from recycled materials [including fallen leaves].”

6. Planting Seedlings for a Cooler Rockingham

“A dedicated group of volunteers recently planted over a thousand native seedlings in Lewington Reserve [… and] re-established canopy cover to areas of the reserve to create cooling shade for the local community and provide homes for native wildlife. […] Planting lots of trees and shrubs in urban areas can help create shade and cool cities, mitigating the impacts of climate change, contributing to biodiversity conservation and building greener, more resilient communities.”

7. Sydney’s first dedicated affordable housing for trans women designed to deliver ‘positive outcomes’

“Community housing provider and charity Common Equity NSW, […] which is for people on very low to moderate incomes, prides itself on creating inclusive living and promotes the independence and well-being of people and communities […, and] will deliver the first-of-its-kind social housing in a bid to provide a safe place to live for transgender women seeking an affordable home.”

8. Rewilding: How a herd of bison reintroduced to Romania is helping ‘supercharge’ carbon removal

“170 European Bison reintroduced to Romania’s Țarcu mountains could help capture and store the carbon released by up to 84,000 average US petrol cars each year. […] By grazing a 48 square kilometre area of grassland in a wider landscape of 300 kilometres squared, they helped to capture an additional 54,000 tonnes of carbon each year. That is around 10 times the amount that would be captured by the ecosystem without the bison.”

9. World’s biggest grids could be powered by renewables, with little or no storage

“[…] 100% renewable supply can then match the load by putting surplus electricity into two kinds of distributed storage worth that [an energy expert] says are worth buying anyway – ice-storage air-conditioning and smart bidirectional charging of electric cars, and recover that energy when needed, filling the last gaps with unobtrusively flexible demand.”

10. Supporting the Long-Term Survival of Copper River Salmon and Alaska Native Traditions

“With $4.3 million in NOAA funds, the Copper River Watershed Project and The Eyak Corporation will remove fish passage barriers, opening more streams for salmon spawning and subsistence fishing. [… As part of this effort, o]ld narrow culverts that constrict water flow will be replaced with “stream simulation” culverts wide enough to fit the full stream, including its banks. They are also deep to allow contractors to place stones and other material inside to mimic a natural stream bottom.”

May 8-14 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[you-need-not-apply]

Just in case you aren’t all aware. This isn’t fucking normal. This doesn’t happen. This is climate change causing extreme weather events to happen more frequently and with more power.

Be aware and stay safe. Do what you can to help!

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Habitat destruction is the leading cause of species endangerment and extinction. It can take decades, if not centuries, for a habitat to return to a point where it supports a given species' needs. Normally in nature there are enough other areas of habitat to keep species going while the damaged place recovers. However, we've wrought so much extensive destruction on ecosystems worldwide--whether directly, or through the effects of climate change and pollution--that many wild beings are forced into tiny pockets of their former range, making them vulnerable to extinction.

Anything we can do to provide appropriate habitat gives a threatened species a chance to hang on. It requires knowing what that being needs, and coming up with creative solutions. In this case, understanding what conditions the greater glider requires to thrive helped scientists create artificial shelters for them in the wake of devastating wildfires that destroyed a third of their habitat.

We're a long way from undoing the ecological harm we've done, and there's a lot of work to do. But every species we can protect from extinction is one more piece of the ecosystems we need to help recover. Ideally the forests that the gliders need will once again be widespread in the future, but for now these boxes will help keep the population going until conditions improve.

[hope-for-the-planet]

“This is a monumental win for forests, for wildlife, for climate, and for the hard-working people who have spent countless hours surveying for endangered species, preparing evidence for court cases, lobbying, and campaigning. Some have been fighting for this for over three decades.”

 (Chris Schuringa, Victorian Forest Alliance)

[what-shitfuckery-is-this-ew]

its the middle of winter why are there bushfires

[lilyflowers69]

My whole body started sweating the second i went out of my airconned room in australia, I hate global warming or whatever caused this.

[bumblebeeappletree]

All over the world policy makers and communities are planning for a climate change-impacted future, figuring out what needs to happen to make sure we have our needs met, and cities with healthy green spaces are a very strong need.

Clare Hart is the manager of Horticulture at the Melbourne botanic gardens and one of the people ensuring the collections adapt fast enough to survive into the future. She says, predicting future climates “depends on what we do in mitigation works”. If Melbourne experiences an increase in temperature “maybe one, two or three degrees warmer. We’re looking at something like modern day Dubbo.”

Long-term planning is a hallmark of a good public garden but in a rapidly changing climate, it might look different to what it would have been ten to twenty years ago. During the millennium drought of 1997 to 2009, Melbourne Botanic Gardens made major changes to their water management plan and saved about 40% of their potable water use. A climate risk assessment report was commissioned by the gardens with the University of Melbourne to understand what was happening in the living collections.

Part of the report includes a graph depicting all the plants in the botanic gardens, colour-coded for plants most at risk. The data reveals that most of the plants growing today would struggle in the future. Clare says the gardens are already transitioning a lot of their species. “We will still have oaks and eucalypts, our beautiful fig trees and palms as well. What we’re essentially doing is changing now, in order to stay the same.” Clare draws our attention to cool climate oak that was lost in 2019 that has been replaced with climate suited plants for 2070 and 2090.

The Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria created a climate alliance so that botanic gardens all over the world can help each other and solve these problems together. Clianthus puniceus ‘Albus’, also known as Kaka Beak, is an important plant in their collection, gifted to the gardens by New Zealand to grow here in warmer conditions to their own. It’s a way for New Zealand to test how it grows in a warmer climate, and luckily it is flourishing and reproducing.

Not all sections of the garden will be impacted equally. Amy Downie is the curator of what's known as the ‘grey garden’, a diverse group of plantings on one of the gardens’ hottest, most exposed sites. “From cactus to palms, they all have in common their grey foliage. The great thing about grey foliage plants is they can survive in hot harsh conditions with not a lot of water.” Some plants may have fine hairs on their leaves, or powdery waxy coating to help reflect the sun and retain water, such as Eucalyptus macrocarpa. Additionally, Bizmarck Palm and Engelmann Oak have been sourced from other climate zones and Amy says, “we are hoping that some of the plants we’ve recently planted will eventually grow up to be the feature.”

A Eucalyptus grandis specimen from southern Queensland was planted here when Amy was in her apprentice year. It’s already on its way to providing shade for the garden, with projections for it to last for hundreds of years. Amy says that projecting this far into the future, into a time when she won’t be around to see the outcome “feels really good. We know climate change can be a scary thing to face, so seeing the positives that we’re doing here with our landscape succession plan and knowing that we’re going to plant trees that will be here for the next generation, fills you with a bit of empowerment and makes the future feel a little brighter.”

Clare says, “it’s about the legacy we leave is there for my family, for your family, for future generations to enjoy, not only to see the plants we see today, but to immerse themselves amongst the canopy of the trees. That’s what I want to see for the future.”

Featured Plants:

KAKA BEAK - Clianthus puniceus ‘Albus’

MOTTLECAH - Eucalyptus macrocarpa

BISMARCK PALM - Bismarckia nobilis

ENGELMANN OAK - Quercus engelmannii

FLOODED GUM - Eucalyptus grandis

[vox-anglosphere]

Australia-heat-wave

[beta-lactam-allergic]

Australia to offer residency to Tuvalu citizens displaced by climate change

This should've been done over a decade ago. But before Albanese government we had a government that refused to do anything about global warming in the form of the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison government. Before them was the timid Rudd/Gillard government. Before that was the outright climate denialist Howard government.

Make no mistake this is a bare minimum. Australia should offer refuge to all citizens of the Pacific Island nations & to the Maldives. They are sinking beneath the waves too.

The fact is that this is largely our nations fault (yeah, I'm from Australia). We were the ones who mined the coal & natural gas. The amount we burnt onshore was more than all the Pacific Islander nations combined. Much more was burnt offshore & isn't in our official tally, even though it couldn't be burnt without our mining. We have a duty at bare minimum to save these people from the consequences of our actions, because its mostly our actions that have doomed their lands, not their own.

I doubt this will happen. Albanese made this deal more out of a desire to contain China than out of a desire to make amends for rising sea levels. The people of Tuvalu benefit yes, but it's more a side-effect of that goal of containing China. I'm not saying we shouldn't contain China, we should, not enough to spark war, but enough to get them to back off from Taiwan. I'm saying that letting people leave their sinking lands to get residency here shouldn't be tied into that containment. At least it's something.

[nando161mando]

Being Alarmed.

[sunlightthroughtrees1]

This photo is from @theclimatecouncil on Instagram

WE NEED TO STOP COAL, OIL AND GAS

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Global warming will raise crop yields in cold, rich countries such as Russia and Canada, but will have the opposite effect in that the U.S. National Intelligence Council calls an "arc of instability" stretching from Africa through Asia (Figure 12.2).

Figure 12.2. The big thirst: the National Intelligence Council's "arc of instability" (stretching from Africa through Asia), plotted against regions likely to face water shortages by 2025. The darkest-shaded areas will face "physical scarcity," defined as having more than 75 percent of their water allocated to agriculture, industry, and/or domestic use. Medium-dark areas will be "approaching physical scarcity," with 60 percent of their water taken up by these purposes, and the lightest areas will face "economic scarcity," with more than 25 percent of their water committed. Rich countries such as the United States, Australia, and China can pipe water from wet areas to dry; poor ones cannot.

"Why the West Rules – For Now: The patterns of history and what they reveal about the future" - Ian Morris

[kinialohaguy]

The Living Reef

Aloha kākou and Happy Aloha Friday. The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is a wonderful place to visit. If you can make it part of your bucket list, then I highly recommend visiting. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. I had the opportunity to visit Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. The Living Reef was the highlight of my visit. I landed in Sidney and traveled up to through the Gold Coast to…