Are we not environmentally irresponsible, with more than 5 million people, many from abroad, who traveled by air and road to view the recent total solar eclipse -- which was evident for a mere four minutes at the most, cloud cover not withstanding? What of the carbon footprint and climate impact of burning fossil fuels to experience this event? We would better focus on what we are doing to this planet we inhabit and are ruining.
According to the U.S. National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, the levels of heat-trapping gases reached historic highs in 2023. It was the hottest year in recorded history. Carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels; methane released from natural gas and oil industry leaks and intentional flaring, and from the warming of permafrost tundra, wetlands, landfills and livestock; and nitrous oxide from agricultural fertilizers, farm animal manure, burning fossil fuels and various industrial processes -- all contributed to these developments.
I hope that the millions who flew and mingled with others to witness the eclipse and the solar corona will not have caused a peak in the other corona -- the COVID-19 virus.
I have no intention to demean what for many was a spiritual experience but wish that this would carry over to illume all our relationships on planet Earth. We and all living beings are related and interdependent.
The energies of the sun pulse in cycles, and a so-called solar maximum will be coming around again. This leads to solar flares and eruptions. Ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from flares puff up our outer atmosphere, reaching Earth in less than nine minutes. This radiation increases drag on satellites and can also disturb the ionosphere, causing radio blackouts and leading to strong auroras. "Regional power blackouts could occur, satellites could sustain heavy damage, and oil pipelines could experience faster corrosion," said Dr. Mark Cheung, science director for space and astronomy at CSIRO.
There is also evidence that the Earth’s protective magnetosphere has a weak spot, which could mean harmful solar ultraviolet and high-energy photon radiation reaching us will intensify, affecting both climate and health.
Long-term Solar Observations (SILSO) at the Royal Observatory of Belgium indicate a solar maximum will occur between mid-2024 and the end of 2025. Those who are sensitive to electromagnetic fields, already being generated by our telecommunications systems and causing harm, may well feel the effects. Solar cycles may also affect our health and disease susceptibility. (See Davis G.E. Jr., Lowell W.E., Solar cycles and their relationship to human disease and adaptability. Med Hypotheses, 2006; 67(3):447-61.)
Sound science can give us the wisdom to know the difference between what we can change and what we cannot -- and to be prepared!
GOOD ENFORCEMENT OF RESPONSIBLE CAT CARE
The city council of Waconia, Minnesota, has updated an ordinance that requires cat owners to keep their pets on their property with a fence or leash and to clean up their waste in parks and other neighbors’ yards; and owned cats must have ID tags or microchip IDs.
Alley Cat Allies, the Maryland-based nonprofit, opposed this and pushed for trap-neuter-return operations if there is community concern about growing outdoor cat numbers, asserting that “Cats cannot be slapdash inserted into laws tailored to dog-related concerns.” (Reported in the Star Tribune, April 3, 2024.)
I wish all city councils across the U.S. would adopt this Waconia City Council statute.
According to one recent review, 2,084 species have been documented to be consumed by outdoor cats, including 9% of all birds and 6% of all mammals in the world, nearly 17% recognized as being of conservation concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Cats are consuming the broadest array of species of any predator known, including a diverse range of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects of all sizes and abundances. (See Lepczyk, C.A., et al., A global synthesis and assessment of free-ranging domestic cat diet. Nat Commun 14, 7809 (2023).) To compound the issue, their research suggests that more species are likely to have been consumed than have been documented so far, implying that the actual number of species consumed by cats is significantly larger.
(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.
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