Koalas Threatened with AIDS-like Epidemic: Extinction Looms
Written by Rhishja Larson

Wildlife experts fear that the spread of an AIDS-like virus could force already threatened koalas into extinction.

Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations are in serious decline – victims of habitat loss, domestic dog predation, vehicular deaths, and bushfires.

Sadly, a new and deadly danger is facing the iconic koala: The koala retrovirus.

The spread of the koala retrovirus is having a catastrophic effect on the species.

According to a recent Scientific American article, director of research and ecological services at the Australian Wildlife Hospital, Jon Hanger, says that the retrovirus is already forcing smaller populations of koalas into extinction.

After its discovery in 2000, Dr. Hanger was the first person to genetically sequence the koala retrovirus – and he warns it is as serious as the deadly devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) which is decimating Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) populations, and threatening the species with extinction.

An alarming number of fatal medical issues have been linked to the koala retrovirus, as it infects and alters the DNA:

*Leukemia
*Bone marrow failure
*AIDS-like immune deficiencies

In addition the retrovirus, chlamydiosis is a threat to Australia’s koalas. It is estimated that up to 50 percent of the species are infected with the disease. Combined with the retrovirus – which compromises the immune system -chlamydiosis is likely to be a death sentence for its victims. World-famous Sam was euthanized earlier this year as a result of irreparable damage to her urinary and reproductive tracts, caused by chlamydia.

The Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) warns that there are fewer than 100,000 koalas left in the wild.

The Australian Koala Foundation’s (AKF) research indicates that the koala is in trouble and that extinctions of local populations have already occurred. In contrast to the millions of koalas which were thought to be present at the time of European settlement, the AKF believes that there could be less than 100,000 remaining today. If this rate of decline continues … the koala is at risk of extinction.

To learn how you can help protect koalas from the deadly koala retrovirus, please visit Wildlife Warriors Worldwide.

Rebecca
Country Meadow Ltd.
Eco-Friendly Shea Butter Spa Products

www.countrymeadowltd.com

Global Collapse, Human Survival & the Planet’s Boundaries
Written by Zachary Shahan

A new study by nearly 30 of the world’s best scientists concludes that we have crossed three of the world’s nine thresholds. It is not only about climate change.

Global Environmental Collapse
Scientists from the US, Europe, and Australia identified nine planetary thresholds that, if crossed, could mean the world will crash. This is more than your computer crashing, though. This is about total environmental collapse.

The lead author, Johan Rockström, director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University, says: “Human pressure on the Earth system has reached a scale where abrupt global environmental change can no longer be excluded. To continue to live and operate safely, humanity has to stay away from critical ‘hard-wired’ thresholds in Earth’s environment, and respect the nature of planet’s climatic, geophysical, atmospheric and ecological processes.”

If we do not respect the Earth’s limits, the authors say that we will bring about environmental changes comparable or greater than the greatest natural forces in the world.

The Anthropocene Age
Scientists have already named this the “Anthropocene” age, the time since the industrial revolution when humans have become the main actors influencing global environmental change.

The environment is not a thing out in the wild that we can visit. The environment is something we live in and use. We drink water, we eat the Earth’s food, we breathe its air, to live. We are a part of the environment. We are changing it to such a degree now, however, it is likely to look completely different in the future, perhaps not even livable for us if we do not change in new ways.

The Planet’s Limits
The scientists identified nine planetary boundaries — concerning climate change, stratospheric ozone, land use change, freshwater use, biological diversity, ocean acidification, nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to the biosphere and oceans, aerosol loading and chemical pollution.

The three boundaries believed to have been crossed already are climate change, biological diversity and nitrogen input to the biosphere.

Co-author, Diana Liverman, professor of environmental science and senior fellow of Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, and professor of geography and development at the University of Arizona, says: “Three of the boundaries we identify – 350 parts per million of atmospheric carbon dioxide, biodiversity extinction rates more than 10 times the background rate, and no more than 35 million tons of nitrogen pollution per year – have already been exceeded with fossil fuel use, land use change, and agricultural pollution, driving us to unsustainable levels that are producing real risks to our survival.”

Species Loss
In the case of biological diversity (or species loss), the scientists found that the global limit is 10 extinctions per million species per year and the rate today is more than 100 extinctions per million species per year. Before the industrial revolution, the value was between 0.1 and 1 extinction per million species per year. This is a great change, and not something that we can undo.

The situation in the other areas can be comparable if we do not act in a more sustainable way today and in the future.

Hope
The world lives on hope. The authors say that we are not doomed yet. Rockström states: “Transgressing planetary boundaries may be devastating for humanity, but if we respect them we have a bright future for centuries ahead.”

Co-author Sander van der Leeuw, director of the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University, says: “On a finite planet, at some point, we will tip the vital resources we rely upon into irreversible decline if our consumption is not balanced with regenerative and sustainable activity.” We must find a sustainable balance in everything. We must change our systems to produce what we take. Otherwise, the planet has its limits.

Will we listen to the call of these leading world scientists? Can we use hope and human intelligence to “pave” a brighter future for us all? This is the question we all must ask ourselves, as we all must be actors in this change.

Rebecca
Country Meadow Ltd.
Eco-Friendly Shea Butter Spa Products

www.countrymeadowltd.com