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Two merchant ships are on course to complete a shortcut over the top of the world which could cut the price of British imports from China, Japan and Korea. As a result of global warming the ice which once prevented ships from using this route is now melting and it is expected that the Northeast Passage will be opened with ease. It has been approximately 500 years since the British explorer Hugh Willoughby and his crew died when their ship was crushed by the ice in 1553. In the last 20 years Russia has made repeated attempts to get their ships through. If the Northeast Passage was re-opened it would mean vast savings in fuel and time.

Most us have never come face to face with a polar bear, but it is a very sad to think that in less than 100 years the future generation may only know about their existence from books and videos. As a result of Global warming this is another species whos existence is being threatened. In seventy years they may be all extinct.

Due to the increased temperatures it means that the polar bears natural habitat is melting, causing numbers to drop dramatically. I think it is so unfair that these beautiful creatures are suffering as a direct result of something we have caused. Moving forwards we should be doing all we can to try and preserve this species so they can be appreciated by many for years to come.

The Artic Summers are getting hotter and hotter as a result of Global Warming. Its summers have been the hottest for 2000 years as it warms up even though the Earth is further away from the sun throughout the summer months of the year. It has become warmer due to the increased levels of greenhouse gases within the atmosphere. This has interrupted a millennia- long cycle of temperatures cooling naturally within the Artic. Global warming has become a high priority across the globe for some time now. More people are beginning to realise we have harmed the environment and it is important to take steps as soon as possible to try and avoid any further damage taking place. Other wise temperatures not only within the Artic will continue to rise.

Anyone fancy fish and chips? Well you better hurry! Apparently as a result of climate change a report by marine scientists warn that Cod is in danger of disappearing entirely from the North Sea. Changes in the quantity of plankton, which cod larvae feed on caused by Global warming have led to a decline in current cod stocks from the North Sea. Over the past forty years the average temperature within these waters has increased by 1C. It doesn’t sound a lot, but it has been enough to force the various species of plankton to move to cooler waters.
According to the authors of the study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences journal, it is likely that not even a ban on fishing can save the existing stock. It is such a shame that in the future people will not be able to experience what proper fish and chips used to taste like, so make the most of it whilst you can still buy it!

I love my phone, and could not live without it. Well, I obviously could, but I do not want to!

However, when I started thinking about the environmental impact that these 11.3 x 5.5 x 13.7 cm devices have, it is quite amazing. A mobile phone itself will get hot, and emit small amounts of heat. But then there are the chargers for them, and the accessories…

But more importantly, there are the telecom switches, the huge antenna, the satellites, and the air-conditioning to keep the places cool, and on top of this there ia the various other communications equipment that is needed to get it all going. PLUS the buildings and offices for the army of engineers and support staff that keep the mobile networks going!

The impact could be massive! And China alone has close to half a BILLION mobile callers – that’s a lot of heat!

I’ve been thinking about crop circles recently; I’m not sure if there are more of them happening, or if thet are just being reported upon more. Either way, I find them fascinating.

I’m not convinced people are not responsible for them, but at the same time I find it hard to believe something so intricate and large-scale can be the work of natural phenomena either. But they’re still pretty!

I was wondering that with temperatures rising, and crops suffering, would this mean we see less of the circles (and other assorted shapes that are cropping up!)? Or would we see more? Are floppy crops better to make circles? Or would Sully and his human friend Boo struggle to draw pretty pictures?

Thoughts on a postcard please!

With rising temperatures around the world, most people look to allieviate their own “sufferings” (increase in cost for more frequent use of the home air-conditioning, produce spoiling, greater emphasis on recycling, etc), but most people wouldn’t consider man’s best friend!

With warmer weather, various parasites (such as ticks, fleas, sand flies, stable flies and mosquitoes) are on the rise. And each of these creepy crawlies are capable of transmitting dangerous pathogens.

Dr. Xavier Roura, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain, says that

Pet owners need to understand the severity of diseases such as leishmaniosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, hepatozoonosis and Lyme disease

because the ramifications are quite serious.

So, check for bugs on your pets and make sue you get them treated – we don’t want these things getting out of hand!

Spiders are not many peoples favourite critter, and most people would be happy to see them squashed and gone. However, the mild winters that the UK are experiencing may be keeping the numbers up!

According to Stuart Hine, an insect expert at the Natural History Museum, the numbers of the false black widow spider (official name is steatoda nobilis) are on the rise because of these warm winters. Since their arrival to UK shores over 200 years again in fruit crates, the numbers of these 8 legged beasties have been kept down by the cold weather – few could survive the cold, and so died off.

But the warmer winters are now resulting in more and more surviving – not a happy thought!

A lot of us are disappointed with the weather this summer. Apart from a few sunny days in June we are now left with grey cloudy days and lengthy downpours. For this reason many people may take the latest statement by the Environment Secretary Hilary Ben as good news. He stated that

by 2080, London will be between 2C and 6C hotter than it is now

. This hotter weather however will result in extremes with greater flooding in the winter and drought in the summer.

If these statements are true then measures need to be put into place so that we can plan for the future.

Most of us would agree that we need to stop polluting our planet as in the long run everybody suffers; Crops stop growing and clean water becomes scarce. The solutions in trying to clean the planet up cost millions if not billions of pounds but it is often the case that it is big corporations drive for wealth that have caused the massive environmental problems that we are facing today, and many of them are still unwilling to cut back on the amount of pollution they omit on a daily basis.

Some worrying statistics from the World Health Organisation state that around 4.6 million people are killed every year across the world due to air pollution and that 80% of deaths in developing countries are a direct result of diseases carried in the water supply.

What will it take for us all to make a change? Governments can put policies in place, but it will take a conscious effort from us all to start looking after the planet that we live on.