Talking Climate Change with Yash Negi

Silent Forests, Empty Skies: Wildlife in the Age of Climate Crisis

• Yash Negi • Season 2 • Episode 3

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Can our planet's most threatened ecosystems survive the growing impacts of climate change? Join me, Yash Negy, as we explore the sobering reality of our world's most vulnerable environments. From the shrinking ice habitats in the Arctic affecting polar bears to the dying coral reefs in the tropics, and from the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest to the plight of high-altitude species like the pika, we weave through the interconnectedness of these ecosystems. This episode paints a vivid picture of the challenges that our natural world faces and emphasizes the urgent need for collective action to safeguard these precious habitats.

But there's hope on the horizon. We also spotlight incredible stories of resilience and innovation, like the ambitious reforestation efforts in China's Loess Plateau and the creation of vital wildlife corridors in North America through the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. In the face of adversity, nature and human ingenuity are showing us the way forward. Learn about groundbreaking techniques like coral gardening and discover how individual actions can significantly contribute to conservation efforts. Be inspired by our capacity for change and understand the pivotal role each of us plays in shaping a sustainable future for all life on Earth.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome listeners, to Talking Climate Change with Yashnagy. I am your host, yashnagy, and today we are embarking on a journey, a journey that will take us from the icy poles to steaming jungles, from mountain peaks to ocean depths. But this isn't a travel log. It is a wake-up call, a story of struggle and survival in a rapidly changing world. Close your eyes for a moment. Imagine a lush forest teeming with life. Birds call from the canopy, insects hum in the undergrowth, a deer steeps delicately through a sun-dappled clearing. Now imagine that forest falling silent, its inhabitants vanishing one by one. This is a story I am about to tell inhabitants vanishing one by one. This is the story I am about to tell the story of Earth's wildlife in the age of climate change. As we travel the globe together, we will witness the challenges faced by animals in a warming world. We will see species pushed to the brink and ecosystems unraveling, but we will also find hope in the resilience of nature and the efforts of those fighting to preserve it. So let's begin our journey into a world in flux, where the very fabric of life is being rewoven before our eyes. Fabric of life is being rewoven before our eyes. Our journey begins in the far north, in the realm of ice and snow, picture a vast expanse of white broken only by the deep blue of the Arctic Ocean. This is a kingdom of the polar bear, the arctic fox, the walrus. But this kingdom is melting. Imagine you are a polar bear. For millennia, your ancestors have thrown these icy wastes hunting seals from the sea ice wastes, hunting seals from the sea ice. But now, as temperature rises, that ice is disappearing. Each summer it retreats further and further, forcing you to swim longer distances in search of food. The frozen hunting platform you depend on is literally melting beneath your paws. In the water below, arctic cod, the lynchpin of the food web, are struggling. The icy waters they prefer are warming, pushing them northward as they go. So too go the seals, the, the whales, the seabirds that depend on them. On land, the tundra itself is changing as temperature rise. Trees and shrubs creep northward. For some, like moose and snowshoe hares, this new growth is a boon, but for others, like caribou, whose migrations depend on open tundra, it is a complete disaster. This is a land influx, its inhabitants scrambling to adapt to changes happening faster than evaluation can keep pace.

Speaker 1:

Now let's dive beneath the waves and journey to the tropics here in warm, crystal clear waters we find one of the Earth's most spectacular ecosystems coral reefs. Imagine you are hovering above a healthy reef. It is an explosion of color and life. Fish of every who dart among intricate coral structures. Crabs and shrimp scuttle in crevices. Sea turtles glide gracefully overhead.

Speaker 1:

But the oceans are warming and corals are sensitive creatures. When water temperature rises too high, corals expel the colorful algae that live in their tissues and provide them with food. The corals turn white, meaning they are bleached. Alright, alright. Picture that same reef after a bleaching event. The riot of color is gone, replaced by ghostly white skeleton. The fish have vanished their shelter and food source is gone. It is like a bustling city turned to a ghost town overnight. But it is not just the heat. As oceans absorb more carbon dioxide, they become more acidic. This makes it harder for corals and other marine creatures to build their protective shells and skeletons. It is as if the very water they live in is turning against them.

Speaker 1:

These changes ripple out far beyond the reefs. Millions of people depend on healthy reefs for food and livelihoods. As the reefs suffer, so too do they. Let's leave the oceans and head inland to the great tropical rainforests. These are Earth's lungs, home to an incredible diversity of life, but they too are under threat. Again, I want you to close your eyes. Just close your eyes and picture yourself in the Amazon rainforest. The air is thick with humidity, alive with the calls of birds and monkeys, but listen closely. Do you hear the sound of chainsaws in the distance?

Speaker 1:

Deforestation, often to clear land for agriculture, is fragmenting these great forests. For many animals, this is a death sentence. Imagine you are a jaguar needing vast territories to roam and hunt. As the forest is carved into smaller and smaller patches, your world shrinks. You're forced into conflict with humans as you search for food. But it is not just the loss of trees. Climate change is altering rainfall patterns, making some areas drier. In the Amazon, this could lead to a tipping point where the rainforest transforms into savannah. Imagine the cacophony of the rainforest replaced by the quiet of grasslands. Millions of species, many unknown to science, could be lost.

Speaker 1:

For some animals, the only option is to move. We are seeing species shift their ranges up slope or towards the poles, seeking cooler temperatures. But you know what? What happens when there is nowhere left to go? When there is nowhere left to go Now, let's ascend to the mountains.

Speaker 1:

These are the islands of habitat home to unique species adopted to life at high altitudes. But as temperature warms, these islands are also shrinking. Now picture yourself on a mountainside. As you climb, you pass through distinct zones of plant and animal life, but as the climate warms, these zones are shifting upward. For the creatures at the top, there is nowhere left to go. Imagine you are a Pika, a small rabbit like mammal that lives in rocky mountains habitats. You are adapted to cold temperatures. In fact, you can die if exposed to temperature above 78 degree Fahrenheit for just a few hours. As temperatures rise, you are forced to move higher and higher up the mountain, but mountains have tops and eventually there is nowhere left to climb.

Speaker 1:

It is not just animals feeling the squeeze. Plants too, are on the move. In the Alps, scientists have observed plants creeping upslope at a rate of about four meters per decade. But it is not as simple as everything just moving up. Different species move at different rates, disrupting the delicate ecological communities that have evolved over millennia. These changes cascade through the ecosystem. As plant communities shift, so too do the insects that depend on them and the birds and mammals that eat those insects. It's a complex dance, and climate change is changing the tune as we descend from the mountains.

Speaker 1:

Let's consider another aspect of climate change its effect on the timing of natural events. Nature operates on a delicate schedule and that schedule is being disrupted. Imagine a temperate forest in spring the trees are budding, flowers are blooming and birds are returning from their winter migrations. But what happens when these events fall out of sync? Picture a songbird that times its spring migration to coincide with the emergence of caterpillars, its primary food source. But as spring becomes warmer, the caterpillars are emerging earlier. By the time the birds arrive, their food sources has peaked and declined. The birds go hungry and their chicks may starve or consider hibernating animals like bears. Warmer winters can disrupt their sleep cycles, causing them to emerge too early, before food is available. It is like waking up for a feast only to find the table bear.

Speaker 1:

In the oceans. Warming waters are causing plankton blooms to occur earlier, but the fish and whales that feed on these blooms aren't always able to adjust their behaviors in time. The result is a mismatch between predators and prey, with ripple effects throughout the food web. These shifts in timing are subtle but profound. They are pulling apart relationships between species that have evolved over millions of years like an ecological game of Jenga, where crucial pieces are being removed one by one.

Speaker 1:

Despite the challenges we have witnessed on our journey, there are seeds of hope taking root. Nature, after all, is resilient and humans can be a force for positive change when we put our minds to it. Imagine vast swaths of degraded land being restored to their natural state. This is happening in places like Luis Plato in China, where a massive reforestation effort has transformed a barren landscape into a green oasis. Wildlife corridors spanning entire continents, allowing animals to move freely as climate shifts. The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative is working to create just such a corridor in North America. Envision coral reefs being restored through innovative techniques like coral gardening, where heat tolerant corals are cultivated and transplanted to degraded reefs. And imagine millions of people around the world making small changes in their dairy lives, reducing their carbon footprint, supporting conservation efforts and demanding action from their leaders, supporting conservation efforts and demanding action from their leaders. These are not just fantasies. They are real initiatives happening right now, beacons of hope in a challenging time.

Speaker 1:

As I conclude our journey, I invite you to open your eyes. The world we have explored, a world of melting ice, bleaching reefs, shifting forests and disrupted rhythms, is not some distant future. It is happening now, all around us. But remember those seeds of hope. While the challenges are great, so too is our capacity for innovation and change. Every action we take, every choice we make, shapes the world we leave for our future generation, not just of humans, but of all the incredible, diverse life with which we share the planet. The story of Earth's wildlife in the age of climate change is still being written. What role will you play in shaping its next chapter? This is Yashnaygi, your host, reminding you that in the great web of life, we are all connected. The faith of polar bear, the corapolite, the jaguar, the picker it's our faith too. Until next time, stay curious, stay engaged. Remember the future of life on earth is in our hands.