Veganuary

You might have heard of Stoptober and Dry January, which are well known schemes to promote a healthier lifestyle for a month by quitting smoking and giving up alcohol respectively. This week I was introduced to the equally catchy scheme, Veganuary.

Yes you've guessed it, Veganuary promotes becoming vegan for the month of January and I've already made my pledge. 

Before you start to wonder what on Earth me giving up animal products for a month has to do with Man vs Earth, after spending a whole term blogging about the harmful impacts humans have had on our planet, it is probably time I do something to try and help. 

It seems pretty unusual to some people, but I was brought up as a vegetarian because neither of my parents eat meat. Although I would like to think I never strayed from being a vegetarian due to environmental and ethical motivations, it is probably due to habit that I have never bothered to eat meat. Going vegan is a way I can challenge myself a little further and try to reduce my direct influence on the environment.

Although the primary aims of Veganuary are to reduce suffering of animals and try out a healthier diet, the knock on effects of adopting the lifestyle could decrease your impact on the environment more than giving up flying or driving.

Let's look at the facts:

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) found in January 2014 that 14.5% of global greenhouse emissions come from livestock production. This leads on to research done at Cornell University which shows that it takes 40 calories of fossil fuel energy to create 1 calorie of food energy from beef, in comparison to the 2.2 calories it takes in fossil fuels to produce 1 calorie of food energy from edible grains. It is clearly more sustainable to switch meat for plant produce. A vegan diet could more than half your greenhouse gas emissions.

Furthermore, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) approximately 30% of biodiversity loss is due to livestock farming. It has been estimated by Rainforest Concern that 200 square metres of forest is destroyed to produce every 1lb of beef. As we have seen, we could be heading towards a 6th global mass extinction, but cutting out animal products will help to prevent this.

The way I see it, veganism tackles the biggest problems the globe is facing. Firstly, cutting out animal products from human diet can aid food security by leaving us with more grain for humans than for livestock. Secondly, producing less meat and dairy reduces emissions and in turn can counter climate change. Finally, losses of biodiversity can be prevented if there is less habitat destroyed for farm land. So while you are all enjoying your Christmas dinners, gorging on turkey and pigs in blankets (or nut roast in my case), please consider giving up one month of meat and dairy to test out the vegan diet and do your bit to reduce environmental damage.

Merry Christmas and wish me luck in the new year!

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Go to way of the dodo

This week my friends and I have done what I'm sure every group of twenty-somethings do regularly - we went on trips to two different zoos. It doesn't help our case that neither trip involved taking children for a day out, but when you are interested in conservation, who needs an excuse? 

Although I managed to see my first elephants and white rhinos, which were both stunning, I was shocked by how many of the species I saw are under threat at our own hand.

Throughout Man vs Earth we have already examined the loss of megafauna approximately 40,000 years ago, the cause of these extinctions, and the idea we are entering a 6th mass extinction. However we have not yet looked into localised extinctions happening in recent years.

As we have seen, humans have played a part in altering the climate on Earth, which is having knock on effects on the rest of the planet's ecology. On a more local scale, many other human interactions with biodiversity can lead to extinctions. Let's take a look at just a few of the many examples of species that have been threatened to the point of extinction by human influences:

White Rhino's are a well-known example as a species that were hunted widely for their horns for both medical and decorative purposes across Asia and North Africa. Now there are only 6 Northern white rhino individuals left in the wild. 

As the phrase 'to go the way of the dodo' suggests, dodos were a species that were famously over-hunted by humans to the point of extinction, originally an endemic species of Mauritius.

Threats to biodiversity aren't always direct, in 2007 the Yangtze River dolphin, the baiji, was found to be extinct due to over-fishing and construction of the Three Gorges Dam. 

Although the dodo and baiji were localised species, even far-spread successful species can fall at the hand of humans. The passenger pigeon fell from 3 billion to extinction due to over-hunting. The last individual died just over 100 years ago in the Cincinnati zoo. You can read more about each of these extinctions in The Scientific American.

Human-influenced climate change is another anthropogenic factor contributing to the decline of many species. In some cases climate has a direct influence on the survival of a species. In 2012, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considered 20 species to have undergone extinction due to direct impacts of climate change. These include factors such as change in ground, water and air temperature, as well as precipitation. One example is the Aldabra banded snail whose decline correlated to increased dry periods on the Aldabra atoll (Justin Gerlach, 2007). Although originally assumed extinct, the Aldabra banded snail which was found to still exist this year, demonstrating that whilst climate change is capable of causing direct declines in species number, it is not the driving mechanism of extinction.

Indirect influences of climate change can cause extinctions through species interaction; either negative implications affect the focal species through the loss of food source, or positive impacts on pathogens or competitors which thrive under increased temperatures, are detrimental to the focal species. It is concluded by Abigail E. Cahill et al, 2012, that these climate-influenced species interactions are the major cause of species extinction.

The IUCNs red list is the most extensive list of globally threatened species and therefore plays an important role in influencing conservation practices. The 2014 assessment recognizes 5,103 near threatened species, 10,838 vulnerable species, 6,940 endangered species and 4,635 critically endangered species. However, as I mentioned in Man vs Earth on 17th November in 'Is this a mass extinction?', limitations to understanding the threat to species are realised as very few modern animal clades have been sufficiently assessed. Currently, the Global Species Program run by the IUCN has data for 73,000 species, of the 1.8 million species recognised globally (Michael Begon, 2006), and of the estimated 8.8 million species that could inhabit Earth (Camilo Moro et al, 2011).

The groups better represented by IUCN assessment include mammals and birds. A group poorly represented are the amphibians, thought to be analogous to the 'canary in the mine' as an indicator of climate change impacts on biodiversity. Simon N. Stuart et al, 2004, explain that amphibians are more at risk, and therefore declining more rapidly, than birds and mammals. Poor understanding of the threat to these species only exacerbates the potential for widespread amphibian extinctions. 

Percentages of threatened species of vertebrates, invertebrates and plants from IUCN 2002 data. M, mammals; B, birds; R, reptiles; A, amphibians; F, fish. I, insects; M, mollusks; C, crustaceans; O, others. M, mosses; G, gynosperms; D, dycotyledons; Mo, monocotyledons. Taken from Global State of Biodiversity and Loss (Rodolfo Dirzo and Peter H. Razen, 2003).

Rodolfo Dirzo and Peter H Razen estimated that approximately 20% could have been threatened in 2002. The real figure could be much higher but only a small proportion of the species have been assessed. They also estimate that threatened plants were seriously underrepresented.

To protect the future of biodiversity we need to act faster to identify more of the world's unknown species or we will lose them before we even find them.

Watch this space

In relation to my last post, a friend of mine has also written a great list of eco-friendly Christmas present ideas, this time with an ocean friendly focus, check it out here - http://oceancommocean.blogspot.co.uk/

Secondly, I've got exciting news! Watch this space because in January I will be presenting a radio show with UCL's student radio station Rare Fm. The show will be all about 'Man vs Earth' and I will be discussing some of the most important points this blog has covered.

You can listen live to the station at http://www.rarefm.co.uk/

Check back soon for more details.

Let's have an eco friendly Christmas

I may be getting too festive and posting this a bit early - I will admit I have already decorated my room and starting sending cards - but who doesn't love Christmas? Let's take a break from the serious side of this blog and look at my top 5 environmentally friendly Christmas presents to buy this year. We know what sort of damage humans have caused on Earth, so this year lets try and spread the word along with the spirit of Christmas. 

Now its officially December - you can't stop me!

1. Grow me and help save the planet - Nigel's eco store

What could make a better stocking filler that a tree in a bag, all for under a tenner! Set up the bag on your windowsill and start to grow a birch tree inside. When the tree is large enough you can move it into the ground outside where the biodegradable packaging will be absorbed back into the soil. As the tree grows it helps to offset your carbon footprint by taking in CO2. Everyone's a winner, only £5.99.

2. The Christmas Penguin bubble bar - LUSH 

This cute penguin makes for a guilt free bubble bath as none of the ingredients have been tested on animals. The whole range of Christmas toiletries available at lush are adorable and even better, all the glitter used to make these products extra festive is made from safe natural ingredients rather than plastic. Save your pennies and the environment at only £3.25!

3. Adopt a beehive - Nigel's eco store

We all know how important bees are for pollinating most of the fruit, vegetables and nuts we eat, but they are suffering from pesticides and viruses. Signing up one of your friends or family members to adopting a share in a hive is a fantastic way to promote the survival of bees. They will learn how to take car of a hive and be generously rewarded in honey. Only £29.99 for the year.

4. Fair trade Dark Chocolate coated Ginger biscuits - Traidcraft

Treat your friends to this perfect Christmas treat from Trade Craft. Knowing that everyone involved gets a fair deal will surely make them taste even better? Only £3.95, you can afford to get one for everyone you know. 

5. Recycled pet bed - Protect the planet 

Last but not least, what's the one thing I love more than Christmas? Probably my pets. So when treating your family to a perfect eco friendly gift don't leave out your furry friends...
Push the boat out at £49.99.