A total area of over 42 million acres has been burned leaving an estimated 1 billion animals dead. The fires have caused the biggest devastation of habitats in recorded history.
As blazes raged through the country, 34 people have died, and thousands of homes were destroyed.
The impact on wildlife is unimaginable, as vast areas of habitat have been scorched. Officials fear the toll on native species of animals and plants will be immense.
The country's koala populations has been a major victim of the bushfires, with thousands of the animals feared killed.
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Our ozone layer, a fragile gas shield protecting our planet from harmful rays of sun, helping preserve life on Earth. September 16th marks the U.N’s official International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. This year, we celebrate 35 years of global ozone protection.
In the late 1970s, scientists discovered that humanity was creating a hole in the ozone layer and raised the alarm. The hole – caused by ozone-depleting gases (ODSs) used in aerosols and cooling, such as refrigerators and air-conditioners – was threatening to increase cases of skin cancer and cataracts, and damage plants, crops, and ecosystems. Without the ozone layer, the energy emanating from the sun would be too much for life on Earth to exist as we know it.
The global response was decisive, in 1985 the world’s governments adopted the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. Under which governments, scientists and industry worked together to cut out 99 percent of all ozone-depleting substances. Thanks to massive support from the people and a true desire for change, our ozone layer is now healing and is expected to make a full recovery by mid-century.
Without our ozone layer, life as we know it would not exist.
World Ozone Day celebrates this achievement. It shows that collective decision making and action taking, led by science, are the only way to solve major environmental issues. During these days of global turmoil, this message of working together in harmony and for the common good is more important than ever. The slogan of the day, ‘Ozone for life’, reminds us that not only is the ozone layer crucial for life on Earth, but also that we must continue to protect the ozone layer for future generations.
If taking an active stand for our environment is something you care about, be sure to check out our monthly bracelet club, where you can make a difference every month. In honor of International Ozone Day, you can get your first monthly bracelet for a whopping 75% off discount if you order today
It’s during these times that we must work together as a community and pitch in to heal our environment. With the help of our planting partner American Forests, we’re planting trees all across America, making our environment stronger and more resilient. Bringing new life to lost habitats, helping our planet filter the air we all breathe, restoring balance in eco-systems almost gone forever. Our community is making a difference every day, as the saying goes, every one of us can make a difference, together we create change.
]]>A historically dry winter and the hot spring that followed, have left fire-fueling, dry vegetation on the ground. Creating the “perfect” conditions for an earlier start to the fire season. States like Colorado and California have already seen their share of fires this year. Larger, faster fires picking up quickly amid the hot and dry conditions.
Unfortunately, we’re already seeing a bit of a preview of what’s to come. This past June, firefighters battling the flames in Colorado spotted a lone injured bear and immediately called Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers.
All four of the bear’s paws were badly burned when wildlife officers found him resting in reeds next to a pond. They slowly approached the injured 1-year-old bear but he did not move.
The officers were able to transport the injured bear to a local wildlife rehabilitation center to be examined and treated. Across the road from where the bear was found a fire raged, leaving spots of charred land and burning stumps. We can’t say exactly what happened, but it looks like the poor bear was trapped between burning patches of forest and had to move quickly to save itself.
Veterinary professionals who examined the bear said that while his paws were badly burned, there was no permanent damage. The burned skin was removed, and the bear’s paws were bandaged.
Almost 3 months later, the bear had made a full recovery and was released back not far from where it was found. Upon being released, the bear hesitated for about a minute while it sniffed its new surroundings. Then it jumped from the container in the back of a pick-up truck and dashed into the thick cover of the forest.
Fires pose a greater risk for wildlife with every passing year. Dry conditions, shorter rainy seasons, and longer summers are the fuels wildfires thrive on. We are witnessing these events unfold daily as much of the west coast including California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah, as well as Wyoming are all experiencing a brutal late summer, engulfed in flames, destructive for habitats and wildlife.
It’s during these times that we must work together as a community and pitch in to heal our environment. With the help of our planting partner American Forests, we’re planting trees all across America, making our environment stronger and more resilient. Bringing new life to lost habitats, helping our planet filter the air we all breathe, restoring balance in eco-systems almost gone forever. Our community is making a difference every day, as the saying goes, every one of us can make a difference, together we create change.
]]>A fiery mess - Toxic smoke blankets California and Oregon. In Colorado fires still burn.
The West Coast has been experiencing unprecedented heat across every state. We’re talking all-time records in California, where temperatures reached 121 degrees Fahrenheit (49.4 degrees Celsius) in Chino, roughly 35 miles east of Los Angeles. This heatwave shows how even a seemingly minor boost in global average temperature, driven by the climate crisis can play out in regional extremes.
The extreme heat provided the setting for the fires which erupted through California. Burning a staggering 1.7 million acres of forest to a crisp, making experts describe the onslaught as a “fiery wake-up call for climate science”. After a harsh, dry winter and almost no rainfall since April, California's forests, shrubs, and wild grass are dry and burn quickly.
In Washington state, an estimated 300,000 acres burned in the span of a single day, as winds stirred up some of the most extreme fire behavior imaginable. In Colorado, record heat made perfect conditions for the Cameron Peak fire double in size to 60,000 acres in a day.
In a recent press conference, California Gov. Gavin Newsom remarked: "These fires are historic because they are on pace and setting the pace of a historic fire season". The West Coast has endured some of the biggest fires in over a century, in the span of just a few months. Burning intensively since the begging of this year’s fire season.
While most wooded areas in the West are no strangers to fire, the effects will be felt in the next months and even years as local communities, human and animal alike, struggle to rebuild.
The West will be healed in due time, but it must serve as a wakeup call for all of us. It is no coincidence that this year’s fires are burning so ferociously, with global temperatures on the rise we should expect other prolonged heat waves leading to massive fires.
It’s during these times that we must work together as a community and pitch in to heal our environment. With the help of our planting partner American Forests, we’re planting trees all across America, making our environment stronger and more resilient. Bringing new life to lost habitats, helping our planet filter the air we all breathe, restoring balance in eco-systems almost gone forever. Our community is making a difference every day, and as the saying goes, every one of us can make a difference, together we create change.
]]>The Florida panther remains one of the most endangered species in America
A report published by the National Wildlife Federation, the American Fisheries Society, and The Wildlife Society reveals alarming numbers: One-third of America’s wildlife species are facing an increased risk of extinction.
American wildlife is in crisis. Fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, and invertebrates are all at risk of extinction in the coming years. This means that if we don’t act now, we may be robbing our children and grandchildren from the great outdoors we used to enjoy so much. We owe it to them, to do what we can and prevent these species from vanishing from the earth.
Recovering wildlife is a win-win-win: strengthening our economy, improving public health, and making communities more resilient. We just need the political will to make it happen.
Dwindling fish populations are putting other species at risk.
About one-third of America’s best-known species groups, birds, mammals and butterflies are imperiled or vulnerable. These figures paint a stark picture of the overall condition of America’s extraordinary wildlife diversity. Or what is left of it.
Among the findings in Reversing America’s Wildlife Crisis: Securing the Future of Our Fish and Wildlife:
- One-third of America’s wildlife species are at increased risk of extinction.
- More than 150 U.S. species already have gone extinct.
- Nearly 500 additional species have not been seen in recent decades and are regarded as possibly extinct.
- Approximately 40 percent of the nation’s freshwater fish species are now rare or imperiled.
- Seventy percent of North America’s freshwater mussels are imperiled or already extinct.
- Pollinator populations are dropping precipitously. Monarch butterfly populations in the eastern U.S., have dwindled by 90 percent over the past two decades.
- Thirty percent of North America’s bat species have seen significant declines over the past two decades
- Amphibians are disappearing from their known habitats at a rate of 4 percent each year.
Monarch butterflies are losing ground in the eastern U.S.
Wildlife in America needs immediate help if we wish our children to enjoy nature as we once did. Species are at increased risk in all regions of the country and across all categories of wildlife. But this doesn’t mean we can’t make things better. Wildlife professionals in every state have action plans ready to go to conserve all wildlife for future generations, the biggest problem remains to fund these programs that can save lives.
We partner with environmental organizations such as American Forests who do an amazing job reforesting America, restoring lost habitats, making sure fresh water stays clean, and more. American Forests is the oldest American environmental organization with roots stretching all the way back to the year 1875. Making it a leader in creating healthy and resilient forests across the country so people and wildlife thrive.
To see more from our new American Forests collection please click here.
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The Colorado fire season looks like one of the most catastrophic in recent years. The assessment comes from climate researchers who described the devastation as a "fiery wake-up call for climate science".
The Pine Gulch fire in Colorado has passed the 140,000-acre mark, which officially makes this devastating fire, the largest in state history. Firefighters have worked day and night fighting the flames, and have been successful slowing down the growth of the blaze.
The record for the largest fire was held by the Hayman Fire, which burned between Denver and Colorado Springs in 2002. It was also a much more destructive fire that killed six and destroyed 133 homes. By contrast, no homes have burned down in the Pine Gulch Fire, but it has burned an unknown amount of grazing land.
Wildfires are a reality in Colorado's forests. But after the driest winter in a decade, the state's forests, shrubs, and wild grass have been left dry and highly flammable. While Colorado's wildlife is generally adapted to deal with fires, the effects will be felt in the next months and even years as local communities both human and animal, struggle to rebuild.
Colorado's wildlife will bounce back, but it's up to us to help it in its hour of need. With fires still raging, local organizations and communities will be hard at work restoring what was lost. We can all make a difference and contribute to the restoration efforts.
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This California fire season looks like one of the most catastrophic in recent years. The assessment comes from climate researchers who described the devastation as a "fiery wake-up call for climate science".
So far a staggering 1.7 million acres have been burned to a crisp. An area five times the size of the city of Los Angeles. Over 15,000 firefighters have been battling the blazes that sparked in a few locations. From the Santa Cruz Mountains to Riverside County, the slopes of Mount Hamilton to Napa Valley, and the northern Sierra. After a dry winter and no rain forecasted until November, fire crews are bracing for more fires.
After a drier than usual winter and almost no rainfall since April, California's forests, shrubs and wild grass are dry and burn quickly.
In a recent press conference, Gov. Gavin Newsom remarked: "These fires are historic because they are on pace and setting the pace of a historic fire season". This month, the state has seen some of the biggest fires in over a century. While California's wildlife is generally adapted to deal with fires, the effects will be felt in the next months and even years as local communities both human and animal, struggle to rebuild.
California's wildlife will bounce back, but it's up to us to help it in its hour of need. With fires still raging, local organizations and communities will be hard at work restoring what was lost. We can all make a difference and contribute to the restoration efforts.
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As if koalas could be any more adorable than they already are, they tend to spend a lot of their time hugging trees. Living in trees is a great way to avoid predators, as larger animals can’t climb them. But there’s plenty of animals, like most monkeys, that live in trees and they don’t feel the need to hug them all the time.
For a long time, zoologists weren’t sure why koalas felt the need to wrap themselves around the tree so much. And maybe this doesn’t sound like the most pressing scientific question, but according to a new study, they are actually hugging the trees to stay cool.
Australia is not one of the most hospitable of places to live. It’s really hot a lot of the time, there’s not much water around, and food can be hard to come by. So koalas have to keep cool somehow, but they have a big problem: koalas don’t sweat.
Koalas are not the only animals that can’t sweat. Dogs, for example, can only sweat through parts of their bodies that are not covered in fur. To keep cool, dogs lick their noses and pant. Kangaroos do the same, they lick their forearms. The extra heat they lose through the moisture cooling on their skin is usually enough to regulate their body temperatures.
But when it gets unusually hot and there isn’t much rain, koalas would rather not lick themselves or pant, because they’d get dehydrated too quickly. When you live in a tree, water can be hard to come by. Climbing down to find water would expose them to predators, so they don’t want to do that. In fact, koalas don’t normally drink very much, instead, they usually get all the water they need from the eucalyptus leaves they eat.
By hugging trees, though, koalas can stay cool without losing water.
When researchers took infrared pictures of koalas hugging trees, they realized that the trees are on average, about five degrees cooler than the surrounding air. They are not sure why the trees are so much cooler, but they think it might have something to do with the groundwater the trees pull up through their trunks. It might also just take longer for the trees to heat up after the cool of the night.
By spreading as much of their bodies as possible against the trees, koalas are able to transfer away some of their heat and can cool themselves down by as much as 68 percent.
So, hugging trees is adorable, but also very useful.
Help the fight to restore koala and other Australian wildlife habitats by purchasing your bracelet today and planting a tree. Click here to learn more.
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