A Dream for a Better World

Scientists have discovered a 650 million year old, 1 km wide reef, sitting in Australia’s outback. Fossils of ancient sponges or other early primitive animals may be awaiting discovery there.  Scientists say that the reef is of “internationally significant” because it dates from a 5-10 million year period between two major ice ages.  They continue that it provides a significant step forward in showing the extent of climate change in Earth’s past and the evolution of ancient reef complexes.  It also contains fossils which may be of the earliest known primitive animals.  There is a good chance that the new fossils and organisms found in the reef will provide significant insight into the evolution of early multi-cellular life.

In the time that records have been kept of bird populations, 20 percent of all species have gone extinct. More are likely to follow. In March the release of a large-scale, 24-year survey gave one of the clearest pictures yet of the decline of Australian and Asian shorebird. The results of the survey are dire.  The researchers’ counts showed a steady decline, beginning in the mid-1980s. By 2006 the number of migratory shorebirds had dropped by 73 percent and the number of Australia’s resident shorebirds had fallen by 81 percent.  The survey revealed that inland wetlands were more important to both resident and migratory birds than had been realized, and that wetland loss from damming and the diversion of river water for irrigation was at least in part responsible for the shorebird decline in Australia.

Recently, New Zealanders had to face the fact that if the climate gets any warmer, beer production would come to a halt or the price of beer will skyrocket.  According to Jim Salinger, a scientist at the kiwi’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, a warmer New Zealand could mean less malting barley production, and that means less beer.  It’s not just New Zealand that’s in trouble; Australian production will suffer as well.  Most areas in Australia where malting barley is cropped are likely to experience producing declines.  Salinger made his remarks at The Institute of Brewing and Distilling convention in Auckland.

The humpback whale has been moved from “Vulnerable” to “Least Concern” on the 2008 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.  It is estimated that there are 40,000 mature individuals and there are good reports for the current breeding season in the Southern hemisphere. But now, scientists have also found hundreds of baby whales in a bay on the north west of Australia, which is thought to be one of the world’s biggest humpback whale nursery grounds.  The commercially important large whales have for the most part responded well under protection.  The southern right whale is also now listed as having a low risk of extinction. Several other whales, such as the blue and sei whales, are also growing in number, but are still listed as endangered.  In all, nearly a quarter of the 86 cetacean species assessed, including whales, dolphins and porpoises, are considered threatened, with nine species listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered. It is believed that this is most likely underestimating the situation as there is not enough data to classify 44 of the species.

This is really a serious problem in China and all over the world,nanjing’s air is not very clear,but the air in Aus is very clean and has a good smell,I don’t know why in foreign countries like this.and however this is actually what i’m thinking of ,China’s sky always turned grey,but the sky in Aus is very blue and pure!!!!  I lke clean,blue day!!!