A Global Warming Post 27-11-2009

When we cast our eyes above to the vast expanse of the night sky we seem to look into eternity.

When we consider the depths of the earth we see the remnants of the earth’s past, in the molten rock formed during fires of destruction and recreation.

The precious stones and metals that delight humanity today, is the purest remnants of life long past.

What sort of crystals and metals will this generation leave to be discovered by the earth dwellers of the future?

Do we even consider the poisons we think we hide beneath the see and under ground?

If the poles are to shift and parts of the sea uncover an underwater world that was once the dumping site of nuclear waste; what effect will it have on the life of the earth?

How many unnecessary dormant years will have to pass before life on earth will be able to regenerate again? What inherent weaknesses will remain in DNA of earth dwellers in the distant future?

Will we follow in the footsteps of the Atlanteans, which according to legend destroyed the earth, because they used advanced crystal technology to gain supremacy?

Will we do the same with nuclear power?

What will happen when an earthquake uncovers buried radioactive material and leaks it into the water table or the atmosphere?

What precious metals will this generation of humanity push to the surface millions of years from now?

Will we once again be known as a race of people who destroyed the earth?

Do we even care?

Written by Ex Unitate Vires 27 November 2009

About the photograph:

If you look closely you may see see images of faces or little people in the picture.
it is as if the old tree is home to nature spirits.

The daisies are early

The field behind the house is full of daisies.
I remember, in previous years, how I was amazed that the daisies knew when it was September 1, when they opened up for the season.
At this rate they will have finished their flowering by September this year.

Flooded former Rietvlei, Cape woodland.

2oo9-07-16


The birds in our garden have been breeding since before the shortest day in the year, 26 June 2009.
It is freezing cold and there is snow on the mountains.
This is the first time that I see birds breeding in mid winter.

Is this mid winter breeding a reaction to all the alien trees being removed from our area in such a way that we are having seasons without any high vegetation on our floodplains?

Do the birds have to spread their breeding throughout the year so that each one gets a chance to nest?

Perhaps the birds know about a looming natural disaster that we are not aware of?

Whatever the case, while we are destroying the lung (woods) of Cape Town in an attempt to save, what we perceive as being the natural vegetation ( At some stage of the global history), in such a way that no consideration is given to birds and animals who settled in the woodlands of the area, life is struggling to go on.

Together with the plant species that we are trying to save, many birds are also becoming endangered and leaving their normal habitats.

For some reason we seem to be concentrating on removing the alien trees at the expense of all other mammals and wildlife who habitats our wetlands.

We seem to be introducing sand-veld (fynbos) vegetation into an area that lies below the flood-plain.
When the water rises, there are nowhere for animals and birds to go. There is nothing for them to climb onto.

Snakes are driven into domestic dwellings.
Larger animals that are stopped by fences just drown.

The motives behind the conservation efforts are good throw.
What is being done is done to save our plant species.
I just question the wisdom behind how it is being done.

I understand the removal of alien trees, but I do not understand why indigenous trees are not being replaced.

We have been removing alien trees since 2002. Today in 2009, while the rest of the world is planting trees, we are still removing trees without replacing them.
Is it one big conservation folly?





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Poor little tortoises.
This Table Mountain view is beautiful if we forget that it once hid behind a woodland.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznań, 1-12 December 2008

Discussions continued yesterday on a shared vision on long-term cooperative action. Mr. de Boer said that during the discussions, developing countries gave a strong call for industrialized countries to show leadership and ambition in emission reductions.

On the issue of technology, he pointed to the strategic programme of the Global Environment Facility to scale up technology transfer, with many countries calling for its quick implementation. Underling the importance of both financial and technical support for all developing countries, Mr. de Boer said delegates in Poznan' were also assessing how to scale up financing, including the role of both public and private financing.
Climate Change Conference Dec 1-12

Read more

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United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

It is Winter Spring in the Cape

It is winter spring in the Cape. One day sunny, the nest rainy.

The masked weaver in the front garden built his second nest already.

The whole garden has a spring feel today.

These untimely warm spells after rainy weather seem to create havoc among the animals.

My friend returned home from a long absence recently. Before she left, she relocated all her tortoises, on her return; she found two dead baby tortoises in her garden.

These tortoises hatched out of season, and there were nobody home to give them water or food on hot summer days.

Tortoises normally hatch in autumn when there is enough food and water around. My friend's tortoises hatched after a rainy period in the middle of summer.

One of the first things they look for is water to replace dehydration that developed during their incubation period. They also look for food. They then look for a nice sheltered spot to hibernate for the winter.

A garden tortoise will look for a spot to hibernate similar to that of the one where the egg was laid.

All this has to happen soon after they hatch.

The tortoises that hatched after a summer rain, found the ground dry and food scarce.

In my friends' case, her tortoises died.

I do not know what happens in the wild.

Pay Tree TAX to poor countries

Read the post here

Experiencing Global Warming in Cape Town

I just watched the last half of a TV program on global warming this evening. Mention was made how animals are breeding out of season and therefore not synchronously with their food supply.

At home, in Cape Town, we were feeding the birds brown bread and apples in addition to the normal birdseed. The reason for us doing this was that so many of the trees in our road became too big and people were chopping them down. Another reason was that someone, in the area, decided to supplement his income by buying a chain saw and offered to chop people’s trees down for them. To compound this problem, the government decided to remove all the alien vegetation. Nearly all the trees planted in Cape Town over the last three hundred years, can be considered as alien. In fact since a large part of the city has been reclaimed from the sea, all the trees in that part can be considered alien.

When I was a child we did not have to spray our trees for fruit fly. Today if one does not spray a layer of poison over our fruit trees, we will not have any to pick.

Cockroaches were unheard of in Cape Town, but over the last few years they are becoming regular visitors in our homes. This year is the first year that I noticed small ones. That means that weather conditions are warm enough for them to breed in Cape homes.

I never heard of water pollution. I never considered algae as a problem. I used to think of it as fish food. A few years ago we filled our fishpond because the water became poisoned. The fish died and recovered when we changed the water. We needed to replenish the fishpond water more and more often until we decided to fill the pond with sand.

Last year tons of fish died at Rietvlei, Cape because of water pollution and algae growth. The warming of the ground around the dams due to the removal of all the trees may also have something to do with it. The birds that used to breed there had to move to domestic gardens and other unsafe breeding places.

We are replacing more and more nature areas with urban development.

Wild animals clash with townships that spring up on the borders of game parks. It is always the animals that have to go.

We have seen so many more deadly diseases among animals and people in the last years. In fact since about 1985 the number of deadly diseases affecting humanity has escalated at an alarming rate. That is in the last 12 years.

I can talk about this forever. We have other problems that feed global warming in Africa. Poverty, job shortages, wars and political instability are just a few.

Are we in a global crisis situation in Africa?

The only ones, who answer no to that question, are illiterates and skeptics who are too young to have experienced global change.

frozen chicks

26-07-2007
It is cold windy and rainy here in Cape Town.. We feared that the newly born weaver chicks were frozen to death in their little featherless bodies. At first sight it seemed quiet and miserable out by the nests. Then we saw the female with food in her mouth. Yes she is feeding. There must be something there still. It is not making as much noise as yesterday. I wonder if it is sick or weak or frozen.

daisies also crazy

18-July-2007
It must be the weather because the daisies are starting to bloom also.