Saying the world is in an “extinction crisis,” the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released its 2008 Red List of Threatened Species during a meeting in Barcelona, Spain, October 5-14.

 A new study to assess the world’s mammals shows at least 1,141 of the 5,487 wild mammal species, or almost one in four, are known to be threatened with extinction. The assessment was compiled by 1,800 experts in 130 countries over five years. It ranks species according to their population status and threat levels. It also shows the effects that habitat loss and degradation, over-exploitation, pollutants, and climate change are having on the world’s species. 

The Red List groups species in five threat categories, from “Extinct” to “Least Concern” to “Insufficient Data.”  More than 836 mammals are listed under insufficient data, which means they could be at-risk and would fall in the threatened category if more information became available. For example, one Arctic mammal, the narwhal, went from data deficient to near-threatened when more was learned about the species. Narwhals spend their lives in the Arctic waters bordering Russia, North America, and Greenland and are threatened by hunting, trade, habitat loss, and toxics and pollution that accumulate in the seas and affect their health and reproduction.

Some 188 mammals are in the highest-threat category of Critically Endangered. Habitat loss and degradation affect 40 percent of the world’s mammals. It is most extreme in Central and South America, West, East and Central Africa, Madagascar, and in South and Southeast Asia.

Environmental, business and indigenous leaders and representatives of states and nongovernmental organizations are among the 8,000 members of the IUCN who meet every four years to seek action and solutions for a diverse and sustainable world. Major analyses of the IUCN Red List were produced in 1996, 2000 and 2004. The 2008 Review of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is available at  www.iucn.org/redlist

Stormy weather in the Arctic may have unanticipated effects on global warming, according to a new study by NASA. Researchers were looking to confirm a theory that a warming climate could cause an increase in storminess. They now believe it may be possible that new sinks for carbon dioxide may emerge from the relationship between sea ice drift and increasingly turbulent weather.

 NASA researcher Sirpa Hakkinen of Goddard Space Flight Center and her colleagues from other institutions analyzed 56 years of storm-track data and found an accelerating trend in storm activity in the Arctic from 1950 to 2006. They also found evidence that the pace of sea ice movement along the Arctic Ocean’s Transpolar Drift Stream from Siberia to the Atlantic Ocean accelerated in both summer and winter during the 55-year period. Because the surface wind is known to be the driving force behind the movement of sea ice, they concluded that the increase in storminess and the sea ice drift speeds are linked.

This linkage has great implications for predictions of global climate change and the computer models used by scientists. Hakkinen points out that her group has provided proof that a cause-and-effect relationship exists between storm activity and sea ice movement.

The moving sea ice forces the ocean to move, which sets off more mixing of the upper layers of the ocean than would occur without the push from the ice. The increased mixing of the ocean layer forces a greater degree of ocean convection and instability. Globally, oceans absorb about 30 percent of the carbon dioxide carried by the atmosphere. According to the new findings by Hakkinen and her colleagues, the Arctic’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide could climb.

 “Although it remains to be seen how this may ultimately play out in the future, the likelihood this increasing trend and link between storminess and ice drift could expand the Arctic’s role as a sink for extracting fossil fuel-generated carbon dioxide from the air is simply fascinating,” said Hakkinen. “If it unfolds in the way we suppose, this scenario could, of course, affect the whole climate system and its evolution.”

 Find more on sea ice and climate change in Issue Five (Water, Ice, and Snow) and Issue Seven (Energy and the Polar Environment) of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears.

One of the world’s largest and most prestigious prizes has been awarded to the climate researcher who is credited with coining the term “global warming.” The geochemist from Columbia University, Wallace S. Broecker, receives the $885,000 Balzan Prize for his breakthrough studies in climatology and his early warnings about changes in the climate.

In 1987, Broecker proposed that ocean currents interact with the atmosphere and, like a global conveyor belt, transport heat around the planet. Broecker is the author of over 400 scientific articles and several textbooks. In his recent book Fixing Climate (Hill and Wang, 2008), he advocated removing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the air and storing it underground to avert a climate catastrophe.

Broecker teaches at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

He was the recipient of the 1996 National Medal of Science and the 2006 Crafoord Prize in Geosciences from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Broecker will receive the Balzan Prize at ceremonies in Rome on November 21.

“Climate Connections” is the theme of the 2009 LEGO League challenge sponsored by the organization founded by well-known inventor Dean Kamen — FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).

Teams of children ages 9 to 14 in 40 countries are challenged to research climate and use robotics in climate-based tournaments. In the project part of the challenge, teams will research how climate affects their own community, identify a local climate problem, analyze climate data, and discover what their community is doing. Then teams will find another community somewhere in the world with the same issue, identify any solutions, and finally create a community solution. The robot game gives missions to robots, such as burying carbon dioxide or extracting an ice core sample.

After qualifying events and championship tournaments, winners have the chance to participate in the FIRST Championship on April 16-18, 2009, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

FIRST also offers a program for 6 to 9 year olds based on the Climate Connections challenge for older children. There is a $25 fee per team. Children investigate the theme, according to specific instructions, document on a poster how they researched and what they learned, and build a model, incorporating a moving part, from LEGO pieces. The children’s work is expected to be featured at local events.

Inventor Dean Kamen holds more than 440 patents, many of them for medical devices, such as the first insulin pump for diabetics. He is also the inventor of the self-balancing, electric-powered Segway. In 1989 he founded FIRST to motivate children to learn about science and technology.

Recently, we introduced Elaina Wahl, a Columbus, OH teen and the Columbus Zoo’s first Arctic Ambassador. We’re pleased to report that Elaina is now in Churchill, Manitoba, for Polar Bears International’s Polar Bear Leadership Camp. Elaina is meeting students from across the country, learning about polar bears and conservation, and preparing to return to Columbus as the “ultimate Arctic Ambassador, someone others see as an example of a person who truly is a protector of the planet. Kind of like an environmentalist on Red Bull, complete with an outgoing go-green attitude and armed with energy-efficient light bulbs.”

During her time in Manitoba, Elaina will post to an online journal. Keep up with all her adventures with the link in our blog’s sidebar!