TENDUA

12 kg of rocks for one smartphone ...

Myriam Dupuis — 2024-08-01T10:57:29Z

Mobile phones, smartphones: impacts of their production?

Here is an object that did not exist a few decades ago. Now almost indispensable, it is everywhere: the mobile phone, which allows you to make calls and send texts. In its «smart» version, it has become intelligent and now allows you to call, take photos, access your emails and more and more applications. Rich countries, poor countries, from megacities to the smallest hamlets, from the powerful P.- D.G. to the most humble peasant, everyone has a smartphone, or several. More than 10 billion devices in the world for 8 billion people. But at what cost to the planet?

A bit of history

In April 1973 - 50 years ago - a Motorola employee made the first cellular phone call in NYC. While wireless technology already exists, the «laptops» of the time were reserved for luxury cars. It takes 10 hours to recharge the battery allowing 30 minutes of conversation.
Ten years later, in 1983, the prototype was replaced by a commercial model. The device is still expensive, costing almost US$10,000 today. The phone is heavy, imposing, each call is expensive ... but the technological revolution is on.
In 1992, the first GSM (Global System for Mobile) phone, the Nokia 1011, was produced on a large scale. This technology is the ancestor of 3G (and subsequent ones) that we use now.
The first SMS - Short Message System, a mobile phone message sent from a computer – came in the same year.
For more than 20 years, our phones have almost all been smartphones and the landline phone has virtually disappeared.

12 kg of rocks and 52 chemicals for ONE smartphone

A mineral is a rock extracted from the lithosphere that contains a quantity of mineral large enough to justify its exploitation. When enough ore is found, mines are built to mine the vein at its maximum capacity. The minerals contain the chemical elements used in our smartphones. They are used in particular for the manufacture of the hull, battery, electrical circuits and screens.
Did you know that it takes 52 chemical substances from minerals, or 12 kg of rocks, to produce only ONE smartphone?

Native elements that cost a lot

Some ores are classified as “native elements”. Native element minerals are those elements that occur in nature, "either in uncombined form consisting essentially of a single chemical element or an alloy, characterized by a few associated sufficiently pure chemical elements.
Today we know in the strict sense 34 native elements including copper, gold or silver... Many of these chemicals, more or less “rare” have become essential to the operation of new technologies. And they cost a lot because their natural availability is decreasing.

The so-called «rare» earths

Rare earths are 17 chemical elements – of the 118 chemical elements currently known from Mendeleev's periodic table – used in various industries such as electronics and renewable energy.
They have many common properties – such as high electrical conductivity – that make them difficult to distinguish from each other. And contrary to what their name suggests, rare earths are not so “rare”, but they are not found in the native state.

Rare due to their concentration

In fact, their rarity is not in their quantity but in their concentration: it takes an average of 8 tons of rocks to dig to obtain 1 kg of raw material.
Sphalerite, the main mineral in zinc, can be used as a rare metal ore with a significant content of cadmium, indium, gallium and germanium. Very common, huge quantities of sphalerite are mined worldwide and this mineral has become for several decades the main ore of these rare metals. Remarkable deposits are found in France, Peru, Russia and Switzerland.

Another mineral characterized by its rare earth richness, bastnaesite. But the extraction processes are polluting due to its radioactivity.

Yttrium

L'yttrium, used to produce red luminophores [1] for CRT TVs is 400 times more abundant in the Earth's crust than silver.
But rare earths are widely dispersed and come in the form of hard to exploit minerals. They can be mined in copper, zinc or uranium mines. Some of them are on the moon... Anyway, the extraction process is very expensive and highly polluting. That is why it is almost only China that is taking the initiative, with a monopoly of almost 100% on the processing of rare earths from other metals. Europe prefers to leave these polluting operations to others.

Japan has declared that its national waters contain significant reserves of several rare earths. And we know that our abysses are very rich in metals. Canada has envisioned a massive vacuum that could... perhaps? – withstand the pressure of the deep. Everyone's looking for it, but the cost of underwater mining is still too expensive. Is it necessary to explain the tragic impact that such exploitation would have on the metal deposits at the bottom of the oceans?

Special case of lithium

Lithium and its compounds promote energy production and battery performance. They are essential ingredients for the manufacture of low-melting glasses and lubricants. The manufacture of rechargeable batteries for electronics, electric vehicles, and energy storage networks represents the world's largest use of lithium, representing 74% of total demand. Lithium-ion allows for both fast charging for convenience and slow charging for durability. The International Energy Agency predicts that lithium needs will increase by 42 times in the next 20 years.

Australia is the world's largest lithium producer, accounting for nearly half of global production in 2021. Bolivia, Chile and Argentina (the “lithium triangle”) are said to have the largest combined lithium resources, estimated at nearly 50 million tonnes. Indeed, there are gigantic salt pans in South America. Decanting the salt is the necessary way to obtain the necessary lithium, which is a very water-demanding exploitation.
There are also lithium reserves in France (reopening of mines in Alsace and Brittany?), but the quantities are smaller. Moreover, the former minister of ecological transition, Barbara Pompili, declared exclusively in Les Echos on 17/02/2022: «France must extract lithium on its territory». However, the precious metal is more difficult to isolate than in South American brine.

In nature, lithium is never present in its native form but always in the form of salts or oxides in minerals. In addition, metallic lithium can only be stored in oil and under protective atmosphere because it is too reactive to be stored in water or air. Which makes it dangerous to manipulate.
In Europe, the Donbass also has lithium reserves. The UNO is talking about adding lithium to the list of conflict elements.
The Canadian government has designated lithium as a critical mineral because it is an essential material in the transition to renewable energy. And Canada has the potential to be a main supplier. Canada does not currently produce lithium, but has significant solid spodumene deposits and saline lakes from which lithium can be extracted.

Geopolitics and high technology

This is where the notion of globalization takes its full force. Let's list the different countries involved in the production of the elements necessary to manufacture these little wonders of technology:

South Africa has the monopoly of platinum : great advantage for this ore because it is the one that recycles best. It acts as an anti-corrosive to the battery of our smartphone.
Cadmium is known to be a carcinogen and is used for rechargeable batteries, television or computer screens, tablets, consoles, etc. The main producing countries are South Korea, Japan, China, Canada, Mexico.
Gallium is mainly produced by China and is used for liquid crystals in ever-improving displays.
Indium is used for LEDs and touch screens of any size (better brightness of smartphones, watches, tablets, car dashboards, etc.), as well as on some glazing and solar panels. The producing countries are China (oh yes! again!), South Korea, Japan. There are no indium mines. You have to look for it, often in zinc mines. So it's expensive.
The cobalt is very important in all batteries: phones and cars. It allows to absorb heat so that «it does not burn». Currently, it is estimated that cobalt will be unavailable in 50 years.

Quartz

The quartz is used to stiffen screens. It's a common mineral. Quartz is the basis of all electronic systems. It is used directly as a sensor that can measure a frequency with very high precision, making it essential in applications such as inertial power plants or radar transmitters and receivers or radio communications.
Gold and silver have valuable qualities: they are very good conductors allowing a fast transmission of information. Silver comes mainly from South America: Chile, Peru, Bolivia. The main producers of gold are Russia and China.

The so-called «conflict» mineral elements

The UNO monitors these four so-called «conflict» mineral elements - or «blood minerals». These are gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum.
If gold is a good conductor, tungsten is one of the world's hardest metals used in the manufacture of ballistic missiles and drilling rigs. The properties of tungsten, found particularly in wolframite, improve the conductivity of gold and silver. There is little information on the mines exploited in western China (perhaps on the side of the country of the Uighurs...), which still ensure more than 80% of world production.

As for tantalum, extracted from columbite and tantalite or coltan, it is a superconductor, resistant to heat and corrosion. It makes it possible to lighten and miniaturize our smartphones, cameras, computers, flat screens, etc. It is also used in the manufacture of superalloys in aeronautics and its biocompatibility makes it interesting in the manufacture of medical implants.
The main producing countries are Australia, Brazil, China, Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda.

Motherboard solders are made with tin and three countries mine the main tin ore, cassiterite. China is responsible for 2/3 of the world's production. Indonesia and Malaysia have dug entire areas and sacrificed islands for this production. Coastlines have been emptied of their fish; populations starved and impoverished; one worker per week dies on these yards.

The production of these «blood minerals» is mainly controlled by armed groups that operate these mines in inhumane conditions. They sell the minerals to the highest bidders to finance their movements. In the 2000s, the international community discovered these ties particularly strong in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the region of the Great African Lakes, in Zimbabwe, the Central African Republic, Burma and Colombia. Twenty years later, has there been any change – for the better? Tens of thousands of miners, adults and children, are still working in the mines of coltan, cassiterite and gold.
This is true for coltan because it is found at shallow levels, which has generated real rushes. The flip side of the coin: agriculture was replaced by mining, which led to famines. These famines have in turn generated an overexploitation of tropical forests, with particularly the poaching of fragile species such as okapi or gorilla («bush meat»).
But at the end of the chain, companies that manufacture mobile phones are protected by the many intermediaries who are involved in these trades.

It should be noted that Russia and the Donbass hold large reserves of nickel, cobalt, and lithium, which are necessary for the manufacture of smartphones, consoles, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and other solar panels. There is a chance that the current conflict is not as philanthropic as the media portrays it to be.

Collection and recycling

In France, only 15% of the 25 million phones sold each year are collected for repair, reuse, or recycling. That's clearly not enough.
In fact, right now, only lithium and platinum are recyclable.
One of the first barriers to lithium recycling is that lithium-ion batteries (BLI) are a hazardous materials, and must be handled with care. The residual electrical power in the battery can cause fires or explosions.
Do we really need to change our smartphone every year if we can't live without it? Do we need to have more than one ? It is an opportunity to reflect on our role as consumers, and to become truly a player in our consumption.

One company that stands out for its approach in this highly profitable technological environment is FAIRPHONE. Indeed, this Dutch company creates smartphones whose design and production of the devices have been designed to integrate environmental and fair trade constraints throughout the production chain.
FAIRPHONE increases the rate of recycled materials in its devices: copper and plastic recycled for the FAIRPHONE 3; plastic, indium, copper, aluminum for the FAIRPHONE 4, which also has traceability for the gold and silver components of their device. The phones' modularity also enhances their ability to be recycled at the end of their lifespan because some modules contain specific metals, like gold, for instance.
Not necessarily exemplary – but are we as consumers? The approach has the merit of existing and going further than the competition. Why not develop a smartphone that utilizes recycled elements?

Conclusion

With more than 10 billion mobile phones in the world, the smartphone is both a democratic and technological object. Could we do without it?.... Not sure. Unless we have to.
We have seen the “mineralogical” cost of a single smartphone. Not to mention the mining waste that sometimes serves as fill, but is also a deposit loaded with lead, arsenic, cadmium ...
In France, an open-air farm is filled up, but underground mining is left in the state, without any more attention to groundwater or neighboring agricultural lands.
In addition to pollution related to production, there is also pollution related to use: the cyberspace is saturated by our data, all more important than each other. And this is done at a speed close to the speed of light. All of this data also generates a lot of pollution...

New jobs to invent

So, back all the way? It won't work. However, there are still at least two areas to explore.
The first is undoubtedly a reflection to be carried out by each on his/her own way of consuming and the consequences induced.
A second way is to think about the present of tomorrow: what are the new jobs to invent to protect life on our planet and preserve what we call resources. Let us train engineers to demanufacture and deconstruct, learn how to systematically reuse the elements still not recycled today.
Let's ask ourselves about the consequences at every stage of our consumption.
Let's become more aware of our environment and how we act on our reality.

In the end, it is our planet that invented recycling, so let us draw inspiration from this wisdom if we want humanity to have a proper place on this Earth.

Reminder of some definitions

A rock is an assemblage of minerals.
The study of minerals is called mineralogy, while the study of rocks is called petrology.
Geology is the study of the lithosphere, through the formation of rocks, their origin, their nature and their evolution. It includes several disciplines including mineralogy, petrology, paleontology and geomorphology.
A mineral is defined as being solid, inorganic, natural (i.e. without human intervention) and crystalline, that is to say that the atoms arrange themselves among them in a certain way. This affects its appearance and qualities.

Sources :

[1] The luminophore is a substance that when excited emits light. Such a substance is used in particular in the cathode ray tubes of screens, SED screens and also for plasma screens. Source: Wikipedia.

What you need to know about 5G

Christopher FITZSIMONS — 2020-10-05T12:31:38Z

When it comes to the race for progress and technological innovation, it is no secret that modernisation in all its forms is almost systematically looked at with a degree of concern and scepticism by many. And rightly so. How will these new technologies impact our existence in the world we know, and to what degree will it affect us? How much so for the better? And what might be the collateral, unintended results brought about by these changes?

Is 5g the starting point of a new world ?

5G, or “fifth generation of wireless networking technology”, is described by its proponents as the starting point for a new world which will bring about a “fourth industrial revolution”[1]. Built in and around hospitals, schools and other public infrastructure, it is said of it that it will facilitate our lives, which is of course the point of most technologies. However, it is imperative to understand the implications of what is being presented to the public as a necessary step forward in modern science.

Are 3G and 4G obsolete ?

The first major advancement in this scientific domain was characterized by the invention of 3G, which allowed users to connect to the internet from their mobile devices at any time, bypassing the need to connect to a Wi-Fi router. It was slow and impractical at best, serving mostly for small tasks such as emails or other services which wouldn't require much data. Then came 4G, which allowed for a much better internet experience. In summary, 4G was an improved version of 3G. Much faster, it would allow users to load more data, enabling them to watch videos, download movies and much more.

Now comes 5G. Logically, one would assume that 5G technology would be, as was 4G, an improved version of its predecessor. However, in the same way that 3G innovated and made its 2G predecessor (improved phone networking with no internet connection) obsolete, 5G brings more than just faster data exchange and browsing to the table.

Facial recognition and data collection : the end of privacy ?

As described by former Brigadier General Robert Spalding in an interview with Valuetainment[2], 5G operates on the basis of facial and vocal recognition as well as third party data management. This means that user information is entrusted to a faceless corporate entity, not the user. Unlike 4G where the data is stored on the user's device (except for online data management and other “cloud” type services), and where one can simply opt out of it by not purchasing a smartphone, this new generation of networking technology is imposed on everyone. Built around cities, it can monitor everyone, as seen in Washington, which was the first state in America to allow facial recognition for law enforcement purposes.

What about health ?

But the concerns over 5G are not limited to data collection and privacy violations. It has also been the cause for concerns regarding its potential as a health and environmental hazard.
One of the more worrying elements in this area is that this technology is still very much in the experimental phase in terms of its effects on living things. So much so that some leaders have opposed the roll-out of 5G. As politician, Céline Fremault, the Belgian Minister of Environment and Energy said,

«The people of Brussels are not guinea pigs whose health I can sell at a profit. We cannot leave anything to doubt.»

This statement shows that concerns over 5G are more than the product of a few reactionary conspiracy theories.

5G tower set on fire

Such were these popular concerns, that multiple relay antennae were set on fire. In the UK reports indicate that up to 77 towers had been targeted in a single month, with cases also reported in Ireland, Cyprus, Belgium and Australia, where counter-terrorist police were deployed. However, many of these towers were not 5G, and in some cases the damage led to outages for essential emergency services.

Though vigilantism is not to be condoned, the scepticism surrounding the topic can be understood. For, as everyone was being submitted to strict COVID-related health guidelines in the form of nationwide lockdowns and social distancing measures, many people noticed that optical fibre was being laid out in their streets, often unbeknownst to local residents. Furthermore, a lot of these technical operators were spotted without masks and violating social distancing rules, while the epidemic was at its peak.

However overblown some of the reactions might have been, there is no question that 5G will substantially increase public exposure to radiofrequency and electromagnetic fields, which many studies have shown to be harmful to humans as well as to the environment.

Indeed, the existence of radiation poisoning is not disputed by scientists, and it has been linked to different types of cancers, such as spinal, pulmonary, and cardiovascular to name a few [3].
Furthermore, there are reports of radiation exposure causing mood modifications, and even genetic imbalances in some cases.
Though they may be invisible, radiofrequencies are as real as anything the naked eye can see and like any other physical phenomenon they can be measured, in this case with devices such as EMF meters (electro-magnetic field). These are readily available online and allow users to monitor the intensity of electromagnetic radiation in a given area. These readings often show dramatical levels in and around cities.

In regard to these radio emissions, Claire Edwards, a member of the United Nations from 1999 to 2017 and one of the leading voices against the mass deployment of 5G installations; brought forward her concerns to the Secretary General and to other members of the committee. In her 5 minute speech of 2019 she reports her findings saying:

«Since December 2015 the staff here at the Vienna International Centre have been exposed to off the scale electromagnetic radiation (…), current public exposure levels are at least one quintillion, -that's eighteen zeroes- above natural background radiation according to Professor Olle Johansson of the Karolinska institute in Sweden. The highly dangerous biological effects of EMFs have been documented by thousands of studies since 1932».

5G frequencies and tampering with oxygen absorption

With respect to this fact, it is also worth pointing out that 5G operates at a frequency level of 60 gigahertz. More than a simple figure, this piece of data is relevant when talking about the technology's impact on the environment and other forms of life as it is the specific point, to the decimal, at which frequencies become absorbable by oxygen.

Frequencies percentage absorbed by Oxygen

RF Globalnet

Again, this is a fact which is not disputed, even by proponents of this innovative mode of telecommunication. And it is on the basis of this fact that the conspiracies correlating 5G technology with symptoms of Covid-19 have emerged. Clearly, deployment of a technology that has the potential to reduce available oxygen at a time when the world is wrestling with a contagious respiratory illness, is sensitive to say the least.

In terms of the environmental impact, there have been multiple sightings of dying vegetation and even reports of bees and birds seemingly dropping dead in areas where 5G infrastructures operate. Furthermore, various studies suggest these frequencies were causing necrosis in nearby vegetation as well as stress damage in wheat growth on a cellular level as shown in an Armenian study conducted as far back as 2016.

With this information in mind, one might enquire why these studies have not been the subject of much public debate, or why major scientific publications and figures have not taken the opportunity to discuss these potential dangers to the public and the planet.
Unfortunately, as with everything else, when corporate interests are at stake, information can be ignored or even manipulated. This is true even in the realm of science. Indeed there are many documented cases of data being knowingly concealed, even in the face of serious public health issues, the most notable being the conscious shielding by the tobacco industry of the dangers of smoking, and the food industry concealing data on the dangers of processed sugars on human health.

5G and its governmental endorsement in France

Another interesting element with regards to the endorsement of 5G by public figures is that in the case of France, it is the Minister of Finance Bruno Lemaire who has been the latest to come out in support of the 5G rollout, going as far as referring to it as “essential” (Paris, 14/09/2020). When in reality his ministry does not possess the necessary competences nor the knowledge required to discuss the technical or health-related aspects of 5G in any serious capacity.
As for the French Minister of Environment, Barbara Pompili, when asked where she stood on the topic, she simply answered:

“We have launched investigations with the ANSES (the national agency for public health with regards to energy and the environment) to look into the different disadvantages that may be brought about from a public health and enviromental perspective as it is part of my job. (…) but what I want first and foremost is that the internet be accessible in all of our territories” (Paris, 23/07/2020)

. As such prioritizing the access to the internet over the health of her constituents as well as the quality of the environment they inhabit, despite the ethical and professional responsibilties of her office regarding these issues.

Is health, the environment and our privacy the price to pay for omnipotent connectivity ?

Even with the concerns over privacy, health, or environmental issues, what is certain is that 5G will dramatically change the way the world operates. Whether it be for practical things such as remote surgeries, or ordering goods and services by uttering a simple key word, it is important to keep in mind that this degree of what is essentially omnipotent connectivity, comes at a price. Being automatically identified by cameras, or more worrying still, facing a potential health crisis, add to the increasing feeling of being alienated from nature as well the sentiment that we are interfering with its basic biological structure, which is what the research seems to indicate.

Author : Christopher FITZSIMONS, Oct. 2020

and also : Rayonnement 5G - Comment peut-on se protéger? Une conférence d'Ulrich Weiner

[1]: The first industrial revolution dates back to 1765 with the invention of the steam engion, the first industries as well as patents legalizing monopoly for inventions. The second industrial revolution began in 1870 with electricity, the electrical engine, petro-energy and the bitrth of the automobile industry. The third industrial revolution started in 1969 with computer science, microprocessors and the internet. Therefore the fourth industrial revolution would revolve around permanent connectivity, wireless technology and centriled mass third party data management.

[2]: Valuetainement is an online media organisation created by Patrick Bet-David.

[3]: Radiations and radiofrequencies can cause genetical modifications which increase the risk of cancers. It has been reported by the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) which is a subset of the WHO (World Health Organisation). This last organization classified raadiofrequencies as a “potential carcinogens for humans” (1 GHz or gigahertz is equal to 1000 MHz or megahertz, 1 MHz is equivalent to 1000 Khz or kilohertz and 1KHz is equal to 1000 Hz or hertz). The long term effects of radiations can also be observed in the areas struck by nuclear weapons in Japan, which still show abnormoly high rates of cancers to this day.

Bats in epidemiology, between hopes and fears, by François Moutou

Myriam Dupuis — 2020-04-16T14:10:56Z

Who are Bats?

According to the 2018 synthesis*, 6,399 mammalian species were recorded. Rodents account for about 50% and bats for about 25%. This means that the remaining 25% of mammal species are primates whose humans, carnivores, antelopes, elephants, whales… By the way, don't forget that mammals represent only a tiny part (between 1% and 5% ?) of the animal species known and described!

Lesser False Vampire Bat (Megaderma spasma), Malaisia

©François Moutou

The current 1386 species of bats are grouped in 21 families and 227 genera (last synthesis of 2018).
Their ancestors already existed 55 million years ago. According to the fossils studied, they were very similar to modern species. It seems that the echolocation, their onboard sonar, is also very old.
Present almost everywhere: continents, islands and archipelagos (except in Antarctica).
Weight: from 2 g to 1.5 kg. Wingspan: from 15 cm to 1.5 m.
Very diverse ecology and ethology.
A unique diversity of dietary habits in mammals. Presence of a false pacifier in the groin of some species so that the young can cling without bothering the mother when she goes hunting. A pair of pectoral nipples.
Echolocation (sonar) in many species.

Echolocation or not

Greater sac-winged bat (Saccopteryx bilineata), Costa Rica

©François Moutou

The majority of bats head themselves thanks to echolocation (principle similar to that of sonar). Insectivorous and nocturnal microchiroptera are mainly using echolocation. Echolocation, that requires an energy expenditure, is used mainly when hunting or travelling in unknown terrain.
Bats are not blind and it seems that they have a well adapted to night conditions vision. They can be dazzled or disturbed by artificial outdoor lighting (phenomenon of light pollution).

Epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus sp.), Tanzania

©François Moutou

The largest bats (formerly Megabats), the fruit bats, families of Pteropodoids, are usually frugivores and use their sight and smell. They have no echolocation.

Colonies can number up to 1 million individuals.
The colonies are sometimes very important and sometimes mixed (several species) -> what are the epidemiological and immunological implications?
Long life span : a 20g bat can live 30 years
Low reproductivity : only one baby bat per year !
They are the only mammals really capable of flying, not just gliding. Some species migrate, while others make significant movements.
Various social, intra and inter-species organisations.
What about Immunological data ? What do we know about bat immune system ?

Today bats are more and more associated with Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID), why ?

Bats (and rodents) are the reservoir of zoonotic viruses, but apparently are not always susceptible to the corresponding diseases. What about transmission between bats and from bats?

Even if bats host viruses, they may be different from those identified in nonflying mammals (for example SARS, civets/ «SARS-like», bats).

Tent-making bats, Costa Rica

©François Moutou

Bats & VIRUS, some exemples:
° Lyssavirus, rabies, Lagos, Duvenhage, EBL1, EBL2, ABL, etc. (worldwide)
° Coronavirus, αCoV, βCoV (China, Middle-East)
° Filovirus, Ebola, Marburg (Africa)
° Influenzavirus (Kazakhstan, Guatemala)
° Paramyxoviridae (worldwide)
° Rubulavirus, Menangle (Australia)
° Henipavirus, Nipah (Asia), Hendra (Australia)

What links between their genetic diversity, their ecological variability, their behaviours, and epidemiology of EID ?

If bats can live in contact with these viruses, could they be used to understand this kind of harmless relationship? What is the knowledge about their immune system?

Bats possess DNA-repairing genes linked to the powerful oxidative metabolism caused by beaten flight and that these same genes could explain their resistance to all these viruses.

Watch here this wonderfull documentary about Greater horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) made by Tanguy Stoecklé (you can choose the language of subtiles). Death and birth in bats. A unique film! Exceptional and unprecedented scenes! A story inspired by real facts.

The virologists are working :

Recent increase of publications dealing with bat virus,
Looking for the «virome» (total host viral diversity) of some species,
Next generation sequencing, new tools, metagenomics, new data,
But... How to interpret properly?
Are we going to be able to anticipate next viral zoonosis ??
... Actually, no, not at this point. Serious and respected prohibitions should be placed on the legal and illegal trade on wild and domestic animals and animal products. Bats are not responsible for zoonosis, but human activities, such as globalization, deforestation, demographic outbreaks, poverty, animal trafficking in markets, deregulation, are responsible. WE ARE RESPONSIBLE.

Many examples are known recently, but the situation is not new. It has already happened in the past with two epidemics due to Coronavirus in 17 years from China, which remains a little in view of the Chinese context.
The source of the epidemics is in the animal markets in China. Wild and domestic animals coexist in conditions of high promiscuity, poor health conditions, stress, all possibilities of multiplication and viral transmission between animals and animals to humans. Some animals can just act as a relay.

Free-tailed bat (Mormopterus francoismoutoui), endemic to Reunion Island

©Roland Seitre

And the bat's point of view in all of this?

Bats are protected in many countries, but not in all.
Bat conservation international
Population decline is widespread and worldwide, due to insecticides and deforestation.
Threatened by the White Nose Syndrome in North America (more than 5 Million of deaths) and the Pseudogymnoascus destructans, a fungus, present in Europe but impact of which is still unknown.
20% of species are considered as threatened.
http://www.eurobats.org/

• Bats are of interest to chiropterologists, epidemiologists, virologists and molecular biologists, but not anymore.
• Co-evolution studies linking viruses and bats should provide a lot of important data.
• Models in epistemology, biology, medicine, microbiology, immunology, epidemiology, zoology, evolution.
• Don't forget the Bats' point of view !

Many questions... and one certitude

The current demographics, the accelerated degradation of areas which have not yet been modified and their replacement by extremely simplified agrosystems, urban areas, the massive use of chemicals and the associated pollutions, are preparing the ground for catastrophic phenomena with fewer and fewer possibilities of returning to a harmonious state, or only by passing through tumultuous and deleterious transient states for a good part of the living, including the human beings.

The SARS-Cov-2, the COVID-19 agent, capable of restoring blue to the sky and reducing air pollution, is a spectacular signal of the impact of human activities on the living when these activities cease. This emergence is probably not directly linked to the climate change, but we have to wonder ourselves about the reciprocal. Viruses, large and small in their own way, are part of biodiversity.

At the moment, the probability of a new emergence of a virus still does not seem calculable : it remains too random. Conversely, the risk of a “successful” emergence, which means that would lead to an epidemic, is correlated with many human parameters and increases with the growth of the human population, the human density present in more and more megacities, uncontrolled pressures on the remaining poorly modified environments, where most of the biodiversity is, including microbes. Globalization, whose out-of-control trade in so many animal species across the planet, can only promote the transition from an emergence to an epidemic, with a frequency and success that should grow if nothing changes.

*: Journal of Mammalogy, 99(1):1–14, 2018

Coral bleaching & ocean acidification

Myriam Dupuis — 2019-03-11T10:18:37Z

Coral reefs cover less than 1% of the Earth's surface. They harbour 25% of the world's known marine biodiversity, and thousands of species belonging to other bioloogical groups, such as marine Invertebrates, microscopic life, Funghi ...

Healthy coral, the Blue Lagon, Rangiroa, French Polynesia

Myriam Dupuis

The reef ecosystem, structure of which being built by corals, is, together with humid tropical forests, is the richest in terms of biodiversity, the most complex and productive of the planet. It is urgent to preserve it.

Corals mainly live in shallow areas, quite close to the surface of the sea, in the salt waters of tropical seas where the temperature is between 20 and 32°C and the clarity of the water allows light to penetrate. Coral reefs are made up of billions of small animals, polyps, that live in symbiosis with microscopic algae called zooxanthells.

Anatomy of a coral polyp

DR - internet

Both species are useful to each other by offering shelter and food. Zooxanthells are plants that perform photosynthesis using sunlight by drawing carbon dioxide (CO₂) dissolved in water to produce oxygen and essential food for polyps.
For their part, polyps protect zooxanthells, breathe oxygen, produce CO₂ and provide their hosts with nutrients from their own waste. Each polyp lives inside a calcium carbonate shell. Polyps gather to form the complex structure characteristic of corals, while zooxanthells are the origin of their colour.

Threats
Environmental changes have destructive effects on this association. Threats include:

a change in water temperature (the sea is warming faster than scientists had predicted), its salinity, a change in its pH (acidification due to an increase in dissolved carbon dioxide),
changes in currents, strong storms, cyclones, exceptional conditions such as tsunamis, are environmental changes that “disturb” the coral and create stress.

Human activities are also responsible for coral bleaching (list is not exhaustive!):

agriculture : in France, agriculture production is used at 80% to feed livestock. It discharges nitrates and phosphates into streams, generating a chemical change in the rivers' water ... down to the sea;
urbanization of the coastlines : on one hand, construction of real estate (some wastes containing varying concentrations of toxic substances are found in the sea) and, on the other hand, supply of freshwater from the sewage treatment of cities, watering of gardens near the coral beaches (i.e. the coral does not like freshwater);
increase of the seaside attractiveness that causes the destruction of beaches and coral reefs : use of solar products, human trampling on corals...;
generally speaking, wastes discarded voluntarily or not at sea: “all-offshore”.

Coral bleaching

Coral Bleaching on Reunion Island

Myriam Dupuis

The coral then weakens: it receives less oxygen and ends up expelling its zooxanthells without which it cannot survive. And that's when discolouration or bleaching occurs. If the stress does not last too long, the zooxanthellas sometimes reintegrate their coral, but when the stress is too high, the zooxanthells do not return and the coral dies, invaded by invasive algae that grow on its surface.

The first observation of a bleaching date back to 1979.
Since then, we have been talking about the whitening of corals. These are no longer isolated cases but whole areas of reefs that bleach and die. This phenomenon has been observed everywhere: on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, but also on Reunion Island, on the Seychelles, on Madagascar, on the Maldives….
The pH of the sea has increased from 8.20 (in 1800) to 8.10 (in 2015) and is expected to continue falling to 7.65 by 2100.

What will be the impact of the disappearance of the corals?
Our lifestyles are producing more and more CO₂.
Corals contribute to reducing the amount of CO₂ in the planet's atmosphere because the coral skeletons they build consists of aragonite crystals, that is to say calcium carbonate. Carbonate is only dissolved carbon dioxide; calcium is found in large quantities in water. Carbonate is proportional to the carbon dioxide present in the air.
The corals therefore recycle this CO₂ in a rigid skeleton and participate in their own way in the purification of the atmosphere.
But the acidification of seawater has the following consequences:

the reduction of the chemical elements essential to marine life, hence the disappearance of marine animals;
the death of corals, shells, by the action of a sea water that has become corrosive and dissolves their shells;
the slow dissolution of the calcareous skeletons of these animals which will restore CO₂, which will proportionately pass through the Earth's atmosphere…and will contribute even more to the current pollution, even aggravating considerably the situation we are experiencing today. What will we do with this CO₂ that will no longer be “evacuated” by natural mechanisms?...
This acidification poses a real threat to marine ecosystems on a global scale, and therefore a threat to global food security.

We must therefore protect the coral, and protect the ocean and its inhabitants, because each species depends on another, in order to achieve this wonderful and fragile balance that gives life, and on which the human species also depends. Protecting is about thinking and changing one's ways of behaving, including how one consumes.

How can I help to protect biodiversity ?

Myriam Dupuis — 2016-10-17T17:57:40Z

The planet does not belong to the people

When biodiversity is concerned, we often feel powerless and think that our actions will not change the course of events. But “small brooks make big rivers”! You are not alone: today, millions of people around the world take action every day to preserve biodiversity and ecosystems. Each of us can make a difference. So why not join us?

Here are some simple things you can do, whenever you want, to change the way you live and help protect our planet. And remember: every new day is an opportunity to do better than the day before!

Where does your water go ?

SAVE THE WATER !

Water is precious for life. Rich countries benefit both from drinking and tap water. The world production of industrial agriculture - which is mainly intended for rich countries - gobbles up 96,4 % of the fresh water (pumped from lakes, rivers, reservoirs and aquifers) while 2,7 billion people - a third of the world population - live in regions knowing a serious water shortage and have no access to drinking water …The climate change makes us painfully understand that it is time to pay attention to what we consider as a due: the water.

In order to respect and preserve water, we should neither waste nor pollute it.
Here are some simple everyday habits:
➢ I turn off the tap while brushing my teeth: this can save an entire swimming pool's worth of water per person per year ! The same applies when I shave.
➢ I prefer a short shower to a bath;
➢ I do the dishes without wasting water;
➢ I use homemade cleaning products made from natural, environmental friendly ingredients: white vinegar to remove limescale, baking soda for cleaning, Marseille soap for laundry, lemon for disinfecting… These products are natural and their breakdown does not affect the environment in the same way as conventional cleaning products. And, above all, I use them sparingly to avoid overdosing!
To know more about it : http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/hom...
... Up to you ! But beware of some “fake” natural cleaning products sold as “Green” even though they contain palm oil under numerous namings...
➢ I water my plants with rainwater whenever possible, preferably at the end of the day to reduce evaporation. If you have a garden, you can collect rainwater in a tank, and even recycle greywater (from washing dishes, bathing, showering, etc.) for flushing toilets and cleaning floors, and, after filtration, for watering plants.

CONSUME LESS AND BETTER

Before we are even born, we are considered consumers. It is time to become “consum'actors”!
It seems that we have only recently become aware that our planet has limited resources — yes, indeed!
But there are 8 billion human beings living on Earth. The Western paradigm according to which consumption must be boosted in order to ensure economic growth and full employment lasted for a long time. We can see where it has led us. Each of us must take responsibility and rethink the way we consume.

Food Consumption

Our food: we are what we eat. According to numerous experts, food crises have contributed to the collapse of civilisations… Let us try to find solutions!

➢ I EAT LOCAL means that I choose local food producers and short distribution networks whenever possible;

I prefer food produced close to where I live, with short transport distances: I reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere. CO₂ is the main greenhouse gas of anthropogenic origin, and its concentration is increasing, contributing to global warming and climate change.
This means that I eat seasonal fruit and vegetables, which are often of better taste and quality, especially when they come from organic farming, biodynamic agriculture or permaculture, while their imported equivalents may require large quantities of fertilisers and chemical pesticides and involve polluting long-distance transportation.
In doing so, from an economic point of view, I support producers in my region.
It involves that I consume seasonal fruits and vegetables, that are very often of better gustative quality, especially if they arise from the organic farming, from the biodynamic, from the permaculture …, while their international equivalents need big quantifies of fertilizers and chemical pesticides and pollution transportation.
In doing so, from an economic point of view, I support producers in my region.
I subscribe to an “organic basket” and, more broadly, embrace a philosophy of global ecology, with locally and seasonally produced fruit and vegetables (requiring little storage and little transportation), and reduced packaging.
And I avoid wasting food! On average, every French person throws away around 20 kg of food per year, i.e. between €100 and €160 per year… or €12 to €20 billion worth of food every year in France! http://www.consoglobe.com/qui-jette...

Fewer fish in the sea than ever before

-➢ I PREFER RESPONSIBLY CAUGHT FISH

to limit overfishing: during fishing seasons (sometimes coinciding with the peak breeding period), certain fishing methods destroy the seabed and result in numerous by-catches, including juveniles and adults of non-target species. These methods threaten the natural renewal of fish populations. I choose responsibly caught fish, handled with care and traceable back to a sustainable source.
to preserve the oceans: I choose fish and shellfish that are not vulnerable species, caught by local fisheries or having the Mr. Goodfishlabelling.

➢ I REDUCE MY MEAT CONSUMPTION

It is good for my health: eating too much meat can provoke hypercholesterolemia, cancer, diabetes... . Several times a week, I replace meat with plant proteins such as lentils and beans.
to avoid deforestation: cattle farming requires space for the animals as well as vast areas of agricultural land for growing animal feed, often at the expense of forests!
to avoid pollution and depletion of ground waters: feed crops require large amounts of water and pesticides;
to limit methane emissions: methane is the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas after CO₂, with a warming potential 28 times greater than CO₂. During the digestion, ruminants produce methane, particularly when they are fed protein-rich crops such as soy. Ruminant farming is the third-largest source of methane emissions, after fossil-fuel combustion and landfills. In France, cattle are fed with around 70% soymeal produced coming in Brazil: the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed, threatening a unique habitat for Indigenous peoples and extraordinary fauna and flora… Anyway, is it worth the destroying the Amazon rainforest to grow soy that will travel thousands of kilometres to feed French cattle? Who benefits the most from this? Not the cows or the consumers, but rather the many intermediaries…

➢ I MAKE SURE THAT MEAT AND THE EGGS COME FROM FARMS WHERE ANIMALS ARE PROPERLY TREATED

Ethically: I buy free-range eggs (in France these eggs are marked with a code 0 or 1) because 90 % of eggs are still produced in battery (code 2 or 3), where the space allocated to each hen is about the size of an A4 sheet of paper, the lighting is artificial and cages are stacked three to six levels high…
Out of curiosity and to raise awareness: at the restaurant, markets and supermarkets, I ask shopkeepers about the origin of the products they sell. It takes time, and often they do not even know the answer, but it is important to question the consequences of our consumption.

Deforestation around Palma, Cabo Delgado Province, Northern Mozambique

MNHN

➢ I BOYCOTT PRODUCTS CONTAINING PALM OIL

To fight against deforestation: in order to plant oil palms, vast areas of forest have been cleared, destroying the habitats of endangered species. The best-known victims include orangutans, gibbons, gorillas, tigers, lions, rhinos, elephants… and many others.
For my health: we do not know the long-term consequences of consuming palm oil. Those who defend it claim that there is no evidence of harm… Is this a new interpretation of the “precautionary principle”?
Don't be fooled ! : Organic palm oil does NOT exist! !! This type of labelling has been created by powerful industrial groups, sometimes with the support of environmental NGOs… but the facts are as follows: forests have been destroyed and continue to be destroyed every day, and it is difficult to believe that oil-palm plantations can now be considered organic after decades of fertiliser and pesticide use, even if less fertiliser is used today…

➢ I PREFER GLASS CONTENTS

[to fight against plastics] that pollute the oceans, I prefer glass bottles that I can recycle or return for reuse. Glass can be recycled indefinitely.
to filter tap water, I use one stick of activated coal in a glass bottle.

...And other consumption!

Discharge of medicine into the water

➢ I LIMIT MY USE OF MEDICINES WHOSE RESIDUES END UP DIRECTLY IN NATURE

We eliminate a large proportion of the active ingredients of the medicines we take through our urine. They pass through wastewater treatment plants and can find their way into rivers and seas, where they affect aquatic and marine flora and fauna. Their effects are still poorly understood, but fish exposed to these active ingredients can undergo changes associated with the presence of endocrine disruptors among the many pollutants generated by our activities: http://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/natu....
I take medicines only when they are really necessary (antibiotics are of no use against viral infections), and I return unused medicines, or medicines that have passed their expiry date, to the pharmacy. They should not be thrown in the rubbish bin or flushed down the toilet!

➢ I PREFER ORGANIC COSMETICS

For my heath and for nature: many conventional cosmetics contain chemicals (preservatives, synthetic fragrances, surfactants, endocrine disruptors…), which may not be biodegradable and can therefore be harmful to biodiversity, particularly aquatic ecosystems, into which they are discharged through wastewater. To learn more:
synthesis of endocrine disruptors
For the pleasure of making things myself and the pleasure of giving: I choose organic cosmetics!
I wash myself with Marseille soap (beware: many brands make it using palm-oil by-products); I nourish my skin with vegetable oil scented with drops of essential oil (lavender, ylang-ylang, vetiver…); I “cook” my own skin and hair masks; I cleanse my skin with a decoction of chamomile or cornflower; I make an exfoliating scrub with wheat bran, oats or used coffee grounds, scented with essential oil; I even make my own toothpaste: it's child's play!

➢ I USE MINERAL SUNSCREENS

To avoid hormonal imbalance in fauna and flora: many sunscreens contain allergenic chemical UV filters. When they enter seas, lakes and rivers, they can cause hormonal disruption in animals — including humans — and are partly responsible for coral bleaching.
Because they are less toxic: some tourist destinations, such as the Xel-Há water park in Mexico, have taken this threat seriously: only mineral sunscreens are now permitted there. They spread a little less easily and sometimes leave white marks because of their mineral filters, but they are effective and, above all, less toxic, both for you and for nature. Here is a selection of sunscreens.
Another solution: I wear a T-shirt or a thin swimsuit when I swim.

➢ I FAVOR ORGANIC COTTON

To avoid the use of powerful insecticides : intensive conventional cotton farming uses 25% of the insecticides sold worldwide! Soil depletion, deforestation, massive irrigation, groundwater pollution, exposure of agricultural workers and local species to toxic substances: it is particularly harmful to the environment and to people.
For softer cotton fibres that do not damage the soil : organic cotton is grown using natural fertilisers and pesticides, requires less water, protects soil fertility (because it is rotated with other crops), and produces softer and more resistant fibres.
For my health: because it is not chemically treated from production through processing into garments, organic cotton is hypoallergenic.
Before buying I ask myself: do I really need a new pair of fashionable jeans or another cotton garment?

➢ I DON'T BUY CLOTHES THAT NEED TO BE DRY-CLEANED

To protect the environment and aquatic ecosystems in particular: most dry-cleaning processes use perchloroethylene (or tetrachloroethylene). This solvent is toxic to people who handle it; it can irritate the skin and mucous membranes, cause nausea, headaches and loss of consciousness, accumulate in the body and is probably carcinogenic. It is normally used in a closed circuit, but it can nevertheless find its way into groundwater and rivers.
To avoid chlorinated compounds that have been used since the 1950s: they destroy the ozone layer and contribute to global warming. The Copenhagen Protocol banned them in 1992; however, these products can still be found in the environment today. Ecological dry cleaning uses only biodegradable products (water in particular) and is still relatively rare.
The solution: I do not buy clothes or household linen that require dry cleaning!

➢ I WALK, CYCLE AND USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

To limit CO₂emissions: our activities are putting life on Earth at risk. Deserts are expanding, glaciers are shrinking, sea levels are rising… CO₂ produced by vehicles is the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming and climate change. Entire ecosystems are being disrupted. In Copenhagen, 67% of the population walks, cycles or uses public transportation: we should be able to do the same, shouldn't we?
For a healthier city: walking, cycling and using public transportation create connections between citizens and make cities healthier for everyone. And for you too!

➢ I DIY / GARDEN WITH ECOLOGICAL, NATURAL, SUSTAINABLE OR RECYCLED PRODUCTS, PREFERABLY OF LOCAL ORIGIN.

To change the decoration of my apartment I visit recycling shops (Emmaüs, flea markets…);
I repaire my appliances rather than throwing them away;
I choose paints without heavy metals;
My apartment is equipped with low-energy appliances;
I choose ecological insulation materials such as wood wool, hemp, linen, cork, cellulose fibre… They come from plants whose production does not cause pollution to the environment. They are manufactured using processes requiring little energy and receive non-toxic mineral additives such as silicates, intended to protect them from insects, fungi, rodents and fire. For example, manufacturing cellulose fibre insulation uses three times less energy than manufacturing polystyrene!

In the garden and/or countryside:

I create wildlife corridors and crossing points for animals, and I let flora and fauna colonise rainwater ponds.
I protect earthworms, which are an essential link in the food chain. They constantly recycle organic matter such as dead leaves and other decomposing plant material. In doing so, they contribute to the production of good humus and help maintain the fertility of the soil in which the fruit and vegetables we eat grow. Their burrows also loosen the soil, allowing roots to develop properly and water to infiltrate quickly and deeply, where plants can absorb it. This also limits runoff and erosion during heavy rain. To protect them, I use no chemical fertilisers or pesticides.

WASTE

Life cycle of waste

➢ I THROW NO WASTE ON THE GROUND

I pick up at least one piece of litter a day that does not belong to me: everything thrown into the street or onto the ground, in towns or in nature, is disastrous for the environment, and the consequences are devastating: 90% of what is thrown on the ground ends up in the sea and is responsible for the deaths of millions of marine animals.
Certain types of waste have an immediate impact: cigarette butts and chewing gum, for example, can poison or suffocate animals that ingest them ; small mammals and amphibians can become trapped in bottles and soft-drink cans ; pieces of broken glass can injure larger animals and, through the magnifying-glass effect, cause fires.
Others have a longer-term impact, such as plastics, which take hundreds of years to degrade while releasing toxic substances, or batteries, which contain heavy metals.

Mom, where should I put my beach towel?

Myriam Dupuis

➢ I DO NOT FEED «CONTINENTS OF WASTE» IN THE OPEN SEA

Under the influence of ocean currents, floating waste converges and accumulates, forming “continents of waste”. («The Great Pacific Garbage Patch) covers 3.5 million km², an area the size of India or six times the size of France. These “new continents” are mainly made of plastic. Plastic does not biodegrade, but under the action of waves it breaks down into microparticles and releases numerous toxic substances.
The ingestion of larger pieces of plastic can suffocate fish, turtles, birds and marine mammals that mistake them for prey.
Scientific research has shown that ingesting microplastics can cause changes in male and female reproductive organs within just a few generations.
What can I do? I no longer use plastic bags, I throw nothing into nature, even far from the sea. I talk to people around me about these continents of waste, which are still often little known.

➢ I AVOID UNNECESSARY PACKAGING

I do my shopping with my own bags.
I ask shopkeepers to use my own containers whenever possible.
I sort my waste and prefer products sold in returnable containers.

RECYCLING

➢ I RECYCLE WHAT CAN BE RECYCLED

My old clothes, household linen and fibres that can be reused.http://www.lafibredutri.fr
Appliances that I no longer use, which can be repaired or used for spare parts
Batteries, light bulbs, ink cartridges… in the appropriate collection bins.
Conclusion : A GOOD WASTE IS THE ONE THAT DOES NOT EXIST!!!!

➢ I COMPOST!

There are composting systems that can be installed on a balcony, or even inside an apartment: a way to recycle fruit and vegetable peelings and obtain compost for my plants! Remember that compost is alive; if I am often away, I can suggest that people in my building set up a communal composting system. I can also suggest that my local authority organise regular collection of compostable waste.

REDUCTION

➢ I LIMIT LIGHT POLLUTION OUTSIDE
In the countryside as well as in cities, lighting roads, streets and gardens allows some people to extend their activities into the night. But artificial light disturbs numerous species: nocturnal animals such as owls, bats, toads and others have difficulty seeing obstacles, prey or predators.

> Migratory birds become disoriented: young birds making their first flights are particularly sensitive to bright points of light. Misled by urban lighting, they may crash to the ground. Unable to take off again, they can die from dehydration or predation, and sometimes simply from being crushed.
> Moths fly around street lamps until they are exhausted.
> Male fireflies can no longer perceive the light signals emitted by females and are therefore unable to reproduce.
Therefore, when lighting my garden, terrace or front door, I prefer low-intensity lamps and point them downwards. I switch them off as soon as I no longer need outdoor lighting.

➢ I REDUCE MY CONSUMPTION OF PAPER, CARDBOARD AND ENERGY

I use less paper and cardboard to protect forests; I also reduce the energy and water consumption required to produce them… and therefore automatically produce less paper waste.
I print my documents on both sides; I use the blank backs of sheets as scrap paper; I reuse envelopes for shopping lists and notes.
-*When available, I choose recycled or certified FSC or PEFC paper for exercise books, wallpaper, tissues, towels, bags, toilet paper, etc.
I choose to receive my administrative documents online.
Once I have read them, I lend my books and newspapers to other potential readers. I recycle waste paper, newspapers, magazines and cardboard.
I avoid disposable cardboard plates, cutlery and cups when I am at the office, on holiday or having a picnic outdoors.
I pay attention to the energy consumption of the equipment in my home.

➢ I USE MY MOBILE PHONE FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE

The manufacture of game consoles, computers and mobile phones requires various ores (copper, cobalt, lead, coltan, etc.) whose demand continues to grow. The mines from which they are extracted are found in many parts of the world, and their exploitation has a huge impact on the environment.
Rare earth elements are a group of 17 chemical elements with exceptional properties. Thanks to these rare earth elements, the colours on our computer screens are so vivid, mobile phones can have touch-sensitive screens and wind turbines can generate electricity. The other side of the coin is that their extraction and processing cause pollution, produce radioactive waste and alter landscapes.
For instance, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where coltan is extracted, the extraordinary biodiversity of Kivu is endangered by illegal hunting of bushmeat to feed miners (including gorillas, okapis and even elephants), massive deforestation to provide timber and firewood and expand mines, soil erosion, and water and air pollution caused by extraction itself… not to mention armed conflicts! So, before buying a new phone or laptop, think about it!

➢ I CONNECT ONLY ONE ELECTRONIC DEVICE AT THE SAME TIME AND I LEARN TO LIVE WITHOUT BEING CONNECTED !!!
A study published in July 2014 showed that browsing the Web consumes a great deal of energy, not only because of data centres but also because of the design of websites and the habits of Internet users. About 25 years after the birth of the Web, its growth is such that it is expected to create major energy challenges, to the point that some people were already predicting its collapse within just a few years.

As an Internet user, I can nevertheless reduce the energy consumption of the Web by switching off Internet-connected devices when they are not being used (especially at night);
By reducing my use of “the cloud”, which is so popular and allows us to store photos and videos online;
By regularly cleaning my email inboxes to avoid keeping unnecessary archives;
By avoiding watching television through websites;
By choosing my search engine (they are not all equivalent in terms of energy consumption) and the websites I visit.
Source : notre-planete.info, http://www.notre-planete.info/actua...

To choose an ethical bank

MY MONEY

➢ WHAT DOES MY BANK DO WITH MY SAVINGS ?

By moving my money to an ethical bank, I can be sure that my savings are used to create a positive social or environmental impact while also generating a healthy return in a safe place for my money.
I financially support sustainable micro-projects through dedicated crowdfunding platforms.

➢ I GIVE MY FRIENDS, RELATIVES AND COLLEAGUES… GIFTS LINKED TO BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

I choose gifts connected with biodiversity and the need to protect it. For instance, I give a nature guide to a handyman, an eco-tourism guide to a globe-trotter, or a pair of binoculars to a naturalist; with a bar of Aleppo soap, I highlight the benefits of using natural cleaning products; with a box of organic chocolates, I raise awareness of the problem of palm-oil production in Indonesia and Malaysia (and the threat it poses to great apes)…
Finally, I can also give a membership to an environmental NGO!

LOCAL BIODIVERSITY

In the heart of Paris : poppies !l

N.B. Caillault

➢ I DISCOVER AND PROTECT NATURE IN THE CITY.

Contrary to what we might think, urban biotopes can be highly diverse: public gardens, private gardens, ponds, parks, forests, streets and tree-lined avenues, wastelands, railway verges, riverbanks… not to mention green roofs and terraces, façades and flower-covered balconies. Even the smallest cracks along pavements, at the foot of buildings or in walls are colonised by a multitude of wild plants! But this biodiversity is vulnerable: it carries little weight when faced with cement mixers and steamrollers…
I plant flowers (or vegetables!) at the foot of the trees in my street!

Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandais) on a balcony downtown

Myriam Dupuis

➢ I WELCOME BIODIVERSITY AT HOME

During construction or renovation work, I think about incorporating shelters for local wildlife, with nesting places, a small pond, a wildflower meadow…
I find out which species may nest near my home and which species I can welcome, and how. I make the necessary arrangements for solitary bees, bats, birds…
I feed birds and provide them with water during winter.
I plant flowers to attract bees.

➢ I RESPECT NATURE OUTDOORS

When I walk in nature, I remain as discreet as possible and make as little noise as possible: this allows me to have surprising encounters with local wildlife.
I collect or pick only what can be collected or picked sustainably.
I participate in citizen-science programmes: observing ecosystems or specific species to help scientific research.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: ACTING TOGETHER

➢ I ORGANIZE A SPRING CLEAN-UP IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD

With my neighbours and the support of local authorities, I organise a clean-up of my street or a nearby public garden, collecting litter such as plastic bags caught in trees, soft-drink cans, bottles and cigarette butts…
In the countryside, the clean-up also includes roadsides, riverbanks and undergrowth, which are often turned into illegal dumping grounds for old television sets, tyres and paint cans… I sort the waste and take it to the appropriate waste collection centre.
In this way, I help limit pollution of ecosystems such as streams and wastelands. I also help prevent animals from being injured by broken glass or suffocating on pieces of plastic that they mistake for food.

Community Garden in Vancouver, Canada

Myriam Dupuis

➢ I ENCOURAGE MY LOCAL AUTHORITY TO PROMOTE ORGANIC GARDENING, COMPOSTING AND THE SWITCHING OFF OF STREET LIGHTS!

Some local authorities are making efforts to plant and manage roadsides and flowerbeds in ways that promote biodiversity. If this is not yet the case in your area, suggest a few simple principles to the relevant department: planting only native species; replacing pesticides and synthetic fertilisers with biological alternatives; using mulch and ground-cover plants to limit unwanted vegetation; reducing watering; composting green waste and using the resulting compost to nourish the soil…
By switching off street lighting, we can avoid disturbing migratory birds and other nocturnal animals.

➢ I CREATE A NATURAL REFUGE FOR BIODIVERSITY

I transform a garden — my own, my children's school garden or my company's grounds — into a natural refuge for biodiversity, starting by banning the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilisers.
I let spontaneous vegetation grow in a corner of the garden: it is excellent for insects and therefore for birds!
I adopt late mowing: it allows botanical species to reproduce and diversify while providing shelter for many animals.
I create a small pond and keep a dead tree, with cavities to welcome wildlife, as well as piles of logs and stones for small mammals, amphibians and various invertebrates.
I diversify the hedge with native species.

➢ I AM WARY OF GREENWASHING
Certain companies, car manufacturers in particular, do not hesitate to praise the “ecological” virtues of products that are anything but “green”. Others need to “green” their image because their activities are highly polluting or harmful to biodiversity (greenhouse-gas emissions, clearing land to build an extension, using river water to cool machinery).
Don't let yourself be fooled by their too-good-to-be-true green advertising campaigns! Sign petitions to denounce greenwashing!

➢ I JOIN A NATURE CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION

It is a civic-minded and personal commitment. I make sure that my membership fee is used for concrete projects. Environmental protection projects take place over the long term: I try not to forget to renew my support every year.
I put my skills and/or my availability at the service of the NGO(s) I have chosen.
I meet new people with whom I share a number of values.

Finally, perhaps you have already incorporated some of these actions into your daily habits? Bravo! Otherwise, it is never too late to get started!

The good news!

Protecting biodiversity means reducing our environmental impact. Yet reducing consumption is often experienced as a loss, a deprivation. We suggest that you see it instead as an adventure: the adventure of building a New World! Come and join us for a more responsible world!

Ecosystem services

Myriam Dupuis — 2015-10-10T06:26:00Z

The concept of ecosystem services has emerged in the 1980s under the guidance of naturalists involved in the conservation of nature. It has grown significantly in the late 90s following the economic work of Costanza (1997) or Daily (1997) but has really gained momentum following the publication of Report Ecosystem Assessment for the Millennium.

The Assessment of the Millennium Ecosystem (or MEA Millennium Ecosystem Assessment), conducted between 2001 and 2005, including attempted to determine the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being.
Indeed, one of the starting postulates that man is an integral part of ecosystems, through a dynamic interaction between the two.
The second major point made by the MEA is that these services (and hence human survival) is dependent on biodiversity on Earth (water, air or terrestrial).

Coal Creek falls, South Island, New Zealand

services de support : cycle de l'eau, photosynthèse et production d'oxygène, cycle des nutriments, formation des sols

In the long and intimate relationship between the man and nature, man, having long used without restraint for centuries and especially in recent decades where the man has plundered the resources, finally took awareness of the fragility of this nature to which it belongs. The man has understood that protecting nature is to protect humanity. Indeed ecosystems provide to humanity many services without which man could not live. These ecosystem services are diverse.
The working group of the MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) in 2005, classified them into four groups.
Of the 24 services evaluated by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, four are on the rise, but 15 ecosystem services are degraded, most probably because of human activities.

What is an ecosystem service ?

The concept of ecosystem service refers to the value (monetary or otherwise) of ecosystems or of nature in general, in the sense that ecosystems provide to humanity of goods and services necessary for their well-being and development.

Affirm with force (and the key figures) that humanity is nothing without sustainable and quality ecosystems should increase awareness among humans on the more-than-necessary urgency to protect these ecosystems.

1 - Support services or self-maintenance

These are services that enable the development of other services and are linked to the existence of life on earth: there are the soil formation, primary production (photosynthesis that combines living formation) or yet, not least, the production of oxygen.
They are different from the other three categories of services, that their effects on people are either indirect or occur over long periods of time. Thus, some services, such as erosion control, can be characterized either as “support” or “control” based on the time scale of the effects of its changes on humans.
For example, human beings do not directly use ecosystem services of soil formation (“support” services), even if changes in the service indirectly affect humans through the effect on food production.

2 - Direct production or Supply services useful to man

This is indeed the provision of food (plants and animals), wood, fiber (cotton, wool), or drugs not to mention water, vital element par excellence. By exploitation of ecosystems, men obtain marketable products.
Examples:

Food, fiber. This includes a broad category of plant-derived food products, animals, bacteria, as well as materials such as wood, jute, hemp, silk ...
Fuel: fuel wood, peat, manure and other materials that serve as energy sources;
Genetic resources include genes and genetic information used for animal breeding, plant breeding and biotechnology;
Chemicals: many drugs, biocides, food additives such as alginates, and biological materials are derived from ecosystems;
Medicinal plants, ornamental resources are products such as skins and shells, flowers used as ornaments, although the value of these resources is often determined by the cultural context of their use;
Building materials: wood, fine sands, etc .;
The huntable wildlife.

3 - Regulating ecosystem services

The ecosystems in their functioning, are directly involved in trade with the atmosphere and thus on air quality and climate, in the water purification and waste, in the regulation of natural risks and the erosion, etc. It is obvious to everyone that the management of ecosystems or agrosystems directly influence these regulatory services and that the man in his management of nature can influence those services.
Examples :

Maintaining the air quality: ecosystems provide chemicals, and they extract chemicals from the atmosphere, thereby influencing the quality of the air;
Climate regulation: Ecosystems influence climate both locally and globally. For example, at local level, changes in land cover can affect both temperature and precipitation patterns. A global scale, ecosystems play an important role in climate, either sequestering or emitting greenhouse gases;
The water cycle: the recurrence and extent of the runoff, flooding and aquifer recharge can be strongly influenced by changes in land use, by alterations that can change the storage potential water at the ecosystem level. Such alterations can be determined by the conversion of wetlands or forests into agricultural areas, agricultural areas or in urban areas;
Control erosion;
Vegetation cover plays an important role in soil retention and preventing landslides;
The water purification and treatment of waste. Ecosystems can made of impurities in the water, but also can help filter and decompose organic waste introduced in wetlands, inland waters and marine ecosystems;
The regulation of human diseases. Changes in ecosystems can directly change the abundance of human pathogens; such as cholera, and can alter the abundance of disease vectors, such as mosquitoes;
Biological control: ecosystem changes may affect the prevalence of diseases and predators of crops and livestock;
Pollination: ecosystem changes may affect the distribution, abundance and effectiveness of pollination;
Protection against storms and floods: for example, the presence of forest ecosystems can reduce the intensity of the wind and / or water.

4 - Cultural ecosystem services

Ecosystems actually have spiritual values as is the case of some sacred groves in some countries, aesthetic and recreational values: walking in the countryside is to meet nature and enjoy what it offers (heritage, aesthetic, education, religion, ecotourism, etc.).

Social and cultural services are non-material benefits from ecosystems obtained by people through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, creation, aesthetic experiences, including:

the employment offer, which is the result of management, restoration, protection etc. ecosystems,
The educational values: ecosystems and their components provide the basis for education in many societies;
source of inspiration;
Ecosystems provide a rich source of inspiration for art, folklore, national symbols, architecture and advertising;
Aesthetic values: many people find beauty or aesthetic value in various aspects of ecosystems; this is reflected for example in visiting parks, “landscapes” and in the choice of locations to build houses;
Social relations: Ecosystems influence social relations. For example, the fact to benefit from the aesthetic and recreational aspects of ecosystems (forest, urban parks ...) can contribute to the strengthening of social ties (e.g. between a group of young, between neighbours ....)
The “heritage” values: many companies appreciate the maintenance of historically important landscapes (“cultural landscapes”) or species of cultural significance;
Recreation and ecotourism: for example, people often choose locations for their holidays according to the natural characteristics of the place.

These services are seen as closely linked to the living.It is the diversity of life, what we call biodiversity, which is the basis of providing these services. This implies that conservation of biodiversity is fundamental.

The different types of ecosystem services (from Study & Documents No. 20, May 2010

Commissariat Général au Développement Durable

In terrestrial ecosystems, the soil is the fundamental element in the provision of services. The soils allow plant growth by providing water and nutrients, they are also home to a huge number of organisms with different functions that will participate in the establishment of ecosystem services. This whole biodiversity that must be protected to maintain the services that nature gives us.

Vidéo : Les services écosystémiques, interview d'Eric Blanchart

Thanks to Eric Blanchart, Stéphane de Tourdonnet, SupAgro Montpellier, Mooc Agroécologie de septembre 2015.

Pollution sonore des océans : quel boucan sous la mer!

Myriam Dupuis — 2014-12-16T08:18:02Z

Nuisance sonore dans les océans

Les océans sont le théâtre de va-et-vient incessants générant des nuisances sonores que l'on imagine mal. Leurs sources :

outre les 6000 navires du transport maritime commercial qui sillonnent les mers en permanence - cargos de marchandises, porte-containers -, et un transport maritime qui ne cesse d'augmenter, il faut également prendre en compte:
les bâtiments des marines nationales, tous pavillons confondus (une centaine pour la France seulement),
les sous-marins et leurs sonars (plus de 300 hors OTAN),
l'exploration sismique pour la recherche pétrolière, gazière et minière,
les éoliennes off-shore de plus en plus nombreuses, et bien sûr,
les bateaux de pêche toutes tailles et tous pavillons confondus,
les 11 bateaux de croisière géants (+ de 7000 passagers à bord)...et tous les autres,
tous les sons émis par les hélices et les coques des bateaux, et autres activités de plaisance tels que le jet-ski, ski nautique, hors bord, pêche amateurs, plongée et autres...

Autrement dit, le mal-nommé « monde du silence » est devenu celui d'une cacophonie insupportable pour ses habitants par l'augmentation incessante des activités humaines.

Réchauffement climatique, acidification des océans, propagation du bruit

Selon des chercheurs de l'Institut de recherche de l'aquarium de la Baie de Monterey aux États-Unis, l'augmentation de l'acidité des océans pourrait rendre l'environnement marin encore plus bruyant. Les changements dans la composition chimique de l'eau de mer auraient pour conséquence que son absorption des sons à basse fréquence serait 10% inférieure à celle d'avant la révolution industrielle.
A moins d'une réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre (chemin que nous ne prenons pas malgré toutes les conférences sur le sujet…), l'acidité des mers et des océans pourrait atteindre d'ici à 2050 un niveau tel que le bruit des navires et des canons sismiques voyagerait 70% plus loin qu'actuellement. No comment...ou NO FUTUR ?

Écholocalisation ….

internet

Les cétacés produisent des sons (clics, sifflements, vocalisations) dont la plupart sont caractéristiques de l'espèce ou de la population par leur forme, leur fréquence et leur durée. Ils utilisent des systèmes d'écholocation similaires aux sonars actifs, parfois sur de grandes distances, pour localiser leurs congénères, leurs proies et leurs prédateurs.

En retour, ils captent les ondes sonores avec leur mâchoire inférieure, tapissée de tissus adipeux très vascularisés qui servent de structure de résonance pour l'écholocalisation. Les vibrations liées aux sons sont si fortes que des boules de graisse se détachent de la mâchoire et sont retrouvées dans le sang des animaux lors d'autopsies.

L'environnement océanique et maritime de plus en plus bruyant les désoriente, les disperse et menace ces espèces de disparition.

… Et propagation des ondes des sonars

Sonar waves propagation

AwayFoundation

Or, les ondes des sonars utilisés par l'armée ou les détonations des canons à air des industriels sont responsables de saignements dans l'oreille interne des cétacés et dans la région de la mâchoire inférieure, ainsi que de fractures d'organes à l'origine d'hémorragies internes. En effet, la prospection sismique gazière et pétrolière utilise des canons à air dont les déflagrations atteignent 1800 décibels.

A titre de comparaison, une exposition pendant 8h à 80db génère chez l'homme une perte d'audition ; un bruit atteignant 120/130 db provoque une sensation douloureuse, sans compter les effets secondaires générés par le bruit : stress, troubles digestifs, du sommeil, risques cardio-vasculaires...

Spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris)

M.Dupuis

En plongée, les cétacés appréhendent l'espace notamment grâce aux signaux acoustiques qu'ils perçoivent et émettent. L'ouïe est leur sens le plus important, et leur aptitude à bien entendre est vitale dans tous les aspects clés de leur vie, comme la recherche de nourriture, le déplacement et les interactions sociales. Le nerf auditif du dauphin est 10 fois plus long que celui de l'homme !

Pour respirer, les cétacés remontent lentement, respectant naturellement des « paliers » de décompression. Mais, soumis au stress généré par les ondes des sonars qui les heurtent, les hormones de stress se propagent dans tout leur corps, leur rythme cardiaque augmente et la fuite s'impose : les cétacés engagent alors une remontée d'urgence. Comme chez les plongeurs, une remontée trop rapide provoque une accumulation de gaz dans les organes.

Pour comprendre un peu mieux ce que ces animaux subissent, il faut imaginer un scénario comparable : vous vous promenez et, soudain, un bruit tel retentit que vous en perdez le sens de l'orientation. L'intensité d'un sonar est plus forte que celle d'un avion à réaction au décollage. Et cela dure plusieurs heures. Vous sentez vibrer vos os et votre chair à cause du bruit ; vos oreilles se mettent à saigner. A l'instar de la pollution sonore générée par les sonars qui saturent les océans sur des centaines de km créant de fait des barrières acoustiques infranchissables pour les cétacés, vous ne pouvez pas vous échapper…Il y a détresse émotionnelle et souffrance physique, et souvent, c'est la mort ...

Stranding of a 6,66m long beaked whale of about 6 tons

SNSM, Station de Beg-Meil, France

Le bruit des sonars militaires génère donc chez les cétacés des problèmes de décompression, suivis très souvent d'un échouage.

On en connaît un peu plus aujourd'hui sur ce phénomène grâce à l'autopsie d'animaux échoués et décédés. Les scientifiques ont découvert que leur foie était plein de bulles d'azote (parfois de la taille d'une balle de tennis), que les reins pouvaient être atteints également et ils ont trouvé aussi des particules de graisse dans le sang (tissus conducteurs détachés de la mâchoire).

Les animaux meurent alors d'une longue agonie. En s'échouant sur les rivages, les animaux cherchent peut-etre à se mettre en sécurité en se rapprochant des côtes ?

Conséquences : les échouages

C'est en 1805 que l'on a recensé pour la première fois un cétacé échoué. Le phénomène des échouages n'est donc pas récent. Par la suite, une vingtaine d'échouages par an a été renseignée jusque dans les années 1960.

Un constat évident : depuis les années 1960, il y a une nette augmentation des échouages. Mais il est vrai qu'aujourd'hui les informations circulent plus facilement. Est-ce tout simplement parce qu'on les voit plus et qu'on en parle plus ? Pas seulement, semble-t-il : des corrélations ont pu être établies entre des échouages de cétacés et les exercices des marines américaines, britanniques et espagnoles réalisant des manœuvres navales avec des sonars militaires à basse fréquence perceptibles à plus de 100km.

Rappelons que toutes les marines utilisent ce type d'équipements ; donc toutes les mers et les océans du monde sont concernés par ces «manœuvres »…
En 2000, aux Bahamas, une expérience de l'US Navy avec un émetteur à 230 db dans la gamme de fréquence 3 000 à 7 000 Hz provoqua l'échouage de seize baleines, dont sept furent trouvées mortes. L'US Navy reconnut, deux ans après, sa responsabilité dans cet échouage dans un rapport publié le 01/01/2002 dans le Boston Globe.

Les échouages de septembre 2012

Beached whales near St. Andrews, Scotland, Sept. 2, 2012.

Andrew Milligan/AP/SIPA

Au cours du même week-end du 02/09/12, plusieurs dizaines de globicéphales se sont échoués sur les côtes d'Écosse et de Floride, d'un côté et de l'autre côté de l'Atlantique.

En Amérique du Nord, il s'agissait du troisième incident de ce type en deux jours.

26 Baleines échouées en Écosse

Le 02/09/12, un groupe imposant de 26 baleines-pilotes (Globicephala macrorhynchus) s'est échoué sur la côte est de l'Écosse, près de Saint-Andrews.

Seize sont mortes, les sauveteurs ayant réussi à remettre à l'eau les dix autres.

Seismic survey map in Scotland

Sibylline

On pense rapprocher ces échouages des prospections sismiques de la compagnie M/V Polarcus Adira…

Deux autres groupes de globicéphales se sont échoués à Cape Cod, dans le Massachusetts (nord-est des États-Unis) le 01/09/12, et au Canada le 02/09.

22 Baleines échouées en Floride

Le 01/09/12, 22 baleines se sont échouées sur une plage de Floride, dont 5 seulement ont pu être sauvées.

Pilot whales stranded in Florida - sept.2012

internet

A cette occasion, l'association Sibylline rappelle qu'aux États-Unis, c'est le grand représentant de l'industrie de la captivité Seaworld qui finance la gestion des échouages lorsqu'il y a des animaux survivants.

Est-ce un hasard si seuls des jeunes et très jeunes animaux aient été sauvés, alors que les autres ont été euthanasiés ? Ils ont été dirigés vers l'un des parcs d'attraction (« centres vétérinaires »). Aucune autorisation n'est nécessaire quand les animaux sont déclarés non réhabilitables. Ainsi, coup double pour Seaworld : une publicité lui donnant une image de sauveur et une excellente opération financière puisqu'un globicéphale, s'il devait être acheté, coûterait au bas mot 250 000 dollars, alors 5 d'un coup…

La raison de ces échouages de début septembre est encore à l'étude.

Nearly 50 whales beached themselves off Tasmania, January 23, 2009

Internet

Besoin de programmes indépendants

Des programmes de recherches sur les cétacés existent, mais il est très difficile d'avoir une étude indépendante. Aux États-Unis, par exemple, les programmes de recherche en biologie marine sont financés par la Navy. Seules des études indépendantes détermineraient précisément le rôle des activités humaines dans ces échouages… et dans la disparition de ces animaux marins, et ne seraient plus censurées.

Outre les échouages, on connaît déjà les conséquences de ces nuisances sonores chez les cétacés. Elles affectent tous les plans de la vie des animaux ; tout d'abord :

La communication : la destruction de leur système d'écholocalisation crée des problèmes au sein du clan. Les mâles et les femelles n'arrivent plus à se rejoindre.
L'éducation : les petits connaissent des difficultés d'apprentissage des codes du groupe et le plus souvent, ils finissent par se perdre et s'échouent sur des plages.
La migration : obligés de s'écarter de leurs routes habituelles, les individus d'un même groupe finissent par se séparer. Les chercheurs ont trouvé des cétacés échoués en des endroits habituellement non fréquentés par ces animaux.
Le risque de famine : les cétacés ne sont plus capables de localiser leurs proies et donc de se nourrir.

The different species of cetaceans

internet

Existe-t-il des solutions ? oui mais il s'agit, une fois de plus, de choix politique …

Parmi les solutions évoquées, en voici quelques unes :

1) Le changement de fréquence des sonars : ce n'est pas une solution car d'autres espèces de cétacés seront affectées puisque chaque espèce possède des caractéristiques de résonance propre.

2) Des murs de bulles sont générés au pied des éoliennes off-shore afin d'atténuer leur bruit, un peu comme les murs anti-bruit au bord de nos autoroutes construits pour absorber partiellement les nuisances sonores. La réduction semble effective, mais est-elle suffisante ?...

3) L'industrie navale est en capacité aujourd'hui de fabriquer des navires silencieux mais cela coûte cher. Et comme à ce jour, il n'existe aucune obligation nationale ou internationale, personne ne veut payer un tel coût malgré les recommandations faites par les scientifiques et des associations depuis plusieurs années.

4) Les Marines nationales pourraient vérifier, avant leurs exercices sur zone, la présence de cétacés grâce aux clics qu'ils émettent. Cela supposerait un changement radical d'attitude des militaires de toutes nationalités : engager et suivre les recommandations de biologistes marins… autant dire que cette mesure qui pourrait pourtant être rapidement mise en place ne le sera probablement jamais.

5) Créer plus de zones où trafic maritime, manœuvres militaires, exploration off-shore, activités aquatiques de plaisance seront totalement interdits, ainsi que des corridors pour relier ces zones de tranquillité ;

6) Rejoindre les associations qui se battent sur ces sujets ; en parler autour de soi et relayer l'information via vos réseaux auprès de nos députés : nous sommes l'opinion publique et nous pouvons agir.

Pour aller plus loin :

http://www.sounds-of-seas.info/

The noise also pollutes the oceans

Myriam Dupuis — 2014-12-16T07:39:35Z

OCEAN NOISE POLLUTION

The constant hustling and bustling in the oceans create unceasing unimaginable noise.

6000 commercial shipping vessels ply the seas permanently, as well as :
submarines and sonar (more than 300 are non-NATO),
Navy ships (about 100 for French Navy) of all countries,
industrial fishing boats,
seismic offshore exploration for oil, gas and other minerals,
giant cruise ships (with more than 7000 passengers!) and all other cruise ships all over the world,
more and more numerous offshore wind turbines, and, of course,
the sounds from boats' propellers and hulls as well as other recreational activities such as jet-ski, water skiing, sport fishing, ...contribute to this cacophony.
The no-appropriately-named “silent world” has become an unbearable cacophony for its inhabitants due to ever-increasing human activities.

GLOBAL WARMING, ACIDIFICATION OF OCEANS, SPREAD OF NOISE

According to researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, USA, the increasing acidity of ocean may let the marine environment becoming even more noisy. Changes in the chemical composition of seawater would diminish the capacity to absorb low frequency sounds by 10% compared with the pre-industrial revolution era. Unless we reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (a path we are not following...), the acidity of the oceans and seas could reach a level such that the noise of ships and airguns used for offshore exploration would travel 70% farther than at present time. No comment...or NO FUTURE ?

ECHOLOCALISATION ….

internet

Whales produce sounds (clicks, whistles, vocalizations), most of which are characteristic of a species or a population by their shape, frequency and duration. They use echolocation systems similar to active sonar, sometimes over long distances to locate their peers, their prey and their predators.

Cetacean capture sound waves with their lower jaw, lined with highly vascularized adipose tissue. This serves as a resonance structure for echolocation. The vibrations are so strong that some balls of adipose tissue come off the jaw, and are found in the blood of animals at autopsy.

The increasing noise of oceans and marine environment disorients them, disperses and threatens their livelihood, and may lead them to extinction.

… and SONARS WAVE PROPAGATION

Sonar waves propagation

AwayFoundation

Sonar waves (whose intensity is greater than the noise of a jet plane taking off) used by the Army – or air guns' waves for offshore exploration for oil gas and minerals - are responsible for bleeding in the inner ear of cetaceans and in the region of the lower jaw, as well as for fractures organs causing internal bleeding. offshore exploration for oil gas and minerals uses airguns whose deflagrations reach 1800 decibels. For comparison, spending 8h at 80db generates in man a hearing loss; noise reaching 120/130 db causes a painful sensation, not counting the side effects generated by the noise: stress, digestive disorders, sleep, cardiovascular risks ...

Spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris)

M.Dupuis

During their dive, as far as we actually know, most cetaceans experience space only through acoustic signals they receive and issue. For them, hearing is the most important sense. Their capacity to hear well is vital in all key aspects of their lives, such as finding food, travelling and socialising. Do you know that the auditory nerve of the dolphin is 10 times longer than the man's one?
To breathe, they take their time, naturally respecting decompression “levels”. But under stress generated by colliding sonar waves, stress hormones are spread throughout the body, the heart rate increases and the leak is obvious: whales undertake an emergency ascent. As with divers, a too fast ascent causes an accumulation of gas in the organs.

To understand a little better what these animals are suffering, imagine a comparable scenario: you are in the street and suddenly you hear a noise that makes you lose your sense of direction. The sonar's intensity is stronger than a jet's take-off. And it lasts several hours and not only a few minutes. You can feel your bones and flesh in your body vibrate because of the noise; your ears start bleeding.
The noise generated by the sonar saturates the oceans on hundreds of miles creating acoustic barriers that are insurmountable for cetaceans. That means you cannot escape...Here come place for emotional distress and physical pain, and death.

Stranding of a 6,66m long beaked whale of about 6 tons

SNSM, Station de Beg-Meil, France

The sound of military sonar therefore generates decompression problems for cetaceans, that are very often followed by a stranding.
We know a little more about this phenomenon today thanks to the autopsy of bodies of stranded animals found dead. Scientists discovered that the liver was full of gas bubbles (sometimes the size of a tennis ball), the kidneys ruined and fat particles were found in the blood (conductive fat tissus detached from the jaw).
Animals die a slow death. Some of them lose their strength on the shores. Maybe they approach the land as a way to reach safety?

CONSEQUENCES : THE STRANDINGS

The stranding phenomenon is not recent: the first cetacean stranding was recorded in 1805. Since then around twenty strandings per year have been recorded until the 1960s. But the conclusion is obvious: since the 1960s, there is a sharp increase in cetaceans' strandings. Of course information flows more easily since the mid-20^th century, but is it simply because it is easier to know what is happening on the other side of the Earth, or is it because there are more and more accidents?
Correlations have been made between US, British and Spanish Navies' presence conducting naval manoeuvres with low frequency military sonar noticeable over 100km and cetaceans strandings. Remember that all Navies use the same kind of equipment, so all the seas of the world are affected by these “exercises”...
In 2000, in the Bahamas, a U.S. Navy experiment with a transmitter up to 230 dB in the frequency range of 3,000 to 7,000 Hz caused the beaching of sixteen whales, seven of whom were found dead. Two years later, the U.S. Navy finally recognized its responsibility in this stranding in a report published on 01/01/2002 in the Boston Globe.

“Some” last strandings in September 2012

Beached whales near St. Andrews, Scotland, Sept. 2, 2012.

Andrew Milligan/AP/SIPA

During the same weekend of 09/02/12, dozens of pilot whales were stranded on both sides of the Atlantic, the coast of Scotland and Florida. In North America, it was the third such incident in two days.

26 WHALES STRANDED IN SCOTLAND
On 02/09/12, a large group of 26 pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) were beached on the eastern coast of Scotland, near St. Andrews. Sixteen died, but rescuers managed to get the other ten back into the water. Two other groups of pilot whales were beached at Cape Cod, Massachusetts (North-eastern United States) on 09/01/12, and Canada 09/02/12.

Seismic survey map in Scotland

Sibylline

It is believed that the seismic survey performed by the company M / V Polarcus Adira could be responsible for these beachings.
Two other groups of pilot whales were beached at Cape Cod, Massachusetts (North-eastern United States) on 09/01/12, and Canada 09/02/12.

22 WHALES STRANDED IN FLORIDA

Pilot whales stranded in Florida - sept.2012

internet

On 09/01/12, 22 whales - only 5 were saved - were stranded on a Florida beach.

At the same time, the Sibylline association reminds us that the American company SeaWorld is the largest representative of the captive animals' industry, which finances and manages safety operations where strandings occur and surviving animals can be found. Is it a coincidence that only young and very young animals have been rescued, while others were euthanized? These young animals were directed to one of the parks (“veterinary centres”), without the need for authorization, as they were declared not “rehabilitated”. So double whammy for SeaWorld: a huge advertising campaign promotes a very positive image of SeaWorld as a rescuer, and the financial transaction is excellent, since a pilot whale, should it be purchased, costs at least $ 250,000 dollars… So here they had five in one go...
The reason for these early September 2012' strandings is still yet to be determined.

Nearly 50 whales beached themselves off Tasmania, January 23, 2009

Internet

A NEED OF INDEPENDANT RESEARCH STUDIES

Research programs on cetaceans exist, but it is very difficult to have an independent study. In the United States, for example, only the Navy funds research programs in marine biology. But only independant studies would determine precisely the role of human activities in these strandings and the causes of the disappearance of these marine animals. But no chance to get the truth, as funding only comes from those directly involved…
Besides strandings, we already know consequences of noise on Cetaceans. Noise affects all aspects of their lives, such as:

Communication: the destruction of their echolocation system creates problems within the clan. Both males and females can no longer join.
Education: the young have difficulties to learn the group codes and more often, they end up lost and stranded on beaches.
Migration: forced to deviate from their normal routes, individuals of the same group eventually split up. The researchers found stranded cetaceans in places not usually frequented by these animals.
The risk of famine: cetaceans are not able to locate their prey and thus feed.

ARE TERE ANY SOLUTIONS TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF OUR NOISES IN OCEANS? YES, BUT, AGAIN, IT IS A QUESTION OF POLITICS & WHAT WE WANT TO FINANCE…

Among the mentioned solutions, here are a few:

Change the sonar frequency BUT this is not a solution because other cetaceans' species will be affected since each cetacean species has different characteristics of resonance clean.

The different species of cetaceans

internet

Walls of bubbles are generated at the foot of offshore wind turbines, on the sea bottom, to reduce their noise, a bit like anti-noise walls along our highways built to partially absorb the waves. The reduction is effective, but is it sufficient? ...

The shipping industry has the manufacturing capacity of building « silent » vessels but it is expensive. And as to date, no national or international obligation has been set. Despite the recommendations made by scientists and associations for several years, nobody wants to pay.

Ask Navies to check the cetaceans' presence thanks to clicks they emit before they manoeuvre. This would imply a radical change of attitude in the military, whatever nationality they are. The Navies could hire marine biologists. They would have to keep their independence at the same time in order to determine impacts of sonar on the fauna's disappearance. This measure could be quickly put in place but probably never will be...

Create more areas where maritime traffic, military manoeuvres, offshore exploration, aquatic recreational activities are totally prohibited, as well as corridors to connect these quiet areas.

Join associations that are fighting for these issues ... and talk about it around you and relay info via your networks to members of Parliament: we are public opinion and we can act.

To learn more :

http://www.sounds-of-seas.info/

The soil : the most living environment of the planet

Myriam Dupuis — 2014-09-18T15:57:31Z

France...and the rest of the World!

Lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.

M. Dupuis

The atmosphere is a mineral substance [1] composed of gas, mostly of nitrogen at 78%. It protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature differences between day and night.
The hydrosphere is also a mineral substance: the atomic bonds that form the H2O molecules are very solid. It would take a lot of energy to break such molecules. In fact, human activities pollute all bodies of water in a cavalier way, but man has not yet managed to destroy it...
97% of the planet's water is in the oceans that have an average depth of 3800 m. We know that without water, life as we know it is impossible.

Finally, the soil, the lithosphere, is an organic-mineral medium [2], a complex environment whose balance is very fragile because the bonds between organic and inorganic materials (clays) that connect atoms together are electric. This delicate balance works fine as long as man does not interfere, but is heavily threatened wheever man intervenes within it.

Environment destruction : between 12 and 15 million hectares of farmland destroyed each year

At present, the conventional - or rather “productivist”- agriculture destroys between 12 and 15 million hectares of farmland each year, either by erosion, irrigation that generates salinization, or by desertification.

When modern humans started agriculture, the desert represented 11% of the land surface. Today, deserts take over about 33% of the world's land. In the only XXth century we have destroyed one billion hectares of land. And we continue to desertify about 10 to 12 million hectares each year.
In addition, we destroy approximately 17 million hectares per year of tropical and equatorial forests for conversion into agricultural land and urbanization.

We gain ground on the forest in order to plant out oil palm or GMO soy.

M. Dupuis

The annual balance is roughly as follows: we are destroying 10-12 million hectares of land that become deserts and we are “recovering” 17 million hectares of lands (by destroying forests) to convert in farmlands.

Sisal plantation, land taken on the savannah.

M. Dupuis

We obtain a balance of 5-7 million hectares of new land each year. In parallel, the population increases by some 80 million people every year. And do not forget that one billion people are starving ...Clearly, agricultural land per capita decreases.

And then there are those who have been destroying soils for at least a century, and earning billions: representatives of the chemical industry and other merchants of fertilizers, pesticides, and GMOs. According to these “experts”, the only way to face the increase of the population is “more fertilizer, more GMOs” and more benefits. Agriculture no longer truly feeds people, but it only is there to make profits.

Soil destruction : 90% of Europe's soil activity in Europe has been destroyed

The production of cereals in France has not increased since 1995: it is stagnating because the soils are in the process of “giving up” ... In Europe, soils could produce 150 quintals a year but they are no longer able: they produce 80 quintals/year. In the 80's, 90% of Europe's soil activity in Europe has been destroyed.

The myth of Ploughing

Larousse

The three stages of soil erosion are always the same:

1) BIOLOGICAL DEGRADATION of soil by excess of fertilizers, pesticides or irrigation, which accelerates the loss of organic matter that soil micro-fauna feeds on. Without organic matter, micro-fauna and micro-flora disappear.
France is the second largest consumer of pesticides in the world after the United States. Our consumption is almost equivalent to that of the United States while our arable land is 10 times less extensive. This means that we consume 10 times more pesticides per hectare in France than the United States...

2) CHEMICAL DEGRADATION : One of the nature's laws is that rain drains elements such as nitrates, phosphates, magnesium, calcium ... into the soil and the fauna returns them to the surface. When fauna dies, there is no more biological work by earthworms (anecic fauna). In France, today, there are less than 50 kg per hectare of earthworms while they were previously two tons per hectare.
The leaching phase of soil is becoming acidic. And here we are: the pollution of rivers, lakes, and aquifers by nitrates, phosphores ... Acidification corresponds to a loss of elements such as calcium: the humus and clay can no longer bond together and there is no more clay-humus complex.

3) PHYSICAL DEGRADATION : there is no more soil. There is no more calcium to fix the clay-humus complex. We know what is happening in Europe nowadays: when heavy rains fall, all the rivers become muddy. We consider this as “normal” but it is not. If the phenomenon is now global, it does not reflect its “normality”, but rather that the soils are “washed up” and are no longer able to fulfil their role because there is no more biological activity.

Economic vs. Environmental necessity: re-learning the soil

Soils are sick, not inert!
We must change the postulate, soil is an inert substance, according to which our conventional agriculture operates. Consequently, we put fertilizers, which, as we now know, make plants sick. Then, we treat plants by pesticides. The aim is to produce more, and quality has no say any longer. However, we know now that 80% of the biomass is found in the soil, making the soil the most living environment of the planet. It contains more than 25% of plant and animal species currently described.

Loss of biodiversity : from 10 to 2 species of wheat
In the early 20^th, France cultivated 10 species of wheat. Now only two species are grown: durum wheat and tender wheat. All species that do not respond to fertilizers have been eliminated. Spelt is a cereal that has almost disappeared because it did not respond to nitrogen, but was saved by organic farming. From 3600 varieties of fruits grown in France, less than 600 are still grown!

Natural solutions : more than 350000 species of plants
Instead of practicing diligently this quasi-systematic destruction of biodiversity, why couldn't we select the hardiest plants that require little water, do not need fertilizer and protect soils?
There are some 350,000 species of plants. Some do not need water and not even one needs to be genetically modified. This is another approach to molecular genetics and the study of soils: observing and learning what exists thoroughly.

Today, some unsubsidized agricultural models work quite well, especially in South America and New Zealand. These alternatives have a common point: learn to respect the soil, observe how it works - it is similar yet varies by region - and learn how to cultivate it without destroying it. In short: apply what the nature has been doing by itself these last millions of years... And respect the laws of soil biology.

Nature has a sustainable model: just study it!

The fragile electrical ties between organic matter (humus) and minerals (clays) have been destroyed in most soils. It is obvious that soil components are eliminated with the wind or water: muddy rivers, trees uprooted in the wind because the roots cannot go into the soil...
The first precept to remember is to never leave soil bare, whether it is a field, a garden or a vegetable garden to prevent its erosion and to protect it against rain and the sun, because this is how nature protects it in the woods, or in fields with weeds.

Inspiration for Europe: the way the temperate forest operates

Dicyrtoma saundersi, 60x

faune épigée

S. Laprevote

In autumn, the forest litter, composed of twigs, dead branches of trees, leaves, falls. The epigeal fauna composed of arthropods such as springtails break this down. They are about 3 to 4 billion per hectare. Only 10% of the species are known. They live in the top few centimetres of soil, away from direct sunlight, up to about 20-30 cm deep. Their job: to attack the soft parts of litter, such as leaves.

Sminthurides violacea,x60

faune épigée

S. Laprevote

They are also known as “lace makers” of the soil because only the leaf veins remain after their passing…

Then, the Acari attack the hardest parts of litter such as leaf veins and sticks. The population is very diverse, 3-4 billion of animals per hectare. Then, it is the turn of pseudo-scorpions, spiders and woodlice to eat wood, stems rapeseed or corncobs.

The earthworm: 13 families, more than 7000 species, the largest biomass on Earth.

source dsne.chez-alice.fr

Deeper, near the bedrock, about 80cm-1m, the endogenous fauna, still poorly known, composed of blind organisms, feed on dead roots of trees. Unlike the epigeal fauna, when the endogenous fauna is destroyed, we don't know how to make it come back...

Between both of these, the anecic fauna mixes clays that come from the rock, and humus, the organic matter degraded by the epigeal fauna, which comes from the surface, in order to create the clay-humus complex.

LAMS21

In brief, worms feed on feces of Acari and springtails, and they do the work of mixing and airing of the soil.
This entire fauna is responsible for breaking down the detritus. They prepare for the arrival of fungi that convert lignin (component of wood) into humus. This fauna produces “faecal pellets”, which air the ground. This is the “carpeting” of the forest: the moist forest floor consists of these pellets + 80% vacuum. Thank to this process, the forest floor has a permeability of 150 mm of water per hour, whereas silt ploughed by man, has a permeability of only 1mm per hour, in some places 1mm per 24h ... For info, rainforests absorb 300 000 mm of water per hour.
Humus is thus created on the surface thanks to the intervention of fungi.

Fungi

Fungi on dead branch in the forest

M. Dupuis

In the spring, 1 to 2% of the mineralized humus (through the presence of bacteria) give rise to phosphate, nitrates, sulphate ... which travel down through the soil layers and are recovered by the roots of trees, plants. It is a “closed” system.

The tree: the great water manager

The tree: magnificent and irreplaceable.

M. Dupuis

On the forest floor, the tree grows fungi that store water in the soil. Thanks to fungi, the forest soils are cool, even in summer. It also handle excess rainwater in water tables. Trees are able to develop deep roots: such as an oak with 150 m of underground roots, an elm with 110m, a wild cherry with 140m, a 2-m high jujube with 60m...
The tree roots attack and dissolve the rock. Even at this depth, underground leaves and dead roots are “cleaned away” by the endogenous fauna. The tree sends up mineral elements to its foliage, where photosynthesis takes place.
Given the important role trees play in our biosphere, the leadconsumers of CO2 our society produces more and more, it is urgent to protect trees.

Can soil be repaired?

Specialists are now able to provide solutions to repair soil while taking on the model of nature developped in the region. It is still feasible for most any regions in the world, but, as in nature, it may take some time ... “Eco-agriculture” is not an epiphenomenon promoted by crazy environmentalists. One of these models is permaculture: to finally work with nature and not against it. This requires a thorough understanding of existing natural mechanisms, geology, chemistry, biology, botany, climate ... and love and respect for soil.

The European agriculture: an unsustainable economic model

Our European agriculture will have to change: not because it is questioning its future from a philosophical point of view, but the reasons that caused it to be what it has become, is why it will have to evolve. Thus, the reason, which is weighing the most today is an economic one. The European agriculture is living on subsidies and there is no more money. In many respects, the European system is not competitive. Moreover, it “kills” the profession: since 50 years in France, 92% of farmers have disappeared. Indeed, France is losing between 30,000 and 50,000 farmers each year. In Europe, 200,000 “farmers” disappear every year ... On the production side, Europe does not feed itself anymore and France, which was self-sufficient into the 50s, can no longer feed its population. Today, 40% of the wheat produced in Europe cannot be used to make bread or for human consumption, but it is used to feed the pigs! And we do not take into account the loss of diversity...
In summary, agriculture as we know it today, not only pollutes and destroys the environment but creates a non-consumable product of poor quality. The process is because it wastes a lot of energy (hydroponics), and requires taxpayers' subsidies to survive...
However, the model continues in a completely artificial fashion. And, at parallel, the consumer, you and me, are becoming more demanding: we require quality.

Soilless culture of tomatoes, (hydroponics) Italy.

wikipedia

No wonder if 99% of tomatoes and strawberries in Europe are produced by hydroponics! Hydroponic production is tasteless. If sun gives quantity by photosynthesis, soil, the quality of ground, gives the flavour. Not to mention energy waste: it takes 36 calories of energy to produce 1 hydroponic calorie. We have not over subsidizing tasteless fruits and vegetables, which we (those who can) have to pay for its weight in gold throughout the year...

[1] The inorganic material is a set of chemicals, formed of small molecules, such as certain gases (carbon dioxide, the oxygen, etc..), water, metals (iron, copper, etc.), the minerals from rocks, etc..

[2] The organic material is a complex set of chemical and varied substances, produced by living creatures. Organic materials are formed of large complex molecules always containing carbon.

Traditional taxonomic classification or phylogenetics?

Myriam Dupuis — 2011-12-21T13:25:34Z

The traditional taxonomic classification is based on the most obvious similarities between species. It has been put in place long before the idea of evolution has emerged.

Thus, using the most visible characters, the traditional classification does not accurately estimate the degree of relatedness between species, and it was not its original purpose. However, it is useful for species recognition with identification keys, or for the management of biological collections. It is easily usable by the general public. Under this classification, a fish will always be close to another fish of another species not fish.

This is actually not always true. Indeed, fish are characterized by scales and fins. Yet humans share with some fish species, such as coelacanths, another character: the fleshy and not radiated member. This last character is not present in the trout, for example. Is a coelacanth closer to a human than a trout? What should be used to establish the closest relatives: the fleshy member or the presence of fins?

In the 1950s, phylogenetic classification was created. It is a system of classification of living things whose purpose is to report the degree of relatedness between species. This makes it possible to understand their evolutionary history (or phylogeny). It does not recognize certain groups such as reptiles or fish unlike the conventional classification.

Phylogenetic classification has replaced the traditional classification in most of the scientific community and in secondary education in France.