The UN biodiversity conference, COP15, has recently concluded this December 19, and we're looking at some of the ways humankind depends on biodiversity to maintain a healthy and functioning global ecology.
When a species becomes extinct, it takes with it all of the physical, chemical, biological, and behavioral characteristics that have been selected for that species after being tried and re-tested in innumerable evolutionary trials over thousands, if not millions, of years.
These include designs for heating, cooling, and ventilation; for moving through water or air as effectively and efficiently as possible; for producing and storing energy; for creating the strongest, lightest, most biodegradable, and recyclable materials; and for a plethora of other life-sustaining functions.
Way of the dragonfly
Professor Akira Obata, previously of Japan's Nippon Bunri University, invented corrugated blades for micro-wind turbines that whirl and generate power at wind speeds as low as 3 kph, inspired by the energy efficiency of dragonfly wings, as per the UN.
When wind speeds are less than 10 kph, most wind turbines work badly; others will not turn at all.
By decreasing the minimum wind speed requirements, these micro-wind turbines may harvest wind energy at easily accessible sites, such as rooftops and balconies, eliminating the need for costly towers to capture higher-speed winds prevalent at higher elevations.
What is blacker than black?
Some butterflies, birds, and spiders have acquired ultra-dark pigmentation through a variety of complicated light-trapping techniques, which might lead to novel energy-efficient solar gathering systems.
Surface micro and nanostructures substantially influence their light absorptive or reflecting characteristics.
Understanding not only the pigment content but also the fine structure and physics of these surfaces may be important in constructing more energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, as well as more productive solar energy collectors.
Fossil fuels and birds
Gliding and soaring birds are masters of aerodynamic efficiency, and engineers were inspired by their wing-tip feather design to add little up-turned "winglets" that minimize drag created by vortices at the tips of aircraft wings.
Commercial aircraft have saved 10 billion gallons of gasoline by replicating this wing-tip design, lowering CO2 emissions by 105 million tonnes per year.
To trap this amount of carbon, almost 16 million hectares of trees would need to be planted each year, an area greater than Norway or Japan.
Biodiversity loss, a risk for the environment and for humanity
Humans are failing to reach all of the objectives established for halting biodiversity decline by 2020 as a globe, as per Iberdrola.
The fifth Global Biodiversity Outlook study comes to this sad conclusion.
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will publish its findings in September 2020.
The statement not only warns of the catastrophic destruction of nature but also identifies it as a risk factor for future pandemics.
Biodiversity loss refers to the reduction or extinction of biological diversity, which is defined as the range of living creatures that occupy the planet, its many degrees of biological organization and genetic variability, as well as the natural patterns found in ecosystems.
The United Nations (UN), in partnership with IPBES, released an ambitious report in mid-2019.
Regarding biodiversity, one million species are at risk of extinction out of a total of eight million.
Some scientists have even dared to speak about the planet's sixth major extinction.
Climate change has an influence on biodiversity at several levels, including species distribution, population dynamics, community structure, and ecosystem function.
When we think of pollution, we often think of automobile exhaust gases pouring into the skies, but biodiversity is also impacted by noise pollution and light pollution.
Soil contamination and changes in its usage as a result of activities like deforestation have a negative influence on ecosystems and the species that comprise them.
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