Invasive Species and Encouraging News
INVASIVE SPECIES
Invasive species are new, non-native species in a habitat or ecosystem that did not evolve there. Currently, there are more than 6500 invasive species in the U.S., which are estimated to cause $100 billion in economic damage. In addition to the dollar costs, invasive species are one of the major causes of extinction of native species. The Great Lakes now harbor more than 200 invasive species, such as lamprey and zebra mussels. In Minnesota, about 50% of our lakes have at least one invasive species. Often these invading species are transported to new habitats through human activities such as shipping, boating or international trade. However, climate change has become an important driver of invading species too, such as: white spruce trees invading the Alaskan tundra as the permafrost melts; agricultural pests surviving longer over winter and moving north; and ocean fish species migrating north as ocean temperatures exceed their preferred temperatures. Climate warming will cause huge changes in species diversity and function of ecosystems, along with economic losses of unknown magnitude.
Sources: USA Today, 8/3/22; The Guardian, 9/6/22
ENCOURAGING NEWS
-The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a new emphasis on reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) from agriculture, which accounts for 10% of all GHG emissions. Seventy climate-friendly demonstration projects in agriculture and forestry will be funded at $3 billion. (Reuters, 9/14/22)
-India has banned some single-use plastics, including straws, cutlery, ear-buds, and packaging films. The Madras (India) High Court recently ruled that "Mother Nature" has the same legal status as a human being, and that humans have a duty to protect nature for future generations. (Inside Climate News, 5/4/22).
-California law now requires a 25% reduction of single-use plastic products by 2032; and that 30% of all plastics be recycled by 2028 and 65% by 2032. Most of the recycling costs must be paid by the producers of the plastic products. (National Geographic, 7/7/22).
-Some corporations, like Microsoft, Shopify and Ikea, have announced plans to become carbon-negative, by removing more carbon from the atmosphere than they emit. Microsoft became carbon net-zero in 2012; now it plans to be carbon-negative by 2030 and to remove its legacy emissions by 2050. (Forbes, 6/22/22).

Steve Spigarelli
EcoFaith Network NE MN Team
First Lutheran Church, Aitkin, MN
Northeastern Minnesota Synod