Animals and plants have evolved very slowly to live in specific environments, but climate change is happening very fast and leaving them unable to adapt. Those suited to cooler climates must move polewards or uphill when the climate becomes just that little bit warmer. That’s easy enough for birds and fish species that would normally only be found in the Mediterranean or further south but are now turning up in UK waters as the plankton and insects they feed on move north. But for large animals, which often have restricted space in reserves, the future looks uncertain.
Polar bears
The polar bear will disappear in the wild unless the pace of global warming slows. It uses sea ice as a floating platform to catch prey, but this is melting at a rate of 9 percent a decade. Last week, arctic ice fell to its second lowest level ever.
Tigers
Tigers are threatened by climate change, and not just in the Indian and Bangladeshi Sunderbans, where sea level rises and increased salinity is reducing habitat. In Sarawak, Nepal and elsewhere, the already critically endangered animals are finding fewer animals to prey on, as monsoon patterns change, and as people near their reserves compete more with them for food.
Elephants
In Africa, elephants face a range of threats including shrinking living space, which brings them more frequently into conflict with people. With less space, they are not able to escape any changes to their natural habitat caused by global warming, including more frequent dry periods.
Frogs
Frogs and other species depending on freshwater are being hit by droughts in Australia and elsewhere. Since they rely on water to breed, any reduction or change in rainfall can reduce frog reproduction. In addition, higher temperatures dry out their breeding pools.
Orangutans
Their last remaining strongholds in the Indonesian rainforests are threatened by oil palm plantations, but also by climate change increasing the duration and frequency of droughts.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) were born under the sign of Gemini. Geminis are known for their intelligence, creativity, adaptability and flexibility. It is unlikely, then, that the trade conflict between the US and China would escalate into a catastrophic collision. It is more probable that both sides would seek a way to de-escalate, paving the way for a Trump-Xi summit that allows the global economy some breathing room. Practically speaking, China and the US have vulnerabilities, and a prolonged trade war would be damaging for both. In the US, the electoral system means that public opinion
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
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Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
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