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Climate change is causing days to get longer by slowing down the Earth - Natural History Museum

As the polar ice caps melt, the speed of the Earth’s rotation is slowing down, making days slightly longer than they might otherwise be.

When it comes to climate change, it’s all a matter of time.

Rising temperatures are affecting many aspects of our planet through changing weather patterns, animal migrations and plant flowering to name but a few. A new study suggests that climate change is also having an unappreciated impact – it influences how we measure time.

As the polar ice caps melt, the resulting sea level rise is slowing down the Earth’s spin ever so slightly. While the extra fractions of a second may not affect us in our daily lives, their buildup could cause problems for navigation and communication technology where timing is everything.

Professor Duncan Agnew, from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, is the author of a Nature paper describing this phenomenon.

“Imagine a skater spinning on the ice,” Duncan says. “If they hold their arms out, their spinning is slower, but if they bring them into their body, then they speed up. This demonstrates the conservation of angular momentum, a principle which applies to all spinning objects including the Earth. As polar ice melts, the water spreads out over the whole ocean, causing the same effect as the skater spreading their arms out – the Earth slows down. More rapid melting would slow the Earth more rapidly, opposing the speedup that has been seen in recent years.”

A Carbon Emissions Land Tax can change the face of Scotland - John Muir Trust

The John Muir Trust shares new version of a Carbon Emissions Land Tax (CELT) proposal, following initial meetings with Scottish Government officials during the winter of 2023.

Revenue projections show that a Carbon Emissions Land Tax (CELT) could initially raise between £81 million and £163 million a year for rural councils. These revenues would diminish over time as large landowners take action to manage the land to soak up carbon, boost biodiversity and strengthen communities.

In an updated version of our CELT proposal, the Trust suggests that a fixed rate of tax be assigned to different land types according to their potential for carbon sequestration and nature restoration. Landowners then have the opportunity to apply for rebates that reward good land use.

For example, a parcel of land could be eligible for rebates if the landowner protects and restores certain critical habitats like peatlands, riverwoods (riparian woodland) or rainforests. If a landowner is a custodian of a protected area such as a SSSI, they could claim a rebate for maintaining the area in favourable condition.

Using a rebate system, the Scottish Government would be able to encourage management that delivers for the climate, nature, and people. Importantly, legislative mechanisms could also be built into legislation to give CELT greater flexibility in the future. For example, the Scottish Government could have powers to change the rate of rebates or add new rebate conditions as the situation on the ground develops.

Five years of beaver activity reduces impact of flooding - Environment Agency

The family of 11 beavers has created 9 dams which slow the flow of river water. Photo: Spains Hall Estate
The family of 11 beavers has created 9 dams which slow the flow of river water. Photo: Spains Hall Estate

Second-largest rodent thriving in Essex

A project to reintroduce beavers to East Anglia has successfully reduced the impact of flooding and drought by storing millions of litres of water over 5 years.

Five years ago, Spains Hall Estate in Essex and the Environment Agency released the first pair of beavers in East Anglia for more than 400 years. With free reign across a 10-acre woodland stream, the beaver family, now numbering 11, has created 9 dams. These are estimated to store 3 million litres of water in ponds covering almost a quarter of the woodland.

An animation produced by catchment-scientists from AtkinsRéalis reveals the scale and speed of the changes occurring over 5 years.

Data collected by Kings College London demonstrates that the way water flows across the farm has also changed. The beavers increasingly building bigger dams to trap more water each time it rains. These changes mean that storm water flows downstream more slowly, some even being held for several months as it’s slowly released back into the river. This helps alleviate low river water levels in summer.

Matt Butcher, local Environment Agency catchment manager, said: “We are delighted that the beavers have thrived and improved the landscape. Their work has demonstrated that nature-based solutions can be used to tackle challenges in smaller river catchments. We initially supported this work as a pilot study and have been really impressed with the results. We have since helped the estate scale-up their beaver activity through more direct support, along with other partners. This has enabled the construction of two much larger beaver enclosures.”



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