Planet Roundup: Earth’s resources, saving animals and more

By Lauren Petermeyer | August 12, 2016

Happy Friday, everyone! Here at OutwardOn, we are dedicated to keeping you up to date on everything important happening on our planet, including the health of its resources, animals and more. So, each Friday we are bringing you Planet Roundup—the most important environmental news stories (the good and the bad) that happened during the week to make sure you’re caught up on everything.

We’ve already used up earth’s resources for 2016

On August 8th, we reached “Earth Overshoot Day” which basically means our demand on the earth has reached more than the earth can handle to replenish. This happened earlier than ever before, exactly 5 days earlier than last year. If this persists, we will only continue to borrow resources from generations in the future.

Read more about this here.

A new expedition in the UK reveals ocean life thrives on underwater mountains

Results from a recent expedition came back revealing vast coral reefs on mountains more than 2,000m below the ocean’s surface. The team collected various specimens including crustaceans and fish living in the cold dark waters—some believed to be new species. New technology allowed them to explore places that have never been seen before.

Read more about this here.

Climate change could cause more algal blooms in Chesapeake Bay

A new study shows that algal blooms could become more severe in the Chesapeake Bay area because of increased rainfall, which flushes larger amounts of nitrogen into water systems. Fertilizers contaminate the water it flows into, and is toxic to humans, animals, and devastates fisheries.

Read more about this here.

400 baby crocodiles have been saved from turning into purses

Police in S. China's Guangxi seize 399 Siam crocodile cubs in a routine inspection on July 29, only ten-day-old pic.twitter.com/X7OaKxq4q5

— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) July 31, 2016

Siamese crocodiles are among the world’s most endangered and least studied crocodilians. Thankfully, Chinese police captured about 400 baby crocodiles from a house in southern China. They were likely being farmed to be turned into leather products such as handbags, shoes, and accessories.

Read more about this here.

Thousands are being evacuated to escape fires in Southern France

As many as 5,000 people were being evacuated the French town of Vitrolles on Wednesday to escape multiple fires. A reported 1,800 firefighters were fighting these fires, and their causes are currently unknown.

Read more about this here.

Check back on Planet Roundup next week for more on Earth’s resources, climate change, endangered species, and more!