28 Aug Travel Talk: What You Need to Know about the Amazon Rainforest Fires, 2020 Farmers’ Almanac Predicts Frigid Winter & More
In this week’s edition of Travel Talk, we’re bringing you an update on everything you need to know about the Amazon rainforest fires, taking a look at what the 2020 Farmers’ Almanac has in store for this coming winter and showing you which cities, including Jakarta, are sinking. In addition, we’re bringing you a story on how a giant raft of volcanic rock from an underwater eruption could help revive the Great Barrier Reef, plus why a French couple is facing six years in jail after police say they stole stand from a beach in Italy. Read on below!
What you need to know about the Amazon rainforest fires
The news is ablaze with plans to send soldiers and raise finances in response to the wildfires taking over the Amazon. According to an article in the Washington Post, “The Amazon — nearly four times the size of Alaska — is a vast sink for storing carbon dioxide and a key element of any plan to restrain climate change. Any increase in deforestation there would speed up global warming as well as damage an important refuge for biodiversity.” The 2.2. million-square mile rainforest cannot take much more of the fires. If the fires continue, the rainforest would transform into an “entirely different, drier ecosystem, leading to the acceleration of climate change, the loss of countless species and disaster for the indigenous postulations that call the tropical rainforest home.” Read more at the link below.
Farmers’ Almanac’s Extended Forecast 2020: Polar Coaster Winter Ahead!
The Farmers’ Almanac provides 16 months of weather forecasts for 7 zones of the US. According to their official website, “the worst of the bitterly cold winter conditions will affect areas east of the Rockies all the way to the Appalachians.” That’s pretty much the entire country, save from the western third of the US which will see near-normal winter temps. According to the Almanac, the coldest bout of the season will arrive during the end of January. The cold spell should last through the first week or two of February. Find out how cold it will be where you live here and more importantly, call your Enchanted Travel agent ASAP to book your late winter getaway while you can!
Source: https://www.farmersalmanac.com/extended-forecast
Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta isn’t the only one sinking
Indonesia is relocating its capital city of Jakarta, partly due to the face that it is sinking into the Java Sea. This is due to rising sea levels and over-extraction of groundwater in the area. Jakarta, although one of the fastest sinking cities in the world, isn’t alone. Houston is another city that has been sinking for decades. Like Jakarta, over-extraction of groundwater gets most of the blame. New Orleans is another US city that is at risk of sinking. It is especially vulnerable to rising sea levels because it was built on loose soil. In addition, it is positioned too close to the coast. Read on for more details on these and more sinking cities at the link below.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/27/world/sinking-cities-indonesia-trnd/index.html
A giant raft of volcanic rock from an underwater eruption could help revive the Great Barrier Reef
Two weeks ago, a sheet of rock roughly 58 square miles around, began floating towards Australia. It’s float began after an underwater volcanic eruption near the Pacific archipelago of Tongo. It is so large that scientists are tracking it via satellite. This is important because it is bringing “a range of marine organisms including corals that could help restore the threatened Great Barrier Reef.” We need this because the world’s largest coral reef has been threatened by climate change in recent years. Climbing temperatures created a “coral bleaching effect”, which caused marine invertebrates to die off. Read more at the link below.
Source: https://time.com/5661293/volcanic-rock-great-barrier-reef/
French couple is facing six years in jail after police say they stole sand from a beach in Italy
A French couple is facing up to six years in jail for stealing 14 bottles of sand off of a beach in Sardinia, Italy. The 14 bottles added up to nearly 90 pounds. The couple claim they were unaware that this was a crime. However, police argue that signs in multiple languages alert visitors to these such regulations. Apparently this is a common problem for the beaches in Sardinia. This is because there is a market to sell Sardinia shells and sand online. Read more at the link below.