Microbes Strike Back and Join Us in the Climate Battle
How microbes in glacial waters are quietly fighting climate change
I’m one of those people who always has issues with her belly. Yes, the friend everybody thinks twice before putting too much oil, salt, condiments, or anything like in a dish when cooking for them (thanks, friends!).
While we still don’t know what’s causing these issues for sure, we have a good idea that my digestive flora may have a partial role in this. This is because, growing up, I suffered from almost chronic chest infections, which resulted in many rounds of antibiotics.
Unfortunately, these don’t only kill pneumonia-causing diseases; they also take a toll on my best allies on proper digestion.
However, once I became more diligent with consuming pre- and pro-biotics, things started importing a lot, letting me live a more carefree life. Indeed, these tinny creatures that you couldn’t even see without an extremely powerful microscope can make or kill a deal.
Photo by Daily Nouri on Unsplash
I have been studying climate change science for many years, and one of the fields of work I enjoy the most is the field of positive solutions and news for climate action. Among them, something keeps coming up: the role that the microbial world, one that often goes overlooked, can have on global climate issues.
Whales are among the largest, most intelligent, deepest diving species to have ever lived on our planet. They evolved from land-roaming, dog-sized creatures into animals that move like fish, breathe like us, can grow to 300,000 pounds, live 200 years and travel entire ocean basins. Whales fill us with terror, awe, and affection--yet there is still so much we don't know about them. Why did it take whales over 50 million years to evolve to such big sizes, and how do they eat enough to stay that big? How did their ancestors return from land to the sea--and what can their lives tell us about evolution as a whole? Importantly, in the sweepstakes of human-driven habitat and climate change, will whales survive?
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