Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/717204
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 21 AUGUST 2016 39 This Week The glossy ibis looks positively Ancient Egyptian! Granted, the species that the Nile people worshipped is actually the sacred ibis, a cousin of our bird, but the iconic silhouette is basically the same. The combination of long neck, legs and sickle-shaped bill render the bird unmistakable even in flight. From a distance and especially in flight the glossy ibis (M: velleran) looks black but it's actually purple-brown, with a nice green sheen on the wings (hence the gloss in the name). While seen in Malta every year, glossy ibises are rather scarce and sightings of one or a small flock will always be the name listed in bold on a birdwatcher's log. The glossy ibis is a bird of lakes, marshes and other shallow watery places, where its fantastic beak comes in handy for snapping up invertebrates from the water. Very few places in Malta are thus attractive for this bird, so thank God for places like Għadira, Is- Simar and Salina, where a few glossies checked in over the past weeks. GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 423: BUY LOCAL: Consider the amount of pollution created to get your food from the farm to your table. Whenever possible, buy from local farmers or farmers' markets, supporting your local economy and reducing the amount of greenhouse gas created when products are flown or trucked in. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text Victor Falzon Photo Ray Vella 520. GLOSSY IBIS THE Land Footprint is an in- dicator used to measure the amount of land used both do- mestically and overseas to pro- duce the goods and services consumed by a country/region. It is calculated by tracking land use through supply chains from the original point of raw material production, through to final consumption. With current data limitations, it is possible to calculate the Land Footprint for agricultural land only (i.e. cropland and grass- land). The Land Footprint is a powerful method of illustrating the dependency of countries or world regions on overseas land, which is embodied in im- ports and exports. The Land Footprint is one of four footprints that Europe needs to measure to manage and reduce resource use, along with the water, material and carbon footprints. EU's Land Footprint - What is the Land Footprint? New way of living needed AUGUST 8th marked Earth Overshoot Day for the date when humanity used up more resources than the Earth can replenish in a year. Every day after that, we are increasing our ecological debt to future genera- tions. WE are emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than our oceans and forests can absorb, and we deplete fisheries and harvest forests more quickly than they can reproduce and re- grow. Carbon emissions are the fast- est growing contributor to eco- logical overshoot, with the car- bon footprint now making up 60% of humanity's demand on nature, which we call its Eco- logical Footprint. If we adhere to the goals set by the Paris climate agreement adopted by nearly 200 countries in Decem- ber 2015, the carbon footprint will need to gradually fall to zero by 2050. This calls for a new way of living on our one planet. The good news is that it is pos- sible with current technology, and financially advantageous with overall benefits exceeding costs. It will stimulate emerging sectors like renewable energy, while reducing risks and costs associated with the impact of climate change on inadequate infrastructure. The only resource we still need more of is political will. Fortunately, some countries are embracing the challenge. For instance, Costa Rica gener- ated 97 percent of its electricity from renewable sources during the first three months of 2016. Portugal, Germany and Brit- ain also demonstrated ground- breaking levels of renewable en- ergy capability this year, when 100% of their electricity demand was met by renewables for sev- eral minutes or, in the case of Portugal, for several days. In China, meanwhile, the gov- ernment has outlined a plan to reduce its citizens' meat con- sumption by 50%, which it cal- culates will lower the carbon di- oxide equivalent emissions from China's livestock industry by 1 billion tonnes by 2030. As the global population has grown and consumption has increased – particularly with respect to carbon emissions – Earth Overshoot Day has moved from late September in 2000 to August 8 this year. On a positive note, the rate at which Earth Overshoot Day has moved up on the calendar has slowed to less than one day a year on average in the past five years, compared to an average of three days a year since over- shoot began in the early 1970s. To find out more, go to www.overshootday.org. This contribution draws this series of weekly contributions to this newspaper to a close. I would like to thank, on behalf of everyone at FAA, the MaltaTo- day team, and especially Mat- thew Vella and Teodor Reljic, for their valuable assistance.