For Answers………………….
1. Yes. A protocarnivorous plant can trap and kill insects or other animals, in this case birds, but lacks the ability to either directly digest or absorb nutrients from its prey like a carnivorous plant. An example is Puya raimondii, queen of the Andes, the largest species of bromeliad, reaching up to 15 m in height and carry 20,000 flowers. It is native to the high Andes of Bolivia and Peru and can ensnare birds in the spiny fronds. This may be a defence mechanism. It flowers for a 3-month period. Its reproductive cycle (and life) lasts approximately 80 years, dying after first reproduction. Strange Wonderful Things
2. Permafrost is a permanently frozen layer on or under Earth’s surface. It consists of soil, gravel, sand and organic material bound together by ice. About a quarter of the entire northern hemisphere is permafrost, where the ground is frozen year-round. It’s widespread in the Arctic regions of Siberia, Canada, Greenland, and Alaska—where nearly 85 percent of the state sits atop a layer of permafrost. It is 1,500 metres thick in northern Siberia, 740 metres thick in northern Alaska, and thins progressively toward the south. Data Basin
3. As permafrost thaws, microbes begin decomposing this material, releasing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere, increasing global warming. Some carbon has been trapped for hundreds of thousands of years in frozen ground.
4. Siberia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA
5. Fossil fuel subsidies have cost Australian state, territory and federal budgets roughly $10.3 billion over the past financial year, or $19,686 a minute, according to a new report from The Australian Institute.
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