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Omnigrade/sandbox
Born	July 2, 1916; Nagold, Germany
Died	May 9, 1997 (aged 80)
Occupation(s)	Heraldic artist, archivist, writer
Years active	1974-1997
Works	Your Name, Armorial Heritage in Canada, Heraldic/Genealogical Almanac
Children	Wolf Dieter Birk
Awards	Fellow of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada, member of the Académie internationale d'Héraldique, Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Heraldry

This is a gallery of national flags that are similar or identical in appearance.

List

Flags	Countries/Regions	Distinguishing features
	Andorra, Chad, Moldova, Romania	The flags of Andorra and Moldova use lighter colours and feature their respective national coats of arms in the center.^[1]^[2] Moldova's coat of arms is supported by an eagle,^[3] while Andorra's lacks supporters. Moldova's flag is the longest, having a width:length ratio of 1:2, making it the longest of the four.^[4] The Romanian flag uses slightly lighter colours than that of Chad.^{[citation needed]}
	Argentina, El Salvador, Nicaragua	The flag of Argentina has pale sky blue stripes and a golden Sol de Mayo in the center.^[5] The flags of El Salvador and Nicaragua feature their respective national coats of arms in the center.^[6]^[7] The Salvadorian coat of arms is surrounded by laurel wreaths,^[8] and that country's flag uses a darker blue for the stripes.^{[citation needed]}
	Australia, New Zealand	New Zealand's flag has red stars edged in white as opposed to Australia's solid white stars. Every star on New Zealand's flag has five points. Australia's flag includes the large seven-pointed Commonwealth star in the lower hoist underneath the Union Jack.^[9]^[10]
	Austria, Latvia	The Latvian flag has a thinner central stripe and uses a deeper, more muted shade of red.^[11]^[12]
	Bahrain, Qatar	The flag of Bahrain has five white spikes^[13] compared to Qatar's nine. The latter flag is of a deeper maroon colour and is much longer.^[14]
	Belize, Laos	The flag of Belize features the Belizean coat of arms on a blue Spanish fess,^[15]^[16] while the Lao flag features a plain white roundel on a thinner (but still proportionally wide) blue stripe.^[17]
	Bolivia (Civil), Bolivia (State), Ghana	The civil flag of Bolivia is a simple triband flag with no charges or symbols. The state flag of the same country is charged with the national coat of arms. The flag of Ghana instead features a black star.
	Colombia, Ecuador	The flag of Ecuador is charged with the coat of arms of Ecuador in the center. Colombia's flag is unadorned and uses slightly darker colours.
	Costa Rica, Thailand	Costa Rica's flag is blue with a central red stripe, whereas Thailand's flag is red with a central blue stripe. Thailand uses darker shades of both colours.
	Denmark, Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Switzerland	The flag of Switzerland is square and charged with a plain Greek cross, and uses the brightest red of the three. The flags of Denmark and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta feature thinner crosses that extend all the way to the edges of their respective flags, although Denmark's is shifted toward the hoist.
	Egypt, Iraq, Yemen	The flag of Egypt is charged with that country's coat of arms. The flag of Iraq is inscribed with the Takbir in green Kufic script. The Yemeni flag is unadorned.
	Greece, Uruguay	The canton of the flag of Greece is blue with a white cross, while that of Uruguay is white with a gold Sol de Mayo. On Uruguay's flag, the outermost stripes are white, as opposed to blue on Greece's. The flag of Greece uses a lighter shade of blue.
	Guinea, Mali	On the flag of Guinea, the red stripe is on the hoist (left) end of the flag. Mali's flag features the same colours in the opposite order, as well as a noticeably lighter shade of green
	Haiti, Liechtenstein	The Haitian flag is charged with the national coat of arms, whereas the flag of Liechtenstein features a golden crown in the upper hoist (left) corner.
	India, Niger	The Indian flag features a blue Ashoka Chakra, compared to the simple orange circle on the flag of Niger. The latter flag uses a brighter shade of green and is considerably shorter in length.
	Indonesia, Monaco, Poland	The red stripe on the Polish flag is on the bottom. The Monegasque flag uses a darker red than Indonesia's, and is of a shorter length.
	Ireland, Ivory Coast	The Irish flag is longer and has the green stripe to the hoist (left).
	Italy, Mexico	Mexico's flag uses darker colours and contains the Mexican coat of arms in the center.
	Jordan, Palestine	The red triangle on the flag of Jordan features a small white seven-pointed star in its center. The triangle on the Palestinian flag is shorter in length.
	Liberia, Malaysia, United States	Liberia's flag has 11 stripes, as opposed to Malaysia's 14 and the United States' 13. Liberia's canton is square and contains a single white star, while Malaysia's extends half the length of the flag and contains a gold crescent and a 14-pointed star, and the United State's contains 50 small white stars.
	Luxembourg, The Netherlands	Luxembourg uses significantly paler and brighter colours than the Netherlands.
	Micronesia (Federated States of), Somalia	Somalia's flag has one star as opposed to Micronesia's four. The Somalian flag is a brighter shade of blue.
	Morocco, Viet Nam	The Moroccan flag displays a hollow green pentagram on a dark red field, as opposed to Viet Nam's solid gold star on bright red.
	Samoa, Taiwan (ROC)	Samoa's flag has the Southern Cross in its canton, whereas the flag of Taiwan has a sun. Taiwan's flag is shorter and uses brighter colours.
	Slovakia, Slovenia	The Slovakian flag displays the coat of arms of Slovakia centered along the flag's horizontal axis. Slovenia's flag also features that country's coat of arms, but much smaller and centered on the convergence of the upper and middle stripes. The Slovenian flag is noticeably longer than the Slovakian, and uses a brighter shade of blue.

References

WikiHiero test zone

Niankh-Pepy-kem (Ancient Egyptian:

.

, Niankh-Pepy the Black) was an important ancient Egyptian official who is known from his monumental and decorated rock-cut tomb at Meir in Middle Egypt. He lived at the end of the 6th Dynasty, around 2200 BC.

Hans Dietrich Birk

Hans Dietrich Birk, AIH, FRHSC was a German-Canadian heraldic artist, archvist, and writer.

Starting in 1945, he worked painting coats of arms and regimental badges for the Allied occupying forces of Germany. In 1952, Birk emigrated to Canada, where he continued painting arms while working in real estate, and gave lectures about heraldry in schools and libraries.^[1]

In the 1970s, Birk co-authored a column for the Toronto Telegram titled Your Name.^[3] In 1984, he compiled the genealogies and blazons of European families in Armorial Heritage in Canada.^[4] In 1988, he co-authored the Heraldic/Genealogical Almanac with Peter Merey.^[5]

In 1981, Birk was made a Fellow of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada.^[6] In 1985, he was elected to the Académie internationale d'Héraldique.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Biography: Hans Dietrich Birk, AIH, FRHSC". Royal Heraldry Society of Canada.
^ "Hans Dietrich Birk".
^ McGivern, James S. (1971). Your name and coat-of-arms : Based on his columns in the Toronto Telegram. PaperJacks. ISBN 978-0-7737-7003-4.
^ "Armorial heritage in Canada of continental European families". New York Public Library.
^ "0969251424". ISBN Search.
^ "Roll of Arms".

Climate change in Colorado

Climate change in Colorado encompasses the effects of climate change, attributed to man-made increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, in the U.S. state of Colorado.

In 2019 The Denver Post reported that "[i]ndividuals living in southeastern Colorado are more vulnerable to potential health effects from climate change than residents in other parts of the state".^[1] The United States Environmental Protection Agency has more broadly reported:

"Colorado's climate is changing. Most of the state has warmed one or two degrees (F) in the last century. Throughout the western United States, heat waves are becoming more common, snow is melting earlier in spring, and less water flows through the Colorado River.^[2]^[3] Rising temperatures^[4] and recent droughts^[5] in the region have killed many trees by drying out soils, increasing the risk of forest fires, or enabling outbreaks of forest insects. In the coming decades, the changing climate is likely to decrease water availability and agricultural yields in Colorado, and further increase the risk of wildfires".^[6]

Snowpack

A study by Amato Evan, professor of climate sciences at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography found that the winter season in the Western United States is getting shorter and spring is starting earlier, greatly reducing the amount of snow that is able to fall.^[7]^[8]^[9] The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that snowpack across Colorado has diminished by 20-60% since the 1950s. This allows trees to grow higher than they would otherwise, which is linked to habitat fragmentation. ^[6]

Water availability

"Throughout the West, much of the water needed for agriculture, public supplies, and other uses comes from mountain snowpack, which melts in spring and summer and runs off into rivers and fills reservoirs. Over the past 50 years, snow has been melting earlier in the year, and more late-winter precipitation has been falling as rain instead of snow. Thus, water drains from the mountains earlier in the year. In many cases, dams capture the meltwater and retain it for use later in the year. But upstream of these dams, less water is available during droughts for ecosystems, fish, water-based recreation, and landowners who draw water directly from a flowing river".^[6]

"Rising temperatures also increase the rate at which water evaporates (or transpires) into the air from soils and plants. Unless rainfall increases to the same extent as evaporation, soils become drier. As a result, the soil retains more water when it rains, and thus less water runs off into rivers, streams, and reservoirs. During the last few decades, soils have become drier in most of the state, especially during summer. In the decades to come, rainfall during summer is more likely to decrease than increase in Colorado, and periods without rain are likely to become longer. All of these factors would tend to make droughts more severe in the future".^[6]

In particular, climate change has reduced the annual flow of Colorado River in the 21st century by almost 20 percent compared to the 20th. The decline has been linked to a reduction in the mountain snowpack through evaporation. Such a change is significant because the river supports 40 million people's water consumption throughout the West and $1 trillion in economic activity.^[10]

Agriculture

Colorado's agricultural sector "accounts for 9% of Colorado’s greenhouse gas emissions, or approximately 11.4 million metric tons of CO₂."^[11]

Implementing regenerative agricultural practices in the state has the potential to remove 23.15 billion tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere by 2050. Use of cover crops is increasing. A collaboration between Boulder County Parks and Open Space and Colorado State University is working to develop techniques to improve soil health and carbon sequestration. State level support for soil health is under discussion.^[11]

Changes in Colorado's climate are likely to have both positive and negative effects on farms and ranches.

Depletion of the High Plains Aquifer will impact livestock and field crops in the eastern part of the state, which rely primarily on ground water pumped from the aquifer. "About 20 percent of crop land in eastern Colorado is irrigated. Higher evaporation rates will increase irrigation demands and reduce natural recharge of the aquifer, further lowering the water table. Reduced water availability will force some farms to switch from irrigation to dry land farming, which typically cuts yields in half.

Increasingly severe heat waves would harm livestock.

Even where ample water is available, higher temperatures would reduce yields of corn.

Shorter winters are likely to reduce yields of winter wheat. Colorado is currently the fourth largest grower of winter wheat, which is an important source of food for livestock. Increased concentrations of carbon dioxide, however, may increase yields of wheat enough to offset the impact of higher temperatures. Warmer and shorter winters may allow for a longer growing season, which could allow two crops per year instead of one in some instances".^[6]

Wildfires

"Higher temperatures and drought are likely to increase the severity, frequency, and extent of wildfires in Colorado, which could harm property, livelihoods, and human health. In 2013, the Black Forest Fire burned 14,000 acres and destroyed over 500 homes. Wildfire smoke can reduce air quality and increase medical visits for chest pains, respiratory problems, and heart problems. The size and number of western forest fires have increased substantially since 1985".^[6]

Pests

"Warmer, drier conditions also make forests more susceptible to pests. Temperature controls the life cycle and winter mortality rates of pests such as the mountain pine beetle. With higher winter temperatures, some pests can persist year-round, and new pests and diseases may become established. Drought also reduces the ability of trees to mount a defense against attacks from beetles and other pests. A mountain pine beetle outbreak in 2006 covered nearly half of Colorado's forests and killed nearly five million lodgepole pines".^[6]

The West Nile Virus (WNV) is the leading cause of Mosquito-borne disease in Colorado. Most mosquito pools carrying WNV have been found in the front range of Colorado, located at the base of the foothills.^[12] Living with mosquitoes during Colorado summers are a fact of life, however, there are ways to reduce exposure to mosquitoes. The Culex mosquito, the primary vector of WNV, lays its eggs in standing water and is most active during later, warmer summer conditions. Humans create areas that may collect several still pools of water that are attracting and creating more mosquitoes in our own backyard. These pools can be prevented by draining any standing water that may be located in gutters, bird-baths, depressions in lawns, and any other place that collects water over time.^[13] Additionally, people who are outdoors and come into contact with mosquitoes in these areas often are most susceptible to WNV. Prevention methods include wearing mosquito spray and several layers of clothing to prevent mosquito bites from potential disease vectors. Simple acts such as these can reduce the amount of mosquitoes we interact with and, in-turn, reduce the odds of contracting West Nile.

Human health impacts of climate change

Climate change is expected to affect human health as changing environmental conditions promote the spread of infectious diseases. Models to predict future mosquito distribution indicate longer breeding seasons, which in turn, result in an increase in the abundance of mosquitoes with likely climate scenarios.^[14] Vector-borne diseases such as the West Nile Virus (WNV) are influenced by changes in weather conditions such as temperature, precipitation, and humidity, which create ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes.^[15] Shifting hydrologic conditions can alter the incidence of vector-borne disease as an increase also affects the number of WNV cases seen. Increased precipitation and land wetness can affect the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases similar to WNV. Shifting hydrologic conditions can alter the incidence of vector-borne disease as increased precipitation and land wetness can affect the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases ^[16] As researchers have come to realize, biological systems are sensitive to small changes in seasonal temperatures, including the spread of infectious disease.^[17] Although changes in climate and weather patterns have the ability to contribute to more frequent outbreaks of WNV, local environmental conditions also play a role.^[17]

WNV is an infectious disease that is spread primarily by mosquitoes. WNV is concerning as it has the capability to cause inflammation in the brain and body tissues. Most individuals do not suffer from extreme symptoms, but mild symptoms include skin rashes, body aches, fevers, and headaches making it difficult to differentiate between a cold or allergic reaction when evaluating one's symptoms. Severe cases of WNV are neuroinvasive, causing symptoms such as encephalitis and meningitis.^[18] From 1999 to 2018, Colorado had the fourth-highest incidence of neuroinvasive WNV in the United States.^[19]

Cases of WNV have been reported in Colorado every year since 2002.^[20] The 5-year historical average of WNV cases in Colorado indicates that most cases appear in late summer months, primarily August and September.^[21] Currently, there is no vaccine for WNV, and hospitalization is often required for patients experiencing symptoms.^[22] People often outdoors where mosquitoes are present should take precaution by wearing protective clothing and mosquito spray.

Climate mitigation efforts and greenhouse gases

In December 2019, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission strengthened inspection requirements for oil and gas production facilities and for pipelines in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.^[23]

Adaptation

Denver, Colorado

The city of Denver has made recent strides to combat the threat of extreme wildfires and precipitation events. In the year 1996, a fire burned nearly 12,000 acres around Buffalo Creek, which serves as the main source of the city's water supply. Two months following this devastating wildfire, heavy thunderstorms caused flash floods in the burned area, having the effect of washing sediment into the city's reservoir. In fact, this event washed more sediment into the reservoir than had accumulated in the 13 years prior. Water treatment costs were estimated to be $20 million over the next decade following the event. Denver needed a plan to make sure that the city would not be devastated by future wildfire and flash flood events. DenverWater and the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region are working together to restore more than 40,000 acres of National Forests lands through processes like reforestation, erosion control, and the decommissioning of roads. Further, Denver has installed sensors in the reservoirs in order to monitor the quality of the water and quantity of debris or sediment. These accomplishments will have the effect of building a more resilient Denver, Colorado towards the impending increase of extreme weather events such as wildfire and flooding.^[24]

References

^ "People living in this part of Colorado are most at risk of climate change's adverse health effects, study says". The Denver Post. April 23, 2019.
^ Zielinski, Sarah. "The Colorado River Runs Dry". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
^ "On the Water-Starved Colorado River, Drought Is the New Normal". Yale E360. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
^ Hood, Grace. "As Climate Warms, Colorado's Record-Setting Hot Days Outnumber Cold Ones 3:1". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
^ "Over a quarter of Colorado is now officially in a drought". The Denver Post. 2019-10-05. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "What Climate Change Means for Colorado" (PDF). United States Environmental Protection Agency. August 2016.
^ Dutta, Deepan. "Researchers tie declining snowpack in Colorado's mountains to climate change". www.summitdaily.com. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
^ https://aevan.scrippsprofiles.ucsd.edu/
^ https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2rg8f6m3
^ Eilperin, Juliet (20 February 2020). "Climate change has stolen more than a billion tons of water from the West's most vital river". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
^ ^a ^b Clark, Moe (2019-12-04). "Agriculture is part of the climate change problem. Colorado wants farmers' soil to be part of the solution". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
^ "West Nile virus data". Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment. 2019.
^ "Living with Mosquitoes". City of Boulder Colorado. 2019.
^ Booth, Mark (2018). Climate Change and the Neglected Tropical Diseases. Advances in Parasitology. Vol. 100. pp. 39–126. doi:10.1016/bs.apar.2018.02.001. ISBN 9780128151693. PMC 7103135. PMID 29753342.
^ Paz, Shlomit (2015). "Climate change impacts on West Nile virus transmission in a global context". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 370 (1665). doi:10.1098/rstb.2013.0561. PMC 4342965. PMID 25688020.
^ Shaman, Jeffrey; Day, Jonathan F.; Komar, Nicholas (2010). "Hydrologic Conditions Describe West Nile Virus Risk in Colorado". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 7 (2): 494–508. doi:10.3390/ijerph7020494. PMC 2872291. PMID 20616987.
^ ^a ^b Epstein, P. R. (2001). "West Nile virus and the climate". Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine. 78 (2): 367–371. doi:10.1093/jurban/78.2.367. PMC 3456354. PMID 11419587.
^ Davis, Larry E.; Debiasi, Roberta; Goade, Diane E.; Haaland, Kathleen Y.; Harrington, Jennifer A.; Harnar, Joann B.; Pergam, Steven A.; King, Molly K.; Demasters, B. K.; Tyler, Kenneth L. (2006). "West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease". Annals of Neurology. 60 (3): 286–300. doi:10.1002/ana.20959. PMID 16983682. S2CID 30778922.
^ Final Cumulative Maps and Data | West Nile Virus | CDC. (2019, October 9). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/westnile/statsmaps/cumMapsData.html#seven.
^ West Nile virus and your health. (2018, January 10). Retrieved October 13, 2019, from https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/west-nile-virus-and-your-health.
^ West Nile Virus Data. (2019, August 1). Retrieved October 13, 2019, from https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/west-nile-virus-data.
^ Bolling, Bethany G.; Barker, Christopher M.; Moore, Chester G.; Pape, W. John; Eisen, Lars (2009). "Seasonal Patterns for Entomological Measures of Risk for Exposure toCulex Vectors and West Nile Virus in Relation to Human Disease Cases in Northeastern Colorado". Journal of Medical Entomology. 46 (6): 1519–1531. doi:10.1603/033.046.0641. PMC 2802831. PMID 19960707.
^ Kohler, Judith (2019-12-19). "Colorado regulators OK rules aimed at cutting pollution, greenhouse gases from well sites". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
^ EPA. “Climate Impacts and Adaptation Examples in the Southwest.” http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/southwest-adaptation.html.

User:Omnigrade/sandbox

List of similar flags

List

References

WikiHiero test zone

Hans Dietrich Birk

References

Climate change in Colorado

Snowpack

Water availability

Agriculture

Wildfires

Pests

Human health impacts of climate change

Climate mitigation efforts and greenhouse gases

Adaptation

Denver, Colorado

See also

References

Further reading