The Earth is Fine and Will Survive

[the iron horse]

Global what???

I heard birds singing today.

 

[melon]

I heard birds singing today.

Audubon Society warns of drop in nation's bird populations | Oakland Tribune | Find Articles at BNET

Audubon Society warns of drop in nation's bird populations

OAKLAND -- "What does a robin look like?"

That's the troubling response that Leora Feeney hears frequently from third-graders after she tells them that the California least tern "is about the size of a robin." Feeney, who worked 30 years as a wildlife biologist, volunteers in the Alameda School District and teaches kids about birds.

"There has been a big change in the past five years," Feeney said. "The robin was always the standard that kids understood."

Third-graders in Alameda County are not the only ones who may not be able to identify robins, grosbeaks, chickadees and sparrows. A growing number of America's most common bird species have declined significantly since 1967, according to a report released Thursday by the National Audubon Society.

"These are not rare or exotic birds we're talking about," said Carol Browner, Audubon's chairwoman. "These are the birds that visit our feeders and congregate at nearby lakes and seashores, and yet they are disappearing day by day." Browner served as EPA administrator from 1993 to 2001.

For a species to be designated as "common," there must be a population of at least 500,000. The Audubon reportstates that while these birds "are not in immediate danger of extinction, ... even birds with significantly higher overall populations are experiencing sharp declines. With their populations down sharply, their ecological roles are going unfilled and their ultimate fate is uncertain."

The report attributes the declines to the loss of grasslands, healthy forests and wetlands as habitats, the increase in industrialized farms and urban development, and climate change. Substances such as pesticides can cause secondary poisoning after the birds eat insects and grasses treated with the chemicals. Even increases in certain species of birds, such as Canada geese, can be a problem since they compete for food with other birds.

 

[Se7en]

we should all be concerned that evolution is not keeping up with our systematic destruction of animal species and habitats.

 

[deep]

the 6th extinction is in process

the dinosaurs were the 5th,
the mammals that made it through that one were rats
our common ancestor is really the rat, not the monkey
that should explain a few things

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Maybe it shouldn't survive

 

[corianderstem]

It will survive, yes.

But at first it was afraid, it was petrified.
It kept thinking it could never live without us by its side.