This week in birds - #595
A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment:
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A recognition of the racist tendencies of some early scientists has created a movement to rename species that were named after them.
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Are we going about protecting ocean ecosystems and marine wildlife all wrong?
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Mining for materials needed for the transition to clean energy is itself creating a threat to the environment.
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Technology can actually help in the conservation of wildlife.
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Coastal sage scrub oaks may not look like much but many species depend on them.
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The accidental poisoning of vultures in India has led to a population collapse of the birds and that in turn has led to a human disaster.
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Record heat is bleaching the world's coral reefs. Can they be saved?
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A sad list: Ten beautiful bird species that are now extinct.
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Beavers are an important part of the restoration of wetlands. Citizen scientists are helping to ensure they get that chance.
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Salt marshes are a natural defense against climate change. Dedicated scientists are working to ensure that they are protected so that they can do the job.
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Global methane emissions are rising at an alarming rate.
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The Sycamore Gap tree was cut down but Nature is resilient and will often find a way.
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The world's largest platypus conservation center has received its first residents.
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Can the Great Salt Lake survive?
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Wind and solar energy now provide 30% of the European Union's electricity.
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Archaeologists digging in Turkey have uncovered an actual ancient pot of gold.
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Egypt is turning its deserts green, but is it using up all of its water in the process?
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A Yosemite protection plan is helping Peregrine Falcon numbers to climb rapidly.
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Finally, a plan to protect California's Burrowing Owls is advancing.
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A record 17 California Condor chicks have hatched this year in the Los Angeles Zoo's program to save the species and that is very good news for the critically endangered bird.
Good morning, Dorothy. Thank you for the roundup. As the fires in California and here in Canada keep raging, destroying communities and scarring ecosystems, we still lack the universal will to mount a serious challenge to climate change. I don’t know how much evidence is needed to convince people that this is serious. We expend huge sums on space exploration and war yet allocate paltry sums and fewer resource to climate remediation. Go figure! All the best - David
ReplyDeleteIt's hard (read "impossible") to convince people whose entire world view is invested in denial.
DeleteI've been amazed to see Cattle Egrets here every night as the cows graze in the pasture across the road. I didn't realize they were here in East Texas.
ReplyDeleteI am very interested in the work being done to green the deserts. I wonder what will be the result.
I can actually remember when they first reached East Texas, although I couldn't tell you what year it was. It would have been 1975 or later when I looked out on a field one day and saw these white heron/egret birds that were trimmed in orange and thought, "What the heck is that?"
DeleteOne of the images that always comes to mind when I see an egret is dozens of them at the ruins of Cahokia. Vivid green grass, brilliant blue sky, those ancient mounds, the sun glinting off the waters of the Mississippi, and the snow white egrets.
ReplyDeleteYou do indeed paint a memorable picture.
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