A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment:
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And on the subject of feeders, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has issued a bird flu warning that encourages residents to take down bird feeders and birdbaths. The idea is to decrease the number of places where birds gather, facilitating the spread of viruses.
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The new administration in Washington is no friend to endangered ocean and coastal animals. And one of the first acts of the administration was to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
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How does implementation of the Endangered Species Act affect property values? Generally in a more positive way than you might imagine.
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Critical CO2 stores that have been sequestered in the Arctic's vast carbon sink are now being emitted into the atmosphere, contributing further to global warming.
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Australia's Great Barrier Reef has been hit by catastrophic coral bleaching.
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Elephants are intelligent and majestic creatures but they cannot pursue their release from captivity through court action nor can humans on their behalf, according to a decision by Colorado's highest court.
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Thirty-five new species from the Caribbean Islands have recently been described. Among them is the "James Bond" lizard.
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What purpose do the tails of giant stingrays serve? It turns out to be something different than expected.
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A recently released study found that high fertilizer use affects pollinators, cutting their numbers by as much as half.
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Prairie rattlesnakes have evolved a method of collecting rainwater in their dry environment. Nature truly is amazing!
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It appears that spotted hyenas are returning to Egypt after an absence of 5,000 years.
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Surprisingly, some corals are able to walk.
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Giving hellbenders endangered species status could help to protect and restore their environment.
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With a new administration in Washington that will not do much, if anything, to address climate change and help and protect vulnerable species, Margaret Renkl argues that it will be up to the rest of us to do what we can.
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Finally, here are some pictures of the week in wildlife.
Clearly, the use of fertilisers needs to be addressed if we are not to lose even more of our pollinators. There is no balance!
ReplyDeleteFertilizers have long been overused by farmers and gardeners in this country and now we are seeing the result of that overuse.
DeleteGood morning, Dorothy: Thank you for the roundup. The new administration in Washington seems bent on obliterating every wise move made on climate remediation and reverting to old destructive practices and then some. We can only hope that the states and cities will press on with progressive agendas regardless. Trump is doing exactly what he said he would do so no one should be surprised. He was handed complete control of all the levers of power and is now ranting like a madman and antagonizing the entire world - a world that will never forgive American for electing him.
ReplyDeleteHe is an unmitigated disaster and I will never understand what my fellow Americans who voted for him hope to achieve by his election.
DeleteWe get American goldfinches and Lesser goldfinches at our feeders all year round. They're such cute little birds. Today there were Cedar waxwings in my backyard tree! I love seeing them. :D
ReplyDeleteLucky you with your year-round goldfinches! In the past, we've had Cedar Waxwings visiting in the winter but I haven't seen or heard any so far this winter.
DeleteIt is very distressing to think of the new regime's rollback of policies protecting nature and climate. We will all have to protest and do what we can. And thx for the news about taking bird feeders down -- I hadn't heard that.
ReplyDeleteI think it's unlikely that our protests will have much effect on those in charge, but still we must make our voices heard and do whatever we can through other organizations and on our own to protect what needs protecting.
DeleteOut of the Paris climate agreement? Renaming the Gulf? Threatening Denmark in order to obtain Greenland? Getting rid of regulatory staff? Threatening to shut down FEMA? What madness is this!
ReplyDeleteAnd I am speechless when I hear people who support the actions of that man this week. Somehow they are getting the news from under a toadstool...that's all I can figure. How else can you back a person like this? Seemingly everything can be flipped.
Madness is the right word for it.
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