9/18/20

Migratory bird deaths another warning of human-caused climate disruptions

 

Global warming has been accelerating since humans began setting fires to clear habitat, as a weapon or just for amusement. Evidence that we humans have eaten or burned ourselves out of habitats creating catastrophes behind us is strewn throughout the North American continent. European settlement and the Industrial Revolution in the New World took hardwoods for charcoal then humans allowed fast-growing conifers to replace lost forests. Desertification driven by agricultural practices, overgrazing, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and urban sprawl have turned much of the United States into scorched earth

Have we reached Peak Human? Should Liberals and Progressives just say, "to Hell with biodiversity" and join the earth haters in a final orgy of death, consumption and/or prayer? Coexist or kill them all and let Gaia sort 'em out? 

Last August warblers, swallows and flycatchers began dying in large numbers throughout the southern Rockies. Scientists studying them are noting their emaciated conditions and reduced body fat.
Austin Fisher, an independent journalist, videotaped a scene near Velarde by the Rio Grande. Dead birds littered the earth, a scene repeated across New Mexico. The huge die-off is part of a broader problem. Bird species are having a difficult time in our modern era. Their habitat is being destroyed — with breeding grounds such as grasslands and the Arctic tundra particularly hard hit. Cats are eating them to the tune of 2.6 billion birds yearly in the United States and Canada. According to the Audubon Society, the U.S. has lost one out of four birds in the last 50 years. That means 3 billion fewer birds today than in 1970. The die-off of 2020 is a singular event, but given the heating planet and continued climate disruption, it will likely be repeated. [Dying birds offer timely warning to humans]

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