Scientists say Dump's border wall will be effective at stopping animals - but not people

[fleur-de-lisa]

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/scientists-say-trumps-border-wall-will-be-effective-at-stopping-animals-but-not-people/

What the border fence has kept out instead, according to environmentalists, scientists and local officials, is wildlife. And the people who have spent decades acquiring and restoring border habitat say that if President Donald Trump makes good on his promise to turn the border fence into a continuous, 40-foot concrete wall, the situation for wildlife along the border — one of the most biodiverse areas in North America — will only get worse.

Right now, a mix of vehicle barriers and pedestrian fencing covers only about one-third of the nearly 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border. Even with all those gaps, experts say the barriers have made it harder for animals to find food, water and mates. Many of them, like jaguars, gray wolves and ocelots, are already endangered.

Aaron Flesch, a biologist at the University of Arizona, said most border animals are already squeezed into small, fragmented patches of habitat.

“If you just go and you cut movements off,” he said, “you can potentially destabilize these entire networks of population.”

[angstlessk]

1. And a kick to boot !

[JEFF9K]

2. A see-through fence is better than a wall in almost every way ...

But Trump seems intent on a wall.

[caroldansen]

3. Not even animals.

[GoCubsGo]

4. I'm glad somebody is bringing up this subject. n/t

[hunter]

5. How long before they're using the wall to keep us in?

[panader0]

6. Last night a jaguar was photographed in Cochise County, Az.

It's the second one recently and it has been determined, by it's spot pattern,
that there are two different jaguars. I live in Cochise County and it borders
Mexico. The local environmentalists fear that a wall would disturb the range
of these beautiful animals.

[0rganism]

7. if the GOP was really interested in stopping people from crossing the border...

... they'd be planning a small-drone surveillance net to alert border agents of people crossing away from designated checkpoints and enable interception. could probably cook up a whole mess of light quad-copter drones with infrared for a few million bucks, then put a satellite or two in geosynchronous orbit to handle low-depth earth tomography to detect tunnels. blammo, problem basically solved.

instead we get to have this stupidly expensive and ineffective physical barrier that will do jack shit to stop people from crossing and cause significant harm to the environment. even if constructed, it will likely be torn down within 50 years. its primary purpose is as a large-scale public works project to funnel money to contractors. meanwhile, illegal immigration will proceed apace through obvious means - over, under, around, and maybe sometimes straight the fuck through.

oh well, too bad we don't have enough money to adequately fund Medicaid. good job, voters.

[logosoco]

8. Everytime I hear of "the wall" i get angry and feel heart broken.

This is a natural land mass that has been there for eons. Who the hell is this orange man who thinks he can come along and fuck it up? And I feel bad that I live among people who heard this and said "That's a good idea!"

The fear is way over blown, I think. I have read that the amount of people "illegally" crossing the border has gone way down since the economy crashed. And as far as the drug aspect, surely rational people know the drug war was a waste of time and lives and money.

I am hoping sane minds will prevail!!