Global Warming Could Wipe Out Most Birds -- WWF

[Jcrowley]

Global warming could wipe out most birds -- WWF
14 Nov 2006 00:01:21 GMT
By Daniel Wallis

NAIROBI, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Unchecked climate change could drive up to 72 per cent of the world's bird species into extinction but the world still has a chance to limit the losses, conservation group WWF said in a report on Tuesday.

From migratory insect-eaters to tropical honeycreepers and cold water penguins, birds are highly sensitive to changing weather conditions and many are already being affected badly by global warming, the new study said.

"Birds are the quintessential 'canaries in the coal mine' and are already responding to current levels of climate change," said the report, launched at a United Nations conference in Kenya on ways to slow warming.

"Birds now indicate that global warming has set in motion a powerful chain of effects in ecosystems worldwide," WWF said.

"Robust evidence demonstrates that climate change is affecting birds' behaviour -- with some migratory birds even failing to migrate at all."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L13486051.htm

[WindRavenX]

1. People think they understand the impact of global warming

They don't know shit.


People I think severely underestimate the sheer magnitude of how life itself on earth is going to be drastically altered...I think people think that it's just going to get a little hotter or something.

The biodiversity of this planet is going to exponentially go down, and there is good evidence that high biodiversity helps guard against mass extinction.

[Jcrowley]

3. You are on the mark

Slice up a fine Persian carpet into a few dozen neat rectangular pieces. The swatches may together occupy the same area as they did before. But your carpet no longer exists. You're left with a pile of worthless tatters and fabric. That fabric is unraveling as once-unbroken expanses of woods, jungle and grassland, home to untold species of plant and animal life, are sliced up into industrial parks, housing developments, farms, parking lots, malls, roads. And maybe here and there a nature preserve. But a nature preserve is not nature in miniature, however much it might awe a human visitor, for in its isolation and limited extent, it functions as an island. And islands consign animal and plant species to extinction.

[MisterP]

4. perfect analogy!

that's why "restoring" forests is always a poor substitute for not levelling old-growth and virgin forests to turn into toothpicks or mass mailings no-one will read

[mitchtv]

2. an exception:

Pigeons, I'd bet

[buzzard]

5. I have noticed robins staying over the winter in Toronto the last few years.

My babies here of course don't migrate.


>
>

[pitohui]

6. yeah robins are definitely "short stopped" as it's called

an irony is that many ducks (not a high IQ group) can also be short stopped and stopped from migrating

i do not know what their trigger is to migrate, but for ducks and geese it can easily be overwhelmed by providing enough food on the spot

i think we can save the ducks, robins we'll definitely save, geese no problem, but some of the small stuff such as the warblers who are compelled to migrate are just screwed because there will be nothing at the other end of the route yet they cannot stop themselves from responding to hormonal cues that are triggered by day length

[Ladyhawk]

8. I thought of my babies, too.

Nice DYH. Here's mine partaking in a Pastafarian communion:



Nice red-lored, too. :) I love Amazon parrots.

[lonestarnot]

7. You have become one of my favorite posters. Right up there with

Octafish and a few others. Thanks for your posts. I look forward to them. :applause:

[buzzard]

9. I'll second that definitely posts I read. Does your baby talk??

[bagrman]

10. We to are creatures of our envirment.

It's been said that our stash of food is shrinking, the question should be, will we out last our feathered friends. One or two season with little or nothing to harvest thing s will get way tight quick.

Latr

[Porcupine]

11. Too bad nobody gives a shit. Nice planet while it lasted

you shoulda been here in the glory days.

Look at the number of veiws on any climate change topic. Then look at the number of veiws on anything remotely sex related. That's why we're not doing anything significant about climate change until we have a few million caucasion type humans dead. It's already killing in Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

Thanks for trying.

[kiahzero]

12. It could have something to do with the fact that we all agree on global warming

There's not exactly a whole lot to discuss on the topic: "We should make changes, but our government doesn't believe that it's even happening because they're retarded."

[bagrman]

16. IT's the economy. Whats good for the economy, burn more oil, coal, turn

your food stock into fuel for your car, consume, consume, consume. 6.5 Bill people is to many for the earth to carry with out a constant supply of oil. Now we'll have a front row seat (on our TVs) to watch as it all crumbles, great societies come and go, the earth will heal, and we'll try again.

Latr

[patricia92243]

13. If birds don't eat insects, diseases carried by insects would multiply. In/t

[The2ndWheel]

14. Blah, blah, blah

It doesn't matter. We're not changing anything voluntarily. When I say change, I mean fundamental change. We're not doing it. It would mean having to do with less on a societal level. Good luck birds.

[siligut]

15. Maybe it will happen before bushco can declare martial law.

Avian flu pandemic would be such a good reason to crack down, extend loss of freedoms and increase penalties. :sarcasm: