Tag Archives: Nature Conservation

Blogging for the Earth

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Blogging about Nature:  Introducing Garry Rogers on the League of Bloggers for a Better World

GarryRogers

Garry Rogers

My blog posts are about nature, about wildlife and its habitat (posts). They are expressions of my concerns for natural conditions and events.

During the past year, 2015, lethal heat waves and storms, decline of the great iconic species of elephants, lions, and rhinos, whittling away of the tropical rain forests, and massive clouds of air and water pollution made it clear that humanity is changing the Earth.

More than just the great species, we are eliminating many other species hundreds or perhaps thousands of times more quickly than ever achieved by meteorites, volcanic eruptions, or natural climate change.

Total extinction of a species usually happens after decades of decline.  In 2014, the World Wildlife Fund and other organizations carried out an exhaustive analysis of more than 10,000 wildlife studies (download the report).  They wanted to know how wild plants and animals were holding up against human activities. They learned that from 1970 to 2014, just 44 years, the total number of animals on Earth declined by more than 50%!  Rates of decline vary across species groups.  Birds, for instance declined by 40%.  Other groups, especially those dependent on freshwater, have declined by 70%.

What evolution took billions of years to produce, we humans are destroying in a tick of geologic time.  We are changing the planet so quickly, that not by migration, and certainly not by natural selection, can plants and animals cope. If we continue our activities at their current rate, in only a few centuries, we will turn the Earth into a factory farm of cities, farms, feedlots, and roads with only the tiniest fraction of our native creatures surviving on the fringes.

I often write brief comments without listing my sources. I am always happy to respond to requests for explanations.

 

Civic Disobedience and Climate Change

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On July 30, the whole world watched as 13 Greenpeace activists dangled from ropes tied to the St. John’s bridge in Portland, Ore., red and yellow streamers catching the wind. They were blocking the exit of the Fennica, Shell’s ice breaker headed to the Arctic to facilitate drilling. These young activists hung there for 40 hours in makeshift platforms and slings during some of the hottest days on record, before the police and Coast Guard brought them down. One hundred feet below them, filling the river with their colorful small boats, were Portland’s “kayactivists” from the local Climate Action Coalition — some were experienced paddlers, others kayaking for the very first time. On shore stood over 500 people, cheering and chanting “Stop that boat!” Some were moved to tears by this unprecedented spectacle and by the courage of the protesters.  Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.huffingtonpost.com

GR:  Civil disobedience must often be disagreeable and even unlawful.  The term implies an argument with existing practices and laws.  Whistleblowing, marching, and gathering are essential to maintain a healthy democracy.

Human rights and welfare are the common focus of civil disobedience, but some, like the Greenpeace activists in the photo, believe that animal and ecosystem rights are equally important reasons for civil disobedience.  This is usually justified by arguing that humans cannot survive without healthy ecosystems occupied by healthy animal and plant populations.  There is another, rarer, form of this justification:  Nature, consisting of air, rocks, water, soil, animals, and plants has inherent importance unrelated to humans, not because of how humans benefit from nature, but because nature has equal rights to exist.

Sightings of Australia’s common birds are declining

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Sightings of some of Australia’s most common birds, including those that have inspired folk songs and become mascots of football teams, are decreasing in parts of Australia, according to a major report on the health of the country’s bird population.

Among the species for which fewer sightings have been recorded are the laughing kookaburra, magpie and willie wagtail.

Released by Environment Minister Greg Hunt on the eve of Thursday’s Threatened Species Summit at Melbourne Zoo, the State of Australia’s Birds 2015 report’s surprise finding was that it was the country’s “common birds” that weren’t faring so well.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.theage.com.au

GR:  This is being reported around the world, and not just for birds; most species are declining.

A Camera Does Just as Well

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The challenge and thrill of a great photograph leave a lasting pride that you can share with multitudes. Here’s my photography-bio: https://garryrogers.com/garryrogers-photography.

Exposing the Big Game's avatarExposing the Big Game

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Nature-Conservation News (Animals, Climate, Humans)

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Blogging the Nature Conservation News

For two years, I’ve blogged about nature conservation and my EcoSciFi work. I’ve written original articles about invasive plants and Arizona wildlife, and I’ve added almost 500 comments to news reports. My busiest day was 22 blog posts and 4,600 visitors. Finding interesting news items, formatting posts, and adding comments is absorbing work, but it leaves no time for writing longer articles, stories, and books. In January 2015, I cut back on blogging.

Nature conservation is the great challenge of our time.  Human beings are imposing the great death, the sixth mass extinction of Earth’s creatures.  As citizen naturalists, we respond by volunteering to help specialists acquire real-world information, and repair damaged and invaded ecosystems.  We also advise and direct our leaders using letters, petitions, and demonstrations.  Effective response requires current information.

I’ve designed RebelMouse newsletters that summarize the news in continuous streams. The newsletters automatically display stories from sources that I pre-select. I choose sources that report on relevant subjects and that have high standards for honesty and presentation quality.  The editorial slant follows the Land Ethic.

The newsletters are more current and complete than my blog ever was.  They are easy to scan for interesting stories, and I can add information and insights.  A click shares the stories on social-media.

Following or subscribing to the newsletters produces a daily email, but I recommend bookmarks instead.

You are welcome to share the newsletters and to send me comments on the stories and sources.

Thank you.

Here’s the news:

Nature Conservation News:  Animals, animal-rights, biodiversity, habitats, human impacts, wildlife, and many related topics.

Climate News:  Climate change, global-warming, storms, human impacts, etc.

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Speak for Wolves

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On August 7-9 2015, Americans of all-walks-of-life will meet in West Yellowstone, Montana to tell our elected leaders that we need to reform wildlife …  Source: www.speakforwolves.org

GR:  We could choose to maintain intact ecosystems.  There are so many species threatened now that it’s hard to decide where to spend efforts.  Wolves are a pretty good choice.  For them to flourish much will have to change in the ways that people live with the land.  To prevail on behalf of wolves will benefit many other species.  The gathering in West Yellowstone concerns all wildlife species.  Let’s go.

See on Scoop.it – GarryRogers NatCon News

Grand Canyon Watershed monument will enhance biodiversity

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“The Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument would provide the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management the resource protection tools required to preserve the ecosystem integrity of this spectacular 1.7 million-acre expanse. With biodiversity declining worldwide and habitat destruction the number one cause, the over 20 sensitive species in the proposed monument need these safeguards.

As the title indicates, water is a key feature in this area of the Colorado Plateau, with springs and perennial streams vulnerable to increasing aridity from climate change and ground water pumping. These aquatic habitats are vital to the native wildlife in the region. Along with safeguarding wildlife, old growth forests, Native American cultural sites, and spectacular geologic formations, USFS and BLM natural resource staff will be able to monitor and improve public access for recreation. This area is well-known to birders, hunters, cyclists, hikers, horsemen, and many other types of outdoor use.”  –JOE SHANNON

Source: azdailysun.com

GR:  The greatest benefit for the greatest number would come from protecting this landscape.

River of desert dust feeds Amazon forests

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“The Amazon rainforest and the Sahara desert seem utterly different. Yet NASA satellites have discovered a surprising connection that intimately links these two disparate parts of our planet.” —climate.nasa.gov

Best conservation practices consider both genetics and biology

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“Restoring diverse vegetation along the Atlantic seaboard after devastating hurricanes or replanting forests after destructive wildfires rests mightily upon one tiny but important ingredient: the seed.

Seeds are also important for conserving rare species, from trees to shrubs to other flowering plants. For example, the recently discovered Trillium tennesseense is only known in three locations in East Tennessee.

“But seeds must be saved the right way.

“Including a species’ biology in sample guideline calculations can dramatically improve sampling effectiveness, according to a new study from the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis.

“For a long time, seed sampling guidelines have typically been quite general: the same recommended minimum sample applied to all species, roughly 50 seeds per population, whether a towering tree, widespread grass, or a small bee-pollinated herb. Such recommendations were based on genetic theory without considering plant ecology and reproductive biology.

“In the new study, published today in the journal Biological Conservation, researchers tested the importance of three factors in seed sampling: a species’ “selfing” rate, or rate at which a species pollinates itself, its seed and pollen dispersal distances, and whether an annual or perennial.”  –Source: phys.org

GR:  As good stewards, we could be restoring healthy conditions in burned, clear-cut, flooded, and overgrazed vegetation. If we were giving restoration the proper amount of attention, we would refine many of our practices.  In the study discussed above, the researchers studied the genetic variability of seeds and discovered that obtaining adequately variable seed collections requires that seed sample sizes vary with species’ reproductive traits.

Of course, we could consider other things.  For instance, we might find that genetic variability is related to species interaction strategies and to their spatial distribution, their areography.  However, our species has not become a good steward.  We know about many factors that we haven’t taken time to understand well enough to apply to our stewardship practices. And now, the news is that we are going to destroy a large portion of the species that ecosystems need to remain stable and productive.