Canary in the coal mine....

[Guest guest]

http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-24/s_15438.asp

 

Listen to the birds

 

 

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

By David Suzuki

 

 

Most everyone has heard the analogy of the canary in the coalmine. Miners used to take the birds, which are hyper-sensitive to deadly hydrogen sulfide gas, down into the shafts. If the birds keeled over, miners knew to get out — fast.

 

Today, birds are warning us once again, only on a much larger scale. A recent report from the conservation group Birdlife International has found that one in eight of the world's bird species is facing extinction and one-third are at risk. It's the first time that one paper has brought together status reports of bird populations worldwide for a true global analysis.

 

The findings are pretty grim. More than 1,200 bird species face extinction, with some 200 on the critical list. Around the world, from the Canadian prairies to Africa and India, bird populations are in trouble — largely because human activities are damaging their habitats.

 

Converting prairie grassland to farmland, for example, has resulted in a 60 percent decline in native prairie bird species. Similarly, in Africa, 50 percent of all birds are threatened by agricultural expansion. And unsustainable forestry practices in the tropics threaten hundreds more species.

 

Some birds are threatened in seemingly bizarre and unexpected ways. Long-line fishing, for example, kills tens of thousands of albatrosses every year. The birds die when they swallow freshly baited hooks, which then sink, pulling the birds down with them. Literally hundreds of millions of hooks are baited on long lines, and albatrosses have come to see fishing boats as a food source — albeit a very dangerous one. Six species of albatross are now critically endangered due to long-line fishing.

 

In India, three vulture species face imminent extinction from eating livestock carcasses tainted with diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug. Diclofenac is widely used to treat livestock, and the drug remains in the animal's body for days. If the animal dies during this time, vultures are such good scavengers that it is not uncommon for hundreds of vultures to find and feast on a single carcass.

 

Unfortunately, vultures are so sensitive to the drug that most will then die. In fact, 85 percent of vulture deaths in India can be traced back to this drug, which has resulted in a 95 percent population decline of these species in just eight years. Birdlife International calls this the fastest bird species extinction in 150 years — the worst since the demise of the passenger pigeon.

 

Developing countries face the greatest pressures, yet have the fewest resources to protect birds. Nigeria, for example, which is about the size of Ontario, has more than 10 times the province's population and a mere fraction of the wealth. Conserving bird species in such a land where people are more concerned with finding food and shelter is extremely challenging indeed.

 

In spite of Canada's natural and economic wealth, however, we aren't doing a good job of protecting our birds either. New federal endangered species legislation has promise but has yet to show any success. With some two dozen bird species in Canada endangered, the legislation had better prove its worth soon because, for some birds, like the spotted owl, there isn't much time left.

 

Many people might remember the spotted owl as the poster child for forest conservation in the United States, but the owl is actually far worse off in this country. Just 14 birds are known to be left in the wild here, but logging in their habitat is still allowed.

 

We must hope that Canada's endangered species act shows some teeth, as much for ourselves as for the birds. Bird populations are widespread and well studied. Their health tells us something about the environment as a whole, and if it suffers, we all do.

 

"Canary in a coal mine" was originally a literal reference that became a metaphor for a warning signal. Today, the metaphor has become literal once again. Only this time, the coal mine is the Earth and we have nowhere to run.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]



Thanks for the article Fraggle - it is very worrying.

 

Jo

 

[Guest guest]

As with most things, animals (and most other people) come second to the money that people are making off of ruining the earth.

Dave.