Towheeblog

Many man-made effects are hitting our planet right now. I, personally, will be gone before long and thus will MISS many of the worst things that are going to happen. I will not live long enough to lose many of the things I love most about Earthly life–Sandhill Cranes, fresh cherries, a summer sky of blue with no smoke, nosey and noisy crows, Pt. Reyes Peninsula, dragonflies, the laugh of the Acorn Woodpecker. If these things survive at all the current economic direction of our species means they will only be seen or felt inside the fortified enclaves of the 1%.

The world’s largest iceberg is now afloat, free of the Antarctic where it grew over eons.

In many coastal areas the expanse of ghost forests is growing as the sea level rises.

And the warming continues…click here for look at map how much parts of the US have already warmed up.

Some publications ae now allowing writers to openly question the heavy consumption of meat as well as the suicidal (species-wide) drive for constant population and economic growth. After Population Bomb bombed it became almost impossible to seriously discuss the effects of population growth. No longer. Here is another essay dealing with the madness of an ever-increasing human population on a finite planet.

Our species seems to be enthralled with toxic chemicals. It’s as if we want every problem to be sprayed away. Rachel Carson warned us sixty years ago that our American medical system prefers to treat cancer, not prevent it. Thus we continue to fill our air, streams and oceans, soil and bodies with carcinogens. In Australia killing off the mice means killing lots if other species as well...it’s the D-Con approach so widespread on this sickly planet.

There are things we can do right…we saved the Whooping Crane and California Condor. We curtailed DDT and admitted the dangers of tobacco smoke, or any smoke. Now there’s a simple idea that can help swifts survive modern urban buildings. It is a modern modification of the ancient bird house, nest-box approaching to aiding birds. In Europe it is common to see artificial embankments where kingfishers can nest.

After a major bird massacre last fall the city of Philadelphia now goes lights-out during migration. Last fall over a thousand birds died flying into the city’s skyscrapers o n a single night. Of course, in most cities the owners of big buildings think size matters so they light up their property at night–mine’s bigger than yours. Dead birds on the sidewalk every morning. There is usually no regulation of the heedless night-lighting.