At the brink of gone forever
The California condor came back from the brink of extinction. But they, and many, many species, are in trouble again.
The link between climate crisis and species loss is almost never in the news. It should be. If affects all people who rely upon sustainable ecosystems — that is, all of us. As weather events and famines spread, so do changes that drive further upheavals in biodiversity loss.
That we are in the Sixth Extinction does not resonate as personally as other factors of the day. All are interconnected.
There is also a good deal of misrepresentation and outright misinformation. When people believe that wind turbine windmills cause more bird deaths than buildings, or bad lighting, for example, it is confusing and misleading. Windmills should not be in key migration areas, but skyscrapers (and even Trump towers) are a greater threat to billions of birds around the world.
Even when we hear about climate events, we may not hear about ripple effects down stream. There are complicated reasons for this, but there are also basic ones. Most news media depends upon advertising flow, this means they have a vested interest in development and growth. They have less interest in biodiversity and its protection.
This does not bode well for any species that diminishes with lost habitat, resource consumption, and growing human populations in ever-expanding areas.
The bird flu and you
In the case of the California Condor, the H5N1 virus has become a threat.
The H5N1 Avian influenza, more commonly called bird flu, is affecting birds all over the world. It typically spreads with domesticated species like chickens, turkeys, geese, and ducks. But it can cross-over to wild birds as it apparently has for the condors. People do not realize how large the threat is and that it can fly with birds during migrations, spreading wings across entire oceans.
Unless people watch nature documentaries, they seldom hear about the real threat to our food systems dependent upon bees, birds, and other pollinators. They may not even understand how species cascades and food networks serve to stabilize entire regions. They may not have heard about how species loss affects not just our physical well-being but also our mental and spiritual health.
Conservationists and environmentalists are fighting to preserve species, but the core problems of pollution and resource consumption continue to grow. For example, lead poisoning of birds still happens frequently due to the proliferation of ammo. And habitat loss leads to displacement and even extinction in areas under development for housing and business.
People who do get involved with conservation help in many ways. The core ethics of protection help preserve species. They set aside wild lands and proliferate public use programs. They monitor species.
Conservation allows people to find meaning and purpose. Helping human beings avoid helplessness is no small thing. They create connections among people in real life and not just digital lives. Conservation helps us learn the basis for all life is interconnected, including art, music, and poetry.
They also educate and inform the greater public, leading to policy changes that benefit everyone from those preventing zoonotic outbreaks and pandemic to fostering condor chicks in California.
Truly, hope is a thing with feathers.
…
Please clap, highlight, comment or follow Christyl Rivers to receive rivers of appreciation
—
This post was previously published on medium.com.
***
From The Good Men Project on Medium
 |
 |
 |
 |
***
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—–
Photo credit: Jeffrey Eisen on Unsplash
