Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Birds Are Vanishing from North America

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 372 posts

Re: Birds Are Vanishing from North America

#11

Post by ip26 »

tylerpachal wrote: post #7

(serious) Is there any hope? Its just one problem after another (probably because everything is linked). What are the chances that we will get our act together or be able to engineer ourselves out of all of these problems?

The fact that wetland bird populations are actually growing is a strong sign that we can fix this, if we try.

Bird conservation efforts in the last few decades mainly focused on wetlands. See DDT, national wildlife refuges, and the duck stamp.

So, it's not like the decline is inexorable. But it's not going to fix itself.

Re: Birds Are Vanishing from North America

#12

Post by astrodust »

jandrese wrote: post #6
spodek wrote: post #5

We're swimming in environmental problems. We can come up with makeshift solutions to many, but for solving them all, and not to suggest it's the only solution, but a part of anything comprehensive, is there any environmental problem that a smaller human population doesn't alleviate?

I prefer to keep "kill all humans" lower down on the list of possible solutions to environmental problems. Lets try some alternatives first.

Nobody has to be killed, but if a handful of people were put in jail the world would be a dramatically different place.

Re: Birds Are Vanishing from North America

#13

Post by fjabre »

Tepix wrote: post #8
fjabre wrote: post #4

Anytime someone brings up Monsanto they are downvoted because without pesticides humans cannot feed themselves apparently. And herbicides are for plants only so of course they have no effect on insects. /s

You're the only one who brought them up so far and you don't seem to have been downvoted.

Thats true. Reddit seems to be more infested with the pro monsanto crowd. Many of their arguments sound very legitimate as in - try feeding the human race some other way type arguments. But then we must consider this ongoing mass extinction event which seems intimately tied to the use of pesticides and herbicides that apparently, according to the experts, are not harmful to unintended insect populations.

It’s hard to know whats true and what isnt with all the misinformation being spread around.

Re: Birds Are Vanishing from North America

#15

Post by [deleted] »

spodek wrote: post #5

We're swimming in environmental problems. We can come up with makeshift solutions to many, but for solving them all, and not to suggest it's the only solution, but a part of anything comprehensive, is there any environmental problem that a smaller human population doesn't alleviate?

[deleted]

Re: Birds Are Vanishing from North America

#16

Post by technothrasher »

bsmitty5000 wrote: post #2

This article doesn't mention the declining insect population at all but I would think it's clear that a quickly declining food source would be a major cause of population decline. I wonder if there's a similar decline in other animals that rely on insects, eg bats. Although, interestingly, the article does mention neonicotinoids as a direct reason for the decline in population. It's hard to imagine humans taking the…

> or we die out and the planet recovers on its own.

That makes it sound like there's some kind of natural 'ideal state' for the planet to recover to. Without us, the planet would just go on changing, without anything to judge the current environment at any point as good or bad to any particular standard.

Saving the environment is simply saving ourselves. Nothing more, nothing less.

Re: Birds Are Vanishing from North America

#17

Post by phkahler »

spodek wrote: post #5

We're swimming in environmental problems. We can come up with makeshift solutions to many, but for solving them all, and not to suggest it's the only solution, but a part of anything comprehensive, is there any environmental problem that a smaller human population doesn't alleviate?

>> is there any environmental problem that a smaller human population doesn't alleviate?

Shhhhh. Nobody is willing to talk about that for a number of reasons. Most of those reasons are nothing more than burying ones head in the sand.

Re: Birds Are Vanishing from North America

#18

Post by jjuhl »

fjabre wrote: post #13
Tepix wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're the only one who brought them up so far and you don't seem to have been downvoted.

Thats true. Reddit seems to be more infested with the pro monsanto crowd. Many of their arguments sound very legitimate as in - try feeding the human race some other way type arguments. But then we must consider this ongoing mass extinction event which seems intimately tied to the use of pesticides and herbicides that apparently, according to the experts, are not harmful to unintended insect populations. It’s hard to…

"try feeding the human race" - How about we reduce our impact on the planet by not feeding all of the human race? Reducing the number of humans on the planet seems like it would be a great first step in solving the overall problem.

Re: Birds Are Vanishing from North America

#20

Post by wins32767 »

spodek wrote: post #5

We're swimming in environmental problems. We can come up with makeshift solutions to many, but for solving them all, and not to suggest it's the only solution, but a part of anything comprehensive, is there any environmental problem that a smaller human population doesn't alleviate?

We're exceeding the carrying capacity of the planet. The alternatives are either less people on the planet, lower standard of living, or resources from off the planet.
Post reply on HN