Live data from Hacker News

A third of North America’s birds have vanished

nautil.us

421–430 of 901 posts

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#421
post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Producing solar panels requires an advanced technical civilization being in place. You cannot jump from middle ages tech to producing solar panels with skipping dependence on fossil fuels in the intermediate steps.

You can still use water and wind which are also powered by the sun.

We did that in preindustrial age. In total, it didn’t amount to that much energy.

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#422
post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a myopic, self defeating view of recent American history.

Do you believe that the American people, by focusing on change via government, have been sufficiently effective in preventing a forthcoming (or probably currently underway) environmental collapse?

Do you believe a majority has tried what you’re suggesting? I think the answer is no. Nevertheless, over a trillion dollars will be spent over the next ten years on incentives to make our country carbon-neutral because enough people turned out to vote in 2020 to secure a slim majority of federal legislative seats to affect such a change. https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/the-us-is-po....

Here’s another example for you: it would’ve been unthinkable in 1996 when a Democratic President signed the so-called and repugnant “Defense of Marriage Act” into law that about 26 years later, support for gay marriage among Americans would be over 70%, and that a bipartisan coalition of Senators could get behind a bill to enshrine same-sex marriage into law, but here we are. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respect_for_Marriage_Act

Nihilism doesn’t do any good for anyone. If you live in a heavily gerrymandered state with climate deniers elected to a majority of seats, start volunteering with a group that seeks to eliminate gerrymandering in your state with independent redistricting commissions.

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before they were housecats fed from the grocery store, how many birds did they eat a day? A natural predator does not make their prey extinct.

Cats are an invasive species. They are not natural predators. That is the problem. I say this as a cat owner.

You are the owner of a domesticated species. Feral cats are part of natures food chain and natural balance. Without them there would be no stopping the rodent population.Not liking them being there doesn't make them invasive.

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cats are an invasive species. They are not natural predators. That is the problem. I say this as a cat owner.

You are the owner of a domesticated species. Feral cats are part of natures food chain and natural balance. Without them there would be no stopping the rodent population.Not liking them being there doesn't make them invasive.

No, they're not. They're an invasive species brought to different locations around the world via human activity. The feral cats being discussed originated in the middle east and were brought to different continents by humans. North America's native cat species do not naturally target mice.

This is like saying the argentine black and white tegu is a natural part of the food chain in Florida. Please understand that humans bringing a species to a new location doesn't suddenly convert them to part of nature.

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#425

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are the owner of a domesticated species. Feral cats are part of natures food chain and natural balance. Without them there would be no stopping the rodent population.Not liking them being there doesn't make them invasive.

No, they're not. They're an invasive species brought to different locations around the world via human activity. The feral cats being discussed originated in the middle east and were brought to different continents by humans. North America's native cat species do not naturally target mice. This is like saying the argentine black and white tegu is a natural part of the food chain in Florida. Please understand that hum…

Cougars, wolves, coyotes. eagles, snakes (venomous and constrictors), hawks, and owls are natural predators of cats. Their populations have been decimated mostly by loss of habitat (same with birds). Peronnally I'd much rather be overrun by feral cats than rats any given day.

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, they're not. They're an invasive species brought to different locations around the world via human activity. The feral cats being discussed originated in the middle east and were brought to different continents by humans. North America's native cat species do not naturally target mice. This is like saying the argentine black and white tegu is a natural part of the food chain in Florida. Please understand that hum…

Cougars, wolves, coyotes. eagles, snakes (venomous and constrictors), hawks, and owls are natural predators of cats. Their populations have been decimated mostly by loss of habitat (same with birds). Peronnally I'd much rather be overrun by feral cats than rats any given day.

You have not responded to my statement about cats being an invasive species. I will interpret this as conceding the point.

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#427
post #114
post #35

One thing I dislike the most about these problems – and the information/media/activism around them – is the "solutioning". Yes, we should recycle and reduce carbon emissions and learn to live in a more integrated fashion with earth. But the problem is so diffuse and requires substantive work against powerful forces (government, business, apathy). What I'd like to see more of, when presented with these sorts of proble…

Individuals cannot solve this. I leave trees up, dead or alive. I plant native plants. I remove invasive species. I only keep invasive bushes if they house birds. I don't spray for insects except around the base of my house, I don't kill off chipmunks, voles, squirrels, rabbits, etc. How can this compete with the dozens of neighbors in a half-mile radius that have removed in excess of hundreds of trees, big ones like…

> How can this compete with the dozens of neighbors in a half-mile radius that have removed in excess of hundreds of trees, big ones like oak, pine, maple, hickory and up to five feet in diameter, and turn their yards into grass wastelands? I never even see my neighbors use most of their yards. How do you compete against that level of narcissisim and lack of empathy?

Moving might be an option. There are places where this doesn't happen and while you might have other problems, you probably won't have those problems.

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#428
You have to rally the community to strongly discourage those folks who feed breeding feral cats. Also the notion of allowing pet cats to roam is an ecological catastrophe. They are wanton hunters, beyond any need for food. They especially love to kill birds. I'm a cat lover, but am very aware the a vicious killers. Fun-fact, a dog will usually wait for you to die before they eat you, the cat will not wait.

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#429
post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is common knowledge where I live (in Texas.) Hollywood studios have a lot of power to change the "facts" that are on the Internet, and to shove truth down the Memory Hole.

You're either a clueless bot or just gullible as all hell. You can visit the filming locations on the Sonoma Coast in California. I have, quite recently actually. You can verify for yourself they are the same places by comparing movie stills to real life buildings and geography. That is, if you have eyes and legs, of course.

If you continue to break the site guidelines like this, we are going to have to ban you. I actually did ban you because your comments here and in the other recent thread have been so egregious (see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36748560). But I changed my mind and unbanned you because it doesn't look like you've been doing it too frequently.

If you'd please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and fix this, though, we'd appreciate it. You violated both the spirit and the letter of HN's rules badly, and we've already had to warn you repeatedly about this.

Post reply on HN